Ezekiel 47:9-10

9 There will be swarms of living things wherever the water of this river flows. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will become fresh. Life will flourish wherever this water flows.10 Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea. All the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim, the shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean.

I may have found my own special place for fishing. A little hole that I have been to twice now. A place dubbed "The Sure Thing", by my father and I just this past Monday.

Monday, dad and I went for another little indulgence in the Nehalem. I improved on my cast. At first I stunk. I had forgotten a few things about casting. Fish were jumping every which direction just taunting me, laughing at me and my horribly placed fly's. I was being to cocky, I thought I could actually do what Brad Pitt does as Paul in A River Runs Through It. I was captured this past Thursday night. I ate a fresh Steelhead my father had just caught the day before off of the Deshutes. And then my lovely girlfriend Amber and I popped in the movie.

I was smiling the entire time. I was enthralled into this world of fishing, fly fishing at that.

The scene where Paul (Brad), plays the fine fish he has hooked through the rapids down the river, captured my heart as a fisherman. I want to do that! Holy Cow Tails that was awesome.

Anyway, I was trying to be too much like Paul and not so much like Ben. I was tangled up for the first half an hour of casts. I felt like I wasn't going to catch anything, then things changed.

I took a short rest. Ate a nutri-grain bar and some string cheese.

I had brought with me my MP3 player, put it on "shuffle all songs" and set to fishing again.

The first song was The Blues-by Switchfoot. I ended up catching two fish during this song.

I was getting into a groove. The part of the river I was tango-ing with was a little bit faster, but I found a calmer rapid and began to try my luck there. This is where I caught the above fish. I also got into a stance, like a football or basketball defensive stance. I was on my tip toes and bent knees. I was playing the water like a mast violinist plays his tunes. I was in the game! I was good!

Throughout the next two songs, ( If you care, There are giants in the sky-Into the Woods and North Dakota-Lyle Lovitt)I proceeded to catch three more "real deal-fish", not hatchery product.

In all, I enticed a few three inchers, an eight incher, and a six.


About half an hour later dad and I decided to scope out another "spot" down the river. At first this new spot was not yielding anything. The sun was going down over the beautiful evergreen valley we were in. I was in a good place. I had forgotten about life for a while. I was in a happy place, (I am sure I could fly if I tried to) and no one could pull me out of it.

I ventured away from my father and found my own little "pocket" further down the river. Not that I needed the space, but just wanted to find a good place to begin my fly fishing dance again.

Well I found the place. I knew it was the place when I found a little Banded Wolly Bear Caterpiller, soon to be named Stanley, waiting for me.



I said to him with a smile, "Hello Stanly."

He gave no reply back.

I placed Stanley in my vest pocket and began to fish the area.

Bam!!

Fish on!

I ended up catching two fish back to back. Pow and Crack! (That was for all you old school Batman fans)An eight incher and a ten, for all of you who were wondering.

I was getting good at this.

And all the while, Stanley sat on my shoulder watching. Yeah, he had crawled out of my vest pocket and sat on my shoulder calmly watching.

The sun was setting and getting dark, so I headed back to my father's "pocket" and we set off towards home.

Once again I enjoyed my day of fishing. Three hours in all. Seven fish caught. A new friend named Stanley. And a greater respect and awe for God's creation and gifts to us as human beings.

I will now continue to dream about the next time I get to go fishing. Prepare yourselves for much more fish propoganda and poems.

I am a fisherman: fly and Bait, Spinner and Hearts.

Until the next catch.