WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET

    The days of grabbing my fly rod and gear and jumping into the river are over. As Clint Eastwood said, “A man has got to know his limitations.” Coming off a knee surgery and knowing my cat-like reflexes have come and gone, I have realized that I need to do a better job of getting prepared to be on the water.

     Baseball has spring training to prepare for the season, maybe fly fishing needs one as well. At least for the more mature angler. Over the winter I have done some weight lifting, and step ups to work on the knee and legs. I have been working on stretching to keep what flexibility I have. I have also realized that the more flexibility you have the easier it is to get in and out of the rivers and streams. Plus a side benefit is that it does not hurt that much when you fall.

    I recently headed over to a local river to do a seasonal dry run. I wanted to evaluate where my “Limitations” were. It was a beautiful spring day. A sunny 45 degrees, with a light cool breeze. From where I parked it was a 15-minute walk down to the river. I took my time enjoying the view and the sun on my face felt good. When I reached the river I checked out the surface for any rises.

    When I fished this spot late last fall there was but a trickle coursing downstream. I had fished a few pools without much luck. I knew there were fish there since I had caught some downstream earlier in the fall. This trip wasn’t so much about catching fish as it was about my ability to be able to catch fish.

    The last few years I have been using a wading staff to help me navigate the free stone rivers and streams that can get slippery. Wading staffs are also handy for helping mad beavers and snapping turtles keep their distance. Then there is the occasional bear that I can no longer outrun.

   I tied on a size eighteen wooly bugger since it was skinny water and a bigger fly would be snagging bottom on every cast. My casting came back rather quickly. When you have done a movement a thousand times the muscle memory kicks right in. With not much luck, and losing a fly to the bottom, I decided to walk up stream and fish some smaller pools.

    Looking through my fly box I decided to tie on a dry fly. I went with a size eighteen Caddis.  With the water being a little shallow I wouldn’t have to worry about losing a fly. I enjoy dry fly fishing. There is no better feeling in fly fishing than watching the fish come to the surface and take your fly, then realize that that wasn’t a great decision and break the surface with a little leap to get away.

      I wasn’t paying any attention to the time. I was just so excited that I felt really good on such a beautiful day. As I walked back to my truck, which was all uphill, the sun was low on the horizon. There was the delightful smell of leaves under my feet and the trees were bare. It felt like a beautiful fall day. For a minute I wondered where summer went. Then I wondered where my youth went. Then I took my next step and got a twinge in my knee and then I remembered.