Isa 9:2--The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that
dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light
shined.
Isa 9:6---For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
Zack swings a fly through the Green Room on a chilly day
Merry Christmas to you all, and tight lines and screaming reels in 2014
Photo by-Marty Sheppard
The Take
The cast unfurls with precision and power, delivering the
line across the pool. The line releases
its energy to the leader and finally the fly which turns over completely,
gently touching down at the far end of the shady lie. In an instant the fly is fishing, riding the
subtle river currents, probing and searching for a willing fish. The rhythm of the fly swing is automatic. Rod, line, fly and angler are one. The dry fly swings lazily across the pool,
leaving a V-wake in its path. The ripples
from the waking fly spreads ever outward behind it and are soon enveloped by
the tumultuous rapids at the bottom of the tail out. The fly swings through the heart of the run
now, appearing to float on air as it dances through the crystal clear water, tethered
to a gossamer thread.
Then it happens. An
almost imperceptible bulge of water appears behind the fly and the unseen fish
tracks it for a few feet. The silver
body twists in the current, tail pumping to intercept this object that has
peaked its curiosity. Weather the fish
moves to the fly out of instinct, hunger, territorial reasons or just
playfulness we will never know for sure. But in that instant, that brilliant instant
when the fish moves to the fly and finally eats, it is as if there is nothing
else going on in the world but what is happening right now, right here. The push of water is the first visual queue,
then the flash as the fish turns. The
fish has grabbed the fly in a vicious sideways slash and has now bolted for his
earlier lie.
Time stops as what
has happened at the end of the line transfers back down the line to the rod, then
through the rod and to the angler who stands with shaking hands, the recipient
of what can only be described as high voltage electricity. The angler who is holding barely a pound of
total tackle in his hands is now directly connected to something that weighs
over 10 times that weight. This is pure,
anadromous rainbow trout, straight from the ocean, rested, strong and built for
speed. The rod now throbs and bounces to
life as the fly has found perfect purchase in the corner of the fish’s mouth.
The reel barks loudly in short staccato bursts as the fish rolls and tumbles
trying to escape from his newly found predicament. The fish launches itself
into the air, valiantly trying to shake the hook to no avail. Seeing no hope in playing the short game, the
fish now heads for the far end of the pool. The reels sound goes from the short
burst bark to a steady whir. The steady whir is soon replaced by another noise
altogether as the pitch of the pawls riding inside the gear increases to a
howling scream. The fish peels line from
the reel, searching for the back door of the pool and hopefully freedom,
testing the limits of tackle, gear and fisherman.
Again the fish goes airborne; sometime in the air the fly
pulls free of the writhing silver fish and quickly the line goes slack. Immense
wavelengths from the release of tension travel the length of the fly line back
to the angler and it is over. The fish is gone in an instant; the angler is
left with only the sound of the final splash of the fish and his loudly beating
heart echoing across the now serene and glassy tail out. His stance on the rock
perch is wavering and unsteady. The adrenaline from the brief encounter courses
through his body. The feeling of this experience plays over in his mind as he
slowly winds up the line. Taking a seat on a river side rock, he puts the rod
down, the fly still dangling in the water.
He lays back and looks at the sky letting the moment wash over him. As his quickly beating heart returns to
normal rhythm, his breathing comes easier now.
He suddenly feels as alive as he has ever been. The need to land the
fish was secondary; the encounter itself was the primary focus. There is no way
to know when that next 45 seconds of pandemonium will happen again but he will
be ready, he will always be ready and searching for The Take.