Lately it would seem I’ve been spending a fair amount of time just looking out the window, mostly thinking about and dreading the coming of winter.
But every now and then, when my eyes happen to fall on the spot near the fence where my old aluminum boat use to be parked, I think about next spring and, for a brief, moment I feel a bit better. Then reality sets in. Winter lasts a way too long for my liking.
When next year’s fishing season does eventually roll around, I guess I’m going to have to think about buying another boat. Well, maybe, maybe not. I might just rent a boat whenever I need one. All I know for sure is that I’ve owned a lot of boats in my day.
I could buy a lot of new fishing gear for the price of a boat. I certainly wouldn’t mind a new three- or four-weight fly rod, or maybe a four-weight switch rod – for trout – on streams with holding pools over on the far side, just out of reach with a single-handed rod.
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When it comes to fishing and fishing gear, I am not really what you could call a purist – a sentimentalist, but not a purist. I’ve owned and used everything from steel bait casting rods to 15-foot spey rods, “egg beater” spinning reels to centre pins and, along the way, I’ve cast lines with some pretty classic gear, including my father’s hand-made Scaracione salmon reel. I now own a #6 Scaracione fly reel to go along with the salmon reel. I take pride in both.
I must say though that I really do prefer fly fishing. On one hand, it is more tactile, on the other, more peaceful. Fly fishing is a good fit for me.
Having said that, casting a modern, high-modulus fly rod is a far cry from those now long-ago days when I was a kid fishing with an old metal rod and a can of worms. Casting a tapered fly line to fish holding in the shadow of a rock or overhanging branch is so very different technically, but the thrill, the anticipation, is still the same. Some things need not change.
Fishing was certainly a lot simpler back then – hell, life was simpler. What I wouldn’t give to be a kid again. What I wouldn’t give to sit on a rock somewhere, cast my line and just sit looking down into the water – to not have a care in the world.
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I sold my boat because I wasn’t using it enough. It just sat there. The problem now is that I own two expensive four-stroke gas boat motors (two different horsepowers for different-sized lakes) and an electric trolling motor. Gas motors get me to where I want on a lake in a hurry, and an electric motor allows me to troll and cover more water without disturbing the fish. I suppose I could always hang onto one of the gas motors and the electric, and take them along with me when I go to a lake where they have boat rentals. I could simply rent a boat with no motor. It would certainly be a lot cheaper. After all, back in the days when I didn’t own any sort of boat motor, gas or otherwise, and had to row my boat, I managed. In some ways I think it gave me a chance to get to know a lake better. It certainly gave me a chance to look for insect hatches coming off and keep an eye open for rising trout.
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Come next fishing season, whether I end up buying a boat or not, I will make a point of using oars more often to get around. I mean, even if I decide on renting instead of purchasing a boat, I don’t necessarily have to use a motor. Rental boats all come with oars – it’s mandatory for safety reasons. Either way, I know I’m going to make a point of spending a lot more time just sitting out there, casting the new four-weight switch rod I am going to buy with part of the money I got for my old aluminum boat. Of course, I’ll have to buy a new reel and new line to go along with it – a hand-made Scaracione –then I won’t have to worry about buying a boat because the money will all be gone.
I’ve always felt that things work out the way they are supposed to.
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