Fly Fishing and the Serra Club

Yesterday, I was somehow able to find the time to go fly fishing for a whole day. The weather was perfect. We set out immediately after Mass in the morning and after a few stops to buy some equipment, we were out on the river around 11:30. This was my first time trying to fly fish - and I didn't do so bad. I managed to find the public access point and get suited up. From there, things got a little shaky. First, as I stepped into the water for the first time in the muddiest part of the river with my padded wader boots, I thought I would soon be swallowed up into a pool of mud; unable to move, I would sink like the wicked witch of the West until the trout would be able to get the last laugh as they unknowingly swam over their make-shift muddy tombstone of the idiot fisherman and ate their next meal of a real fly landing on the water above them. Actually, I was in two feet of water and I was just having problems moving in the mud without falling - and I nearly did fall twice. That would have been unfortunate. After finally making it into the river, I quickly decided to cast...or decided to cast quickly. In short time, there were two hooks attached to fly patterns in the trees lining the shoreline, and I was out two bucks. Hopefully, nobody decides to build a tree fort there. Not to be deterred, I tried a more open area where I couldn't possibly snag my hook on the brush nearby. The tree that I then hooked my line on put up quite a fight and kept my fly. I saw a trout rise then. There's probably a great lesson there somewhere. Finally, I got my cast fine-tuned and had a relatively un-eventful next five hours until going home, having caught no trout. So much for beginner's luck. (Actually, I had a lot of fun and it was a great way to relax after a busy week in the seminary, but it's more fun to make life melodramatic).

On a different note, I was able to go to the 10th anniversary celebration of the Wright County Serra Club on Thursday with Msgr. Callaghan and a fellow seminarian. It was wonderful, as always, to see the Serrans who do such wonderful things for us seminarians (and priests, religious, etc.). Not only do the Serrans pray for us and support us in so many ways, but at various times throughout the year, they will leave us cookies and various baked goods. You can't beat that. The program for the 10th anniversary was great; Msgr. Callaghan was the keynote speaker.

Off to start another week of seminary. Only one class tomorrow because the other was cancelled.