Athena and I broke the ice earlier this year at the Kalama. It was awkward. I didn't know how to handle her and in response she would only overhand really wide open loops. I got the nail knot stuck in the tip top and nearly dropped her. Neither of us were happy and I had my doubts.
I drive to the Cowlitz in the morning, mocha in hand, with Athena resting in the passenger's seat. I take my time stringing her up, with her 14 foot leader and tie on a copper bee. We walk in silence down to the run below the boat launch and step into the water.
The water is always cool and until I wade in up to my hips it tries to trip me, pulling at my shins. I let out some line and roll out a short cast. She doesn't like it much. The line just kind of spits out there and the leader piles up at the end. She seems unhappy and as cool as the water.
Perhaps I need to load her up, I wonder, so out comes more line, 50..60..70..80 feet. I let the current carry it down (river right) and remember the incantation....
Up comes the tip, sweep the rod upstream and the fly is directly in front of me, sweep back around and forward and this time the line punches out but stalls and the leader piles up again. In frustration I pull the tip up and the line straight back and give it a short flick and ..... she whispers to me .... the leader straightens out.
I pause, I relax, count my breathing and think....
Tip up and sweep left, fly is in the water in front of me, sweep back around smoothly and flick. She sings to me, the line whispers past my ear out into the river, the leader turns over and we are fishing together.
She is a goddess throwing nearly a hundred feet of line with effortless power. She needs none of the gentle coaxing that it takes to fish Patience, nor the playful teasing of Mikalya and would loathe Bender's deep pragmatic swing. She demands respect and excels at what she was built for. Steelheading on the swing.
I drive to the Cowlitz in the morning, mocha in hand, with Athena resting in the passenger's seat. I take my time stringing her up, with her 14 foot leader and tie on a copper bee. We walk in silence down to the run below the boat launch and step into the water.
The water is always cool and until I wade in up to my hips it tries to trip me, pulling at my shins. I let out some line and roll out a short cast. She doesn't like it much. The line just kind of spits out there and the leader piles up at the end. She seems unhappy and as cool as the water.
Perhaps I need to load her up, I wonder, so out comes more line, 50..60..70..80 feet. I let the current carry it down (river right) and remember the incantation....
Up comes the tip, sweep the rod upstream and the fly is directly in front of me, sweep back around and forward and this time the line punches out but stalls and the leader piles up again. In frustration I pull the tip up and the line straight back and give it a short flick and ..... she whispers to me .... the leader straightens out.
I pause, I relax, count my breathing and think....
Tip up and sweep left, fly is in the water in front of me, sweep back around smoothly and flick. She sings to me, the line whispers past my ear out into the river, the leader turns over and we are fishing together.
She is a goddess throwing nearly a hundred feet of line with effortless power. She needs none of the gentle coaxing that it takes to fish Patience, nor the playful teasing of Mikalya and would loathe Bender's deep pragmatic swing. She demands respect and excels at what she was built for. Steelheading on the swing.
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