Make America Cool Again

 Fight for what you believe in, cold water, abundant fish and the complexity of life in and around our waters. Clean water and clean air to breathe, abundant and free.

I've been contemplating what the next move is, running out of ideas. No ideas for YouTube content and certainly no ideas what to blog about. Four or five views on either is not inspiring at all. The prospect of traveling to get some decent fishing time in, is challenging. My age is slowly creeping up on me. My arthritis in my hands has discouraging at best. Tying flies when thousands populate my boxes is meaningless. Boxes scattered over three states along with various equipment seems to me as out of reach.

A conundrum at best, my sense of adventure fades into early evening. Montana seems like a lifetime ago, Vermont, Maine, California, Nevada only a dream of past lives. The pandemic killed the fun. 

There is still that spark, that adventure awaits. Cooler days ahead, outdoor time available once the heat and high humidity fades away. Like the old saying "wait till next year" is familiar refrain after a losing season. So planning and staring at maps of rivers, trails and far away destinations occupy my days. 

A quick note on climate change, either you get with the program or decide to sit on your fat ass and give only lip service. Your time to act is rapidity disappearing. 

So what will it be..........................

Tight lines

I Hereby Cancel all Trips for 2024

 Seriously due to circumstances out of my control I need to limit my travel, sun exposure till spring 2025. I will post anything of interest I happen to come by as they happen.

Aside from that I did see a call for volunteers last week to rescue fish from the stony Brook duck pond. 

A brief message to climate deniers, I told you so. 

Don't think there isn't a future in electric cars, think on a broader scale.

I recently moved into a private community, gated community. finally able to recycle, reduce to garbage by 2/3 but I do fill a 65 gallon pail with plastics, cans and cardboard every week. combined with a garbage disposer in the kitchen it's tough filling a bag to put out.

My neighbor across the street leave a cooler with cold drinks out for the garbage men. And he pulls in his neighbors pails (81 yo) now that's a neighbor.

So a few examples of looking out for your neighbors, acts of kindness and environmental responsibility. 

My view out the back is filled with sandhill cranes, heron, turtles, osprey and bald eagles.

We have an abundance of lizards, tree frogs, snakes and alligators. 

One decision I made was to make everything I did special and purposeful. No need to fish just to fish, but do an epic fishing trip. Define who you are by not what you did to make money, but what you did to help people and make a difference. Life is like tying flies, once your boxes are filled......................

                                                                    Fred the Tree Frog

                                                                    

The Dangers of Too Much Fun in the Sun

 Recently had the experience of Mohs surgery on my face. Too much UV despite taking normal precaution, nasty little buggery put a two inch scar on my face. I could say it was a dueling scar, or a run in with bear, truth is reapply that sunscreen every couple of hours. The count was eighteen pre-cancerous and one squamous. Not bad considering seventy years in the sun!

Moving on Down the Road

Art has moved, just down the road.  

Death of the Red Quill?

 No issues since 2020? I'm surprised, but not that surprised. A lot of talkers and not many doers, it may have had its shortcomings, but really! Come on ladies and gents could someone step up to the plate. I asked for someone to start contributing to this blog, mm six years ago. Writers block, fear of being criticized, sneered at meetings!

Magic

Sometimes all its takes is some magic! Wishful thinking only works in the movies, changing course midstream will always hit a few rocks. Stay the course and of course tight lines! 

Euro-nymph, Tenkara or Traditional fly fishing

 From where I stand, far from the nearest trout stream and gathering dust, I have an opinion. Clarity of distance makes it clear of motivation. It is a question of how we define success. Was it a good outing or a bad one. Was the glass half empty or half full sorta speak!

Defining one's self importance or in plain speak, feeding that inner beast (ego) metrics are important. Like catching a lot of fish or the biggest ones. Pictures taken , fish measured and recorded and shown at meetings may be fulfilling for many. Years of catching nothing, but tree branches, random sticks and sunfish eventually frustrates even the most patient. Trying for the hard to catch phantoms is as equally frustrating. I spent years flicking flies to those ghost hiding in undercut banks and brush piles. So when a sure fire cure comes along we are all tempted.

Thoreau wrote "many men goes fishing all their lives without  not knowing that it is not the fish they are after". Fly fishing in my opinion is not the catch, but the quiet time and mindfulness. Sometimes just staring at the river and patiently waiting is therapeutic. 

So while you're out doing whatever you may think as fly fishing, pinch your barbs, take a breath and quietly enjoy!

Tight lines