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| Chattahoochee River near Jones Bridge |
Above my fly tying table is a memory a great time and accomplishment in my life. It is a picture of my first fishing trip ever. It was with my grandfather Walters on a lake in Ohio. The picture is of a smaller me holding a tiny yellow perch. Smiling from ear to ear. I remember the day vividly as it had been raining everyday prior to our fishing trip and I had asked my grandfather to take me fishing growing more and more restless with every passing inclement weather day of our week long family trip to Ohio.
We packed up the car with fishing rods and reels, a tackle box, and lunch. We used my grandfather's fishing poles which once belonged to my great grandfather. Those poles now rest on the wall in my office as well. Grandpa baited the hooks with fresh night crawlers harvested from his backyard. They were plentiful with all of the rain that had been falling.
We walked a good way from the car and set everything down in a promising looking spot. My first attempt at casting a conventional rod and reel was a complete disaster and I bailed the entire line into a bald eagle sized nest that had my grandfather busy for the remainder of the afternoon frustratingly pulling knot after knot out of the reel. Needless to say, he did the casting from there on out. We waited a while until finally we had a fish take my bait. The fish weighed no more than a few ounces, but to the younger me and my larger than life imagination it felt like a striped bass ripping line. We snapped a few photos of the fish and continued on fishing celebrating over lunch on the side of the lake.
That day with my grandfather meant a lot to me as an angler and is a constant reminder of how great of a pastime we all share. It taught me patience in fishing and in life. It also taught me to never lose the excitement and adrenaline rush of catching a fish. Seeing the metaphors that fishing and life share is priceless. That day is a point in my life that began the love of fishing for me and that pushed me to progress into the world of fly fishing. Fishing has come a long way since my grandfather's and great grandfather's time with the advancement in equipment, methods of fishing, and tackle used to outsmart willing fish. One thing that will always remain a constant is the tradition and importance of a day on the water with great company.
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| Chattahoochee River near Bowman's Island |
Where were you and who were you with when you caught your first fish?
Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family from Walters Fly Rods.
That's a nice story. Your grandfather was a great guy. I know he would be proud of all the awesome fish you have caught and he would definitely want one of those awesome Walters Fly Rods! My first fish was a common bream caught down in south Georgia with my uncle in a pond back in the woods. I was about 7 years old and I have a picture of that fish as well. I dont remember the story of that quite as well as you do but I will tell a short story from a fish that I do remember. This is the story of my first time ever flyfishing. I had always wanted to fly fish but never had the opportunity to and just plain out didnt know where to start. Seemed SO hard and expensive I had never tried. Fortunately for me, I had a great best friend that went by the last name of Walters that went to college in Brevard, NC. It just so happened that he got into flyfishing and on one of my usual visits from Wilmington (where I went to school) to go backpacking, he took me on a bit of a different trip. He let me borrow waders, and a fly rod from his roommate and took me to the east fork of the broad river. I remember thinking I'll never catch a fish on this rod; It's just not going to work for me, but sure enough Mr. Walters told me to cast that nymph into the rapids and watch it drift down, and as soon as the indicator goes down to set the hook. Well, after the 3rd or 4th cast, the strike indicator went down at the bottom of the rapids like it had the first 3 times so I thought nothing of it and went to cast again. Unknown to me, this time a nice little rainbow trout had taken the fly. When I went to cast again, the rod bent over and I couldnt believe it, so pumped I had acutually hooked a trout in the NC mountains on a fly! We caught a few more fish each that day and I came away from that little day trip a flyfisherman for life. I agree, fishing with good company is one of the most fun, best, relaxing things I can do. Whether I am 60 miles offshore fishing for grouper or Mahi, or spearfishing or flyfishing in the mountains. Fishing is a part of who we are and that awesome tradition we share brings us together. Happy thanksgiving to Walters Fly Rods and I appreciate you making my thanksgiving morning better by sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteAlways good to fish with you buddy. We are due for a fishing trip actually.
DeleteMatt