Sunday, March 14, 2010

Updates on things to come, life, and everything else


Been working hard lately. I have a dozen plus articles due to various pubs outside our own SID. Trying to get three in for tomorrow at SWFF. If you all haven't checked out Southwest Fly Fishing you should. You ever want to get the "juice" on where to fish in the SW that is the rag showing you: HOW TO, WHERE TO & WHAT TO. Looks like they have me on the hook for close to ten articles this year. Look for Issue two 3/31. Heck maybe this time we'll get the formatting right. LOL. Most likely not.

Fly Rod & Reel is going to let me have-way with their website. So look for many "Dirt-Friendly" additions to their web presence. The whole crew will be featured from Musky to Milkfish. Should be good stuff for the next year or so.

I think Fly Fisherman will be running with a "Budget Piece" here soon. Basically, how to fish all over for little dough. Good folks over there. Ross is a good dood.

The tease still seems to be Morris-P. American Angler doesn't want to run with the goods so far. I think they've held onto a couple articles now for a year-and-a-half. Shoot, GSJ has had an Apache piece for over two years now, saying it will get done every year. Oh-well. More for SID and others I guess.

Other stuff: H broke my heart last night. Asked if he wanted to go fishing and his response was, "No, want to stay at Babboo's". Babboo= Grandma's.

Broke my heart. So T and I went out for a little hubby-wiffle time on our own. Good times, good for the soul to spend a day or two with your best friend. Pictures posted here in this rant.

We're preparing for Costa Rica round these parts right now. Two weeks chasing Gautatupe Bass and Tarpon. Should be good times. Going with Church-E and his Pops. Tara is coming as my book reading side-kick.

Looking forward to the time away. I think we will be running to CO again in May. Going to spend some time at the ROSS plant. Looking forward to that. The Evolution is still the best reel I've ever fished. Only had one blow up ever and that was in seven degrees on the San Juan a few years back.

Brought to my attention recently that folks think I'm trying hard to come off as a fish-bum. Kind of always thought of myself as the opposite. However, I get it. Good feedback. Just to share my perception of it with folks is: Being just a fish-bum would be much easier than maintaining balance of a corp-am job, family, and worldly-responsibility. Not a knock on folks who are doing it by any means. In fact I try and honor the lifestyle with every post and every article now in the magazine. Loving the chase of fin can come in many different tax brackets.

So if my affection to sleep in the dirt gets in the way of catching the message on what we're doing, sincerely sorry. I grew up in a small farming town in MN. Spending every minute I wasn't in sports outside, fishing, hiking, camping... you name it.. just to be out-of-doors.

I live my life purposefully. Cowboy angling with the best of them, but not broke. So folks, take it for what it's worth. I'm just a dad fishing my tail off, brining my little man with me everywhere I can. The guys I end up fishing with are all pretty much the same. Folks who know how important family is. Guys who spend time being good at what they do for a living so they can spend every moment out of work on the water. The balance is the tough part and the skill set in my mind that is alluding to some.

In the end - just fish. If you have a kid take them with you. I promise you a time will come, and you will wish you could get just one minute of it back.












3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good for you AO. Keep doing what you are doing, you are doing it fine.

Mark Coleman said...

I think there's a lot of guys looking for that balance these days. Guys who used to fit the "bum" mold pretty snugly but now have that job, family, mortgage, etc. Ain't no shame in it, neither. If anything, it makes you appreciate being outdoors more.

Keep it up - you're doing good work here.

Aaron said...

Balance is it. Yester-year was all about fin. Now we have diapers, mortgages, and car payments.

Couldn't trade it, wouldn't trade it, but sometimes.. for brief moments.. wonder where my life went.