I don’t remember catching my first fish. My Dad had a photo of me that I hated. It was taken from behind. I was holding a fishing pole with a red/white bobber. I had on a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, and a load in my diaper.
He loved that photo and carried it in his wallet. We’d be at a gas station and the uniformed Texaco attendant would look into the truck bed and see our fishing gear. He’d ask something innocent like, “Goin’ fishin’?” My Dad would pull out “The photo”. I’d moan and get embarrassed.
He wore out the photo and my Mom spent hours looking for the negative. I really wish I had it now.
My Dad and Grandpa were my mentors. They taught me how to read water way before I ever heard that term. They taught me about drag, holding lies vs feeding lies, how to keep a low profile, how it was impossible to catch a spooked trout, and many, many other things.
I’ve always been pretty generous about sharing what I know about fly fishing. None of my kids have had any interest in it. I’ve shared flies on the river and answered questions while trout were rising behind to guy asking the question. I’ve written on the subject with the purpose of helping people get over plateaus or solve puzzles. Most of my guiding was instructional with the intent to make my clients not need me any more.
Last week I fished with a man I have fished with for over 20 years. He told me something that took me completely by surprise.
I met Rick back in the 1990s when his wife told me he was frustrated from catching nothing but whitefish on the Missouri. I took him on a float and liked him right away. He was a quick study and an information sponge. We made some presentation adjustments and his production soared.
Over the years I introduced him to streamer chucking and the art of catching >20” trout on <#20 dry flies. I brought him over to the dark side.
Rick is a devout Christian. I am not. Maybe a Deist/Agnostic. I left the confines of the Catholic Church decades ago and never looked back. He was in his weekly bible study class and the subject of role models and mentors came up. He told his class I was his greatest role model/mentor.
It floored me when he said this to me last week. I never even considered myself his mentor; just a guy who gave him a few pointers and taught him how to row a driftboat. I certainly didn’t think my name would come up in a bible study, especially in this sort of context.
Do others have mentor memories?
He loved that photo and carried it in his wallet. We’d be at a gas station and the uniformed Texaco attendant would look into the truck bed and see our fishing gear. He’d ask something innocent like, “Goin’ fishin’?” My Dad would pull out “The photo”. I’d moan and get embarrassed.
He wore out the photo and my Mom spent hours looking for the negative. I really wish I had it now.
My Dad and Grandpa were my mentors. They taught me how to read water way before I ever heard that term. They taught me about drag, holding lies vs feeding lies, how to keep a low profile, how it was impossible to catch a spooked trout, and many, many other things.
I’ve always been pretty generous about sharing what I know about fly fishing. None of my kids have had any interest in it. I’ve shared flies on the river and answered questions while trout were rising behind to guy asking the question. I’ve written on the subject with the purpose of helping people get over plateaus or solve puzzles. Most of my guiding was instructional with the intent to make my clients not need me any more.
Last week I fished with a man I have fished with for over 20 years. He told me something that took me completely by surprise.
I met Rick back in the 1990s when his wife told me he was frustrated from catching nothing but whitefish on the Missouri. I took him on a float and liked him right away. He was a quick study and an information sponge. We made some presentation adjustments and his production soared.
Over the years I introduced him to streamer chucking and the art of catching >20” trout on <#20 dry flies. I brought him over to the dark side.
Rick is a devout Christian. I am not. Maybe a Deist/Agnostic. I left the confines of the Catholic Church decades ago and never looked back. He was in his weekly bible study class and the subject of role models and mentors came up. He told his class I was his greatest role model/mentor.
It floored me when he said this to me last week. I never even considered myself his mentor; just a guy who gave him a few pointers and taught him how to row a driftboat. I certainly didn’t think my name would come up in a bible study, especially in this sort of context.
Do others have mentor memories?