We are fishermen and fly tyers. Sometimes lucky, mostly not. Chasing giant salmon or huge trout or grayling keeps our hearts pumping. No matter what kind of weather it is, rainy, cloudy, sunny, or is the beer in our hand ice-cold or warm as sauna. We´ll take it as it is.
landmark near Byske river. don´t know if it´s still there
...and there was still not much to tell. Good times, we had fun. It was usually so dry and sunny, that even locals didn´t bothered to fish. But we did. Whole week. Every year. More reels and rods were broken and more lines were cut. Couple of phones got lost. It was obvious we didn´t need any kind of MacGyver stuff with duct tape, we simply needed more spare parts.
I remember many mornings with swollen faces and bloodshot eyes, but not once was the weight of the world on our shoulders. Not on our fishing trip.
Only thing that is hard, is the intensity of fishing. Cast after cast, repeatedly 24/7. Whole body is beaten up and tired.
And when I stumbled the third time in a row on some night, day or morning, I wet my shirt, wading trousers swallows gallons of water and my head was under water for a brief moment. What more could go wrong? How hard can this be?! And beside that, not a single fish bite my flies. Spey hard.
no rods were harmed during this session
this rod were severely harmed. if it can break, it will break
with this one we have had success (or almost success) many times
And then my wading trousers zipper brakes - trousers were bought week before - soon after I yank my fly line loose from the highest pine of the whole riverbank. It gets loose and shoots straight to my leg. Hook penetrates trousers and cuts in to my flesh. What a bloody mess.
At least we could choose our battlefield. Lets take this river.
For next summer I designed our first t-shirt. It felt like a prober thing to do. Something to remember. Like a landmark or street sign.
So, this is our story. Thank you for reading. Come say hello if you see us somewhere. Casting crew may change from year to year, but Juha-Matti and I remain.
Tight lines!
Spey Hard