My lucky "fishing hat" (I have other lucky hats for other things which is why I specify "fishing hat"). Is an olive SIMMS long billed cap that I purchased in 2005. It's old,it's faded,my sweat has bleached the color out of it, and.......it kinda smells. However, I ALWAYS catch fish when I wear it! Maybe not always monsters, and maybe sometimes only one or two, but I've never been skunked while wearing it. So, if you're cruising around my usual fishing haunts, and you see a guy in an olive hat that looks like it needs to be thrown away. Say hi! It's probably me!
Up until recently I never took a camera with me when I'd go fishing. People always ask me,"how come you don't have more pictures of you holding fish?" Well it's simple, I believed that taking a camera along was a guarantee that I would get skunked! When I first started I always had a camera at the ready, and then one day I forgot it. I had the most amazing day ever! I landed 42 trout on the Lower Mountain Fork River in Oklahoma that day. Four of them were over 20 inches!
So, as a result I logically surmised that cameras were bad ju ju, and stopped bringing one along...EVER! I figured that I was fishing for my enjoyment anyway. Not to have a bunch of pictures to show other people. I gotta admit though, there have been more than a few fish over the years that I wish I had pictures of.
My wife Tracy gets the credit for helping me overcome my aversion to fishing photography. Partly because she is a very talented amateur photographer, and partly because she wants to see pictures of the trips she isn't able to join me on. If you see pictures on this blog that are awesome. I promise you she took them. If you see pictures that look like our dog got hold of the camera, and started chewing on it. Repeatedly biting down on the shutter button........then well.....I took those.
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| Our girl Sammi |
Anyway, Tracy convinced me recently that cameras really don't generate a force field that keeps fish away from me. So, I'm hoping to have more pictures of some fine fish on here soon.
Regular readers of this blog know that my father in law passed away last November. He was a very talented fly fisherman, and one of the best all around men I have ever had the pleasure of having in my life. During our recent trip to western North Carolina this past August. I went on a float trip with my father in law's favorite guide, Ollie Smith of Blue Ridge Anglers.
As we were gathering our gear to head out and meet Ollie. We came across a yellow waterproof bag, and inside were my father in law's lucky fishing shoes! To say that these shoes are worn out is being too kind. They're all white Reeboks (well, at least they used to be all white) with the soles hanging loose and flopping. Silver duct tape has been applied to them more than once. They are by no stretch of the imagination safe footwear anymore, but my father in law hung on to them. Everyone that he fished with knew about his lucky shoes.
When Ollie saw the yellow bag he asked, "Are those ugly shoes in there?!" It gave us all a good laugh. We even thought about burying the shoes on the bank of the Watauga, but decided that my brother in law should be there for that. So, we may do it next trip.
I hope you enjoyed reading and leave comments about your lucky fishing stuff and rituals. I'd love to read them!
Tight Lines!
Shawn
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