I don’t know why I love it. I grew up in the suburbs. My mother’s idea of camping was a 4-star hotel, and my dad bought a weber to grill, and used it ONCE in my lifetime.
But there was a creek across the street from us, and I’d buy hooks at the dime store. And one memorable day, I even caught a catfish on a safety pin and a hot dog.
It wasn’t until I was grown and on my own that I fished again.
My husband and I belonged to a motorcycle club, and there was a weekend at the Kern river near Bakersfield, California, every year. We stayed at a hotel on the river. My girlfriend Pam and I were sitting on the patio with the water rushing under us, when she asked me if I liked to fish. We went across the street to a gas station and rented fishing poles, and she even caught a 5 inch trout. Then she asked me what I thought about fly fishing.
Our husbands bought us fly rods, reels, and fly fishing lessons for Christmas, and that was the beginning of my addiction.
One of the trips we made every year was to Kennedy Meadows, a remote area, high in the mountains. A river runs through it (sorry, couldn’t resist) and another friend, Chris came fishing with Pam and I. We had a blast, and returned for several summers. The die was cast. The Kennedy Meadows Hookers were born.
The three of us have taken a fly fishing trip somewhere, almost every year since. Yellowstone, Mammoth, Ca, Oregon, we’ve been all over, and had a blast, every time. Fishing with them is great, but the nights are even better – like high school sleepovers with your best friends – only with WINE!
We’ve got tons of stories – like the year I broke my leg (just a hairline fracture) and I insisted I wasn’t missing Jacuzzi time, so they wheeled me down on a luggage cart (wine was involved, but it was medicinal)….to the year I REALLY broke my leg on the last day of the trip, and the Sherriff’s dept had to send a boat to rescue me.
To THIS year, when I caught the biggest trout of my life! Had to be 10 lbs, around 28″. After the photo op, I let her go.
We’ve aged over the years, and we aren’t intrepid hikers anymore, but we still go, every year (except last year, danged Covid!)
So how about you? Do you like fishing? Have you ever been?
Laura Drake is a New York and self-published published author of Women's Fiction and Romance.
Her romance series, Sweet on a Cowboy, is set in the world of professional bull riding. Her debut, The Sweet Spot, was a double-finalist, then won the 2014 Romance Writers of America® RITA® award. She’s since published 12 more books. She is a founding member of Women's Fiction Writers Assn, as well as a member of Western Writers of America and Women Writing the West.
Laura is a city girl who never grew out of her tomboy ways, or a serious cowboy crush. She gave up the corporate CFO gig to write full time. She realized a lifelong dream of becoming a Texan and is currently working on her accent. She's a wife, grandmother, and motorcycle chick in the remaining waking hours.
I have been fishing. I can take it or leave it.
Funny Deb, in my experience you either love it or care nothing about it – I’ve never met anyone in the middle!
I love fishing, although I confess to having never gone fly fishing. I too, catch and release. There’s something so peaceful about being out on the water with the sun and the bugs…okay, I could do without them…How did you break your leg fishing?
About 25 miles out of Bend, Oregon, on a river with lots of deadfall – stepped in a hole with a branch across the front, SNAP! I knew immediately what happened. Luckily, had enough cell service to call 911, but it took about two hours to get to the hospital and blissful drugs….
What you live through makes a good story later, right?
Ouch! I’ll bet it makes for a good story now, though!
My ex loved fishing and I went with him sometimes. I enjoyed it, but it’s been over 20 years since I have been.
You should plan to get out there again, Janine!
My husband doesn’t have any interest in fishing and I won’t go alone because of snakes.
When I was young I use to fish all the time before I got married. After I got married I didn’t fish anymore. I live close to the river before I got married and I would go by myself down to the river and fish. Also use to go out on a boat with my dad fishing. Those were the good old days. Never did any fly fishing though.
The fish are waiting for you!
Laura, you are so blessed to have such great memories and an even greater comradery with special girlfriends. I loved your story – and in the video, I hope you were wearing a life jacket!! Are those pins and a plate in your legs? Yikes!!!
Enjoying fishing with such a passion is a gift. I hope you can enjoy for many years to come!
Thanks, Pam. Yup, a plate, screws and wires. Couldn’t fly home for ten days, and an angel put us up for all that time!
I do not fly fish but I love fishing. Bass, crappie, catfish….I enjoy catching fish!
Sister!
I have been fishing in a bass boat, but it’s just not my thing. But kudos to those of you who enjoy it.
Kathleen – we just moved to two lakes and a river within 15 miles of us, so I had to buy a bass boat! I think it’s the law….
Fished almost every weekend as a child with lots of fish fries on the bank to eat what we caught!
Sounds like a great childhood, Teresa
Great video! What a catch!
It was thrill!
I have not been fishing since I was a child. I am disabled now. I would need a lot of help to be able to fish. Thank you for such a wonderful trip down memory lane.
Thanks for reading, Debra. I HAVE seen docks etc. that are for Handicapped only. You should check into it.
I have been fishing, catch and release. It’s not really for me, so while the guys are fishing off the dock at the lake, I’m sitting in the porch swing and reading.
denise
Nothing wrong with that, Denise!
Hi, yes, I have gone fishing and it is fun for a little while, I have a lot of patience , but staying quiet and waiting for a fish to get caught, well , I don’t have much patience at all for that. I really, really like to go fishing when my grandchildren go with us, they love it and they really get very excited when they catch a fish, so that makes me very happy. We might take them fishing this weekend. 2 of our grandchildren live in the same town we do, and our other grandson lives 7 hours away. We have taken all them fishing at one time or another. Thank you for sharing your awesome fishing times with us. Have a great week and stay safe.
Oh yes – kids and fishing! You’re making memories they’ll cherish their whole lives!
Well you have some great memories there. thank you for sharing your memories with us. My dad loved to fish and mom would cook it for us. I was the oldest and when my next sibling, a brother, was two dad started to take us camping by a lake. He taught us to catch and clean so mom could cook it. We did this for so many years. By the time we moved to the dessert, my youngest sister was nine. Wow I missed those days. When I got married, my husband and I would camp but he didnt care for fishing. So when the kids came along, I would take them and the three of us had a blast. Our son loved fishing. Our daughter quickly found other things. Our son is now 35 and he still loves to fish.
Yes, it’s amazing. I’ve found that people either love it or couldn’t care less. Not many in-between. Thanks for reading!
I have been fishing and taken our children fishing. I go just for the hike or boat ride and supervise. When I was young (10 or so) I hiked up into the mountain beaver dam meadows in the Adirondack Mts. of N.Y. with my dad and uncles. They were trout fishing. It was a meandering stream just a few feet wide and not very deep. It had a sandy bottom and I could see the fish, scrubby brush not more than about 3 feet tall. We have fished in ponds, streams and big lakes. I really liked the perch caught ice fishing on Lake Champlain. My husband and uncle went out one day and got over 40 dozen perch. I came home to my husband gutting and skinning them. I think I was cleaning fish guts and scales off the walls and ceiling for days. They were sure good. We haven’t done much fishing in TN where we now live. We seriously don’t trust the waters due to local pollution. My best “fishing” experience was paddling our canoe out to the middle of a lake, throwing a line over the side (no bait or hook), leaning back, and just floating peacefully for a few hours.
I hope your Kennedy Meadows Hookers group get to go on many more fishing trips. Your trout was a beauty. It would have been an asset in a breeding program. Anymore, we do catch and release when we go out. I think it is the challenge, process, and fight we enjoy more than the meal at the end.
Patricia, you made my mouth water – PERCH! The best eating (mind the bones) ever!
But yes, I catch and release only. They need their lives more than I need a meal.