Fly Fishing with a Good Friend and Family Memories
Often in conversations with a Kenny he will bring up a story about fishing with his old friend Lew Smith and I will think I wish that I had a chance to have met him. In 2016 nobody was surprised or honored more than me when I was presented by FATC with the Lew Smith Spirit of Fly-Fishing Award. Many of you are helping with the “raise the roof project” and although I have not yet contributed any time or funds I have helped in a different way. I am the one that found Tim Klotz and got him involved with us!
He calls himself “a union painter”, but he actually instructs the people that teach people the trade and is very knowledgeable in his craft! He could talk to Gary Elliott (our net builder) and Bruce Morton (our rod builder) for hours about stuff that would drive my ADHD more insane, but we have benefited from their expertise.
Tim and I met in a bible study group and we have both learned and helped each other grow in our faith with Christ during these weekly meetings, but probably our friendship has grown more during our trips to Montauk.
Tim is 4 years older than me, but like my older Bob that took the FATC class when I did, I retired from my job first
After Tim retired, I talked him into going with me to Montauk for a day, just he and I. I had been making many trips to Montauk but was still just a beginner. I still am not as good fly fishing as I should be as much as I go, but when you are right handed and your right index finger can hardly move, knots are a constant struggle and your balance is terrible, and not falling in the water constantly is a struggle so “you just go with what you got”!
On that hot July day, I equipped Tim with a set of waders that were way too big and a fiberglass rod that I knew he could not break, and we had a good time! He almost got a trout to the bank by himself, but it was enough to make him want to try to learn how to fly fish! He took the class and I retook it with him and learned probably a lot of things that did not sink in the first time! I urge people to sit in as a new class is taught because you will learn things and probably make some new friends!
We have made many trips to Montauk and enjoy them! Most of the time he out fishes me and Saturday’s trip it happened again plus he told me what I should use to catch some, so I benefited.
We were expecting a crowded park with clear water, but it was murky and we had the park almost to ourselves (except for one spin caster that thought it was a good idea to walk behind me without saying anything, plop down in a chair and then yell at me when he almost got a fly in his face as I back cast by the dam!).
Fish were very apparent in the stream and we each caught fish, but nothing great. Right before lunch Tim saw a guy doing really well and asked him what he was using and he said, “an olive woolybuggers on the bottom”, so that is how we fished the rest of the day. We did well until close to the horn going off. After Tim lost a fish, we decided to quit. As I was breaking my stuff down, I realized why I had not caught any fish for a while as my fly was shredded. I will not make that mistake again!
As a FYI, my brother Bob has recently retired from his successful career as an Engineer (yes, he got the brains and I got the good looks in our family!) with Factory Mutual Insurance. I think that our Dad and Mom, who took us to Montauk many times when we were younger, would be happy to know Bob’s children presented him with a new Sage rod as a retirement gift. I did tell him that even though he has a better rod than me that I will be out-fishing him for a while.
I have recently been given two old fiberglass fly rods (one has a working “automatic reel”) by people that found out I like to fly fish. I guess they have old rods that they want to get out of their house. I am looking forward to this summer talking Bob into what we used to call “bait water” (where the lower hatchery water meets the rest of the park) to use those rods with him with Velveeta cheese and flour like our Father taught us years ago. I hope that we do not then get kicked out of FATC!
I also saw something yesterday that reminded me of my Dad. There was a father (or it may have been a grandfather as I have grandchildren and hope they fly fish with me someday!) with two sons and he was trying to teach them how to use a fly rod. The youngest one had a pair of waders on that I am sure that he will soon outgrow, but the other one even though it was in the 40s was wading in his blue jeans. It reminded me of me when I was a child of following my Dad around Montauk watching him fish until I was finally able to do it (with his help!) myself!