Here I am standing on the lush, verdant banks of Craigslist Creek
Fly Rod in hand.
Yes it’s fishing season again.
Robins, Meadow Larks, Blue Birds, and the whistling wings
of Turtle Doves flying overhead decorate the moment
with a soothing, symphonic soundscape.
The waking March sun is beginning to cast it’s eye about,
quietly splashing a splintered, warm, and embracing light through the trees
and down upon the gently flowing Craigslist Creek.
Flanked by protruding boulders and fallen logs,
the seductive pools of calm, clear water collects
in small eddies on the far bank.
”There’s ‘fish’ in there. Nice ‘fish’”, I say to myself
as I ponder the possibilities.
Not all ‘fish’ think alike.
Or look alike for that matter.
Rainbow Trout, Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Steelhead,
and the ever-elusive Golden Trout
Are all lurking somewhere just below the surface, hungry but cautious.
Each having their own particular preferences on what they feed on
and how they feed.
A few mischievous, frisky Catfish may be prowling the banks
navigating with the help of long whiskers looking
for a breakfast of minnows or tadpoles.
And at certain times of year Salmon can be seen swimming upstream
to spawn in the same soft gravel beds where they were born.
Ahhhh…. yes, Craigslist Creek, teeming with life and filling me with the excitement and hope
of catching a prize ‘fish’ (only barbless hooks are used, of course).
Should I use a dry fly? A wet fly? A nymph? What kind?
A Stone Fly? A Royal Coachman? A Cadis Fly? A Blue Dun?
A Parachute Blue Damsel?
The decisions are crucial.
These Craigslist ‘fish’ are smart, cunning, not easily fooled, and not easily caught.
My casting and presentation of ‘the fly’ has to be “spot on”,
as the Irish would say.
Too big of a splash when landing ‘the fly’ on the water
will scare the fish away.
Letting the center of my line drag in faster water
will pull the fly and make it appear unnatural.
In addition to these challenges facing this determined, ever so fit, fun, handsome, attentive, sweet, humorous and engaging fisherman,
Craigslist Creek has become an increasingly more popular ‘fishing spot’ in recent years, rendering the beautiful ‘fish’ more weary and selective.
No, it is not easy. I am however undeterred.
I’m used to these kinds of challenges and embrace it whole-heartedly.
That is, of course, why I have come to Craigslist Creek in the first place.
As I begin my first casts, the ‘fish’ have already begun to rise and feed, sending quiet ripples glistening with sparkling diamonds of light across the smooth, glassy surface of Craigslist Creek.
I shall see if I can get one of these beauts’ on line.
Hope is in the air.
P.S this fisherman has more than a modicum of wit, panache, humor, looks
is fit as a fiddle, sharp as a tack, and looking for someone similar.
Perhaps we are two peas in a pod,
two birds of a feather(?)
>^..^<
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