Trying Something New (12/2/10)

Someone more famous than I once said, “Variety is the spice of life.” While I am not sure of the context that famous verse was spoken in and therefore cannot be sure of its true intent, I do know that under most circumstances it is extremely accurate. Recently, reflecting on the time I have spent on this planet, I realized that many of the occurrences that have cemented themselves into my brain in the form of memories are those that involve some variety or change in what had become routine. I think that holds true for most people. Our routines are similar to road hypnosis when driving down the highway. We might drive for many miles and have trouble recalling them, but what we do remember is when we exit. Another illustration might be how difficult it is, several months from now, to recall what you did while at work today, but yet you can vividly recall a vacation you took several years ago. Change, both good and bad, is memorable.

Routines, as a rule, are formed out of necessity. For example, every morning we must shower, shave, get dressed and drive to work. In short order routines become efficient and then comfortable. The problem is, just about the time they become comfortable, they also become forgettable, passing from one day to the next without anything eventful for our minds to latch on to. Therefore we need to break away from our routines in order to create memories.

A change in our routines can lead to wonderful new discoveries. One such discovery for me occurred several years ago around the age of 23. Up to that point in my life I had been an avid spinner fisherman with no desire to learn how to fly fish. Fly fishing to me was for guys who drove BMWs and had too much money, elitists if you will. In my mind, guys like me did not fly fish, besides I could out-fish a fly fisherman any day. In my youth I had one experience with a fly rod. My grandpa who spinner fished 99% of the time decided to introduce me to fly fishing. Within minutes I was false casting and then placing my first cast into a nice run. As I was stripping the float line back to me I noticed something shinny passes me by. I turned to see the fly and six inches of leader floating away from me, no longer attached to anything. I chased down the fly, gave it back to my grandpa, walked back to the car and grabbed my spinning gear. Change, both good and bad, is memorable.

The next time I touched a fly rod was many years after that first outing with my grandpa. A good friend of mine showed up at my house with his new fly fishing gear that his father-in-law had bought him. “You have gotta try this!” he said with the enthusiasm of a kid in a candy store. I grabbed the fly rod thinking, “Alright, I’ll give it a shot, but I am not going to like it!” Almost immediately I found myself laughing as I tried to cast further and further. About an hour later I was walking out of the local sporting goods store with my first fly rod and reel, a Scientific Anglers all-in-one kit.

A couple weeks passed before I had the chance to test out my new fly rod in real world conditions. Over a Memorial Weekend my wife and I were camping on the edge of a lake with many of our friends. I was in my waders with fly rod in hand wading out into the water at the first opportunity I had. My target was an exposed tree stump about sixty yards for shore. Wading into range, I placed my very first cast questioning my purchase the whole entire time. The rubber legged imitation spider on the end of my line landed just past the stump. I stripped in a little line causing the spider to “twitch” towards me… twitch… twitch… BOOM! The strike startled me. I raised the rod, almost forgetting to set the hook, and brought a thirteen inch rock bass to hand. At the moment I hooked that fish it hooked me on fly fishing. Today, because of change in what was my fishing routine, I now own three different fly rods and enjoy the sport of fly fishing very much. Change, both good and bad, is memorable.

If you have read the reports on my last few outings, you know that I had issues with my waders leaking. What once started out as a slow seep has developed into four different leaks. Over the past ten years I have used Cabelas GII waders with much success. While spending more days on the water, they have outlasted their more expensive counterparts owned by my fishing friends. Knowing that I was going to be writing this post, I decided to change things up. Using all the points I had on my Cabelas card, I bought a pair of Frogg Toggs Hellbender waders. They look and feel well built and durable. In fact they feel closer to a pair of Simms $400 waders than they do a budget wader, but the proof is in the pudding. Either way, change, both good and bad, is memorable.