Close Call!

Nearly thirty years ago I was fishing with my dad on the Madison River at Reynolds Pass Bridge. When we were done I set my rod on the roof of our van and proceeded to get out of my cold wet jeans because I was freezing from wet wading (I didn’t have waders). Dad told me not to do that and always put my rod away first thing. In fact, he said don’t put anything on the roof of the car because eventually you will forget it’s there. Although I took his advice, I didn’t always follow through and eventually lost some wading shoes. Unfortunately I was on my own by then. It was a time when what little money I had was dedicated entirely to rent, ramen noodles and beer. Purchasing a new pair of wading shoes hurt bad. It never happened to me again.

That is till Saturday. I overdressed for the Ranch so when I returned to my car, I was sweating and desperate to get out of my waders. Knowing I was breaking a longtime rule, I put my rigged rod and reel on the roof and took off the waders. Man it was great to be out of those waders. I was starved, and sure enough without remembering my rod, I jumped in the car and made the short drive to the famous Grub Steak Grocery and got a sandwich to go.

Highway 20 has a lot of traffic, so in leaving the Grub Steak parking lot you need to be a little aggressive. I sped up to the edge of the highway and there was a car coming. I hit my brakes just hard enough for my complete outfit to slide forward. I heard the funny noise and there poking over my windshield was the tip of my Ross rod attached to my brand new Evolution LT. Make that a lesson folks!

Jeff Currier Global Flyfishing web site