Tuesday, March 1, 2011

One "FlyFishingCrazy" Gal


Well, Howard at Windknots and Tangled Lines has posted a contest in conjunction with Larry Snyder at Flyfishingcrazy.com...This is Howard's favorite Fish and Tackle Shop!  (They have some pretty nice nets, by the way)  I thank them for the opportunity to write this little diddy... So, here it goes..."I Am A Fishing Legend In My Own Mind " because...I am fly fishing crazy!!  Really...What's a middle age" woman like me doing with a fly pole in hand ALMOST every week of the year anyway?  I mean, I am a wife, mother of four, full-time accountant and part-time blogger at night!  Ha.  And to boot...I am someone that pretty much lived indoors all of her life! No camping, fishing, hiking, rowing a boat!  Nope.  I have started from scratch in my fly fishing adventure. 


Casting away...
Yep, this is all new to me.  And to my family...may I add.  They wonder what happened to their mother...why she chose this new "hobby" (that's what they call it, but I call it a journey).   One of my daughters said the other day, "You used to cook, sew, clean, and do crafts, Mom"!!  Yes, she is right.  I used to do all of those things.  I used to own a commercial cleaning business... maybe that's why I went on hiatus for awhile! Lol.   I still find time to cook and clean, but the sewing and crafts went out the window.  




My 'Toon
My children love to tell people, "My mom is fly fishing crazy!!" : )   I am.  What can I say?   I am the first in my family to fish.  You would have to go back to my great-uncle Jay from Grass Valley, CA. to find a fly fisherman.  I am sure he is smiling down on me knowing that I picked up a fly rod and can't put it down!  So, why do I think that I am a legend???  Simply put, because I have so many reasons not to be doing this, yet I am!!  I am a born clutz...I stumble over my feet in the river almost every time I go out.   I attract all kinds of mishaps when I go out to fish...Alaska quicksand (help!), poison oak (ouch!), dunk job in the Firehole River (MP3 gone!)


What's for lunch?
And to top it off, for some UNKNOWN reason, I attract the most peculiar visitors on my fishing trips.  Bears in the campground, Elk in the water wading with me, Mice dancing next to my head in the tent,  Bison walking up to me as I am getting into my waders, Snakes crossing my path, and Woodchucks throwing rocks at me! (Just to name a few...can't give away future posts!)  Sometimes, I feel like Mrs. Dr. Doolittle!!  "Adventure In Every Riffle" is pretty close to the truth...If I didn't have so many weird experiences enjoying the outdoors, I wouldn't really have that much to blog about...so, I guess it's all good.

 
River X Collection
Another reason that "I Am A Fishing Legend In My Own Mind" is because I am doing something that is really difficult and totally out of the norm for me.  It really is a miracle.  With perserverence and dedication to learning (and it hasn't happened overnight),  I have gotten where I am today.  Where is that, you say?  Ha.  Well, after many classes to improve my knowledge and skills and endless hours on the water, I am now the buggiest girl around...Never liked them much before!  Ha.  But, now I'm looking under every rock, riffle, and plant...I will go out on a limb for them!  I can say that this So. Cal. city slicker is now a bonifide, trout bum!  Yep, give me a little mud on my boots and a fly box of my favorite things...and I can be found on the river from sun up to sun down.  Rain or snow...

No, I'm not a boy!!

This fisher lady has taken her fly fishing all over the West!  "Journey On" is a common phrase that I use with my friends.  They know that I have a zest for life and that I love the "road trip".  Give me a three day weekend, and I will find a new water hole.  Over mountains, rivers, lakes and streams I go...creating new memories and overcoming challenges that await!  My newest quest is perfecting the Czech nymphing technique.  It's not the easiest way, but it is an absolute thrill when you set the fish...As my journey continues and I cast upon new waters, I can say that "I Am A Fishing Legend In My Own Mind"!!  A fisher lady that never lets adversity stop her.  And hopefully someday, my grandchildren will say, "Grandma, you are fly fishing crazy!  Can we come along?"!!...Thanks, family...for letting me live my dreams and experience  the "Adventure In Every Riffle"! 

22 comments:

  1. RD: I'm sure your family is proud of mama. I know I'd glad we've "met".

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  2. Cofisher ~ They roll their eyes about fishing, but a "little mouse" has told me that they think that it is pretty neat...

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  3. Oh yeah, when I mentioned the other day that fly fishing is therapy, I also forgot to mention its an addiction. Kind of a double edged sword I suppose. I believe you are hooked. (no pun intended)

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  4. Mark ~ Is that why I'm going to the river this morning??? Ahh, "Fish Tuesday"!

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  5. RD.. I use the question "What if fish could read?" on my website. As far as legends go, the question needs to be "What if fish could rate their adversaries?" Can you "perpetrate the fraud" with the best of them?
    If I were a fish, I'd be shaking in my scales. Keep up the good drift and thanks for the mention.
    Larry

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  6. On the flipside, I was the dad who, in a previous life, was involved with the boys in Cub/Boy Scouts, soccer, football, taking the family on vacation and camping…that was most of my life (outside of working). Now that most of the kids are making their own way in the world — though I still find time to ride motorcycles with one son, help another seek a job and basically feed the other who’s still in high school — they still wonder why I “disappear” on a regular basis to spend time alone (or not) waving a fly rod for hours on end. Thankfully, my wife understands better than most; besides, it gives her plenty of knitting time. I may not be a full-time trout bum, but for whatever time I can spend on the water, the rest of the world and its worries melt away as moment to moment my focus is concentrated (some say reduced) on fooling that next fish.

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  7. Larry ~ Thanks for the shout out...much appreciated! I don't know if fish can read, but I do know that they can talk...haha
    Pat ~ Yes, understanding helps...for sure! Thanks for sharing.

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  8. If a person is to be fixated on anything, fly fishing is the way to go. Unlimited room for growth, it soothes the soul and the destinations are limitless. The only sport I know of where we can have as much fun taking brookies from a piddley little creek or chasing steelhead in BC.

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  9. RD: I just looked at your Rivers Fished list & see several YNP rivers. You need to add Slough Creek next trip. The best cutthroat fishing in the park, IMO. Be prepared for a hike though.

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  10. I want to meet the person who got the bear to mind his manners at the table.
    Wonderful post.

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  11. Midgeman ~ Oh, I love that thought...the destinations are limitless!! Whoohoo!
    Larry ~ Don't they have the most bears up there in Slough Creek country??? :] hmmm...
    Brk Trt ~ And he really woofed down the cherry cobbler!! And I didn't have to wash any utensils...Ha. Thanks...

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  12. RD I think you're ok until the family tries to have an intervention. Of course, if you ditched work to fish or have permanently altered your work schedule to accommodate fishing you may be too far gone. Luckily the only known treatment is more fly fishing, so its win win really.

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  13. Damsel, thanks for the comment on my shout outs post. I actually just started reading your blog a couple weeks ago, and I'm reading some old post and love it! Your blog has a great mix of laughter and info. Keep up the great work and I think Ut is working it's way up on the states I want to fish. So if i get out to salt lake city in the next couple year could you get me on some fish?

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  14. Mark ~ I'm an honest gal...so this is how it went down...A few years ago when I interviewed, I could tell things were going well, so in the middle of the interview, out popped the question. "So, I have a season ski pass for Tuesdays..is there a chance that I could have a four day work week? In return, you will have a dedicated, hard working employee." I was told at the end of the interview that there would be a job offer in my email that night. Now, that Tuesday is switched off with skiing and fishing. And because of my good work, I now have Tuesday off all year round. :) Of course, the other days are longer, but I never could work an 8 hr day...only on the river! Ha!

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  15. Bruce ~ Thanks for stopping by and doing a little reading! We try to have fun around here...If you come to Utah, just know that after you get done fishing here, you must keep traveling north into Idaho!!!

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  16. Bears? Just eat a couple-a-three bowls of habanero chili the night before your hike in and the music will burn there eyes. ;-p

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  17. I think you chose the more exciting path - fly fishing or crafts? I can see why those went out the window :)
    -stephanie

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  18. Larry ~ I will take note of it. Thx!
    Steph ~ If I had only known that the beautiful pheasant feather baskets that I made years ago, could have been used in a more wisely fashion!! Ha.

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  19. Huh, you think now is fun, wait for retirement. Then you can fish all the time.

    Mark

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  20. I can't help it. You have my vote! :) ( not that I get a vote, but still....) Your "it's a miracle" line isn't true though - you've paid your fishin' dues and gone through some stuff....so now you are a fly fisher proper! No doubt about that! :)

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  21. Shoreman ~ Only twenty more years and I can have more than my Tuesday! Whoohoo!
    Owl ~ Thanks, brother. You're the bestest! I definitely have a style all my own...lol.

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  22. Larry ~ I checked out that post, if fish could read..."The “glamour” rod companies want us to believe that their rods are the best. Truth be told, the only thing that impresses fish is presentation." How profound...I just wanted you to know that I totally agree.

    http://flyfishingcrazy-blog.com/2010/05/10/what-if-fish-could-read/

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