I must be simpleminded because it continues to fascinate and challenge me--everchanging and unpredictable and breaks you down little by little as you get older.

Cartoon: Greg Keeler.

He looked to be in his late 40s or early 50s. His grey hair was pulled back in a pony tail and partially hidden under the bill of a worn out Moose Drool cap that he had turned around backwards.

Stick it, wrap around the mono; stick it, wrap around the mono; then stick it a final time so a small alluring portion quivers off the stern like a rabbit strip flickering off a streamer’s posterior.

Photo: Ben Romans

I’ll be logging here until I become sick of the exercise, or the editor kicks me to the curb, which has happened before.

Once he got used to casting the line and not some ball of lead, the fish began moving on the fly. Some slashed, some rolled, some simply drew the fly down, but we got to eyeball them, which is the point.

Since I can't cast to these pools, I just tie a fly to the tippet and dangle it down through the deadfall on a stiff willow branch.

Paiting: Aengus's Stream, Greg Keeler