A few days ago, I asked Megan if she was at all interested in fly fishing. She was very apologetically texted back saying she did not like anything to do with water. I’ve been dreaming of fly fishing. A few things fuel my interest 1) I have a strong vision of Brad Pitt (again) standing waist deep in a river dappled with sunlight and casting from the film a River Runs Through It (which I have never seen nor read the book from which it draws its inspiration), 2) a this American Life episode about a young flute player who steals a bunch of dead birds from a British museum to sell the feathers on the feather underground (ebay?) to avid fly tying enthusiasts in order to buy a golden flute and 3) a recent chance meeting with a very fun person with bright pink hair at a party who said – we are a women’s fly fishing group, come join us, we have a lot of fun together (all their trips are waiting list only now, I checked).
Then Megan texted back, I can cheer you on from shore while you fly fish and then I admitted that what I really was to invite her to a fly tying class which can be completely separate from fly fishing and involves absolutely no water. Crafty! I said. (No one likes crafts more than Megan). And she was hooked (lol. see what I did there? punny). Look at this gorgeous fly – I can see why some folks want real feathers from real, dead, extinct birds to do this…
We made nothing so lovely. I made a worm from yarn. This worm lure actually has a name: San Juan Worm specifically designed for the San Juan river in New Mexico. Then I got semi-excited because maybe Gila, NM where we often visit is right near the San Juan river….and no. It is not, it is in the complete opposite direction. But there is fishing in the Gila. Anyways, Megan and I had a really fun night tying fake worms to hooks and learning about fly fishing and fly tying.
