What Do I Live For? (a hookup gone wrong)

Some thoughts from Aaron-

People always ask me, what is it that drives your passion for fly fishing? What keeps you on the water week after week? Naturally the people asking me these questions don't fly fish or they would never ask that question. Although even fly fishermen may find the answers I provide to those questions strange as the reasons differ from one angler to another.

Mostly I live for a good solid hook up. The sound of the line pealing off of the water. A sound that is a result of the fish's power and my own ripping that line upward and backward off of the water's surface tension. Often times for me it is a simple hookup that brings me joy, sometimes more than landing a fish. Celebrations of a hookup gone wrong or snapped off is most often a result of placing a perfect cast while sight fishing or getting a good hookup while casting into a spot based on an educated guess.

After I had grown long accustomed to catching fish on the fly I would curse a hookup gone wrong. Not only curse but use choice expletives and blame it on temporary tourettes. Then I remembered some valuable advice from a friend "don't forget to have fun out there". All to often we forget what brought us to the water in the first place. It's the simple thrill of even getting a response from a fish on a fly that you not only threw out there, but one you tied yourself. A hookup gone wrong although frustrating can be a beautiful thing and we should never stop enjoying the simple things our sport provides. It's just another thing to ponder while you stand on the bank and watch the fish rise.

Plus a new Drawn While Drunk! Enjoy: What Career?