Outdoor Column: Casting About in Hopeful Pursuits (2005-03-14)

An Outdoor Column From: Tom Conroy DNR Information Officer 261 Highway 15 South New Ulm,MN 56073 507-359-6014 tom.conroy@dnr.state.mn.us March 14, 2005

Title: Casting About in Hopeful Pursuits

In Anatomy of a Fisherman, Robert Traver writes: "I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I escape…; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power; because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip….and finally, not because I regard fishing as being so important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant - and not nearly so much fun."

Traver's eloquent description, along with a recent re-viewing of the movie A River Runs Through It has convinced me that it's time to give it a try. There is an offer on the table and I'm going to take it. I'm going to learn how to fly fish. Well, more specifically, I'm going to try to learn how to fly fish.

I've spent enough time in southeastern Minnesota to appreciate the outstanding resource that is the coldwater streams of that region. The idea of whiling away some time on a secluded stretch of one of those streams trying to outwit a trout is tantalizing. And I'm not getting any younger. In a box in my office is a stack of photos. One is of a young boy, probably six or so years old, holding a rainbow trout as he beams for the camera. It's inspiring, this picture of a lad I don't know. It confirms that there are still kids today who are inquisitive enough to follow a butterfly or turn over a rock in a stream just to see what's there. It tells me there are still kids anxious to look for worms with a flashlight at night or climb a tree to peer into a bird's nest.

There's a story about a mom who is driving her two kids somewhere when the car has a flat tire. It's raining as the mom struggles to change the tire. The kids are impatient and start complaining. The mom suddenly shouts at them, "Don't you understand?! I can't change the channel! This is real life!"

Real life. Not reality TV, a computer game or a palm pilot. Real life. It's not that young people don't care about nature. Heck, kids today get more involved in environmental issues than we ever did as kids. As Deborah Churchman, an associate editor of Ranger Rick, a children's nature magazine noted, "On the surface they are very green - they start recycling centers, they adopt manatees, they write poignant letters to tuna fish companies asking them to be nice to dolphins."

The problem is, many of these same kids never go outside. Ask them where they can find wildlife and they're likely to say Africa. "Parents are overbooked and kids are overbooked," Churchman explains. Kids don't have as much time to just hang around and when they do, parents worry about their safety.

So, does it even matter that little Johnny or Jane has never caught a fish, held a snake, watched a hawk swoop down on a mouse, or heard a rooster pheasant crow? Can it not? How can Johnny or Jane ever care about that which they don't understand? In the words of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "And in today already walks tomorrow,"

Fishing, it's been said, is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope. I'm hopeful that I can learn the tricks of fly fishing and maybe even experience the thrill of a tight line a time or two. I'll be even more encouraged if, during my wanderings, I happen upon a few kids hopefully casting lines into a stream, or simply turning over rocks to see what's there.

(The streams of southeast Minnesota will be open to catch and release fishing on April 1. The regular trout fishing opener is April 16. Take a Mom fishing weekend is May 7-8. The Minnesota fishing opener is May 14. Take a Kid Fishing weekend is June 10-12. For more information on youth fishing opportunities, explore the DNR web site at www.dnr.state.mn.us. Typing in MinnAqua in the search bar is a good place to start.)

-30-
 

Click Here To Return To The Previous Page