infinity

I have hardly fished at all before this summer. The few vague memories I have of fishing, I’m sure I didn’t catch anything, I barely knew what I was doing. Ok, so I really had no idea what I was doing. But this summer we’ve got not one or even two, but three fly fishing guides teaching us not only the basics but also the intricacies of fly fishing. Three different men, each in a different decade of life in fact, showing us about this magnificent sport and what it means to them.

They came over to the cabin a few times just to teach- the first time Ron put on his gear and strated, Tim shared some excellent cigars with us, and they both shared a bit of their story of who they are and what fly fishing is to them, as well as some of the technicals of equipment and such. Then another time they both came again and this time Andy came as well; Andy is a First Lieutenant in the Air Force, a graduate of the Academy here in the Springs, and the youngest of the guides but since he grew up in Wyoming fly fishing has pretty much been in all his life. In fact he said he grew up playing in the Medicine Bow area; for those who don’t remember or didn’t read, Medicine Bow Peak is the summit we climbed our first week out here when we went for a 6 day backpacking trek in Wyoming. So Andy came with them and they all taught us more about fishing. Now, at this point, we’ve learned a lot but still haven’t been near water ourselves, nor have we touched any of the amazing brand new equipment and gear that is waiting for us downstairs for just this purpose.

Well, finally the day came, the week before this past Saturday the nine of us went to 11 Mile Canyon and had our first day of fly fishing, on the South Platte River. It was an amazing day. God did things for all of us that day, through the teaching, the time together, and of course catching fish! Which we all did by the way- all four of us caught at least one fish. Xan and Cory caught some too of course, as well as the guides (except Tim, who didn’t really fish himself much), but for me, Dan, Josh, and Campbell, it was our first time out and we each got at least one, and that felt awesome for us.

I said Tim didn’t fish much himself and that was because he was teaching and helping me most of the day. He was determined to get me some fish! Actually he seemed really upset and feeling bad when he was taking me to spots or having me fish a certain area and I was getting nothing. The deep interest he seemed to have in me catching some felt great, as did the fact that he said I wasn’t doing anything wrong, that my form and technique were good, I was having good casts and good drifts, so it wasn’t me. That’s one lesson I learned that day: sometimes they just don’t bite; it may not be anything you’re doing wrong, sometimes they just don’t bite (think about that for a minute, I’ll leave it to you to find the application for your life, but trust me it’s there). Anyway, we’d been fishing together for a few hours and finally I saw the indicator go under the water a bit, yanked on it to set the hook and immediately felt the tension at the end of the line. I could see the fish fighting and flailing around under the water! So I pulled up and started reeling in the line. Tim helped me out and got the net off my back to get the fish and I called Xan over to see it. We got some pretty sweet pictures of me, Tim, and the fish.

It felt so good catching that fish. That one was actually my second; the first was when Tim first started helping me but really felt like a fluke because I didn’t even know it was on the line. It hadn’t felt like I had really fished it and caught it as much as it had just eaten my fly and not spit it out. It had really just put itself on my hook is what it basically felt like. But with this second one is was just the opposite. I felt like I really knew what I was doing, had a real expert guiding me and showing me the way. I cast it well, let it drift, saw it bite, then hooked and reeled it in. It was mine, something I had accomplished and could be proud of. And I certainly was.

Later that week we got some more chances to go fishing. Campbell and I didn’t have to work Tuesday because our boss said the weather was bad and to just enjoy the day. So Xan told us to go ahead, relax or have fun or whatever. There was something we both needed to do, but once we had done that Campbell and I both geared up and got on our mountain bikes and made our way up to the reservoir for the town. It was so much fun just setting out, biking up there and then fishing together. He caught two that day and I caught one. The next day, after work, all four of us left on the bikes to go fish. This time Dan and Josh stayed at the first reservoir and Campbell and I went further on to the second which is much larger. The water was freezing but it was so much fun. This time I was the only one to catch a fish! We literally fished until the sun set, then rode back down the mountain by the light of his head lamp. In hindsight maybe this wasn’t the safest thing, but then when does the heart of a man desire that which is safe? It was fun, and beautiful, and made us feel so alive.

And now tonight we are getting another shot at the fish. We all leave tonight to go up to Rocky Mountain National for a weekend fishing trip at Estes Park. Sister Therese told us tonight that Thursday is the solstice, the first day of summer and therefore the longest amount of daylight of the year. No coincidence I think that the day with the most light is our first day out there to just fish all day. Then Friday and Saturday, with nowhere to go, nowhere to be and nothing to do but face off against the fish. We go to work today excited for we know that when we get off, what awaits us is a company of men and a river of fish.

I’m sure by now somebody is wondering about the title. I believe it was Ron who, on one of those first nights of instruction, said that the world of fly fishing was like infinity. Like God, and like life, you can never truly know everything there is to know about the subject. And total mastery is not the point of it. All you need are the basics as far as knowledge and some decent equipment and you can step into this limitless river of learning and experience so much of who God is. It isn’t about catching the biggest fish, or catching the most fish, it’s just about fishing, about experiencing it and finding out about who God is and who you are. I’m sure this won’t make sense to some people, maybe many people, how swinging a stick and a little bug into water can teach a person anything, much less about who God is or about their life. And perhaps it’s better that way, perhaps this is not a lesson that can simply be conveyed through words, but rather must be experienced, for I know that is how I have learned it. One of our guides said that he most sees Jesus when he is fly fishing. And I can understand what he means, because when I step into this infinite world I feel not overwhelmed or intimidated by it’s magnificence and size, but rather I am awed that I can touch eternity- touch God, and even my own heart, through this activity at which I needn’t be the best, needn’t understand everything, I don’t even have to do anything. All I need to do is to just come and be, just experience and feel, and then know. And then I am part of infinity.