I have been fishing every since my grandfather started taking me fishing for catfish in his farm ponds as a little boy. I remember those days of digging for worms and and then piling into his old green Ford pickup to drive to the pond at his farm aptly named "The Ponderosa", which he had painted on the roof of one of the sheds so that you could read it from the road. A short drive from the road through a hay field was the pond, nothing big, but it held lots of fish, and it had a small wooden dock sticking out into the middle of it as all ponds should. There was also a small metal "hog hut" that Grandpa kept all of his fishing gear in. I believe his fishing gear mainly consisted of a few Wal-Mart fishing poles and a tackle box with a few hooks, lead split-shot weights, and those red and white ball bobbers. I think there were a few times in the absence of a bobber he would even tie a stick onto our line to replace it, but it would work. Then we would toss our lines into the water...and wait. Ahh the joys of catfish fishing! But that pond is where I learned the joys and rewards of fishing. I don't know how old I was when I caught my first fish, or even how big it was, but I do know one thing...it was a catfish.

When I was about 11 years old we moved to a new house and my dad got a new job as manager of a farm for a large cement company. That is when I graduated to fish that could actually think for themselves and you had to do something to catch them rather than just sit there...bass! The farm had several ponds and small lakes that had been stocked with largemouth bass and bluegill and were very good fishing. The majority of the fish were around 2 pounds, with the occasional 3 or 4 pounder out of the ponds. However, the cement company quaried for their raw materials and they had reclaimed two of their old quaries into lakes, both excellent fishing. We are talking a chrystal clear, spring fed lake that was approximately 2 miles long, quarter mile wide, and up to 150 feet deep! In the right spots, 4 pounders were the norm and it wasn't uncommon for much larger fish to be caught. To give an example, my dad and I fished a lake that the company was preparing to drain in order to expand the quary they were working on at the time and we came out with four fish over 5 pounds and two were pushing 8. The reason the fishing was so good is because only certain people were allowed to fish it, and I was one of the priveleged few. But unfortunately I'm not anymore since I don't live with my parents any longer.

I lived off of bass and bluegill fishing until my brother in law talked me into going trout fishing with him at Montauk State Park on the Current River in Salem, Missouri in August 2001. I figured I would enjoy it, so we went for the weekend and he loaned me a pair of hippers. My first time I went was spin fishing on an ultralight with jigs (you may stone me now). I'm not sure if it was the fishing for the trout, or if it was just the difference it made by actually being out in the water that I enjoyed so much, but I had a great time (even when I stepped in a hole and filled my hippers with cold water). We started planning our next trip before we even left the camp ground. Not long after I got home I went out and bought a pair of chest waders and I think I wound up going back for three more weekends by the close of the season in the end of October! However, when I went back after my first trip, I had decided that I would try fly fishing, so I bought myself a fly rod and gave it a shot. I just got a cheap Wal-Mart rod and reel in case I didn't like it, but it didn't take me long to decide I loved it and want a new rod and reel. It definitely isn't easy to learn by yourself, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be either. The pic above is my first trout that I caught on my fly rod. I got it out of the catch and release area at Montauk State Park. If I remember correctly, I think he wound up falling victim to a red butt wooly worm. I have since bought a new rod and reel, a White River Classic, not quite an Orvis cane rod (my dream) but I don't quite have the funds for that, but it serves my purpose and I think it casts very well.

As with any fly fisher, it was only a matter of time before I started tying my own flies. Fly tying has become almost as much of a hobby for me as the fishing itself has. I am slowly learning more patterns and increasing my inventory of materials. Now all I need is a better place to tie than the two wooden TV trays that I have set up in my office.