River Treasures
Fly fishing a lot of the time is not about fishing so much,
But about the rewards that are found out on the river. A big fish is a fantastic take away from the day and will satisfy many people including me. As an angler grows in this sport, this reward can be captured by many moments throughout an angler's day fishing. Scenery, bird watching, cracking a cold one or laying the rod down and taking a moment to enjoy lunch with a good fishing partner are all moments of river treasures. These special moments anglers take away from a fishing trip and live on to tell at another fishing destination.
With fly fishing as my main passion in life, I spend most of my time walking the riverbeds to find new fish to catch. Out chasing steelhead on the clearwater river, I stumbled across my first whitetail deer shed. For anyone who doesn’t know big game animals like elk deer and moose, grow antlers each year and then they fall off to get replaced by a new set the following year. I came home with no steelhead pictures but happy as ever to tell my dad about this antler(shed) I found. This lit a fire of when and where we were going to find more. I grew this massive hobby to find these sheds. This small deer antler now sits on my tying table as a tool holder for tying flies.
I found I didn’t need to go out in search of sheds, because I would be out fishing and end up stumbling on them. I have had great luck finding these river treasures that always leave me smiling on the river. They sit in my fly-tying room or around my place telling me and others who come in stories of being on the water.
NOT LONG AFTER FINDING MY FIRST DEER ANTLER ON THE RIVER.
I was deep in the backcountry chasing fish with a pontoon boat and three days' worth of food and a box full of flies. After the long hike with everything on my back, I arrived at my destination. Everything assembled, I pulled over to my first hole to fish. Looking down in the water, I realized what I was seeing was not an oddly shaped piece of wood, but a large 6-point elk shed. I was stoked. Fish were caught on that trip, but resting now as a mantel piece this elk shed reminds me of that great weekend, and that awesome river.
It was a lucky winter. I was out chasing steelhead in Lewiston, when I got to the end of my run and noticed an antler poking out of the water. Grabbing it I noticed it was still attached to the deer's head (a dead head). No fish, but I ended the day with a little reward. You can find the coolest things out there if you just go.
October might be one of the most fun times to fish. As it happened again, Drew my great fishing buddy and I were out chasing this October caddis hatch while walking the banks of the river to the next hole I noticed a dead 8-point buck resting in the river. I had to get the antlers from this stinky dead deer. So, what did I do? I went down a mile or so to the next house on the river asked if he had anything to cut an antler with. Getting the guys saw, I cut the antlers off the deer, adding to my collection of the things you might just find on the water.
Getting out and fly fishing is so much more than catching fish or bragging about the huge fish you catch. Laughing with others enjoying the day and maybe finding one of these river treasures make me so much more anxious to get back out on the water.