Be

There’s been lots of new focus on MINDFULNESS and being where you are.

This is a story of a gift I received as a guide. 

So a businessman has 2 Canadian associates whom he wants to entertain and give back to. Well them Canuck’s really like to fish and as a guide I was a little nervous, will our local fair compare to the fishing north of the border.  Well as timing would have it 45 fish on the ice for the day and a 31” large fish by the Big Guy who really did keep his stick on the ice most of time, unless he was fighting ( What does this have to do with MINDFULNESS?) the local fair did hold up!!!!!

Well here is the mindful part of the experience, first I have to accept I have only the resources at hand, I let go of the out come and focus on giving to the people involved.  I taught about the bite and how the bite feels.  Then we are off to the races. Remember this is an ex-hockey player and 3 aggressive businessmen who are tuned to watch for the right opportunity to capitalize.  This showed thru in numbers of fish and the competitiveness of the day.

OK MINDFULNESS is focus right?  We had finished our day of fishing, were hanging out back at the truck, one fellow on the phone conducting some business.  The American and I end up in a conversation of how to explain God or a higher power, the universal good force in the world. We look up and the other fellow is meditating, we start to heckle him and soon really end up in the moment of this is 4 men from very diverse backgrounds and regions of our world having the moment of how do we Love our adult children well.  These are aggressive business folks who get it and realize what truly guides our world is ____________________.  You fill in the blank.  I choose love and the mindful part being where I am and who is with me. 

Enjoy, and please think about the greatest gift to give is like what I received last Sunday, folks being who they really are and being open to share it.

KISS

            KEEP

            IT

            SHARP

            STEVE

           

     I bet you thought it was gonna be Keep It Sharp Stupid.  Well I happen to have an s name and don’t like it when I call myself stupid.  It does happen more than I wish to admit.

           

     Sharp is not just about hooks to me, its also about keeping myself sharp, not in appearances gave that up a few years back.  I will settle for the old salty fisherman look anyway.  No sharp of mind, clear of the clutter of daily life’s noise.  This is a tough task as I have a wonderfully wondering mind, which loves drama even the self created type.

     I define noise as the things, which block or interfere with me being present where I am.  In Tweener time its tough to be present, I hate waiting, I am done planning, purchasing, almost done rebuilding the boat.  Now I am not very present in this cold and snow.  I am present in a cool evening anticipating the evening bite of male walleyes pre-spawn, or ice off at Williams Fork for large lakers or over at Granby is ok too.  Because I can’t do any of those things yet they become noise to me. So how do I settle and be present where I am?  Well heck I go ice fishing, I go for long walks the 2-3 hr type.  I look for Eagles in riparian areas.  I spend time each morning being mindful and quiet.  Most of all I just go outside look around and breathe.

     Simple         Just be where we are!

                                   Stopping to be in the moment.  Amazing Sunrise not really captured in 
                                          photo but it is in our minds!  W Jason W.

Tweeners

It is the Tweener time of year, when lots of us fishermen think more about the future than the now, like ordering the spring items.  I myself have been involved in re-surfacing the inside of the boat.  The trailer is getting love as well; paint and new fenders, not those led lights as I dislike driving behind them as they hurt my eyes.

So Tweener applies to other sports as well The Bass Master Classic is fished and over; Daytona has run both of those on the same weekend no Soccer (The Real Football).  I have heard reports of open water and good trips being had at Flaming Gorge w Jimmy W.   Mid season Ice patterns and predictable bites from all the mountain lakes: Granby, Williams Fork and Wolford.  I am looking forward to more of those 45-50 degree days out on the Ice.  Bernie’s on big fish as normal.  Does he really have them named and know their address?

My desire of how to finish strong in Tweener season is order only the right tackle not the garage filling crap I sometimes do.  Finish the boat; enjoy more blizzard time with the wife.  Ice fish until she melts.  Watch for reports from the tweener walleye guys who are out freezing their arse off looking for that big pre-spawn female.  Some of those guys really have that bite dialed, lots of respect for their toughness and skills.

You know the more I think about it Tweener time is prep time; planning time, order the new gear time.  Wow, how many new products released at the classic.  I saw a list of over 30 real ones, the shadow rap looks very interesting.  Really a bait that will turn around 180 degrees and look at the prey, weird.   For me, it is also reconnect time, find those folks I have missed and say hi.  So until I have a large pike or big laker take the bait near the surface as we are icing off its Tweener Season to Me.

May your Tweener time go well. Order and plan well. Fish well Now!

Evolution wow what a thought, it challenges my Christian beliefs and yet sometimes it slips in as a fact of life.  Stick with me folks this is a heady one.

What brings this thought of evolution up is a grand daughter turning one year old shortly and a recent trip with a family that felt so good to be with out on the ice.   I felt wow; once again I get paid to do this.  Well this family had two boys, identical twins 6 years old both very different from each other in personality.  Deb and I raised twins and still get to share in their lives and adventures.  In these two sets of twins it was very clear although identical, both individuals filled a much differing space in our world.  Ok so the family with the boys was blended meaning there had been other marriages and living situations prior to this family arrangement.  So I assumed something was not good or did not fit and it was resolved with this change.  So this change created a safe place and a very loving, encouraging environment for all involved.  I think this is evolution in action.  The other way, I see this evolution take place is watching my grand daughter learn and grow.  Developing a new and mixed set of genetics into a new personality all the while discovering how to become a physical being in a spiritual world.

So we have been taught evolution is the slow and adaptive change to an ever-changing environment.  Right, yet we are so reluctant to change and have been told, pushed, judged and directed to view evolution as negative or challenging the Christian and his world.  While in fact it is many times the will of the Universe/God to evolve and change. Please reserve judgment and think it thru what ever create this beautiful world that is always changing created us, these wonderful spiritual beings who connect with one another and nature to feel an emotion most of called Love.

On the fishing side of life, some of the difficulties fisherman face is the development of habits or singular focus on a species or particular lake and sometimes just being so focused on catching a fish we don’t look up and see the world or the people with us. Choose to evolve, challenge yourself and your buddies to learn and grow.  Most of all be adaptive as our world is designed to always be moving and changing.

For myself this mental space is a side effect of fishing and being outside with meaningful and mindful effort to be with whom I am with and tuning into them. It works with friends as well.  Enjoy.   What helps me start this mindset is a deep breath, a look at the nature around me and the person I am with!!!!!!!

The Follow Thru

     This is the follow up to my whining last week about electronics and the technology, and the whole thing of being a consumer in the throw away world. To catch folks up who did not read last week it was a mild rant about the fact that technology moves so fast and folks want the latest and greatest, then turn their collective backs on what was once the cats meow.  Well companies now have the ability to make a choice when you upgrade or update your device.  This is done when companies just quit supporting a device or write quirky updates to the products we use.  A good example is Windows quit supporting Windows XP.  There were a lot of folks just happy as clams to not need new software, devices and the like, just fine running along knowing a program, probably using excel programs to track items.  I am not saying I want a rotary phone or a party line again, but when it works leave it alone and let us use it until I/we wish to move forward. 

         What I would like to see are a few models or products that are base units and are supported for an extended period of time.  I may seem old and/or scared to move on.  I am not scared, although we preach this green society and the recycle/reuse when in reality it seems to be more a use and toss society.  Think about it, how many sonars and gps units have you cycled through in the past 10 years?  All the while thinking this will be the time or items that will put you on your game and catch lots more fish.  Ok, now I am gonna call a few fisherman out.  How many of you run your sonars off auto settings, probably not many as with all technology it takes time to learn this stuff and it is hard to fish, drive the boat and be on a screen or reading a help prompt to learn more.  We use so very little of the awesome devices, many of us are really only using 20% of what a unit can do for us any way. 

     Ok no more whining, but how do we find ways to improve our fishing organically? Well, I think it is in our minds and how we simplify our approach, here are a few very important things to do to improve how we fish:

1  First cleanse your mind, leave your day-to-day life at the dock or truck while ice fishing. (We are out side to relax and enjoy the nature.)

2  Think about fishing from a realistic point of view.  If I have not been present in the environment, I am going to have to learn to use technology to watch or get a history of the weather, lake levels and catches lately or forgo this and just fish. 

3  Pre-rig for your first thought or technique of how to catch fish, have a plan. (Always be willing to abort it needed.)

4  Sharpen a hook instead of replacing it. 

5  Save the lead for the friend yours that pours jigs. (Fishermen are some of the first recyclers “uh catch and release” for another to catch some day. Novel concept kinda like paying forward.) 

6  Carpool to the Fishing Hole (Oh wait most of us do!)

7  Enjoy your time with your friend.  I have noticed fishing most folks don’t look at their phone while fishing, like we do when we are at a restaurant or eating with our families.

8  There are many more ways a fisherman and his practices are what is so in vogue today.  So hold your head high, you pay it forward, recycle and re-use many things in fishing.  It is just inherent in our culture and practices.  Heck we even carpool. 

     A friend and mentor from Texas, Jimmy P. once said to me this, “ These new depth finders mean changing from a flasher to a LCD display, now everybody is gonna be able to catch fish.”  Well over the years he is glad he was wrong, as most don’t read the instructions or believe that the device is the end all to getting them fish in da boat. I wonder how the new lake map tutorials will be.  I question how many will read the instructions. 

     In closing, I have had to teach myself to look up away from those LCD screens too. Fish well folks, Keep carpooling!!!!!!