Hook Inda Mouth

This Summer I've been learning to Fly Fish. And I emphasize learning. I feel like I'll never be able to tie a not in under 20 minutes, but for reasons I'm loving every minute of it. It's a funny thing. Taking on a new sport, activity, and/or hobby. What I find enjoyable is the process of learning how to do something new. It requires equal amounts of practice and patience. Every so often there's a breakthrough, but mainly it's a grind. If your in the moment it teaches you...if your not the fish let you know. 

Thus far I've Fly Fished a handful of times this Summer. Mostly, I've fished on Oregon waters with the exception of the Yellowstone River in Montana. If you've never been visit Montana. It IS beautiful. Here in Oregon I've fished both the Deschutes and Crooked River. The picture in this post is from last weekend just outside of Bend. During a backcast I managed to hook myself in the lip. It's a first hand experience of what fish go through, so now I know how it feels. My buddy Tim, in the background helped remove the hook. We had to drive about an hour to find a pair of wire cutters at an Ace Hardware. With precision, Tim was able to remove the hook from my lip. After I had whiskey. I can't claim to be a fisherman yet, but a Hook Inda Mouth made me feel like one.

Here's a quote I love that sums up how I feel about Fly Fishing:
"Fishing is not an escape from life, but often a deeper immersion into it"
-Harry Middleton