Row, Row, Row...

Row, Row, Row Your Boat is a round we sang in the car on family excursions when I was a boy. As a music educator, I taught the song to two generations of school children. I meant it as a lesson in musical independence - the ability to maintain your focus while other voices do their best to throw you off. I rarely thought of the deeper meaning that springs from the lyrics - guidance for the fly fisher as well.

"Row, row, row your boat" speaks of sustained effort, of persistence. Ches Harlow once told me about his technique for fishing meadows and stillwaters for Speckled Trout. He always fishes a good-looking hole for at least 1/2 an hour. "Big cruising trout have a territory," he said."It can take them half an hour or more to make their rounds. You can fish and fish a spot; swear there is nothing there; then suddenly, Bango! You're into a nice trout."

"Gently down the stream," suggests harmony with the flow of events. Outboard motor not working? You could wrestle with it all day and turn your fishing trip into a curse-filled, knuckle-busting exercise in frustration, or you could make the best of the situation and perhaps still manage to enjoy your day. "Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily," urges us to keep a cheerful and confident outlook in the face of obstacles.

"Life is but a dream?" I do know that on a good day of fishing, the job, the noise and clutter of the daily grind fade away until there is only water and the rhythm of the rod and, now and then, a fish.

Good Luck and Good Fishin'!
-Random Phrump