In
The Shadows
Part Deux
Going back to my
earlier blog series on my own personal fly fishing Mount Rushmore, the next
most popular president seemed to be the next logical step. Abraham Lincoln was known
mostly for two things; the emancipation of the slaves and his honesty. With all
the stories I have heard over the years from anglers it would be very difficult
to make that “honest” connection, and slavery, that will be a stretch as well,
but I think although extremely corny, I can do it.
The first year Cat
worked in the shop she would come home almost every day telling me stories
about what one or another fisherman was doing to catch fish. Going to the water she would try so many
things that her head would nearly explode. Some ideas turned out okay but as
time went by and seeing many of the story tellers on the water, we have become
very skeptical of the “only right way “to catch the fish.
One of the greatest
storytellers over the years has been Tony, better known as Antz, to his
friends. Tony is one of the few people than has me completely captivated when
telling stories. His voice inflections, his arm waving, his facial contortions
and most of all his sound effects, are like no other. If you were to close your
eyes, you would think you were on the river hearing the hook set, his reel
scream, and the water splashing, his movement on the water and last his net
landing the monster. When he finishes telling his fishing stories, he goes on
to wrestling, friendships, golf and whichever direction his story goes he has you just as entranced as the story
before. When strangers come in the shop they would stop listen and fall into
the Tony trance until he was done, sometimes minutes, sometimes hours, always
entertaining. Naturally, I was not one hundred percent convinced he wasn’t full
of ****.
Before talking about
fishing with Antz, I need to let you know that prior to fishing with him, my
idea of sight fishing was going to the crystal clear Taylor and tossing my junk
at every pod of fish. The first time I had the privilege of fishing with Antz
was on the “Dream Stream”. It was an accidental meeting when Cat and I were
walking up the river and just as we saw a small pod of fish, in crystal clear
water, Antz and his son walked up. He looked in and told me to go ahead,
nervously because of Toney’s stature, two casts in and I landed my first fish
of the day, a 17 inch cutty.
Unfortunately she spilled a few eggs while I was getting a pic, but
nonetheless, I stood up with my chest sticking out a little farther (yep I’m
the man!). We walked up the river across from each other with Antz slowly
surveying the water all the way. The water dirtied and riffled more as we
walked up. Every now and again, he would stop turn his head a little, take
another look and cast. He was seeing so many fish that naturally I thought he
was full of it, but he kept hooking fish left and right. I figured it was just
the side of the river he was on so I switched, but it was just the same, I was
seeing squat and he was hooking fish. We walked up the river about a mile and
then back down, I could not believe the vision that Antz possessed. We got back
down into one of the lower bends and he started showing me a pod of fish, I had
no idea what he was looking at but went along with him anyway. He told me to
stay put because they were moving up. He hurried up past them and started
slapping the water, when he told me they were almost on me I casted. The
indicator only moved a short distance and Bang. The wake headed straight down
stream about forty yards. I was able to chase down and land a beautiful 22 inch
bow. I was not The Man, He was!
So how do I make the
connection with Antz and Mr. Lincoln, after watching him in action, He just may
get the Honest Abe award for the stories, and heck if his fishing stories are
true, maybe the rest are as well. I choose to believe! Next comparison will be
as hokey and corny as you can get and please …I do not mean to offend anyone.
If you ever have spent time on the Dream Stream than you know how your dreams
can turn to nightmares in a hurry, as you drive the two and a half hours the
thoughts in your head are of 30 inch fish and lots of them, and when you leave
you are stunned to have only caught a few in the 12 inch range. At times you
feel you like you are a complete “slave” to these Dream Stream monsters, did
you catch it, the subtlety. Maybe if you are lucky, as I have been, you can be
“freed” from the nightmares of the dream stream. What a blessing it has been
over the year to get to know and fish with Antz, the tips and techniques I
learned from him have made me a much better fisherman and my time on the water
is so much more enjoyable.
Writing these blogs
has really been a lot of fun for Cat and I. They get us thinking about all the
blessings that our friends have been to us. If you have not been to The Drift
Fly Shop in Pueblo and you are in town, I hope you stop by and say hello. You just may catch an Oscar performance by Tony. We
are passionate about fly fishing here and loving meeting others that are just
like us.
Since Tony has no
idea that I am writing this blog on Him, I was not able to get his permission
to put up any of the pics that his best friends have given to me. So legally, I
am saying that these pics may, or may not be of Ant’z, if they are not than
they look just like him. Also, the goober in the blue coat was me with the fish
he practically put on my line. The other pics are Jeff and his son.
The next subject in
this series, Teddy Roosevelt, has already been spoken for. I am still contemplating
my Andrew Jackson; I have some ideas but if you would like to volunteer or know
someone that fits that description, feel free to let me know or leave a
comment. Thanks for reading, Connell