River Recon

For quite some time I've been wanting to learn how to fly fish. I took the first step Saturday by running some recon at Roaring River State Park in Southwest Missouri, which is conveniently located about 6 miles from our cabin. Although I've been to the fish hatchery a number of times, I've never really thoroughly walked the river and checked it out from the standpoint of a guy who very well might be in the process of becoming a world class fly fisherman. Now that I've accomplished that, I'm ready for step two--getting my fly rod and reel out of the attic and learning how to use it. I purchased the equipment several years ago when I left the corporate world and other than running a test pattern a time or two, have never actually learned how to use it the way the inventors had intended. My buddy George Dunning is planning on getting me up to speed before he heads off in four weeks for his Freshman year at Washington University. My guess is George won't have a chance to do much fly fishing the next 4 to 6 years, so maybe I can catch up with him in the fly talent department while he's busy hitting the books and staying out all night chasing college girls. I'll keep you posted.