“Wooohooo! I got one!” Kelsey exclaimed! 

Just as I was about to sit in my kayak and push off the shore, I turned around to see my wife Kelsey hollering with her first fish on the line. She was sitting in her float tube; her rod was bent; and she was grinning from cheek to cheek. She hadn’t even fished one minute before she had a nice 14 inch rainbow tugging on her wooly bugger.  Oh, and 30 seconds later, she landed it too.

This was a big deal. Why?

Well, we were at Crane Prairie Reservoir, a lake she came to every year as a child with her family; it was a lake her late father, Calvin Schimpf (who passed away 12 months ago), took her and her siblings fishing at as kids. It was a lake where she could reminisce the memories she cherished; it was a lake where she could heal and recover after her own post-op surgery pains and fight with a tumor just six weeks earlier; it was a lake of new beginnings; it was a lake of second chances.

And, it was the first time she solo hooked and landed a fish on a fly rod all by herself. Woot! I am so happy for her! 

And, after she released that one, she cast out, hooked and caught another one just five minutes later. So fun!

Oh, and did I mention she was fishing with her dad’s ol’ 5wt fly rod, float tube and fins?

Yes! It was a perfect day! We were soaking in every moment.

I wish I could say my luck was as good as hers (I only caught a 3” trout), but my luck that day was measured in other ways. First of all, witnessing her excitement catching two fish back-to-back, was absolutely thrilling. Secondly, when the fishing was done, I pulled out my ukulele and whistled Bob Marley’s song, “Three Little Birds” to her. The lyrics go like this: “Rise up this morning, smile with the rising sun, three little birds, at my doorstep, singing sweet songs of melodies pure and true, saying, this is my message to you-ou-ou. Don’t worry ‘bout a thing, cuz every little thing’s gonna be alright.” 

That spot; those fishing moments; and that vibe - they each contributed to creating a perfect day.  Yes, “every little thing” was “gonna be alright.” And interestingly, we captured that song on video (with the lake in the background), and I entered it into the 2024 Global Whistling Championship, which I eventually found out landed me in the final round and top 25. Woot!

Surprised? 

Yes, me too. I guess good things happen when you start your day out fishing, and do it with those you love.

So, why do I share this story?  Fishing trips create memories that span through time. Some of my favorite memories in life have been on days I go fishing. If you haven’t been to your favorite childhood fishing hole in a while, I invite you to go back and bring someone you love. Reminisce the memories of the past and create new ones at the same time. It’s therapy, and it works!

So, that’s my story, but we also want to hear from you. Tell us your favorite stories.

At CFS we want to learn more about you and each of our members. Each of you has a favorite fishing spot. Each of you has a favorite fish.  Each of you has a favorite memory. We would love to learn more about you and your likes and interests. At your discretion, please share a little about yourself, your background, career, hobbies, projects, passions and skills. Click here to fill out a form for us to learn a little bit more about you.

Cheers,

Ben Nolte, CSF President