Introduction

A TROUT FISHERMAN’S SOUL

 

 

What triggers you to soul search, and where does it take you? Do you embrace it and grow? A life-threatening blood clot behind my left knee in May 2012 shook me and caused a grassroots reflection on my life’s path. It took me, unexpectedly, to a trout stream rich with sixty years and four generations of family history, where I grew as a person and learned the value of positive role models.

I live with passion. I love family, so I became a family man. I am fascinated with the earth, so I became a geologist. I enjoy the outdoors, so I became a sportsman. I also admire traditions, especially those that involve my family and the outdoors. This mixture of traits had created a deep imprint within me, one that I was destined to explore.

Undoubtedly, my health scare jump-started some soul searching. It’s a shame that it often takes a life-alerting situation to learn more about ourselves. However, I wasn't sure what to make of it all. Was I just stumbling over the age-old question, "What is the meaning of life?" Well, not quite, because I was looking for something more personal, yet common to everyone. Perhaps it’s not about life’s meaning, but more about what’s been meaningful in my life. In other words, what experiences have shaped me to become who I am? Can I recognize the goodness and carry it forward? It was time to answer those questions for myself.

As I dug deeper, I realized that some of my most fulfilling times occurred at the Flag River in northern Wisconsin, where my love of family traditions, nature, and a purposeful sport weaved together. My feelings run deep in that neck of the woods because four generations of my family have fished that trout stream. I started fishing at eight years old under the guidance of my father and late grandfather. Trout fishing was Gramps’ passion and he practiced his craft with a style and flair that was infectious; the Flag River remained a part of his life until his final days. My father, a seasoned successor, continued our storied trips for several years after Gramps’ departure. He eventually stopped fishing as his interest dwindled with age.

Although I was only fourteen when Gramps passed away, I had enough trips under my belt to be branded a trout fisherman for life. As I aged and my passion for the sport grew, I realized the importance of continuing our family ways with my younger brothers and our children. Someone needed to tell the stories of our forefather’s adventures and paint the scenes of our family’s art. Someone needed to pass the torch, and that someone was me.

So, for reasons beyond the catch, our family stream continues to draw me back. It’s a mystery of sorts, this yearning I feel. Have you ever been drawn to a personal refuge with family history, where you smile while nearly crying, where you grow old while living young, where your dreams can still be real?

Although I found such a place, I’m intrigued with my mystical tie to the Flag. There was something deep and connective about our family experiences that needed uncovering, and as a fact-finding geologist, I was driven to understand the reasons.  As a passionate human, I was determined to understand my feelings.