Isn’t this a great sport.

A sport where, regardless how disparate each individuals personal pursuit, we all share a common interest, and while some will scoff I’ll include - love of, a sport that for the most part allows us to overcome our differences and enjoy each others company, reflections and perspectives.

The vast array of options available ensures the sport never becomes stagnant while allowing one to enjoy, virtually on whim, the trappings of tradition or the pursuit of leading edge technology. It’s your preference and I begrudge you not.

Success is measured in a 6 inch brookie from a remote stream, the screaming run of a bonefish across the flats, the almost brutal battle of a steelhead fresh from the salt and everything in between. It’s your success and I share it with you.

Wonder comes in many places and times; the almost mystical moment of silence that occurs just before dark on a small stillwater tucked in a mountain fold; the screaming dive of an osprey as it fishes ahead of you; the explosive take of a rainbow as it leaps from the shattered surface of a mountain stream; Many and varied is your awe and I am amazed as well.

On any given day we can fish our favorite waters, be they still water, stream, river or salt. It’s your choice, next time take me with you, please.

We approach a stream, see a bug on a rock, one of us muses Rhithrogena morrisoni, another thinks March Brown, while to another it’s enough to know it’s a Mayfly. It’s your knowledge, thank you for sharing it with me.

Today you’re fishing cane or graphite or glass. It’s your choice and I admire your equipment and the skill with which you cast it.

You talk conservation, respect and stewardship. Tomorrow is a river clean up and we're both going to show up with trash bags and a rod stuffed in the rig.

We sit around camp fires or computer screens. This guy is talking cat gut and silk. That guy is talking lasers and technology. From the arm gestures that guy over there is bragging about the one he tailed or that got away.

Me, I’m content to sit and listen, wrapped in the comfort of good times and good friends.

Here’s to you friend and tomorrow’s fish.
_______

Cordially,
Wes

Thank you Wes and Fly Fisherman Bulletin Board