Some 50 years ago, I started fly fishing the Crooked River in Central Oregon. My family and friends enjoyed many camping trips in the canyon back in the day…the river always runs off color but has many beautiful trout. My sons all caught some of their first trout on this river.
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Here’s a pic of my youngest son, Tony many years ago.
I recall fishing with older gents years ago. Often, I would see them taking breaks, leaving the water, be it a lake or river, to sit and stare. The conditions weren’t particularly harsh. Why were they not fishing at the optimum times?! I would power on hour after hour, catching fish and shaking my head to the fun the older gents were missing.
Those gents are long gone now. Moved on to quieter waters. These days, things have changed. I don’t fish nearly as much. When I do, I put in a half hour or so and then find a place to sit. I smoke my briar, stare at the water, maybe take some photos. My mind is not as energized to fish for hours on end. I am now one of those older gents. Things changed along the way and the urgency isn’t there. I surely enjoy the outdoors, the waters, the imagining of fish and habitat. Yet, a break along the shore is now as good as the throwing a line for hours on end. Now I see.
Oregon Coastal River © SwittersB
“Every summer, like the roses, childhood returns.” Marty Rubin….Sometimes, I can recall being a playful, imaginative child caught up in pretending games…I can connect to the memory, but not the emotions.
‘By the time you’re eighty years old you’ve learned everything. You only have to remember it.’ George Burns
A tranquil memory preceding losses and change. Now it helps give peace and strength.
The spot is near Arch Cape, Oregon
“The past beats inside me like a second heart.”
Frances Lake, Eagle Cap Wilderness, Oregon, 1981
