joeriver
Member
As an honest-to-God beginner with nothing more than a vague idea that I wanted to be Brad Pitt atop a rock, I spent last month ripping grass apart in the backyard of my house with a cheap 8-weight rod and line the quality and coarseness of weed-eater line, practicing my cast and watching videos on YouTube. Someday I’ll buy the perfect rod and actually fish on one of these beautiful rivers near my home in the Catskills, I thought.
Then I found myself on a crosscountry road trip out West, and walking the streets of Bozeman with my wife a few days ago, scared to go into a flyshop because they might corner me into buying something and force me to actually fish, we randomly turned into a shoe store and started browsing. While my wife tried on running shoes, I was speaking to the sales clerk about fishing and he gave me a scrap of paper with his old roommate’s phone number.
That’s how I ended up on the Gallatin earlier today with Brian of Gallatin River Guides, wetting my line for the first time in my life and catching a rainbow within 10 minutes of starting. The morning was clear, the fish were slow, but there was more than enough to last in my memory for a long time.
There is so much too learn, which is good, and a life won’t be long enough, but I am inspired to be beginning. To my fellow newcomers, just jump in. And make sure you savor that first time out. I certainly did.
Wish we had more time here in Montana, but excited to be returning to New York and getting familiar with my local waters.
Then I found myself on a crosscountry road trip out West, and walking the streets of Bozeman with my wife a few days ago, scared to go into a flyshop because they might corner me into buying something and force me to actually fish, we randomly turned into a shoe store and started browsing. While my wife tried on running shoes, I was speaking to the sales clerk about fishing and he gave me a scrap of paper with his old roommate’s phone number.
That’s how I ended up on the Gallatin earlier today with Brian of Gallatin River Guides, wetting my line for the first time in my life and catching a rainbow within 10 minutes of starting. The morning was clear, the fish were slow, but there was more than enough to last in my memory for a long time.
There is so much too learn, which is good, and a life won’t be long enough, but I am inspired to be beginning. To my fellow newcomers, just jump in. And make sure you savor that first time out. I certainly did.
Wish we had more time here in Montana, but excited to be returning to New York and getting familiar with my local waters.
