Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Side Benefits...

Like most everyone, I fly fish because I enjoy the challenge, the beauty, the sport.  Sometimes, however, I wonder if one of the best benefits is actually the friendships that are made in the process of travelling, fishing, and relaxing by the stream.  Last week, I took a trip to the South Platte near Denver, to get enough miles to attain Platinum status on Delta Airlines.  I only fished a few hours, and didn't really expect great success, given the time of year and time on the water. As it played out, that was the case.  Here's the good stuff...as I was about to leave, I met three generations of fishermen at the bank, one of them just landing a nice rainbow.  Of course, we had to talk a minute.  I learned that the gentleman had been fishing that spot 15 years, and was taught by a close friend, who died not too long ago.  This man had taken a nice rock to town, had it engraved with his friend's name, and placed the rock in the water in a non-conspicuous place. That is friendship, and that is the type of friends we make- in the stream, beside the stream, side-by-side doing what we love best - fly fishing.
keep the rod bent...ed