Breakfast with Dave

How does any self respecting grouse and woodcock guide get mixed up with a motley crew of fly fishing guides? Good question, and it’s one that I’ve been trying unsuccessfully to answer for decades now. However, while my devotion to fly fishing probably doesn’t match theirs, I find myself loving the river, fishing and fish for many of the same reasons that they do.

Connecting with nature on a personal level, visiting beautiful places and occasionally being able to hold in hand that fleeting trout, salmon, steelhead, etc. that you’ve been pursuing, and then watching it swim away to fight another day. That aspect of fly fishing is most important, and is something that is not a possibility while hunting. Unfortunately, grouse and woodcock hunting is a “zero/sum” game, where either the birds successfully evade us (most of the time) or those rare occasions when they don’t get away. It doesn’t happen nearly as often, but when it does there is a sense of regret on my part for having ended our “game”.

Anyway, the weekly gathering of the “greatest fly fishing talent in northern New Hampshire” took place yesterday to sit, sip some coffee, enjoy some fabulous donuts and cookies, and of course ruminate on the state of fishing or any other topic we could come up with. Hosted generously by Dave Poole, the gathering has taken place for a while now, with a rotating cast of characters, primarily determined by availability. Along for yesterday’s session were Jon Howe, Angus Boezeman, Chuck Degray and myself.

Think of it. There were decades (likely more than a century) of fly fishing experience, and many, many casts in that room. Needless to say, there were stories of fish, fishermen, clients (they are all guides, so there are some amusing tales of their “sports”), rivers, and whatever else came to mind.

There were plenty of laughs too, and while the mood was undoubtedly light, there were solutions to nagging questions offered as well. Fish stocking, river regulations, etc. – you name it, we may have discussed it. It’s not all fun and games, folks.

I’m not sure when I’ll be able to attend breakfast with Dave again, but I’m looking forward to it already.

Caption Please?

A free Tall Timber bumper sticker (sorry – they’re free anyway) to the best caption for this image recently taken on the river.

My submission: “Beauties and the Beast”