"It's like a ballet," my Dad has been known to say about fly fishing. I would "Uh huh." and nod like a good listener when my Dad talked about it but my mind was always elsewhere. Ballet is ballet and trying to pique my interest in something by comparing it to what I love and do everyday is not going to work on me. And plus, I've been fishing. I know what it is like. And no way can fly fishing be that different. And it's true. I've been spin casting with Scottie a few times before, even caught some fish, and it was fun, sure, but it didn't get me goin'. Scottie kept saying that a good day of fishing was all it was going to take to get me 'hooked'. But I didn't know. I was pretty neutral.
So, we got ready to camp in Central Oregon (near Sisters) for a few nights to celebrate the 4th and our one year anniversairy. (Yay!) . Scottie packed along the fishing gear but only to discover once we got there that most of the rivers and lakes were fly fishing only. Bummer. I didn't think much of it, meanwhile, Scottie decided that it wasn't going to stop him from fishing so he bought a Tenkara rod. It is basically a stick with a line and a hook. Very simple. No reel. I was curious. We went out on the river that day and just played around with it. I had to admit that it was a lot of fun whipping the line back and fourth; watching the red ribbon of line dance in the air. Uh, woah. Did I just use the word dance to describe this? I could hear my Dad's words coming back to me. It was like a dance. A dance with the line and sky and rushing river.
The next day, we went out to a spot that one of the local fishermen told us about. We weren't very hopeful since we did not have any waders. I could sense I was getting excited about this whole fishing thing, though. We practiced casting for a bit but then decided to move on. And I am sure glad we did because an oasis was up ahead.
So, we got ready to camp in Central Oregon (near Sisters) for a few nights to celebrate the 4th and our one year anniversairy. (Yay!) . Scottie packed along the fishing gear but only to discover once we got there that most of the rivers and lakes were fly fishing only. Bummer. I didn't think much of it, meanwhile, Scottie decided that it wasn't going to stop him from fishing so he bought a Tenkara rod. It is basically a stick with a line and a hook. Very simple. No reel. I was curious. We went out on the river that day and just played around with it. I had to admit that it was a lot of fun whipping the line back and fourth; watching the red ribbon of line dance in the air. Uh, woah. Did I just use the word dance to describe this? I could hear my Dad's words coming back to me. It was like a dance. A dance with the line and sky and rushing river.
The next day, we went out to a spot that one of the local fishermen told us about. We weren't very hopeful since we did not have any waders. I could sense I was getting excited about this whole fishing thing, though. We practiced casting for a bit but then decided to move on. And I am sure glad we did because an oasis was up ahead.
We found trout heaven; dark pools near rushing water surrounded by rocks to give fish a place to hang out and chill and eat an easy breakfast. Scottie wanted me to fish first because he was hopeful that I would catch one. He got the dry fly set up on the rod and off I went. I got excited a couple times and said,"Scottie, I think I got some nibbles!" But there were no fish and so no validity. I gave the rod to my boyfriend, knowing that if there were fish here, that he would be the first to catch them. Instantly after sending his fly out there, one fish done bite! It was so tiny and adorable. It got hooked on the line, flew into the air with lots of flapping, and then skyrocketed off the hook and somersaulted back into the water. We were both stunned. It was all we could do but laugh. What a feisty little guy! It was all the motivation we needed. Scottie cast out again, and this time he got a fish and it stayed hooked for good! We were guaranteed to catch a fish with every cast. So we took turns catching fish while the other sat on the rock next door; equally as entertained.
Previous to this experience, I have been afraid to hold the fish. The whole catch and release thing felt weird to me. I would look down the mouth of a Bass and see all of its insides and say, "No thanks." But this felt more...natural. I wasn't freaked out and in fact, I definitely felt this sense of peace and mutual understanding between the Rainbows and myself. The fish were giving us a total performance; jumping into the air and surprising us by getting off the line sometimes or jumping real close to the surface. Scottie said it was his favorite day of fishing and it was the inception of my love for fly fishing. There was something so magical about the day.