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linecaster
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Posted: Fri Sep 04, 2020 10:47 am • # 1 |
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Joined: 07/10/09 Posts: 1555 Location: Plano Texas
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After reading the topic of what rules we set for ourselves it reminded me of my concern for my wife and getting back in time for her. I used to look for every opportunity to throw a line and or tie flies in my spare time. With my wife having passed on I thought, well, no restrictions now she has given me permission to fish to my hearts content. Strangely that is not what happened, the urge and desire dissapeared. Has this happened to any of you? I need a kick start.
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wheezeburnt
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Posted: Sat Sep 05, 2020 10:17 am • # 2 |
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Joined: 12/29/12 Posts: 1835 Location: Rusagonis, New Brunswick, Canada
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My reply seems frivolous in the context of your situation and your loss, for which I send my condolences. So sorry, bud. ...oh, and its not fishing related. I began motorcycling in 1968 and stopped two years ago, so, 50 years. Never fancied myself a 'biker', just a motorcyclist. Loved to ride them, loved to fix them. I used to ride a LOT of miles each year, given the limitations of our climate. Rode to work most every day the roads weren't icy and the temps were above freezing. Took plenty of multi day trips with buddies in Canada and the USA, and with my wife (who also started riding in '68 - its how we met). When I retired 11 years ago, I figured I'd be able to ride any time I wanted to (notwithstanding the need to fish ) and rode even more the first year or so. But at some point, I realized I was putting fewer miles on the bike each passing year. Toward the end, I found I was saying things like "well, we should get out for a ride on the bikes". Not 'want to', but 'should'. That, for me, has been a sign that something might be moving into the realm of a chore or obligation. I found that two hours into a ride, I'd be thinking of things I wanted to do instead. Turns out, my wife was feeling the same way. So, we just sold the bikes one spring, and except for a very rare occasion, haven't really missed them. Mind you, I can go borrow my son's bike if I feel the need, but that almost never happens. I also knew that my reaction time and flexibility were declining and given the way car drivers view (don't view) riders, it felt like time. Anyway, moral of the story, if there is one, is that if we enjoy something, it doesn't necessarily follow that we'll enjoy more of it, more. Sometimes I think the 'escape value' of an activity is lost when you no longer need it as an escape. Just some random thoughts. brent
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linecaster
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 3:33 pm • # 3 |
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Joined: 07/10/09 Posts: 1555 Location: Plano Texas
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wheezeburnt wrote: Sometimes I think the 'escape value' of an activity is lost when you no longer need it as an escape. Just some random thoughts. brent Brent I think you nailed it within last portion of your post. I still love fishing but that urgent desire to go at every what used to be an opportunity is not there just now. Having said that I am building out a Nissan NV200 into a camper and that is taking up much of my spare time, just maybe on completion of the build the fishing aspect will come back. Thanks for your reply.
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wheezeburnt
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 4:35 pm • # 4 |
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Joined: 12/29/12 Posts: 1835 Location: Rusagonis, New Brunswick, Canada
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That sounds like a great project! I wish you well. brent
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JimRed
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Posted: Sun Sep 06, 2020 9:38 pm • # 5 |
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Joined: 08/31/15 Posts: 1042 Location: Coppell, TX
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Cliff Hilbert
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:39 am • # 6 |
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Joined: 12/27/10 Posts: 2253 Location: Plano, TX
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It happens when you get old, but I wouldn't know about that.
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Cliff Hilbert
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 9:42 am • # 7 |
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Joined: 12/27/10 Posts: 2253 Location: Plano, TX
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linecaster
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 10:53 pm • # 8 |
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Joined: 07/10/09 Posts: 1555 Location: Plano Texas
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Cliff Hilbert wrote: Sorry Cliff I can't afford the truck besides there would be no place to sleep. Nice kitchen though. My little camper van will have a place to cook , potty and shower. So camping and fishing will be where I go.
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strummer
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Posted: Mon Sep 07, 2020 11:40 pm • # 9 |
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Joined: 06/13/16 Posts: 936 Location: Southwest Florida
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linecaster
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2020 6:40 am • # 10 |
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Joined: 07/10/09 Posts: 1555 Location: Plano Texas
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strummer wrote: Sorry for your loss... Thanks Strummer. Time has not healed. 51 years together leaves a vacuum
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jangles
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2020 8:54 pm • # 11 |
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Joined: 05/28/18 Posts: 603 Location: Tucson , Hellazonia
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I just spent 3 weeks traveling 4 thousand miles to fish with what I thought was a friend of 50 plus years , I even got him his Boilermaker card for which he owes me nothing except the ability to make a **** good living . Well he got stupid on me and we parted ways for good . I then left his area , "N.E. Iowa Driftless area and headed to Colorado and spent quite a while camped in the mountains on different well known Trout streams and never left my camper . I just lost interest . So yes I can definitely identify with what you say . I have no one to fish with now and not a **** bit of desire to ever go again .
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lka
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 1:12 am • # 12 |
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Joined: 04/04/18 Posts: 211 Location: Idaho
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My condolences, linecaster. Nothing helpful I can say there...
Regarding the fishing, the amount that I fish waxes and wanes depending on my free time and responsibilities. But every time I come back to it after taking a long break I'm reminded how much I like it. Rarely do I regret making the time, even when I'm busy. It's a cathartic activity, done in pretty places, often at a pretty time of day and during a pretty season. When the fishing is good, that's fun. When the fishing is bad I work on clean sharp casting and that's fun too. When the fishing is bad and it turns out its too windy to cast, well, I just treat it like a walk and that's still fun.
Just went out this evening to the local reservoir. Late summer doldrums, didn't catch a thing. The crazy crowds of this season are finally gone. I watched an osprey and a young bald eagle fight in the air for a couple minutes over a fish the osprey caught -- the eagle won. Saw a few turtles. Had a good time.
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linecaster
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Posted: Thu Sep 10, 2020 8:57 pm • # 13 |
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Joined: 07/10/09 Posts: 1555 Location: Plano Texas
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Jangles, sorry to hear of your bust up of which I also experienced many years ago and also lost interest for awhile then went madly overboard. Ika, thanks for your encouragement, yes just to get out and experience the joy of the occasion and scenery. I enjoyed a short trip to a nearby creek on Labor day. Felt really good to get out even though the fish were small my CGR 2 weight was happiness. .
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JimRed
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Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2020 7:39 pm • # 14 |
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Joined: 08/31/15 Posts: 1042 Location: Coppell, TX
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Jangles, sorry for your disappointments during your trip. You have a whole forum of friends here who enjoy reading your posts. Hang in there.
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jangles
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2020 10:46 am • # 15 |
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Joined: 05/28/18 Posts: 603 Location: Tucson , Hellazonia
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I put my fly fishing gear up and got my Harley out from moth balls . It's been over two years since I rode it but she fired right up and away we went . 300 miles later I pulled back in the driveway very very sore . I may get my bass gear in the boat and go cranking for a while but I'm done with fly fishing for a while .
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knotjoe
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Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2020 7:57 pm • # 16 |
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Joined: 07/20/19 Posts: 138 Location: North Central Indiana
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linecaster wrote: I enjoyed a short trip to a nearby creek on Labor day. Felt really good to get out even though the fish were small my CGR 2 weight was happiness. Good to hear, man. I was going to suggest getting off your ass and putting it back at waters edge regardless of how you felt, but didn’t want to seem like I was minimizing your grief. Occasionally, I say “F-it-all” and just go fishing even when I’m not longing to and it reminds me that it’s so much more than fishing. Continuous life thread in deep ways and I guess I do it just to keep it there sometimes. Kinda cool at any point to have a reflection on life through one activity that’s has been there all along. I don’t remember ever not fishing for any length of time, perhaps a few months in school years and band stuff. Buying a house and the projects involved did get in the way for a bit, but never for very long as in years. Sometimes breaks are not only good, but necessary and maybe even more sane than otherwise. I will admit that I find it a bit strange to be so consistent at one (and only one) activity my entire lifespan. It is strange thing when ya think about it, guys, so something like a break probably shouldn’t be of major concern for any of us.
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Sasha
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 10:10 am • # 17 |
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Joined: 05/10/09 Posts: 2238 Location: 208
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First off sorry for your loss. While my circumstances are nowhere near yours, I too have for the lack of a better word lost interest. Maybe lost interest isn't the right word but it is close enough. I used to be almost addicted to fly fishing, so much so that I spent a good deal of time away from my wife and kids. I was using all of my free time on the river and over time it put a strain on the marriage. It was really bad from 2006 until around 2017 when I was going on average of two times a week on all day trips. Not sure what changed exactly but one day in 2017 I just lost interest. Not in fly fishing, just the desire to always be gone on some adventure. I still fly fish these days but it is a lot different, take yesterday for example. It took a lot to get the motivation to actually go, once I did however, I had a blast. For me the desire to go is nowhere what it once was. Sure I have fun while I am out but that initial drive to go is gone. I am far more likely to take my kids out shooting, canoeing, or just throw some plastic now that we live on a lake here in the south. I spend most of my time when they're in school doing things with the wife as I only work three days a week these days. Granted they're three twelve hour shifts but I still have four days off every week. My lack of fishing isn't because I miss Idaho either, I could always hop on a plane. Actually this happened a year prior to us moving from Idaho before we even knew we were moving. Hell, I don't even take my DSLR out anymore when I do go fishing
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wheezeburnt
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 3:13 pm • # 18 |
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Joined: 12/29/12 Posts: 1835 Location: Rusagonis, New Brunswick, Canada
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Sasha: Not taking your camera can be a good sign. I love seeing other people's pictures, but I find that my own fishing is more enjoyable when I don't worry about documenting it. Its a pressure, and in some people's minds, a disease (Documentia - the need to document every aspect of life). It can interfere with 'being in the moment' for me. brent
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knotjoe
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Posted: Thu Sep 17, 2020 4:30 pm • # 19 |
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Joined: 07/20/19 Posts: 138 Location: North Central Indiana
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Sasha wrote: Hell, I don't even take my DSLR out anymore when I do go fishing Nor should you. They're big, they leak underwater, and the lenses crack when you crash them into rocks while chasing critters underwater. Getcha a cheap waterproof camera and have some real fun. You wouldn't believe how much valuable fishing time I "wasted" standing there looking for that little Stonecat. In the end, there was only one place left it could be hiding at...and there it was! Fair warning, some days you take a lot of little breaks from fishing with the camera underwater and despite catching plenty on the hook, the only pics you take are non-hook catches. Truth be told, most of my fishing pics have nothing to do with what I caught as there were plenty of things more interesting to me than the catches. Occasionally, a pic of fish I caught is in order, but typically not top of the priority list.
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Sasha
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Posted: Tue Sep 22, 2020 9:50 am • # 20 |
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Joined: 05/10/09 Posts: 2238 Location: 208
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knotjoe wrote: Sasha wrote: Hell, I don't even take my DSLR out anymore when I do go fishing Nor should you. They're big, they leak underwater, and the lenses crack when you crash them into rocks while chasing critters underwater. Getcha a cheap waterproof camera and have some real fun. You wouldn't believe how much valuable fishing time I "wasted" standing there looking for that little Stonecat. In the end, there was only one place left it could be hiding at...and there it was! Fair warning, some days you take a lot of little breaks from fishing with the camera underwater and despite catching plenty on the hook, the only pics you take are non-hook catches. Truth be told, most of my fishing pics have nothing to do with what I caught as there were plenty of things more interesting to me than the catches. Occasionally, a pic of fish I caught is in order, but typically not top of the priority list. I used to really enjoy shooting my trips with my DSLR until it became more like an unpaid photography job than an enjoyable hobby These days, I'm just mostly using my cellphone.
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