Irish Tea and Soft Hackles

Fish and Golf

My older son is a pharmacist. He doesn't fish. He occasionally plays golf. My younger son is a loan officer for a bank. He fishes. He also plays golf occasionally.

Fish don't understand golf. I don't understand golf. My daughter-in-law doesn't fish or play golf. She's the smart one! She doesn't understand us.

Golf? It's something about hitting this little ball as far as you can and getting the lowest score. When I correlate that to fly fishing, it sounds like I should cast as far as I can and catch the fewest fish. Maybe I should take up golf. I have the fewest part down. I just need to learn to cast farther! And maybe catch smaller fish.

My favorite golfer was Payne Stewart. He had flare! There were probably better golfers on the tour, but none looked or played the part as he. He would arrive on the first tee in his plus fours (looked like knickers to me!) or other traditional clothing in what he described as his contribution to preserving the history of the game. We need more athletes like Payne. He knew it wasn't all about money. He left us too soon.

Payne Stewart enjoyed the game of golf. Some often questioned his desire to excel. He had the skills, yet it occasionally appeared that he was having fun at the expense of his competitive nature. Possibly others faulted him for that, but I can't. He brought something to the game that is dourly missed today. Call it "flare", or "pizzazz", or "color". I'll call it excitement! Payne Stewart may have missed his calling. He should have been a fly fisherman! What other sport, besides golf, allows a man to dress as outrageously as he pleases. His laid back temperament would have been a perfect fit for a career as a trout bum. He was exciting to watch! I would have enjoyed fishing with him!

To be absolutely truthful, I used to play golf!

In a conversation with a fly shop owner a couple of years ago, he mentioned that fly fishing sales were down about 17%. I suspect they have since dropped more. The fly fishing fad had apparently peaked as a result of the popularity of what we term "The Movie" but was slowly reverting to a normal level. During those peak times and even now we see a certain number of people on our streams who are novices enchanted with the mystique of "The Movie". Too often, they want the look or respectability the movie gave to fly fishermen (lots of men would like to look like Brad Pitt) without the total cost. That cost is not measured in dollars. All the money a person can spend on waders, rods, reels, lines, and hardware that clang like cymbals will not teach a person stream etiquette, casting ability, or various truths of fishing. That cost is in time and effort spent on the stream fishing or looking at bugs, in the yard practicing various casts, or seeking knowledge by browsing the volumes of information available, both online and off.

The cliche is old and worn, but true. You have to pay the cost! Or, as David Chin so aptly says to me, "If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys!"

I have been fly fishing now for enough years that I worry about our sport. The antics of professional athletes have filtered down to all levels. We see kids in high school games, or lower, imitating the unacceptable behavior of their so-called sports heroes. I dearly hope that our sport is immune to such. There is no place for rudeness among fly fishermen. To give of what we have in politeness, knowledge, and time is a far greater trophy than any fish.

The hopes and expectations of our sport are many. We are blessed with a country of ideals and an environment resilient enough to tolerate a certain amount of misuse. It is our duty to protect such gifts . As the fly fishing fad levels, let's make sure that those of us whose remain help those who wish to get started. And, in reference to those fad holdovers, a popular rod company humorously suggested that someone may soon be making a movie about golf. I hope they call it "A 513 yard Dogleg Left Runs Through It"!

thoughts by Johnny McJunkins. email: jmcjunki@texarkanacollege.edu

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