May I add my five-cents worth of wisdom, please?
I've been an "old salt" fisherman, charter captain, flats guide, writer and even a professional photog back in the early 80's, mainly photographing commercial real estate from helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, and also won an award or two in a few art shows back in the day.
Where does this tie in to a photo contest about fly-fishing? Well, here goes. (and if I hit a nerve or two, I will certainly apologize now).
Back when I was chartering and guiding, I forgot one important rule, a rule of life. I stopped looking at the "full-circle" of events that were going on around me. I regretfully began looking at only one degree of that circle, in an attempt to only "see" that fish for that client.
After I stopped working on the water, I still looked at that one degree as I taught my new wife to fish the beautiful flats on the eastern coast of Florida. Oh, and by the way, I'm an avid fly-fisherman and fly tyer. Anyway, one morning Linda and I were out on the flats and I was trying so hard to get her on a fish, when I looked about three hundred yards away and saw a school of about five hundred redfish coming straight at us. I was extremely excited and so was she. All we had to do was sit there and wait for them to come straight to us.
Suddenly, two bottle-nosed dolphin intercepted the school and sent redfish flying through the air and about the same time, this old saltwater captain went totally be-jerk! I cussed, I jumped up and down, I screamed at the dolphin, my blood pressure went through the roof....and what was my new bride doing? Sitting cross-legged on the casting deck of my skiff giggling like a little kid. I asked why...
Her words, which I will never forget...
"Why are you so angry? They live here, we don't. We are only visitors in these waters. Just how many times have you ever seen this happen? Justt hink of what you may have missed."
I have to admit. My novice wife slapped me up-side the head so hard with wisdom I almost fell out of the boat.
When I started fishing back many years ago, I looked at everything wide-eyed. I began to wonder, after she smacked me, how much had I missed from only looking ahead for the next fish. How many sunrises, how many sunsets, how many wading birds or diving ospreys?
Does the bird in the winning photo have anything to do with warmwater, or fishing, or flyfishing? Everything, it has everything to do with our sport.
Congrats to the winner...
