Big picture, generally speaking: 2022 wasn’t that great. Look at the news, the economy, and the overall temperature of our culture. We’re in dire need of a fix. (I do have ideas about that, but such things are for a different forum.)
From a much more narrow perspective, 2022 wasn’t half bad.
I’ve utilized one of those nifty “look at me” social media tools to compile when people looked at me the most this past year. While the above algorithm-produced collage above doesn’t necessarily represent my top nine moments, it does give me some good memories to look back on. So, in nine quick quips I’ll share my 2022 blessings through angling.
- I caught more fish in one morning than I have in a long, long time. And I killed and ate the majority of them. Crappie are challenging and delicious.
- Wild trout are still my favorite trout. I’m not going to turn my nose up at stocked fish, but stream bred trout are a special, rewarding challenge.
- We got a canoe. If you have children and you want to be on the water, get a canoe.
- A Keys vacation with your wife is a thing to treasure. A wife who encourages you to bring your fly fishing gear is something else entirely.
- After nearly a dozen years in New England, I’ve come to appreciate the beauty of the swampy (and often frozen) waterways that line my part of the world.
- Mustache.
- Native brook trout are, by far, my favorite angling pursuit. This year I found fish where I haven’t found them before. Some were under my nose; others were farther than I had ever thought to walk.
- I love introducing my boys to the quarry of fly fishing. But I have also found great pleasure in their enjoyment of the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish.
- And I still enjoy those wider aspects of the fly fishing culture, too. Enough for me to continue to go to industrial parts of New Jersey year after year.
I hope that you had a great 2022, irrespective of our crazy world. Happy New Year from Casting Across.