I started to fish when I came to Colorado. The piccolo player (and supply clerk) had a reputation of being an outstanding fisherman so I decided to ask him to teach me. The old saying " Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you will draw the ire of his wife." Fortunately my wife supported my new hobby. Willy was a quiet man and pretty much a loner in the band, I was a little intimidated at first asking for help and the first 2 or 3 times fishing with him were quite reserved. Once he realized that I was committed to the sport his attitude changed. That was 1971 and we have been friends to this day.
Willy was an expert bait and spinner fisherman but knew a lot about fly-fishing and so I started to accumulate all of my tackle based on his knowledge. Rods, reels, line, lures, and a hat.
After he retired and returned to Florida I drifted away from bait and lure fishing and concentrated on my fly-fishing. Fly rods, flies, and all of the other fly-fishing gear became my focus and the spinning rods, bait, and lures stayed home. Except for the hat.
It was a Filson tin cloth packer hat that I happened to see in a sporting store. At first I only wore this hat for fishing but soon chose it for hiking, backpacking and any other time that I went to the woods. This was 1972 which makes it 48 years old. On my first fishing trip this year I noticed that my hat's leather band had become unglued again (3rd or 4th time) and the wax finish was gone again (2nd time).
It was decision time...... new hat? How could I? But I bit the bullet and went to the Filson site, this time choosing their Tin Cloth Bush hat with a wider brim for more sun protection.
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| My 48 year old Packer hat |
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| My new Bush hat |
No, my old hat will not be thrown away. It will hang on my wall providing great memories.
And on some very special occasions I will wear it to relive those memories.
When we talked yesterday, I thought I'd see a mangled hat. It's not that bad. Your new one is certainly impressive. And I like the wide brim. I often wondered who taught you how to fly-fish. I knew it wasn't Pop. I thought maybe it was Stan. Enjoyed our talk yesterday about drum pads. It was good seeing the Gladstone.
ReplyDeleteWell that hat was certainly worth what ever you paid for it! The wider brim of the new one will help shade your face from the sun! I wear one when i mow the lawn! :)
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