Like Fishing with an Old Friend

My most recent day astream reminded me a lot of fishing with old friend -- a friend I hadn't seen for a quite some time. You see, in November I broke my favorite trout rod, and I finally replaced it with a new one just like it.

As much as I'd like to tell some grand story of a giant fish or dramatically adverse conditions, the stupid truth is that I stubbed my old one on the ground because I was looking at my phone while walking across a field after fishing. I'd owned the rod, a 5 1/2-foot ultralight Fenwick EliteTech River Runner for a few years, and it had been my absolute go-to for smaller trout streams (and for most bluegill fishing) since Day 1. Even after I had broken off the first eye, it was the ultralight I always reached for when I was headed to a creek.

After breaking the favored Fenwick, I had put the reel on another rod I owned that was the same length and action, and I can't say that it didn't work fine. It did. It wasn't as light, though, and didn't give me the same casting control. Mostly, it just didn't feel right.

I'm pretty sure my trout reel grinned at least a little when I put it on the replacement Fenwick, and I did my best to make both rod and reel happy by taking them to a seriously pretty stream for their inaugural outing together. The rod did it's part, too, pulling a colorful rainbow trout from the first river run I used it to cast to that morning.

I'm happy to have my favorite trout rod back, and you can bet I'll be pretty careful with it, whether I'm climbing out of a river gorges or simply walking across field. Stuff on the phone can wait!