“This was Dad’s glove from Army,” she said. “Remember that when he got back from war, he helped to start first little league here in town. That man was a member of Dad’s first team. His family didn’t have much money and he couldn’t afford to buy a baseball glove. Dad gave him his so that he could play like rest of boys.”

The man had gone on to say that he had never forgotten my grandfather’s generosity. He had kept and cherished glove for over 45 years. He had seen my grandpa’s obituary in newspaper and had wanted to return glove to family and let us know what a great coach, and man, my grandfather had been.

The glove was put on display at my grandpa’s funeral. And, of course, minister’s sermon contained many allusions to sports and frequent quotes from A Field of Dreams. All this made me ever so proud of my grandfather who enjoyed coaching and passing on his love of athletics to youth in his town. It also made me remember why I chose to be a coach.

How many times have you wondered, “Why do people coach? Why do they give up their time and energy for little or no money, sometimes even less respect and opportunity to be targeted by parents and fans alike?”

That cold and snowy March day, I was reminded of answers to those questions. We coach to touch youth. To instill values into young people that they will carry with them for rest of their lives. We coach to make a difference and to show right way to play, work and live. We coach so that, even 45 years can pass without a man forgetting his coach and impact that he had made on a young boy’s life.

While dry fly fishing gets all attention, truth be told, fish consume up to 90% of their diet under water. So you are apt to catch more fish using ‘wet flies’, then you are dry fly fishing. Especially if you are just beginning, fishing sub-surface is going to result in more fish being caught. While fish are feeding on surface they are very skittish, and very selective. Almost any fault in technique, rigging, or fly selection will result in scaring off fish you are trying to catch.

Equipment

There are some basic pieces of equipment that you must have or borrow to first try fly fishing. The first is a fly rod, (never a pole). The instrument you use to fly fish with is a rod. We have written a whole article on ‘Choosing a Fly Rod’, that will give you enough basic information to at least be able to ask educated questions when shopping. The second is a fly reel, we also have an article called ‘Choosing a Fly Reel’. If it were me, and budget is of concern, (and when you see prices of fly rods, it probably will become one), scrimp on reel and not rod. Casting a quality fly rod is a thing of joy, sometimes I can become so lost in rhythym of fly casting I actually forget about fish. I fished for years using a Pflueger Medallist. If you were to poll fly fishers over 40 and I bet over half have owned one of these.

The next thing you will need is fly line. If you are to purchase just one, get a floating line, you can always add weight to leader and sink fly. But it is virtually impossible to float a sinking tip line. Fly line is very thick and it is what you actually cast. Unlike other forms of fishng where bait and weight are casted. After fly line come leader and tippet and finally fly.

Waders and wading boots are also mandatory, if one is planning on wading. With perhaps exception of summer, when wet wading can be a relief from heat. Anymore decent Neoprene waders can be had for around $60, and felt soled wading shoes for about same. Although these aren’t top of line, and comfort and performance suffer somewhat, they will be more than adequate.

The idea behind fly fishing is to show fish what they actually feed on as naturally as possible. The first time I fly fished, I was amazed at how much more I actually fished. You don’t need to reel in and cast out again, just lift up and cast again. More time with your fly in water equals more opportunity to catch fish. The actual motion of simple fly casting is easy enough to pick up, it is much like motion of hammering. Accelerating on downstroke. In an afternoon of practice you could easily master motion well enough to have a reasonable chance of catching a fish.

There you have it. While fly fishing can become unneccessarily complicated. In it’s essence I believe it is simplest form of fishing there is. So basic is its form, and so exact is role of its instruments, you could call it perfect. And there are times when one can get caught up in act of exercising this perfection, that entire world fades away, until it is just you and