A FLY FISHER’S NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS
BY JOHN BERRY
[email protected]www.berrybrothersguides.comThe New Year is here and I am developing my resolutions. There is the obvious promise to lose weight. Last year I lost twenty two pounds only to gain eight back over the holidays. Darn those Karo-Pecan pies. My wife, Lori, will keep me on task for that resolution so I am concentrating on those directly concerned with fly fishing.
I will not buy any more new fly rods or reels. I honestly don’t know how many I own and I am afraid to inventory them, as it would embarrass me. Back when I was a CPA, I had more disposable income and I would buy whatever suited my fancy at the time. Over the years, I accumulated several. I have an Orvis two weight that I had custom made that has never been cast. I also own a couple of CFO reels that I have never put a line on. Last year I bought a new four weight. The only way I could justify the purchase to myself was to sell another rod that I have only fished twice. The problem is that I always end up fishing the same rod (my beloved Sage four weight Light Line), over and over again.
I will fish more with my yellow lab, Ellie. She absolutely loves to go and after Lori, she is my favorite fishing companion. She doesn’t care what the weather is like. It is never too cold or wet for Ellie. The problem is that she is getting a little old. At twelve years and counting, she is losing a bit of her stamina. I can only take her with me when the water is very low. In addition, I have to limit myself to fishing from spots where Ellie can comfortably stand or sit in shallow water because she insists on being right beside me. If I am in knee deep water or higher she must swim in place and that just wears her out over time. I also have to limit my time on the stream. If I don’t, she will keep going and will be sore the next day. We give her an aspirin before we leave and after we return to help her.
Last year I fell in the river on two occasions. I have carefully studied both situations to determine what happened. The first time I was wading where I should not have been. The spot I was in was a great place to fish from and I caught several nice fish. The problem is that it was difficult to get to and it required that I wade through some heavy current. If the water came up, I was in trouble. Needless to say the South West Power Administration’s generation was inaccurate and the water came up way before it was supposed to. This year I will be much more careful where I go and I will plan my escape before entering.
On the other occasion, I was wading in water that was new to me. Generally, when I fish a stream for the first time, I wear studded boots. That way, if I run into tough wading, I will have a better chance of remaining upright. On this stream, I ran into a lot of bedrock which was particularly slick and I went down. I had expected to be fishing from the boat that day and wore boots without studs. I might add that it was bitterly cold. In the future, I will carry an extra pair of studded boots even if I plan to be in the boat.
A few months ago I left my rod on the roof of my Volvo. It was in the middle of a thunder storm and I forgot about it. When I got home I noticed it was missing. I returned to the access but did not find it. It was my beloved Sage Light Line. Luckily for me another guide found it and I got it back. It had been run over but I was able to get it repaired for around sixty five dollars. I will take care to return it to its case as soon as I finish fishing. I won’t take off my waders until I do so.
I will do more fishing from my kayak. In October, at Lori’s insistence, I acquired a kayak. She had gotten one a few months before and absolutely loved it. I was interested in accessing some remote water and liked the idea of a small boat that was easily transported and could handle very shallow water. On my first trip, I went into McClellan’s and caught a trophy brown. I enjoyed the kayak and look forward to using it on Crooked Creek to go after some smallmouth and to explore some new streams.
I will reorganize my fly boxes. I have around three dozen. Most are already organized. Particularly the ones holding my steelhead, bass, saltwater or bream flies. Those boxes containing my collectable flies from noted tiers are also in pretty good shape. The problem boxes are those that I carry on a daily basis in my vest and actively fish and guide from. I currently carry four boxes; two are small plastic twelve compartment Myran boxes that are stuffed with thousands of nymphs and soft hackles. It is sometimes hard to find the exact fly that I am looking for and the flies will drift from one compartment to another, which further confuses the issue. The boxes also contain patterns that I do not use. The other two boxes are large Wheatley boxes that contain my dry flies, terrestrials and large streamers. I need to reorganize and rethink both. They also contain patterns I do not use and have gaps where I have depleted key patterns. The two Myran boxes will be carefully merged into one swing leaf Wheatley box and organized by insect (midge, caddis and mayfly). The other two Wheatley will be brought up to a level of total organization that the most obsessive angler would be proud of.
I hope these resolutions will make me a better angler in the New Year. We will see.
