WebFreeman

Interesting. Cover doesn't look too much like RR, though. I think we can let it slide.

For me, fishing, any kind of fishing, is really just a metaphor for life. You could point out the Thoreau quote SIO3 mentioned: “Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” With regards to fly-fishing, I look to the first few pages of A River Runs Through It. Even though the movie makes it somewhat of a cliché as a reference, Maclean’s book was an excellent read for nearly 20 years before the movie. In fact, it nearly won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, but was deemed too autobiographical, which is unfortunate. So we’ve all seen the movie and read the book, but in the early pages, Maclean writes about learning to fish from his father. The four-count rhythm is cute and made for a nice movie scene, but a few paragraphs later, Maclean says: “As a Scot and a Presbyterian, my father believed that man by nature was a mess and had fallen from an original state of grace…. As for my father, I never knew whether he believed God was a mathematician but he certainly believed God could count and that only by picking up God's rhythms were we able to regain power and beauty….” That’s part of my love of fly-fishing. It’s like zen. It’s about nothing and everything at the same time. Often, no words are spoken, no thoughts are thought. It’s just you and the water and the rhythm of the casts in which you try and find that groove that is your own and no one else’s. You get lost in the quiet. There are rarely motors, rarely distractions. The beer is for the parking lot. But it’s an opportunity to reconnect with some type of internal, natural rhythm. When I fly-fish, it’s not as much about the catching as it is the fishing. Don’t get me wrong, catching is important, but not always the primary purpose. I don’t think you get that with other kinds of fishing. Maclean goes on to write: “If our father had had his say, nobody who did not know how to fish would be allowed to disgrace a fish by catching him.” Maybe this applies more to wild trout than the stockers we fish to, but if you look at the majority of the reports on the forum, fish are caught on flies that look like and act like real things. There is something satisfying about that. Back to the natural rhythm, coming in tune with nature plays a big part of it. Again, Maclean states: “Well, until man is redeemed he will always take a fly rod too far back, just as natural man always overswings with an ax or golf club and loses all his power somewhere in the air: only with a rod it's worse, because the fly often comes so far back it gets caught behind in a bush or rock. Power comes not from power everywhere, but from knowing where to put it on. My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things—trout as well as eternal salvation—come by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy.” The sentence on power is a poignant one and really words to live by. Imagine if we used that concept in our relationships at home and at work or in our domestic and foreign policies. Again, fly fishing as a metaphor for life. That is essentially fly-fishing. Zen-like qualities and natural rhythms for me found no where else.

Very thorough report. Thanks for sharing.

Good report. Sounds like a good trip.

Nice! I'm jealous. What is she tying up?

I think everyone agrees, Jeff. None of it makes sense.

Just be sure to bring the tubes. On the Finley and the James, seems like that's all I end up using. Even on the lakes, Stockton, Pomme de Terre and Table Rock, I've had my best luck on those. That being said, I don't fish very often, but it's definately my confidence bait.

Sounds like a nice trip Wily. Thanks for the tips on the resort.

Nice fish!

Can't go wrong with an olive-looking tube, can you? Sometimes I wonder why I buy anything else. Nice fish.

I think I saw a boat load at the BP outlet if you're up this way soon.

TV news is not about second opinions. I'm sure the correction was buried and glossed over. I can't get either video to work because of the firewall, so if I'm wrong about the gloss-over, sorry. But TV news is rarely about thoroughness.

Just got around to taking pictures. Mine not as much seasonal as it is just a bunch o' stuff. I think I tied everything, which explains the quality....

Thanks for the report Bill.

SKMO, got any pics? That's awesome. I cannot imagine catching something like that. 3 big ones in 3 days sounds pretty awesome to me. That's almost 10 feet of fish if my math is right.

Finally! I guess she's worth the wait, though. Good thing your internal clock is already set for night-time duty.

That is the problem with reviews, isn't it? Seems like you should have to send the product back when you're done. "Hey Marketing Director, I loved your gear bag. Maybe I should review some waders, too. And while your at it, send me some other free stuff, too!"

Thanks Dan. That is really helpful. We could be a pretty cool gallery going. I'm still not clear on the lift to the rebar....

So, no piggie back rides to the rebar hole? Can you post it bigger so we can zoom and inspect your selections?

Congrats. I know you've been waiting a while for that. Enjoy the packing! :-(

Baby here yet?

Nice pics, btw. It's hard, even in macro mode, to get those in focus.

Ronnie, I've been dreaming about it for years. I just haven't gotten off my duff and done anything about it. I hope you finish yours. It might motivate me to do mine. These look pretty cool. I think they still race something like this at Rockaway beach in the summer, though I don't think they are homemade.

Uh-oh. Another boat building thread to get us dreaming. That would be fun. How fast does that do w/ an 18 on it? It looks fast.

Looks like fun. How was it on TRL? Did the wakes get to you?