Fish Philosophy
As a grunt is typically unrefined, so is his philosophy. Do not doubt for one second however that he has one. He does.
My fish philosophy is simple. It’s rather a collection of thoughts and a few principles I try to go by. They are by no means the letter of the law or a platform for me to preach on. As such, the collection below constitutes my developing fish philosophy in no particular order. (Dry fly purist trout fishermen beware.)
-If you are not having fun you are not fishing.
-If fly fishing was easy everyone would do it.
-Respect the water. Leave no trace.
-Respect the fish. Catch and release. Or, waste not want not.
-Tie your own flies. It’s more rewarding. If you don’t- at least you’re not bait fishing.
-More than trout take flies.
-Life is full of problems, fish trough it.
-Fly fishing is one part art, one part science.
-Photograph your quarry quickly. Ensure the fish survival. Let them recoup and then release.
-Get on the water as much as you can. Travel and find new places. Pieces of heaven are found here on earth.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
Today’s topic of Fish Philosophy is a prompt of the Everyday in May challenge. For more info click here. For all AirborneAngler Everyday in May posts click here.
It’s the Little Things
I’ve been wanting to draw a Parachute Adams for the whole Airborne theme I’ve got going on. Surprise right? But trying to get the photo for inspiration using an iPhone to shoot the picture was almost challenging. Shifting auto focus nearly got the best of me. Almost.
After a few shots and the steadiness of hand required to lay down and arm a trip wired claymore land mine, I got the shot I wanted. Or at least a shot could deal with anyways. As tough-guy as that may sound with explosives and all, the irony is the song that was playing in my head. As I was drawing this small fly instead of U2’s, “The Sweetest Things”, the cadence remix in my head ringing over and over was ‘its the little things’. All in the same tone. I know you can hear the chorus. Real macho right?
Anyways, sometimes it is the little things in life we take for granted. The smallest things can bring us such great joy. Just like a size 18 (I’m totally guessing because it’s not the size 6-10 streamers I throw a lot of) Parachute Adams can bring in a good sized trout. Who’d’ve thunk right? And that my friends is the sweetest thing.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
PS
Don’t judge. Ooh oh oh the sweetest things.
03/30/12 Follow Friday @sbixel
I am just shy of calling this week’s sole Follow Friday “Sensei”. He is literally, in my eyes anyways, a master of art on the iPad with Autodesk SketchBook Pro. If you’ve seen this guys work- you are likely as equally amazed as I am with what he can visually create. I’m talking about the work of Shawn Bischel, aka @sbixel on Twitter.
So why is he so special and why should you bother to follow him? Shawn has been a constant source of motivation for me to reach for pencil and sketch pad (or iPad and Sketchbook in some cases) and aim to create FlyArt or FishArt. Digitally created goodness oozes out of his blog Lines in the Dirt. Being so impressed with his work I was lucky enough to be able to connive him into making my current avatar for the AirborneAngler. Pictures do speak a thousand words so I’ll shut up here and let his work do the talking. Here’s a sample of his awesome artistic ability and latest creation, “Copper Johnson”. Thanks Shawn!
Yeah, the brother drew that on his iPad with his finger!
Follow Shawn on Twitter at @sbixel and Lines in the Dirt.
See you on the high ground, ATW!
AirborneAngler
Previous Follow Friday’s
@TXFlyGeek
@TexasRiverBum
Crayfish FlyArt
Continuing to reach for pencil and paper this week I have drawn my first fly. For the critical eye of the expert fly tier all materials involved may have better substitutes.
However, I am a true believer of the old infantryism that claims ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’. For me this crayfish pattern has worked. So while it works I will not soon fix it. (Maybe a tweak to flip the hook.)
Luckily, I still have the fly shown here- my first attempt at the vise. So much of fly fishing is becoming art for me. This little piece I would like to share with you.
See you on the high ground,
AirborneAngler
The AirborneAngler 