Posted on February 21, 2012 by Administrator
editors note : This obviously is rather "time stamped" but as it is one of my favorites .... I have a few more of the old ones to get back up and then we will get back to new material . There is obviously just a tidal wave of thoughts and writings on 2012 and the end of time (or the age), some of them quite scholarly. This is not one of those …… By the time most of you read this it will most likely be at least tomorrow , Feb 21st , 2012 or to put it another way exactly 10 months until the end of the Mayan calender . Ok , I hear you ! What does this have to do with Sulphers , fly fishing or Elk River ? Sit awhile and I’ll do my best to attempt an explanation …… Have you ever asked yourself “what would I do if I only had (pick a time frame here) to live ?” “How would I prioritize the events, happenings and rituals that make up my life ?” If you are reading my blog I feel it safe to assume you are a fisherman and as a fellow angler I feel compelled to help you sort this out ! One thing I think we would all agree on is we would work less . A LOT LESS !! Now working less of course will leave us with more time to spend at other endeavors like ….oh I don’t know ….hmmm…. well lets just say fishing for arguments sake . Now knowing that these would be the last fishing trips you would ever take I again feel it safe to say none of us would wish to waste them on experiences where the fishing was less then fantastic . For each of us the ideal situation might be different but suffice to say there would be plenty of room on Whiteday Creek …….. This brings us to the real core of the dilemma . What if ? Now those are two very powerful words when used together ! They have launched every discovery , invention and advancement in human history . Equally true is the fact that you would be hard pressed to find two words that have led to as much heart ache and disaster and are responsible for more mistakes than those two ! Nowhere are these conflicting outcomes potentially more evident than in the context of this story . What if the Mayans (and the common apocolyptic interpretation of their calendar) were right ? What if this coming season is the last any of us will ever see ? The last chance to ever throw a line , see trout rise , catch a big hatch of mayflies , feel the head shake of a big brown or hear the scream of our drag as a big rainbow streaks down river . The last chance to share a river , or a beer , or a campfire with the ones we love . If we knew this to be the case I suspect there would be a lot of resignations tendered , a lot of houses sold , a lot of loved ones loaded into/onto various modes of transportation and the rivers in Montana , Chile and Labrador would be very crowded indeed . It would be an easy and quite logical decision for a fisherman ! But we don’t know , do we ……Those two words won’t let us know ! This is because “what if” tells us it is equally possible that the Mayans were full of it ! What if we have quit the job , sold the house and are sitting stream side with a box of flies and the last of our funds in our pockets and Dec 21st comes , then goes and it proves to be the end of nothing but our financial security , having sold everything to afford the “last” fishing trip ! Now what ? Fortunately we can hedge our bets . This is where the Sulphers come in ….. For 6 weeks , every year , every single evening , there is truly fantastic fishing to be had on the Elk ! This is the stuff dreams are made of . The dreams of a fly fishing junkie ! Boiling river , big fish , fogs of insects , Snout Soup !! It is like a 6 week long day . A perfect 6 week long day ! A 6 week long day that doesn’t require selling the house to participate in ….. It is the perfect compromise in the battle of what ifs . What if the Mayans were right ? It’s ok because you had 6 weeks of Snout Soup and that’s a pretty decent way to wrap it up . What if the Mayans were wrong ? That’s ok too because while your boss may be really pissed and might even fire you there will still be a house to sit in and memories of 6 wonderful weeks to keep you in a good frame of mind while job hunting ….. It’s a win win situation ! I will leave you tonight with this …. Life is short be it 10 more months or 40 more years . It passes us all by way too quickly . Worry less , smile more and save a little time for thoughts of brown trout , sulphers and ancient indians . See you on the river ! Comments are closed.
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