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When you hurry through you aren't enjoying it, not really. The adventure turns into a "to-do," the experience is lost. You're trying to accomplish something, mark it off a list, feel successful. Living life this way is not beneficial, and fishing should take place slowly and thoughtfully.
Life isn't always about grand adventures, sometimes it's about enjoying the little things, taking your time, and being happy with where you are.
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The other day Jacob and I took an adventure to a stretch of water we hadn't fished before. It was a long drive up and around the mountain, ending in a small town; not even big enough for one stop light.
Somehow Jacob wound up with the camera this trip and we ended up reversing our normal roles.
Being the one who's typically behind the camera this was more than a little strange for me, being the "subject" is strange and uncomfortable for me. Probably as awkward as it is for Jacob using a bulky DSLR. Overall, I think he did pretty well, and adjusted better than I.
I'm looking forward to our next trip, back behind the camera, where all is well with the world.
The morning light is filtered and grey and ominous. The kind that reaches out and covers everything, from the tops of the mountains to the bottom of the valleys.
The air is heavy and wet, not quite raining, but nowhere near dry either. It's not that cold out, but the dampness makes it almost unbearable. Layers upon layers are applied. You fill up your travel mug with the hottest coffee you can stand.
You question your sanity.
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Saturday I was looking back at our time in the Southwest. The weather here was rainy and cold, I had no desire to get out in the crud, and so I spent a lot of time looking through the photos I had taken. That's when I remembered our trip to Pagosa Springs.
If you're ever in the Southwest, I highly recommend it. Maybe not the "hot spring theme park,"(no judgment if that's what you're into, it's just really not my speed) but the rest of the town is pretty cool. It's nice to walk around the antique shop there, you could find ANYTHING in there, and Riff Raff Brewing Company had some of the best brews I've ever had (El Duende Green Chile Ale is to die for!!!).
However, when we first arrived the temperature had dropped from the upper 60s in Durango down to the 40s and raining by the time we got to Pagosa. Not the best day to walk around outside.
Eventually, we stumbled into a little fly shop, Let It Fly. Jacob was sorting through the flies, examining patterns that haven't made it to the East Coast yet, scooping up what he didn't think he could commit to memory. That's when I discovered a small bookshelf. I sorted through old issues of Gray's Sporting Journal, well-worn fly tying books, and guides for fishing the Piedra that outdated me. And, that's when I found them, two books by Steven J. Meyers. I gathered them up, immediately paid for them (I wasn't entirely sure they were even for sale), and started combing through Notes From The San Juans directly.
I've mentioned many times before that Mr. Meyers is one of my favorite fly fishing authors and Lime Creek Odessey may very well be my favorite book of all time.
Like his other books, Notes From The San Juans is a collection of stories, some being explicitly fishing stories, others merely tying in fly fishing to life. There's a specific chapter in the book which describes his time working in a mine, out of necessity to remain in the San Juans. At the very end of the chapter, he states, " It's not just mining San Juan county that's given me that perspective. I like to think that fishing has helped a bit too. I once worked in an office in New York City and I'm not sure that mine was any darker. Fishing taught me that."
Having worked in the corporate world, having lived in that office, and then dropping out of it all, I get you, Mr. Meyers.
Need an excellent collection of fishing stories? A few that will make you laugh and make you cry? Pick up any Steven J. Meyers book, or better yet, pick up Notes From The San Juans.
There are a great many opinions about this debate, whether it takes the form of states rights, freedoms, energy independence or leans towards preservation, uniqueness, and keeping our public lands in public hands. Everyone has their opinion and their right to that conclusion, but here are a few reasons why we should take a closer look at the following argument of keeping public lands in public hands.
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It was a Sunday afternoon at Animas River Brewing. The Broncos were on the TV and it was packed. People were covering every corner of the place, from out on the patio to huddled around the bar, just finished with their morning bike ride, trail run, or just families getting out of the house for the game. Jacob and I spotted our fellow anglers and squished in beside them. Pale ales and IPA's started flowing and so did the fishing stories. We heard about a recent trip to Honduras and the sound your reel makes when you hook into a permit. Plans were laid out for an upcoming trip to Belize this winter and how someone could make their way there through various channels from other parts of South America. Guiding, clients, and debates on float boats soon followed. Eventually, a few beers in, we broke out the map and began narrowing down just where in Durango Jacob and I needed to fish.
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