Family Time...

Hello all, I want to start this blog off by stating that I absolutely love my life. Now with that being said, I also want to say that this is the one time of the year that I look around and get a little jealous of the strong families bonds that I get to see.  Last week in the shop I had a lady buying items for her husband and her son and after introducing herself she said that she knew that Cat and I would be fishing on Christmas. Now I know her husband and son were wishing they were in my place but what they didn’t know was that I kind of wished I was more like them. I have two boys that I raised but they were not raised in a traditional wholesome family atmosphere. Holidays were sometimes spent with me and other times spent with other family, and now that my boys are grown I’m not sure we will ever create any serious family Christmas traditions. Now I also want to say that when Valentines day rolls around and the rest of you saps(hehe) get stuck doing goofy romantic stuff, Cat and I will be fishing, our own family tradition.

  So why am I talking about family; today I got the opportunity to guide three generations of a family from Denver. We knew that the river would be busy today but Bill, Jeff and Keaton really wanted to spend the day together fishing. The river was crowded as predicted but we were very happy to get into several pretty good spots. With the lack of serious bug activity I knew fishing would be technical and was a little worried for young Keaton. Dad and Granpa landed a few and I was able to move Keaton into what I knew was a pretty good run. After a few casts, he hooked a very nice fish and played him for a while. The fish was a little better than he was and made a quick headshake and came loose. Now from a guides standpoint I was a little devastated and not sure Keaton would get another shot. The one fish really seemed to energize Keaton and the river once again had his full attention. A few more casts and wham-o , it was quite the battle and Keaton was able to work the fish all the way to the net. I was quite surprised because I knew this fish was anything but a gimme. I measured him off and he was a full 18 inches, Bravo Keaton!!!! Dad, Granpa and Keaton finished off the day taking turns catching different fish but like the rest of us(experts) lost more than they landed but what a great day with family. I have to laugh a little because after a nice Pueblo style dinner, the three of them will head back to the hotel and spend sometime in the hottub. I’m guessing the young Keaton will do most of the talking well at least until he passes out with that great big grin on his face. Hopefully this is a Christmas vacation that Keaton remembers for a long, long time.

  Guiding at times can be difficult but days like today are special. As always thanks for reading, Connell, Cat, Winston and The Drift Fly Shop..