Now that just about everybody and their dog has put their 2 cents worth
in about falling / not falling, I'll share my experiences with ya'll.
I've fallen a bunch of times, but the most memorable was on the Rayado
River at Philmont Scout Ranch, NM in 1990. I hooked an 18" brown, which
is a giant for the Rayado and while chasing him down, trying to keep'em
from breaking off, I tripped over a submerged log and fell headlong into
the deep "hole" where the brown had sounded. Of course I lost the big
fish, and in the process filled my hip boots with water and ruined my
$300 Minolta camera. Boy was I pissed! Cussing a blue streak, I
climbed out onto a rock bar and lay back and stuck both my feet up in
the air and all the water came down, out of my boots and right onto my
chest. Kinda cooled me off a bit! Only then did I understand the
hilarity of what I'd just done. I started laughing, just small chuckles
to begin with, but the more I thouhght about what had happened, the
funnier it got and my laughter just roared out. I do have a great
laugh! I didn't get a chance at another 18" brown until three years
ago on the Gunnison. That's the one where I broke my right leg trying
to pull it out of the muck bottom. I did catch the 18 that time though.
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Jimmy D. Moore - Scout Exec. BSA (Ret.), TOWA, TF&G Contributor, GRTU Past VP.
Past Pres. McGregor Rotary. Freelance Outdoor writer, humorist, half-assed Texan
and collector of classic bamboo fly rods and classic golf clubs
Author - "MOON HOLLER MISFITS Fishing & Hunting Club", ©
JIMMY D's Fly Fishing Website:
http://home.earthlink.net/~rayado/rayadoflyfishingflypatternstips/index.html
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"Being able to read trout streams is just as valuable to a fly fisherman as the
ability to read a defense is to an NFL Quarterback."
Jimmy D. Moore - © [2004]
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