I like to think that life is a cycle and the wheel turns, it’s what gives me hope that my personal best will not remain just that. I’ve spent more hours on a bar stool than I care to remember, listening to stories of big fish landed and larger ones lost. The yarns and tales turn into fables as time ticks by and so they should, as anecdotes are by design there to entertain.
Getting to the final in any event can be a little nerve wracking, especially when qualifying for the first time. Fishing isn’t seen as a competitive sport by some, lending itself more to recreation and relaxation as an activity, but try telling that to the intrepid bunch of fly fishers who have been dreaming of catching a trophy Trout during lockdown. “Have a glass of not so seriou”s is the sage advice dispensed at the TOPS Corporate Challenge and for good reason…
I used to send my children to their room when they misbehaved just as teachers intern naughty brats with detention and every military institution will confine you to your quarters for inappropriate behaviour, so it is no wonder that we all had an adverse reaction to lockdown.
What to throw at the problem is the @#$%&$! problem. That fish are fussy, no frustrated angler will argue about and when it comes to fly fishing for Trout the debate quickly devolves into fly patterns? It is a question more worn than a green and gold jersey when the Boks are playing.
I thought it would never end! O.k, so you can’t have a legal smoke of satisfaction after the act or toast in celebration with your fishing buddies, but at least you can get out of jail and back on the water. That it is a pandemic there’s no debating, from where, we’ll probably never really know and it’s not going to help if we did, but quite frankly I’m sick and tired of it monopolizing the conversation. We need to look forward and focus on the important things in life…
‘…..and don’t panic!’ is a phrase that your fishing guide will advise when you hook into a Trophy fish just before the pandemonium erupts. The problem is that when someone tells you not to panic it usually means that there is something to panic about.
You blink and the year has gained a momentum that leaves you wondering if the holidays were just a figment of your imagination. For every family man or those unfortunate enough to be committed to a partner who just can’t comprehend your infatuation with fish, ‘the holidays’ can be a relative phrase. Obligation might seem like a heartless term, but be honest with yourself, how much time did you spend doing exactly what you wanted to do in December?
