With the guide season finally slowing down, I have actually had some time to get out on the water lately to do some fishing with my good buddy Chris Lewis. I have also have been able to get back to my roots out on foot doing some wade fishing in the evenings with my boy Mike O and Chowda Dog my faithful Chocolate Lab. Some days have been really really bad with minimal shots,clouds and wind with not many fish around, and some days have had moments of pure glory with sunshine, plenty of opportunities and connecting into fish. Not every day has been filled with hero shots but have instead been filled with new experiences and situations…..some good and some bad. Chris and myself have had days filled with perfect tailing permit shots ruined by overhead fly byes from cormorants, hull slap and pressure wakes, line tangles,bad etiquette from other boaters and worst of all fish that just won’t FRIGGIN eat the fly most of the time. And, on the wade fishing side of it, Mike,Chowda and I have not had many shots at all of the near shore flats in the Keys this Summer. But, we have had some nice weather and beautiful sunsets. To me, wade fishing is more about spending time unattached from everything in the world except the moment and the people you are sharing it with. The fish are just a bonus. I guess in the end, if it was easy, everyone would be doing it. The challenge and the experience is what it’s about… I have concluded that most of the time you don’t start fly fishing to catch more fish, but instead you start fly fishing to see and do things from a different perspective. Fly fishing has connected me to some of my best friends on this planet who all equally enjoy the suffering that fly fishing can bring when it seems like everything is against you. But, when it all comes together, and all the hard work pays off, the memories created are irreplaceable.
