He grew up pan fishing in Kentucky

ponds graduating to large mouth in

small lakes, and, once in a while, when

invited on a bass boat, to the long, snak-

ing bodies of water created by the Tenn-

essee Valley Authority.

 

The owner of the sleek, expensive boat,

imitating Roland Martin, eagerly tossed

fish in the well as if competing in an imagin-

ary bass tournament.

 

His favorite fishing as a teenager was for

small mouths with his buddies in streams

while avoiding water moccasins, fortunate-

ly, too cold to move fast in the spring water.

It was then he learned catch and release, if

for no other reason, it would be a hassle cart-

ing fish long dead home; besides, the boys

had no cooler.

 

In Michigan he learned to fly fish from an

old man who took him up north to fish the

fly only section of the Pere Marquette, the

Pine and North Branch and Holy Waters

of the Au Sable and who gave him a

named and numbered bamboo rod and

a couple old reels.

 

Colorado fly fishing became the way, a

journey of grace and beauty in the mount-

ain streams and remote lakes accessible

only by a several mile hike among the

mountain lions and brown bears. He

loved making his own flies during the

winter and learning all about the various

life cycles of flies emerging on the water.

His son made flies also.

 

Once, while back in Michigan, a guide,

a friend of his wife’s family, took him

out for an early steelhead run. He had

brought a fly rod, but the guide handed

him a spinning rod and said, “Go for it.”

 

Knowing spin casting well from his youth,

he easily caught a nice fish and was about

to release it back so the fish could finish

the cycle of life, end its life voluntarily and

offer itself to beavers, black bears, coyote

and fox who would fertilize the Michigan

land and trees with steelhead DNA.

 

The guide wanted to take the fish home,

clean it, put it in his freezer and eat it later

in the summer, perhaps at a family picnic.

How do you say no to the guide? It was his

rod and reel not to mention the boat.