Salvation Through Trout

Fishing for me, used to conssist of tossing a glob of worms bigger than the hook itself into a stocked stream for the biggest bow i could see. Full intension on hanging the brute on the wall, a display to my brethern of my "manliness" my acomplishment.
A boastful bragging right i possesed that in hindsight im ashamed of.There was no respect for nature nor fish, there was no honor in it. For years i continued this path, always thinking there was something missing. Something better, but for fear of being out of the norm my silence was kept. A hard outter shell created around the heart of this angler who died a little with each flopping fish along side the bank. And so was my angling experiance for years and my love and passion for fishing lost somewhere along the way.

Until by chance, possibly fate one day in the pursuit of another bragging right. Another badge of recognition and approval from my outdoorsy social club i stumbled upon the sport of fly fishing. And through this, in time i have "reveald" the "art" of fly fishing to myself. Slowly but steadily through hours of reading and researching. Through trial and error and countless excursions on the water and with each trout caught i was transformed. Each time i stepped into the water, it seemed to wash away a layer of the hard exterior for years that i had surrounded myself with. Each new challenge an accomplishment taught to myself, seemed to reinstate that confidence in self that was lost somewhere along the way. The sights and sounds of the river melted away the goal in my eyes of having only to take something from this world and display it on a wall in my humanly one. Each sunrise over the ridge line, that warmed the skin from the cool crisp night air of the river. Reinstated a warmth within the soul of me. A glow, a flicker of that flame of passion that seemed so lost long ago.

Ode to trout...
The most rewarding concept to this sport, this passion, this art, this lifestyle is the trout. The object most pursued, or possibly not pursued at all, within this sport. A trout that takes your fly is the most rewarding experience that I've ever had throughout my entire life. A simple thing as a trout, beautiful wild, weary, agile and illusive has saved my life. A trout, has restored that young boys forgotten love and passion for all things wild and free. A trout, has redefined my view and knowledge on the virtues of love, respect, honor, loyalty, obligation, passion, and commitment within sportsmanship. The act of matching ones skill, all the knowledge you have taught yourself embodied and presented within a single fly and the perfect cast. And to have a wild trout accept that, to be convinced into thinking that your perfection on something artificial is something it sees and is apart of its everyday life is the greatest feeling of accomplishment. But that is but one part of it, to accept your fly and then battle and test your angling skills amongst its physical maneuverability within the water in which it knows every nook and cranny in which to allude you and escape is another sense of accomplishment. To battle a trout, truly battle, not just reel in a line having your modern equipment compensate for human error in which other wise would result in a lost fish. But to play the fish, to embark within that delegate dance between yourself the trout and the current. To watch his beautiful colors glide across the rocks and boulders, can only be described as watching a sunrise or perhaps a rainbow unfold. To play the trout and at just the right moment of fatigue as not to harm the fish any further or hinder a swift recovery, you bring that beautiful trout in hand to relish in all its glory. One stands, squats, or crouches there amongst the current, rocks, trees and river surrounding, producing such a wonder, such a vibrant specimen within your hands. To ponder the story of the fish, to ponder its wild life and the trials that faced it that led him to accept your fly. To relish in its beauty and get lost in its majestic ness for a moment one feels fully in tune with its world. And then to place it back within it's kingdom. To let it reside within your palm until it's strength has revisited its body and spread to every tip of it's fins. And allow the trout to decide when it is ready to discard your presence, and with the flick of a tail and the twist of the body glide off into the emerald depths from which it rose. That is the ultimate sense of rewarding accomplishment that I have discovered within the art of fly fishing. That I can outsmart, admire, and release a trout unharmed back into its natural wild environment. That concept has redefined my life. That concept and all its attributes have restored my faith, love and confidence within myself, god, other people and the wilderness. It is something I refer to as...
My Salvation Through Trout...