Dad mentored me on fishing Sierra streams, sharing what he’d learned from his grandfather. The best tip: fish where few fish. That can mean smaller streams with no campgrounds to larger and more popular ones, but in between the campgrounds. Many fisherfolk are lazy and just fish nearby. So find streams with the road far from the creek, and a good walk through brush brings you to almost virgin water. The fish have more time to grow and…
Read MoreOf Fish and Bones
Early October of this year featured a five-day trip to Rock Creek, about 25 miles north of Bishop on 395. This celebrated a Riter centennial: Dad first traveled up here on a washboard dirt road in 1925, and he got me hooked on Sierra fishing, camping, and Fords. On the second day, my sis now living in Kentucky called, and the topic of trout came up. She declared she didn’t care for them, too many bones. Being trained in debate, and knowing the tastiness of trout, I used an old line, “Life is like eating fish: pick out and discard the bones, and enjoy the meat.”
She didn’t buy that, but…
Read More
image from Orvis News
People Get Ready
On a seldom fished section of Rock Creek in the Sierras, a bit overgrown with trees. Yeah, nowhere near a campground. The pic above had the caption, “If casting is difficult, you can assume not many have fished there.” My kind of stream. I spotted a nice pool and wove through the tree branches with just about 3 ft of line hanging down from the fly rod tip. Letting out a little line and dropping in the hole, I realized a route was blocked to extract any trout that chose to bite, so I gently moved a branch aside with my left hand, the one that controls the line, that sets the hook.
Just then…
Read More
From Ted's Sports Center
An Antidote to Spiritual Anemia
A good friend and fellow teacher who struggles with anemia posted this on Facebook over the weekend, “Why am I so exhausted after only teaching two days? Oh boy.” 2 down, MANY to go, and tiredness has already hit. I understand; I teach also. But a more pervasive issue comes from the spiritual anemia that so infects American Christianity. We lack energy and motivation for the things of God. We care, but not deeply. We serve, but not joyfully. We give, but not sacrificially.
The antidote may be found in a fishing story, and not a tall tail. The above photo may be...
Read More