Bucket Lists

Do you have a bucket list?  You know, those things you want to do before you die.  I've never thought much about it as I've had so many wonderful experiences, been to so many great places, and been involved in a ton of fun stuff.  But I've found that as you start to see the sunset (hopefully way out in the distance) you have a tendency to think about how many experiences there are in the world that you haven't done and would love to do.  I guess it's just human nature.

With that in mind I had a real bucket list experience this week.  I went with 3 friends from Rotary to Missoula, Montana for three days of fly fishing from a guided drift boat.  We stayed in Missoula and every day a guide would pick us up (two to a boat) and we'd head out for a day of drifting down a river fishing for trout.  I had never been fly fishing before and there is a real knack to it.  But after a short while I had it down pretty well and the guides were terrific in giving pointers and finding trout.  It became apparent to me that fly fishing isn't all like all the other fishing I have done.  It's very dynamic and is more like hunting or stalking than my experience in fishing.

We had some great fun together, saw incredible scenery, and caught a fair number of hard fighting Rainbow, Brown, and Cutthroat Trout.  It was a total "catch and release" experience so none of them wound up in a frying pan and that was just fine.  We fished the Bitterroot, the Blackfoot, and Clark Fork rivers and they were spectacular.  It also reminded me just how beautiful, diverse and huge this country is.

So if you've got a bucket list, put fly fishing in Montana on it.  It's off my list but I'll be back!