Sometimes it takes someone else to point out something you might neglect to think about. When you're really lucky, it turns out to be something that is great fun!! I was really lucky. :)
So... the Spousal-Unit had actually purchased a fly fishing rod as a gift for me a few years ago. The thought was we would eventually get to vacation somewhere I could learn to use it and try it out on some fish! That never seemed to materialize as such thoughts sometimes do (or don't!).
One day, he mentioned to me I should take it out of the box (nope... it had never seen the light of day) and put it together. Next thing I know, it's together and he is showing me how to use it in the back yard! It was funny since the area to "learn" was fairly limited due to lovely shady trees and wires running from the back property line to the house. I spent some time for about three evenings casting into the pool. Managed to only get tangled up about three times and didn't hook myself or the Spousal-Unit so counting all practice as successful. I was not able to completely master the art of fly fishing which is MUCH more difficult than one might think when watching one of those experts on television fishing a river somewhere exotic. The poor Man spent his time watching me while uttering one of two phrases; "Too far back" or "Let the loop develop." Sigh. I couldn't seem to put it together. But I kept practicing.
The Spousal-Unit then suggested we obtain one-day fishing licenses for the following Wednesday and go pretend to catch something at "Blue Hole", a lovely pond near Fort Polk in the Kisatchie National Forest. We had visited there before when we were just driving around. It is a very nice spot with bathrooms, a HUGE pavilion available to be reserved for your own occasion, and a little grill at one end of the pavilion where one can cook whatever sounds good that day. Sounded like a plan so we began putting together the day.
We arrived to find we had the place all to ourselves. The only other individual who showed up was a man who parked there, donned protective gear, and headed off on his mountain bike for a long ride.
I positioned myself with nothing behind me or close on either side that might "eat" my little popper fly. I didn't want to spend a large part of my first "real" fly fishing attempt untangling my line! It was great fun standing on the shore working hard to cast correctly. Quite honestly, I wasn't really concerned about catching a fish. I just wanted to work on my form. There were some tiny little bass in the pond (which was very clear in the shallows where I was fishing) that took interest in my little popper fly. They did come after it and even pulled it below the surface a time or two... but their little mouths were too small to even catch the itty-bitty hook on the fly. *chuckle* It was fun to watch them, though.
At any rate, we had a lovely morning hanging out at the ol' fishing hole in the peace and quiet. Excellent prior planning meant taking some hot dogs to cook out for lunch. We did so, enjoyed them immensely, and returned early afternoon avoiding the heat of the day. The photos below will give you an idea of how it went... and provide you with proof of my Catch of the Day.
Blue Hole:
Lunch in progress:
My all-important "Catch of the Day.":
Alright. That was the day. Totally enjoyed it. Forgot about everything for about 3 hours. Excellent!
Oh... and since you all know how much I enjoy interesting signage, I will share one that Debbie J. sent to me. Ya' gotta' love marketing.
Hope you enjoyed our little fishing excursion!! Until next post...
