 |
| -- Every Picture Tells a Story-- |
If you are on Instagram, you've noticed everyone posting "Year in Review" videos that flash by the most memorable or liked posts. Both Statigram and Flipagram are two of the more popular sites/apps that provide this service for free.
I thought it would be fun to tell a little story for some of the most memorable pics this year from the @ginclear Instagram account. The year was full of fly fishing firsts in many ways. First fish, first hatches and first time fishing with new friends.
Here are some of the most memorable moments of 2013 in chronological order from the beginning of the year:
Fly fishing with my son +Matt Wormell (@troutdoors) is both fun and frustrating at the same time. We have fun on the river, share a bit of competitive fishing and I get pissed when he starts throwing fits about the most meaningless little things. We fished this spot twice this year (in early January and late December), both times getting skunked. I owe it all to Matt. He bought me my first fly rod for Christmas 7 years ago and I've not looked back.
If you have read this blog, you know I'm a Red Sox fan. These preseason acquisitions worked out pretty well. While Dempster had a so-so season (8-9 with a 4.57 ERA) he did help while Buchholz was on the disabled list for most of the season. Gomes, on the other hand, was arguably one of the reasons for the Red Sox's miraculous worst to first turnaround leading to the World Series victory.
Fishing with friends is always great, especially the first time with new friends. +Charley Gould (right) (@ancientangler) and I hooked up through social media two years ago and we've hit the river and ponds together many times. +Scott Hunter (left) of Vedavoo (@vedavoogear) and I met at several fly fishing events over the last two years and we finally got a chance to fish together.
I finally started tying some articulated flies. This one went into the 3rd Instagram Fly Swap hosted by +Morgan Kupfer of TLTFF (@tltff). I'm still on the fence about the amount of time it takes me to tie these vs. the success on the water. Also, loosing one to a snag really sucks.
After four attempts over two years of searching for stripers with a another great fishing friend +Mark Ellis I finally had success with a couple of schoolies. Mark is a well experienced striper fly fisher and has graciously invited me to some of his favorite spots to get me into my first salt fish on the fly.
Matt and I found a bunch of stocked fish in the local stream that where aggressive and feisty. This pic got 4th most likes and the following one of me catching this fish got the 3rd most likes.
Not a great pic, but most memorable for figuring out the local hex hatch and getting into some nighttime fish.
Whenever I travel for business, I look for opportunities to bring the rod and fish for a day or two. +Howard Levett of Windknots and Tangled Lines was gracious to get some time off work and show me some of his favorite spots along the Denver Front Range. All on dries, I had my best day landing fish.
Howard suffered a heart attack went under major heart surgery on Christmas Eve. He is recovering and I can't thank him enough for this epic day and all the wonderful acts and deeds he does on a daily basis. Get well soon, my friend. We will fish together again.
Didn't get to this central Massachusetts stream enough this year. One visit in mid-summer with Matt and his friend resulted in landing a smallmouth, brown and rainbow.
This is one of many shots from the local ponds. We are blessed to have year round fishing opportunities and I have a blast shedding the waders in the heat of the summer to chase bass and gills.
Some of my best moments on the water are spent with the love of my life. Val (@valwormell) puts up with my new fly fishing addiction and embraces it by joining me from time to time. Here we explore a new local stream together.
I love fall fishing on the local streams. The colors are vivid and the trout usually cooperate. This year the streams were a bit low, but, here with +Charley Gould, we were able to find some fish.
Val and I were able to take a long weekend to visit Matt, who is studying fisheries and wildlife biology, at Paul Smiths College of the Adirondacks. Matt is getting to know the West Branch of the Ausable and became our guide over Columbus Day weekend. We lucked out with gorgeous weather and some cooperating brownies.
From my last blog post, Matt and I found some open water on the local stream. I love getting out in winter to look for fish. This year, the rivers froze a bit earlier than normal.
What were your most memorable firsts and pictures from the year? Please share in the comments below.
Wishing you a safe and prosperous New Year!
No comments :
Post a Comment