How often have you found yourself muttering, “…one of those days.” What were you yammering on about?
We’ve all had those days out on the river, when we show up with the hope of what will surely be an epic day! After excitedly rigging up and scampering to the water, we forget to do the little things…like look behind us before we cast. The first back cast ends up snagged in a tree, and the typical moves to try and unsnag have no effect.
The only option is to snap it all off and retie. Inevitably, you mumble to yourself, out loud, “Well, I guess it’s going to be one of those days.”
However, on the other side of the “One of Those Days Coin,” there are also those days you have on the river that are spectacular! The kind of day when you stand in the middle, casting your fly to every hole where you suspect a fish to be and confirm they are eating exactly what you first tied on.
As you start working the river from the far left bank, covering every possible feeding lane, eddy, or drift, your casts become more beautiful and your drifts on point, rewarding you with a plethora of fish hookups.
It’s as if you can’t miss! And you inevitably mumble to yourself, out loud, “Well, I guess it’s going to be one of those days!”
While we all have our share of the former, it is the latter that remains in the forefront of my memory and what I turn to in those times of struggle. I can easily slip into moments of frustration, where my self-talk gets gnarly. I can easily fall into the negativity of “Poor me; why does everything bad have to happen to me?” and take the role of victim.
But, fuck that! I am desperately trying and working hard to be more grateful for all that I do have, rather than get stuck in what I don’t. And I find the more I can remember the positive “One of Those Days,” the more common they become.
Give me the memories of days in the sun, casting to rising trout, with the sound of laughter and joy with every fish hooked and missed.
Those positive thoughts make everyone happier!
#thisisaboutfishing #thisisnotaboutfishing
