Fishing with my Father

Going fishing is the epitome of father-son activities and I am extremely lucky that my Dad also happens to be my hero and one of my very best mates. He also taught me a lot of what I know about fishing (and now I am teaching him some stuff too!). So it was really awesome that last week he was able to take a day off work and come fishing.

Dad hooked up to a solid fish

I realise that one day Dad won't be around to come fishing with me, so memories and photographs are like gold. I also realise that for whatever reason, many people do not get to spend as much time with their parents as they would like, and fishing is about as quality as time gets for Dad and I. Ever since I was little I remember pestering him to go fishing, which I think he quite enjoyed because Mum would often encourage him to go just to shut me the hell up!

Must have been the superb guiding!

I owe a lot to plenty of people in life but my Dad is right up there. He taught me about patience, respect and how to take pleasure out of the small things in life, all of which are qualities a good fly fisherman needs. Most importantly, he passed on his incredible enthusiasm for fishing and the outdoors in general and I think that this is the greatest gift he has ever given me.

Quality time with one of my best mates

Dad often says that I have now taken him over in things such as casting ability, amount of fish caught and time spent on the water. While this might be true, none of it would have happened without him and it is for this reason that Dad will always be a better fisherman than me. I am constantly learning new things from him, most recently to slow things down a bit when out on the river (I have an awful tendency to charge forward, especially on new water). I look forward to spending many more days on the water with him.

Here is a video that is probably better suited to fathers day, however it ties in with this post and is a truly powerful observation of the father-son relationship. Read the description on the video too, its a beautiful story.