Today’s blog post will be slightly different, and to be honest a bit difficult. If it were a normal week, I’d be giving either a tutorial, a fly recipe, or talking bugs. It hasn’t been just a “normal week” for me. My Father passed away a week ago and I’ve got to tell you, I’m struggling. It wasn’t a situation where he had been ill for an extended period, giving the family time to somewhat prepare for the eventuality of death. It was sudden and COMPLETELY unexpected.
My Dad was my first fishing partner as I’m sure it is much the same with a lot of you. My fishing life started throwing ultralight spinning rods for trout. Mepps, Roostertails, and Panther Martin’s where what adorned my boxes then. Dad always liked the idea of catching big trout on light tackle and as such, so did I. We were visiting some close family friends in southern Idaho one summer. While out fishing on the Portneuf River I witnessed for the first time someone throwing a fly rod. I remember asking, “Dad, why’s he castin’ so funny, dosen’t he know that’s not how you cast?” To which he replied with a chuckle, “That’s fly fishing Code, that’s how he’s supposed to cast.” I was enamored! “You mean he catches flies and puts them on a hook,” I said. That, of course, got my dad laughing. “No, he makes flies with feathers and hair from different animals.” Needles to say, and no pun intended I was hooked, I had to learn more. As I said earlier, Dad threw ultralight rods, but he fielded my countless questions and sparked a new obsession. That year for Christmas he got me an inexpensive Cortland fly rod/reel kit that came pre-spooled and ready to go out of the box. It even had a handful of flies and a plastic card with knot tying instructions. I couldn’t have been more pleased if I’d received a bucket of gold. I took it out as soon as the weather warmed and started casting in my back yard. I can recall casting to a puddle, using it as target practice. I still have that clunky brick-like tapered rod to this day.
In 2017 I was able to selfishly peal my dad away for a four day weekend. We went back to Idaho but this time to fish the South Fork of the Snake. We hired a guide out of Henry’s Fork Anglers and spent the day floating the river. We caught a good number of fish and had a blast. The following day we then drove through the west entrance of Yellowstone, after that we just sorta fished our way home. It will forever be my favorite fishing experience with my Dad.
My Dad, Brother, and I were supposed to go fishing together this last Monday, (the day after Father’s Day) on one of the local lakes here in southern Utah. Needless to say, that didn’t happen. My brother and I are still planning on going we just need to set a date, and I know Dad will be with us. I just wish we could have gotten one more fishing trip in with him.
I love you Dad
