Our recent trip to Wyoming in July has rekindled a passion in my husband. Of course it is passion for me! But the other passion is fly fishing—something that both his grandfather and father loved. Both of them tied flies and made rods and had a passion for the sport. When we cleaned out his dad’s house Chris brought home boxes and boxes of fly fishing paraphernalia. Bit by bit he has gone through those boxes and containers and has sorted and saved. The once pristine guest bedroom in the basement has been overrun with “fishing stuff” and I finally gave in and said he might as well use it for that since we never use it for company. (Seems Iowa is not a destination spot to most of our family and friends–imagine that.)
The trip to Wyoming was full of fishing. I had my license but never fished. Two whole days with a guide on the Snake and Green Rivers did just not sound like my dream so I enjoyed the solitude of the condo and kept myself busy reading. On shorter trips where Chris went out alone I accompanied him –usually with my Kindle and camera. I can be very content just watching and enjoying seeing him do something that he loves. Enjoying being together does not mean we have to always be doing the exact same thing.
One fun thing was going to various sports stores to look at supplies. The flies are wonderful and one of these days maybe I will try my hand at tying a few of my own.
There are many things to remember when fishing and as some of you might remember my own foray into the world of fly fishing back in April was pretty successful. (Trout Don’t Live in Ugly Places) The Orvis Store in Jackson posts the fishing conditions daily for all the different areas which probably would have been helpful to check prior to going out.
At Yellowstone there are a lot of rules—mostly to protect the fishing conditions for future fishermen and women which I understand. One such rule is the use of barbless hooks to reduce handling time and injury to the fishies. Cutthroat trout are also protected in Yellowstone at this point so fisherman are warned to release any that they catch.
I love being outdoors and even if I am not quite as passionate about fly fishing as my husband is I can enjoy all that comes with being with him when he tosses that nymph into the water. Or in the tree.
The following picture was taken by his guide on those two days—-they had a great time and Chris was happy to have found Nate at Teton Fly Fishing. If you are ever in the Jackson area and need a fishing guide Nate is the guy for you. He also does painting and artwork which you can view here. In my mind he is living his dream life—what do you think?
Are you a fisherman or fisherwoman? What is your preferred method? Casting or fly fishing? What’s your best fish story? I would love to hear all about it.
