An Old Dog and New Tricks

One of my favorite movies is A River Runs Through It. Anyone who likes Montana, Robert Redford, fly fishing or Brad Pitt will enjoy it. The movie is set in Montana with striking views of the beautiful Blackfoot River. Although the plot centers around a minister and his two very different sons, the thing that drew me in to the movie was the scenery and the flyfishing.

I've always been fascinated with flyfishing. My dad had an old rusty flyreel in our "smokehouse." I'd play with it for hours. Could never really figure out how it worked, but it was a lot of fun. I never saw my dad flyfish, don't know if he ever did. But He was the best fisherman I ever knew. It was common for him to come home with 40 in. pike, a 20 lb. catfish or a stringer full of bass. He taught me to love the sport, and through his tutiledge, I got pretty good at it.

One type of fish I never had any success with was trout. They're just different. Their diet is different. Their habitat is different. They are of one of the most beautiful, fragile, finicky fish around. The techniques I learned for other species, don't work for trout. I love 'em and I hate 'em. How do people catch them? They learn all they can about them and their environment: what they eat at a certain time of year, what types of water and cover they are drawn to, etc. And they are willing, moment by moment, to change their strategies: one presentation doesn't work, the next one does. One fly is the wrong color, the next one - just right. What works in the morning doesn't work in the afternoon. Sounds like a lot of work. Why do it? Only because you love it.

It sounds a lot like the mission Jesus calls us to..."I will make you fishers of men." I wish I were as intentional about those I'm seeking to reach for Jesus as a good flyfisherman is in his preparation and presentation. I wish I had shared the depths of my dad's love for fish and fishing.

I'm also on another mission. One commitement I've made to myself is that, this summer, I will learn to flyfish. Dad would think that was pretty cool.