I sometimes think back to simpler times -- my youth, for example, and the conventional fishing I did with my Dad. Dad loved to fish and in the 30's economic times were tough but as a life insurance salesman with the largest book of customers in Prudential history, he made a decent living for the times. He would rent a rowboat out of Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn and we fished the bay which is the entrance to the NY Harbor .We caught fish and I do not remember ever going home with no fish. What I now find curious, my Dad was not a “scientific” angler. By that I mean our bait would be any one of three things, cut up squid, cut up clam strips from huge chowder clams or blood worms -- whichever was cheapest that day. We did not check tides or moon phases. When the mood to fish came up and I was not in school, mostly weekends, we would jump into his car and go out to fish the Bay. He taught me to row those heavy wood rowboats to any place on the bay where we were in no ship's way. We left in broad daylight at no specific time and always returned home before dinner hour. The time was not important. We used proper hooks however for special species, like flounder hooks for large “door mat” flounders on the bottom. Come to think of it, it was all bottom fishing with braided line and lead sinkers, casting only a short distance from the boat. We always caught something, sheepsheads, porgies, mackerel and our favorite blow fish (puffers). He taught me how to clean them....delicious. Sometimes we carried wire crab traps and caught large blue claw crabs which were plentiful.
The point of this story is while I have become a “scientific” fly fisher I have decided that I will be old fashioned and go fishing whenever the mood strikes me. To hell with the tides or moon and getting up at three AM to catch the tide right. Fishing is fun and not a job and so what if I go home skunked.
I think fly fishing taught me that one could have a fantastic day of trout fishing even if you caught no fish, for in fly fishing, a perfect day is a day in which you read the water correctly, your casts were accurate and consistent, and your presentation and drift free floats were perfect. What a great day! No hatch on, so what!!! Look around and enjoy the tranquility and beauty of nature, spook that duck as you round that turn in the river and look there's a nice buck drinking at the water's edge. That attitude has returned, possibly due to my age but more for the longing for simpler times.
Until next time, Tight Lines and keep your Fly dry. Ed , Soggybottom, Rapisardi
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