Fall is a bitter sweet time in my little corner of East Idaho. On the one hand there is so much to do outdoors that there is never enough time to do it all. On the other hand is the lingering notion that winter is almost upon us, and while there is still much to do outside, it is not the same. Regrettably, my fly rod ends up being stored until April, or whenever the ice breaks and the temperatures warm up. I have often thought about what I can do during the winter to pass the time and get ready for the spring.
I know many men tie flies. I used to do that in my younger days, but with flies being relatively cheap and time the precious commodity that it is, I rarely tie my own. What is interesting, though, is how fly tying has caught on my two of my sons. I took Will (age 10) and Matt (age 7) to an outdoor expo last year where a seasoned fly tyer was volunteering his time to teach kids the art of fly tying. My boys loved it! Even my 5 year old daughter wanted to join in on the action.
Ever since that experience, my kids have been very excited to tie their own creative versions of flies they see in the catalogs I get. So as I prepare to put my rod away for the coming winter, I will pause and reflect that this is not a time to dread, but rather a time where I can sit with my kids and give them one-on-one attention while the snow falls. Then by april they will be begging me to get out of the house, and if I am lucky, they will want to come too.
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