This week I was thinking alot about where I've come as a fly tier and fisherman.
What path's I've gone down, the people I've met along the way, and those who have inspired me. Of course, there's been alot of different paths, multitudes of people, and alot of fish to hand along the way. But, the
Journey had a beginning. It's hard for me to imagine, but there was a time
(although a short one) in my life when I didn't fish.
As a kid, I played a few sports, but was never really any good at them. They never held my interest. I knew that my father and grandfathers fished, and I even tagged along with them, but I wasn't really that interested. But little did I
know that in the third grade a life changing event was about to happen to me.
Our family was about to move to the country. The house that we had moved into had a large cardboard box full of fishing gear stashed in the basement. It's origins are unknown to me, and none of my family seems to remember where it came from. But for a 10 year old kid it was my holy grail.
Boxes and boxes of hooks, lures, splitshot, floats, yarn, old fishing reels, and
even flies. I didn't know how most of it was to be used, and I didn't even know
what most of it was called, but I WAS going to find out!
What path's I've gone down, the people I've met along the way, and those who have inspired me. Of course, there's been alot of different paths, multitudes of people, and alot of fish to hand along the way. But, the
Journey had a beginning. It's hard for me to imagine, but there was a time
(although a short one) in my life when I didn't fish.
As a kid, I played a few sports, but was never really any good at them. They never held my interest. I knew that my father and grandfathers fished, and I even tagged along with them, but I wasn't really that interested. But little did I
know that in the third grade a life changing event was about to happen to me.
Our family was about to move to the country. The house that we had moved into had a large cardboard box full of fishing gear stashed in the basement. It's origins are unknown to me, and none of my family seems to remember where it came from. But for a 10 year old kid it was my holy grail.
Boxes and boxes of hooks, lures, splitshot, floats, yarn, old fishing reels, and
even flies. I didn't know how most of it was to be used, and I didn't even know
what most of it was called, but I WAS going to find out!
A young AO and sister fishing a bass pond at sunset.
Just over the hill from our house was small stream with trout and a wild steelhead run. Many of the items from "the box" were fastened to the end of a line on whatever stick or twig we thought might hold a fish. Most of the items remained on the bottom of the stream or in a tree out of the reach of our attempts to free them. But.....there was one item that captivated me. They were various colors and a marvel of feathers, thread and fur. They were just cheap imported trout flies. But they worked. They duped the small trout and steelhead smolts more often than any other lure I used. I needed to know more about them. I needed to know how to make them. They were on my mind often.
My mothers sewing kit, feather pillows, and even the dog's fur made their way into my early fly tying attempts. I didn't know what I was doing, but I tried. I managed to concoct a few "flies" . I don't remember if they worked, but I do remember my pride as I showed them off to my uncle. He appeared impressed, and mentioned that he might have a fly tying kit somewhere. He dissapeared for a few moments and then entered the room with a two toned green box. It was a "Universal Vice" fly tying kit. It held a real fly tying vice, real feathers, actual fly tying thread, and various bits of hair, packs of hooks and a little booklet that showed the proper way to tie a fly. He gave me the kit. At that moment, although I didn't know it at the time, my lot in life had been cast. Years of tying and volumes of any literature I could get my hands on about flies and fly fishing would mold my passion for what would eventually become this web site, business and my profession. And that, my friends, was just the "beginning".
My mothers sewing kit, feather pillows, and even the dog's fur made their way into my early fly tying attempts. I didn't know what I was doing, but I tried. I managed to concoct a few "flies" . I don't remember if they worked, but I do remember my pride as I showed them off to my uncle. He appeared impressed, and mentioned that he might have a fly tying kit somewhere. He dissapeared for a few moments and then entered the room with a two toned green box. It was a "Universal Vice" fly tying kit. It held a real fly tying vice, real feathers, actual fly tying thread, and various bits of hair, packs of hooks and a little booklet that showed the proper way to tie a fly. He gave me the kit. At that moment, although I didn't know it at the time, my lot in life had been cast. Years of tying and volumes of any literature I could get my hands on about flies and fly fishing would mold my passion for what would eventually become this web site, business and my profession. And that, my friends, was just the "beginning".
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