One of the greatest memories I have of being on the water will always be a trip to the backwoods of Maine with my father. I will definitely share the story at some point in the podcast. One thing hasn't changed; being on the water with my father, the man who taught me to fly fish and much more, is the time I cherish the most. Great memories are made each time, whether it is one of dancing around in the river, nearly going down, sharing good laughs, flies and insights or even getting skunked.
This was no different, when I managed to get him out on the river one evening a few weeks back. We drove up to a section of our local river and decided explore it some more than the last time we fished there. The action was slow, but some fish were rising when we first got there. I watched my dad drift a dry fly just above me and I commented how it looked like a nice drift. He cast one more time and again after a perfect drift a fish rose and took his fly. After a short flight, I helped him land the fish. It was a nice sized brown, with a healthy girth to it. It was a nice start to the evening.
My father with another fish from this year when fishing together.
I decided to cross the river and head upstream some to check the next pool up. It holds some "fishy" water for sure and I also managed to get a nice fish to take my dry fly. On the way back down to where my dad was fishing, I fished a deeper pocket of water and switched to a nymph. I swung the nymph just under a tree overhanging the bank of the river. All of the sudden my fly line came to a complete stop and I finished setting the hook. I fought this fish down to the water my father was fishing and landed it right there. This fish was a much better brown than my first.
After a few more fish each, my father and I decided to call it a night and head towards home and some good dinner. Another successful night out on the river, and to be completely honest if we had both been skunked we would have considered it a success. These are the moments in life you can't just push aside for work or other commitments. You need to make them happen. It's definitely not always about the fish. Take some time soon to go join someone you love and get outside and enjoy their company and make some memories!
