An unwritten story

I have heard it hundreds of times in my life.  That question that so many ask and expect a simple response.  There is no answer for the non-believers.  I have tried to explain it so many times and the answer never quite satisfies the inquisitive.

I guess you just need to have grown up on the streams of southwestern Wisconsin to understand.  You need to have lost numerous giant trout to understand.  You need to have landed many giant trout to understand.

It is not just one thing.  It is a combination of nature, anticipation, adrenaline, and curiosity. Some parts of it resemble a chess match.  The reading of the water and trying to guess where that next giant might be hiding...

The seasons change and the puzzle differs due to the water temperatures and where he might be laying.  There are the trees and bushes to hinder your casting.  If it was easy you would not be so infatuated with it.

The puzzle changes daily with the wind, rain and many other factors.  The blind potential of what lies beneath in every cast is your lure to these beautiful places. Those beautiful places that take your breath away are the reason.

If you haven't figured out the question by now the explanation will not sink in. The question is:  "Why do you trout fish?"  Then there is typically the follow up question of:  "What is so special about it?"

There are no deadlines.  Time is not a factor. You can stop and listen to the birds and the wind.  There are no horns honking and no internet.

When I am on stream I am constantly looking upstream and evaluating the next 10-20 yards of stream.  There are special days when you round a bend and the music starts to play in your head and you become giddy like that 10-year-old version of you did in the long ago past.  You are that 10-year-old again.

For more of Len’s work visit; https://lenharris.blogspot.com, Small Streams Trout Monsters Club, or www.facebook.com/len.harris