Fishing was HOT!

[hotwine]

IK, I was once a spinnerman, too. Until one Saturday morning on Ft Bragg's Rod & Gun Club pond, when flailin' the water with every manner of spinner came to naught, I got desparate enough to try some snelled-hook flies an uncle had given me as a child. Small panfish seemed to be taking gnats on the suface, so I rooted around until I found a Black Gnat fly. Grasped the six-inch leader and dappled the bug onto the surface, and instantly caught a little perch. Caught half a dozen more before rowing madly back to shore, and running into the clubhouse yelling "I need a flyrod!" The clerk outfitted me with rod, reel and line for $25, and I dashed back out onto the water, struggling to assemble the rig as I ran. Needless to say, I wound up with flyline wrapped thoroughly around both ears, but got it together enough to catch a few more little wrigglers by simply throwing the line by hand. And without a doubdt, I was the one who was hooked! As a battalion S2, I had access to topographical maps, and spent evenings plotting weekend fishing missions to hidden streams and ponds, and had an absolute ball. It ended after a few short months with orders for 'Nam, but that experience was a watershed. Highly recommend it for the peace and tranquility that always seems to characterize it.