From a big picture of respective, there’s always going to be a last time that you fish somewhere. I don’t mean to be morbid. But the fact is that we are finite. Our days are numbered. There’s only so much that we can do. And fly fishing, as pleasant as it is, does not exclude us from this unalterable equation of mortality. For a moment, let’s back away from this more existential facet of the conversation.

At a very practical level, there are places that you have gone fishing that you will never fish again. Unless you have kept some meticulous, obsessive records, there’s a good chance that certain waters are just not going to warrant another visit. Fly fishing puts us in random places. Spontaneous trips to tiny ponds. Skipping around the coast into the next inlet or bay. Taking an afternoon to tread up a feeder creek with a name that we never take the time to learn.

Sure, there are also some waters that don’t hold any allure. You got skunked. It was ugly. You decide to put a period on that story. Or, best case scenario, you had a once in a lifetime opportunity and you made the most of it. You would gladly go back; it’s just not likely to happen. Whether you treasure the memories or not, there are some places that are one and done.

Add all of this up, over a few years or decades, and there are places that you will just never fish again.

By now you’ve probably identified a few random places that you have fished that you anticipate will never see any of your flies ever again. More importantly, and to see what I’m getting at, is that you have thought of some places that you need to visit again. Your home river. The place where you had that great long weekend. A pond from childhood.

So what does that mean? If a few hundred words of a blog post have you pining for a river, what are you going to do about it? Can you go there right now? Is it feasible to plan a fishing trip sometime in the near future? Or, do you get to spend some time thinking about how the last time was probably your last time?

Again, let’s focus on the positive and the possibilities.

This is originally being published in December. Culturally, we’re used to making resolutions at the turn of the year. Whether you’re thinking these thoughts and planning these plans in December, January, or July, carpe diem. Take advantage of what you can while you can. Even though I’ve framed this discussion in a certain way, none of this has to be done with any sort of dread or sense of your mortality. You have opportunities. Without shirking other things that have greater value, be deliberate about getting to places you want to fish. You don’t need to think about the last time you’ve fished somewhere – but do think about the next time you’ll fish there.