Lookout

Lookout

Friday, March 30, 2012

oh fer...

Or rather, 0 for 3 to be precise. Those who know me best understand that I am not, by any stretch, a morning person. On the occasions that I do rise early, it is to catch a flight or fish. Happily these days, it's to fish. So it's with some dismay that I was skunked this week. I found myself falling out of bed around 5:30 on 3 separate mornings and, back home by 8-ish, I was scratching my head as I started my work day.

Day 1 - My neighbor, Greg, and I set out to hit the water in the early morning. I find myself needing to convince Greg that there are actually fish in the Farmington River as he and I have been out a handful of times together and I cannot bring him to fish. For that matter, I pull goose eggs when we are out together. I can't figure it out...we hit a stretch that has been very productive for me during this mild winter and, once again, nothin', zip, nada. Fortunately, both of us look at catching fish as a secondary benefit and enjoy the act of fishing and being out as much as landing fish.

Day 2 - Yet another rousing by my Blackberry alarm at 5:30. Convinced that today will be better and armed with an array of nymphs, I set out to an area that some rave about however, it's an area that I have difficulty fishing for some reason. Ok, lack of skills and or experience, but that's another story. I work my way through water that just screams FISH...nothin'...ok, let's move on, there looks to be some fishier water nearby. Hold on, is that a group of rising fish as 6:15 on a cold morning? Yep, I happened on a group of rising fish, porpoising, to their meal of choice. I was rigged for nymphing so I stood by and watched this event for about 15 minutes. Slowly inching my way into position, in flat water, I knew I would have 1 chance at this cast with my set up. My lure broke the glassy surface like a kid doing a cannon ball at the town pool. Success, 1 cast - 1 hook up, dammit...jump, head shake...gone! Surface activity shut down.

Day 3 - At this point, the circles under my eyes make me look like the wrong side of a Mike Tyson fight. What the hell, could I really get skunked a 3rd trip in a row? Being a total glutton for punishment, I again ventured to an area that is well thought of by many anglers yet, again, I struggle in this area. I begin surveying some nice looking water as I start to rig up. After a fruitless 30 minutes, I move to another area further downstream from my present locale. Again, all signs point toward a positive result however, I'm not sure what happened next. Chalk it up to a little frustration, possibly a little laziness or maybe just dumb luck...slip, fall, dunk...freaking COLD. Now, at this point, the sane person in me says, " maybe we should just call it a morning, head home, grab coffee and start working earlier today" - but then, the stubborn Irishman in me says, "I'll be damned, I got up at 5:30 to fish and I'm gonna do just that"

Well, with a left arm soaking wet, water doused pants inside of my waders and just the right amount of "what the hell", I stuck it out for another hour or so. Bad idea. At that point, my heart just wasn't in it at all. I was frustrated for having taken a dunk. Frustrated for not having landed a fish for a 3rd straight outing. Frustrated for not being able to figure out what I am doing wrong these last few trips...some days I feel like I take 3 fishing steps forward and than 2 back.

I've often referenced, in past posts, that I enjoy the time out in nature as much as I enjoy the fishing and that just being able to be out is satisfying enough. I think it might be time to rethink that concept. Do you think that Derek Jeter goes up to home plate thinking, boy, I'm just glad to be here, I don't need to get any hits today. I seriously doubt it.

I guess I should remind myself that, if it were easy, everyone would do it.

5 comments:

  1. Look at all the valuable experience you were able to gain. And the wonderful story you can tell about swimming in March.
    I give you credit though..staying and fishing after getting wet.

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    1. LOL - all true Alan...have to keep it in a positive perspective! My car was being serviced so I had my wife's and, of course, in my car was my emergency change of clothes too!

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  2. Great "I was there" story, and great photography, as usual.

    iB.

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  3. Steve,

    You get the big picture in fly fishing, it's not just about the catching. But, if you want to turn those scratch your head outings into continual successes remember what we talked about on the water those times we were out together. Try and recall every last detail of those places you fished when you were solo and successful and the same with your friend and not so successful. A few changes in delivery, angle of approach or fly in the same place on a different day. Be observant. The other thing that comes into play is sometimes more than one pair of feet climbing around in an area can alert the fish. If it bugs you enough to want to ponder it, keep that stuff in mind. This is the beauty of fly fishing, always learning and constant change.

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    1. Thanks Rich. You are absolutely correct, it still blows my mind how different the same stretch of water can be from 1 day to the next and beyond. LOL, and boy, if it was about the catching, I would have tossed in the towel shortly after I started, fly fishing is an acquired skill and just when you think ya got it, there is something more to learn. I appreciate the comments...

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