Had A Neat Experience Today!

[LittleRedFisherman]

I dont think I have met a stranger yet, maybe one day.

good story Brett.

I used to envy people like that, now my wife says i'm one of them. Things like the upcoming OA trip I probably wouldn't have done 10 plus years ago. It's a lot more fun being a people person for sure!!

[chambug]

My wife and I were at Greer, AZ fishing for trout and i was catching them steadily with a trout lure I designed and made. This nice young guy came over and asked me what I was using on my fly rod. I gave him a few, and he began catching them. He thanked me profusely and I found out he was the assistant football coach at AZ State U. That night he came by the cabin with his wife and two beautiful daughters. I showed him how to make the lure and gave him some of the materials for doing so.

During the next couple of days we all dined together a couple of times. My wife and I never enjoyed Greer so much.

He is now the head coach at ASU, and I'm one of their steady fans.

[jdmidwest]

Years ago, there was an old feller that always fished the hole behind the lodge at Montauk. We always chatted and exchanged lures every time I was there. He was a daily regular. Then one time up there, he was gone. Passed away that winter of old age.

There was another down on the Spring River, used to be a regular poster on here. He is gone now too.

[Greasy B]

I had a similar experience with an older gentlemen who lived at Tucker Shoal on White River. We would run across each other a couple of times a year, enough to know each other but not quite on a first name basis. This went on for about ten years, great guy who loved the river and fished almost daily. The last time we chatted he could no longer wade and had to be content sitting in his folding chair. The next year his house was dark and a for sale sign faced the river. I always thought, hoped a could spend my last years doing as well.

[Mitch f]

I always thought, hoped a could spend my last years doing as well.

Mike, I be there for you man! as long as you can put up with me wearing my depends while driving my jet boat, we can still meet on weekday mornings and fish exotic Ozark rivers!

[LittleRedFisherman]

The old fellow on the Spring River, I think I remember talking to a fellow one time at Dam 3 access at the hatchery, he was a regular there, fun to talk to, wonder if that was him, it's been years now?

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Very cool thread. Thanks for sharing.

[jdmidwest]

The old fellow on the Spring River, I think I remember talking to a fellow one time at Dam 3 access at the hatchery, he was a regular there, fun to talk to, wonder if that was him, it's been years now?

Here is a writeup on Tom from another blog. He touched on several lives.

http://ozarkchronicles.com/archives/1444

[Al Agnew]

Sometimes when I'm fishing alone, I like being alone so much that I will do no more than acknowledge another angler, but other times I'll strike up a conversation and really enjoy the company for a while. I'm seldom disappointed when I do.

When we owned the cabin in Montana before we got our present house out there, there was only one other house visible from our cabin. It was across the creek, up a hill, and by road it was a couple of miles from our cabin. The first year, we saw an old couple outside there occasionally, but we never visited them. Finally, we happened to meet them coming out of their lane as we were out walking the road in front of the cabin, and struck up a conversation. It soon turned to fishing, and they were both avid anglers. They were both 95 years old! I offered to take them on a float trip on the Yellowstone in our raft, and they were tickled to death. The trip got postponed until the next year, however, for various reasons. Finally we got to do it, and they were both wonderful people and good anglers, and fished as hard at age 96 as I did. They were so happy to be able to get on the river, since they hadn't been on a float in a long time.

We sold the cabin and moved 30 miles away to our house the next spring, and when we tried to call them, we never got an answer. We knew they had kids in Arizona and spent the winters there, and they were worried that at some point they wouldn't have the ability to drive from Arizona to Montana and take care of their house all summer. We later found out the house had sold, and never heard from them again. I like to think that, if something happened that precluded them from getting back to Montana again, we'd given them a last good memory of the river.

[RSBreth]

Sometimes I run into an OzarkAnglers member who recognizes me, but mostly when I'm fishing some remote spot it's Slingblade who desperately wants me to come see his collection of turtle shells. Don't know why.