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Here we are once again. The end of the old year and the start of
a new one, and each year those 365 days seem to happen at a quicker
pace. Years are like age, as you get older don't think of it as
'over the hill', just think of it as picking up speed.
Maybe, that is why the year went by like a blur, and my list of
things to do, once again didn't get done, and possibly that is what
next years are all about, so next year I will have time to do what
I didn't do this year.
Thanks
It is also a time to give thanks. Thanks for the opportunity of
days afield in Northwest British Columbia, one of the prettiest
spots in the world, and home to some of the best fishing, hunting,
hiking and scenery anywhere. Thanks also to the special people who
live in the area and the visitors that love this place. Thanks for
the privilege of good partners in the fields and streams, for it
is the companions that really make a trip. Thanks to the friends
I have been lucky enough to fish with, Herb, Gene, Gary, Denis,
Brad, Dave, Eric, Mike, Leroy, Daniel, Paul, Serge, John, Pierce,
Steve and all the others.
Resolutions
It is also the time for New Year's resolutions, which mostly get
broken, but in the spirit of the season, I will make a few. I resolve
to keep my outdoor journal up to date because nothing caps off the
past year better than reading and remembering the trips and experience
you had. I promise to take time for more pictures. Who has ever
said they took too many snapshots? I look back and think why didn't
I take any pics of that trip. Memories, like the mind, can fade
but pictures are indelible.
Assist others
I will take more time to assist others and less time in the numbers
game that many anglers become addicted too. Some of the most pleasant
remembrances this past season were handing off a steelhead to an
angler so he could land his first. Directing a friend, who was having
a steelhead shutout, into a spot and seeing the smile spread across
his face as he hooked up.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE
for your convenience)
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Showing a buddy a new method, having him try it,
and get three bites on the next three swings of the fly. Watching
an angler, with inadequate equipment and skills, getting frustrated
trying to catch a sockeye, lending him my rod and reel, demonstrating
the correct way, and watching him finally hookup. They tell us it
is better to give than to receive. It is true.
DFO
On the matter of giving for the New Year. I would
like the DFO (Department of Fisheries and Oceans) to give us more
"Salmon Management" from the West Coast than politics
from Ottawa. I would like more salmon and steelhead to give their
spawn back to the gravels where they were born. I would like all
politicians and government to give us a little competence and good
management, and please give us less taxes and more jobs.
I would like to give some as yet unfished streams
and lakes a try, because I love a new challenge. Of course, I would
like to give some of my old haunts a visit, as fishing familiar
waters cements the special relationship we have with the natural
world. Finally, I would like the weather to give us a break, not
the cold, wet, windy conditions and high water of last season.
Best days
Remember the best days of fishing, photography, skiing,
hunting, hiking, walking, and biking, or just being with friends
and family when you can, and often. The best times for the above
is on days ending in "y." The best weather for the above
is when it is windy, raining, snowing, cloudy, sunny or when it
isn't.
Deep breath
Nowadays, with the proliferation of cell phones, pagers, computers,
faxes, deadlines, appointments, world conditions, the avalanche
of information and the stresses of balancing work demands and family
values, it can overwhelm and smother us. We need to take a deep
breath, step back and give thanks for the great friends, great rivers,
and great mountains we have. Give to your family, your church, the
needy, homeless and the downtrodden. Give to the land, the environment,
and to the organizations that fight for what we have.
We, at BC North, wish you the Best New Year!
More of Bob's photos on the Photo
page
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