The Fishing Kit – Introduction Article
// February 1st, 2011 // Comments Off // Angles
I was careful with every step, but walking in only inches of water with a soft bottom without making any noise is quite a tall order. It was another day out for me and there was nothing but clear skies above and a couple of my friends scattered on this lonely flat. The glass like surface of the water made it look like there were two skies and I was sandwiched between them. The only thing that reminded me which way was up, was the slight ripple on the surface. That shadow moving towards me, however, is not a cloud!
Half hunched, half crouched, I inched myself forward, trying hard to make as little noise as possible, eyes locked on this shadow some 40 feet away, What the heck have you gotten yourself into, you sod? This was far from good; when I start talking to myself, it means I didn’t have a clue of what I’m doing…
Ok buddy, here we go…nothing to it…come on…come on!!! My false casts were nervously made; the tiny fly landed around two feet away from the slowly moving shadow. Strip, strip, pause, strip, strip, pause…come on, you’ve seen this a few hundred times on TV, it shouldn’t be that hard! The shadow inched towards the fly. My heart felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. Then, the shadow stops.
Two decades ago, I could only read articles in magazines that showed the great passion of the pursuit of fish. Aboard boats that were totally alien to me, using equipment that I have not seen before and methods that in my tiny mind, cannot comprehend. All of what I see was very different from the strip bamboo pole and few feet of line that I used to fish the ponds for anything that swims, at times, even frogs. The pictures mesmerized me. The magazines and articles I read whisked away my imagination. As a kid, you could only do so much. A few years later, an uncle gave me my first rod and reel, it quickly became my treasure. I learned how to cast it, make rigs; the arrangement of hook, line and sinker, time only made the malady worse. I learned how to use lures, I fished in fresh and saltwater piled up the species list and before I knew it, the fish kept on getting bigger and bigger, the methods more technical and I’ve learned how to go after specific species.
The addiction (more like a malady really) just keeps on getting worse year by year, my quest for knowledge and my bullish determination fuels the fishing machine. The lure of the ocean and the challenge of catching giants keep me going back for more. I now travel for my hunt, hopping from country to country in search of new challenges. The little boy from back then, is still the same, dreaming, imagining and now, doing what he loves.
The only difference is that I do exactly what I saw in the magazines and TV shows of my childhood, I’ve gotten in touch with the guys on TV in fact, telling them how much a part of my growing years they were, now, some of them are not just guys that I watched on TV, they are friends. In fact, I have been very lucky with friends; like minded people with the same passion always find each other and may travel the world to meet and wet a line with you…I know this, because it has happened to me.
I have learned so much over the years and I have been very fortunate. There are always a lot of new things to learn in the world if you keep an open mind. Fishing is not an exception. I know that even after growing up with it, I still have much to learn and I am not even close to being half way through.
Each time I go fishing, be it fly fishing, offshore, beach fishing, kayak fishing or even fishing somewhere just hand lining, it is always a magical trip a part of my life that I have started since I was a little boy, fishing that stripped bamboo pole; it’s really no different from now, only now, I know exactly what those people on TV and in magazines do…It’s exactly what I’m doing now!
As the fish slowly inched its way towards the fly, a chill ran up my spine. The fish bolted, the line tightened and the reel started screaming. The line was peeling off like there wasn’t any drag on. It was screaming in such a weird way, in fact so weird, that I didn’t notice it wasn’t the reel screaming, it was me!
After a few minutes, I landed the fish, revived it and sent it on its way. I can’t but look at the beautiful scenery in front of me. The clouds, the shallow water, the sky, a few friends sharing the flat with me, then it struck me…wow, this is exactly what I was reading about and watching on TV when I was a kid!
I smiled; turned to the fishing buddy standing close by and said “Hey, this is awesome isn’t it?” He smiled back and said: “shut up and fish, there’s another one at your 2 o’clock!”
Hi, my name is Kit. Welcome to “The Fishing Kit“. I’ll be hosting this column each month.
Honestly, I didn’t know how to start this column so I figured I would share an experience of mine. I, like you, am just an ordinary guy who loves fishing…although sometimes, people say I love it a bit too much.
Next month, we will start with the more technical stuff and hopefully, I can share some things that will be of use to you and your pursuit of our finny friends.
Till then, tight lines and screaming reels.
Kit