Cherry Blossom Boutique: 'Fish That Bite'

Those in the know, know that even though i am a girly sort of girl, i have been thoroughly converted to Fly-Fishism by Husband. Almost 3 years ago now, he introduced me to the idea of flying, tying, casting and (of course) catch-and-releasing, and i have been 'hooked' ever since! i thought it might be a good idea to introduce my obsession to this blog by taking you all back right to the begining, to when i had just gone on my very first fly-fishing weekend away. This letter is one i wrote about it back then, and was printed in The Complete Flyfisherman magazine. i figured it's a good intro to explaining the obsession, and so decided to copy and paste. Hope you dont mind!

"For the past 29 years, I have spent my life avoiding lakes, rivers, dams, large puddles, and any other menacing bodies of water. Not, contrary to popular belief, for the fear of ruining my hair. No, it was because of my incessant unexplained childhood fear of ‘Fish That Bite.’ I would not venture near boats, walk too closely by lakey banks, or even dip my toes on the HOTTEST of days.

This year, my wonderfully optimistic boyfriend (now Husband) who has been fly fishing since he was 12 decided to give me the chance to be the bigger person and face that fear. Not one to say no to any new opportunity, i found myself on a full-on fly fishing weekend away, armed with what I like to call my Harry Potter rod, pink gum boots and DETERMINATION! Boyfriend spent most of the weekend swinging between a state of amazement and amusement…as i cast and cast and cast and CAST that damn belly-flopping line out into the (7 feet closer than) heart of the lake.

Fortunately for me, he is a patiently supportive sort of man, who has tried this with enough previous girlfriends to know that i might not have taken to it like a fish to water right off the bat. And fortunately for him, i am relatively good natured and have the patience of a camel in a drought.

However, we were both pleasantly surprised by how much i loved it! The result was, and i say this with pride, one of the most exciting, exhilarating yet relaxing weekends away i have ever had! The peacefulness of the lake soaked through my soul. The thrill of the tug was intoxicating! And the best of all, was the greatest moment when i landed my first one! That 1.2kg rainbow trout was all that was needed to get us to the point where boyfriend had to literally drag me off the lake in the end! “One more cast, honey” must be the stuff that has broken marriages in the past. But in this case, it cemented an ever blooming romance…Fish and Woman.

Bringing in that fish, trying to keep the balance between keeping the line firm with not too much pull or slack, gave me flash backs to being all of 18 in my R2000 4^thhand green&rust beetle, having Dad come out to what ever crazy hippy day ride i had taken to hook me up to his faithful Mercedes and tow me home for release. Ah, memories.

Point is, i caught a fish! On my first trip! Hats off to the girl in the pink boots, guys.

This one is called a 'Salmon Pink Glo Bug'
...and a personal favorite for obvious reasons...

Since then i have had lessons, got a whole new exciting wardrobe of fish activity related gear, and my very own fly box with cool little pairs of fluffy nymphs and fly’s. i have learnt to flatten the barbs so that i don't hurt the poor little fishies, and also so that it is easier to release them after bringing them in.

And today, it was official. i am a flyfisher gal! i know this because i found myself reading boyfriend’s old fly fishing magazines in prep for our next weekend away. Me. Fishing magazines! They don't even have shoes in there!

Boyfriend said if i practice, he would let me have a float tube which would involve me being even closer to the water! But no worries there, my fear has now been converted from ‘fish that bite’ to the HOPE that fish bite, and the bigger the fish the better!

So the moral of the story is… Fly Fishing ROCKS! And i did it without messing up my hair ;) "