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Rule No. 158 - Never throw a long line when a short one will serve your purpose

I was given my first fishing rod when I was 3. It was red and shiny and the best Christmas gift ever. It couldn't have been more than a meter long but I was chuffed. I could not wait to go fishing with my Dad. Since then, I've moved on to fly fishing and I can honestly say that it is one of the most relaxing and peaceful things to do. But... It can also be a tad frustrating.

 Last year I went fishing with my Dad in the dead of winter and after nearly freezing to death for a couple hours, I'd still not even had a bite. There I was, feeling like Brad Pitt in "A river runs through it", casting like my life depended on it. But nothing. 

 As the morning cleared, so did the water and something caught my eye not two meters in front of me. There was this beautiful trout casually gliding past me, oblivious of the delicious looking fly just a little further in the deep end. I pulled my line in as quick as I could and cast in the area just in front of me. But by then, that fish was long gone.


 Moral of the story? It's the age old cliche: sometimes what you are looking for is right in front of you. Start with what you got, love it, own it. Then if you got that in the bag, you can start casting out a little further. 

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