Winter confessions...

This blog has been inactive for some time and I'll have to evaluate whether I continue on the fly fishing species gig or move onto just plain fishing stuff. As I grow more mature (do they call that aging?) I find self imposed constraints on my fishing style slowly vanishing. I know of people who disdain the use of sub-surface flies, those who scorn the use of indicators and some who even spurn the curve of the hook, saying it hurts the fish and only the strike counts for pride or a sense of accomplishment. My judgement on the latter would suggest that retiring the fly rod to a basement retreat might be even less intrusive for our quarry. And to those that wish to impose their own personal restrictions onto all other fishers...please don't. Aided by whatever wisdom that sometimes accompanies old age I have decided that, ultimately, a bent rod triumphs over all else, at least in the world of piscatorial pleasures. Accompanying the dissolution of many of my previously held fishing truisms is a confession to enjoying the odd bout with a spinning rod and when conditions dictate...(gasp) bait. Although age has been a factor, another is the purchase of a nice fishing boat after a promise by my wife (and best friend) to fish with me more often in the future. But I still hold fly fishing at the pinnacle of fish fooling everywhere and will continue to spend a large part of my pension on fly tying materials and other assorted paraphernalia. To that end I must make another admission, I have succumbed to the lure of just-one-more-rod...again.

 A real sweetheart, it's a 2 wt Redington CT rod paired with a 2/3 Redington Drift reel and a Hook & Hackle weight forward 2 wt fly line. It has already conquered 4 Texas species, including several worthy members of the trout family. I'm looking forward to it helping add to my list of Manitoba fly caught species in 2015. In the meantime, this diminutive warrior will be offered the opportunity of taming as many fish as it wishes in the coming months, especially rainbows disdainful of its stature.