COMMENT SUMMARY: No bites.
MY COMMENTS: When my daughter was little, my father-in-law
and I took her fishing right after ice out.
We were fishing on a man-made lake at about 8,000 ft. in elevation. We were using night crawlers on leaders behind clear
plastic bubbles, with just enough retrieve to keep the slack out of the
line. She quickly limited out, and my
father-in-law took a picture with me holding up a stringer of fish. I was kneeling, and my daughter leaning on my
shoulder. She still has the picture
framed at her house. It doesn’t get any
better than that.
When I was a kid, my father taught me to fish on the
streams near Aspen. He was strictly a
fly fisherman. He only fished on rivers,
and that was all I knew. He died when I
was still young, and I couldn’t go fishing until I was older. Then some cousins showed me how to fish high
mountain lakes using the “spin-fly” method.
It involves fishing a fly or two on a leader behind a clear plastic
bubble.
For years, I backpacked into wilderness areas, and I did
primarily spin-fly fishing. You catch
more fish using a standard fly fishing rig, but the spin fly method makes it
possible to switch to bait or lures with less trouble. I release what I can’t eat immediately,
anyway.
I used to take fishing too seriously, and it was not as
relaxing as it could have been. I
learned to quit focusing on the end result, and to let myself enjoy the
process. Also, I enjoy the outdoor
surroundings more now.
These days, I am a little too old for backpacking to be
enjoyable. I got a small boat, and I’m
fishing lakes and large rivers with it. I
am also getting back into fishing rivers and streams with a fly rod.
No matter what stage of life you are in, there is a way
you can enjoy fishing. It can be a
restful and even spiritual experience, if you let it. It is in the outdoors that I feel closest to
God. Try fishing, if you like. The excise taxes on fishing equipment, and the
fees from fishing licenses, are an important source of revenue for wildlife
conservation.
