The Minutiae of Fly Fishing

What’s wrong with me? I’m as interested in the minutiae of fly fishing as the next fellow. Somehow though, I just can’t get too carried away discussing the entomology of a particular part of the county versus ours or the physics of casting.

Don’t get me wrong. I am curious about these things but in an internal, contemplative way. I might be struck by the subtle differences between a mayfly on one river and another, encountered only a few miles away. I may even do some research, tie a few flies and seek to understand what if any significance an extra wing spot or slightly different body colour has by way of eliciting a rise from an unusually wary trout.

I enjoy seeking answers and even more the finding of new questions. As an experimenter I’ll try anything that has even an outside chance of working. Usually though, a spectacular failure is more enlightening and certainly holds much better prospects for a good laugh.
Sometimes when I listen to the boys in my local tackle shop I’m reminded of a fellow called Stan Hudac.

I met Stan in British Columbia. He is an amazingly talented pianist who escaped the 1956 Soviet assault on Budapest, Hungary because he was in Rome studying at the conservatorium. When he was in town he would sometimes get me to play guitar in a jazz trio he’d put together for one or two dates.

One night, about an hour before the show, Stan, the bassist, and I were sitting in the Sandman Inn Lounge looking over some charts. A couple of young fellows came over and started to talk with us. It was all very civil and low key but there were a lot of references by them to obscure composers, elite instruments and high-end gear. When the time came we took the stage and kicked off with Duke Ellington’s, “Take the A Train”. As usual Stan improvised an amazing, beautifully tasteful solo. While the audience applauded, the bass player leaned across, nodded appreciatively towards Stan then whispered to me, “and that’s the difference between talking about music and playing it”

I don’t know why but sometimes when I hear one Ephemeroptera too many I think of Stan and his exquisite playing.