I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!

http://myworld.ebay.com/riverwalker74

I had to borrow something from Stuart Smalley for the title of this post.  Seems to fit my message.  I've been looking at a lot of trout blogs lately and seeing some pretty trout.  I've see some posts on Instagram and there are some fellas who know how to land them and take good photos too.  Shall I make a journey to the over-fished damn of ye' little ol' trout??

In seeing all those trout pics, it takes me back to those trips my father and I made to the local dam.  I've never really spend much quality time on a trout stream.  I dislike the local trout stream because folks like to fish there - lots of folks.  I prefer a relaxing outing on the local stream and that won't happen when the gal next to me keep drifting a Woolly Bugger in front of me and yanking out little Rainbows!!

Growing up in British Columbia, Canada, (I ain't no Canuck, lol.) - I was used to heading down to the nearest lake, turning over a log and grabbing some type of insect.  We would put them on a hook and pull out really big lake trout.  I was more into exploring the woods and being outdoors as someone watched my pole.  Large fish can be found on the local stream but not in the quantity I'm used to finding.

Maybe I'm just lousy and not man enough to bring forth the patience!  I sure don't have patience enough to go Carping.  I've also seen pics of local fly fisherman landing some nice smallmouth bass on a local stream that I also fish.  I don't see fish like those on the end of my line.

Am I self-depreciating??  Yup.  Do I always chase the same fish on the same stream even though I could probably find something better?  Probably.  Do I tie up pretty streamers and insects?  No.  But I can out-fish most folks and that thanks to my ability to find large panfish and small bass, lol!!!

When I look at social network photos, I see the fancy wick-away shirts and the stylish caps with names of local fly shops woven on the front.  Fancy arbor reels and pricey rods or vintage reels sitting on glass rods which are stylishly placed on the hood of a car . . . these things I wonder have become fly fishing??

Are the guys who attend the yearly fly fishing film fests becoming Hipsters?  Am I a hipster?  Did Gen-X become the new breed of fly fisherman - did we evolve into hipsters who flash some style on the local stream?  I guess it's OK if you are landing some fish.

I'm just a guy tying up silly little foam flies in the hopes of landing a smallmouth bass in the range of about a pound.  I'm the guy who will hit the small stream behind a local church and catch sunfish and creek chubs.  I'm the dirty fly fisherman who prefers the company of grittiness and lousy fishing locales.

I may not land the prettiest trout (or go out for them at all!) and I may not wear a fancy bandana upon my face as a friend snaps my picture but at least I'm not at the office!!  As the saying goes, "Any day on the water beats a day at the office."  'Tis true!  And while these guys are at the office or at work somewhere, I'm hitting their honey hole a day before they do it!

 I'm Good Enough, I'm Smart Enough, and Doggone It, People Like Me!