Posts from the “Fly Fishing” Category

Fight Like Meat

Posted on April 9, 2013

There is no known reason for a trout to be in this pond. It is a warm water pond of municipal park vintage with no appreciable depth, a small battery of largemouth and one billion bluegill. The bluegill hit flies when the sun is out and are at the ready when a lunchtime bend is needed. The bass have seen too many lures to let their guard down often, but when they do the results ripple through the entire containment. In October a truck shows up full of trout and people line the banks and fill buckets. They are typically cleaned out within days, their long term prospects on par with the tank lobsters at the diner. Honestly, from my vantage point I thought…

Tagged: ,

Near Misses

Posted on March 25, 2013

I don’t forget them, ever. I have a catalogue of almosts running through my subconscious, flickering like the 8mm nature films from 8th grade science class. Damn you snook for following my fly out of the mangroves, eating it and jumping off it before I even had a say in things. Damn you tarpon for peeling away at the last second. Damn you striper for refusing to wait until I worked the line kink clear of the guides. Damn you bluegill for smacking that popper you can’t even fit. Don’t think your size makes you immune because you falsely raised my expectations. Own it Tiny, you’re on the list.

The Secret Life of Bashful Brother Oswald

Posted on March 19, 2013

Bashful Brother Owsald produced the best known version of “Mountain Dew” and played a resonator like a master. He was born in the hills of Tennessee’s Appalachia and his mama named him Beecher. Before he became famous at the Opry as one of Roy Acuff’s Smoky Mountain Boys, he spent time in parts north on the Buick assembly line in Flint, Michigan. Flint sits just below the thumb of Michigan, almost due north of Ann Arbor. William Durant founded General Motors there in 1908 and did quite well for himself until the Depression relegated him to a supervisory role at the bowling alley. Beecher lost his job too and didn’t know what to do about it.* He sat in the dark corner of his…

Behind The Shed

Posted on March 6, 2013

When RFP brought his guitar he played The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down and everybody around the bonfire liked it. So the next year ZB checked his guitar with his luggage and flew it all the way up from Florida. As soon as we got off the water he pulled it out and started playing, strumming chords in a tight four count as if he were reading sheet music. Andy was standing down by the river and he saw this and walked up through the cedars to the deck. Andy was a union electrician and he liked to smoke weed and ride around on his mower and perform acoustic sets on open mic night. Andy sat down and we gave him a beer…

Tagged:

Glaxo

Posted on March 1, 2013

“I love that knife,” he said another time. He looked down at the table and shook his head. “I bought it from a kid named Jimmer in the sixth grade.” It was a little blue utility knife with tweezers and a file and fold-out scissors. Jimmer had told him “Glaxo,” embossed on the side, was the name of an elite unit of the Swiss Army. He found out later Jimmer’s dad gave them out to doctors on sales calls. The five dollars Jimmer got for it was pure profit. I think he saw me roll my eyes because he got defensive. “I know it sounds ridiculous but I just liked it,” he said. “It’s not like I dropped it in the water,” he went…

Tagged:

Quotes!

Posted on February 27, 2013

Today is inspirational quote day at the bivouac. Such things tend to happen during hardboiled phases when it’s easier to assemble snippets of something someone else said and be done with it: “Everyone is influenced by everybody but you bring it down home the way you feel it.” –Thelonious Monk “You do a commercial you’re off the artistic roll call forever.” –Bill Hicks “If people think it sucks, then so fucking what? You’re going to keep going.” –Mike Watt “Am I so sane that I just blew your mind?” –Cosmo Kramer “I examine my skin searching for the pore with EXIT over it.” –Bill Knott (Click link for context) “Just phase out, breathe in, wear sandals and pretend it’s a fine world.” –Charles Bukowski…

Tagged:

Drop It

Posted on February 17, 2013

Six of them walked into the hotel bar and ordered double bourbons. They had already lost their situational awareness and laughed loudly at their own crude comments directed toward the bartender. She laughed along and defused the tension in a way that suggested hard-won poise in handling drunkards. “George bought a boat today boys,” one of them shouted and they clinked glasses. “Nothin’ gets you off like droppin’ a million.” They were from Alabama and they run 100 miles out to fish the Gulf and they came to Miami and George found the boat to do that. A cold front brought in rain and everyone migrated from the boat show to the bars. The chill also shut down the tarpon running the bay and…

Tagged: ,

Stages of Accepting the F3T Promotional Package

Posted on February 5, 2013

Overtures are made on behalf of the Fly Fishing Film Tour about receiving a promotional care package. Your first thought is that your fears of a continued slide into blog irrelevancy are momentarily abated. Or they had a long list. Your second thought is, you are an outlaw blogger, do they know what they’re getting into? Then you look down and you’re wearing khakis; self-assesment may be in order. Your third thought is, you’ve already read the post to end all posts about the F3T care package by the Reverend Roughfisher, and what else are you going to say? Thought number four: There’s beer inside the box. Ensconced in bubble wrap. Five: Free hat! Six: There’s no showing in New York City. Lots of people…

Tagged: ,

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 51 other followers