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  [IMAGE] [IMAGE] [IMAGE]  [IMAGE]  Sports We  Do       Alpine  Climbing       Skiing/Boarding       Rock  Climbing       Surfing       Fishing       Paddling       Mountain  Biking       Trail  Running      Enviro  Action      Our  Culture      Design  Philosophy        [IMAGE]  Product Search  [IMAGE] 	[IMAGE]	 see caption belowField Reports - Fishing Beginner's  Mind  I started fly fishing two years ago out of what some  would call the battle of the sexes. I had taken an "old" boyfriend  backpacking; he brought along a fly rod. I think he had just started  fly fishing. I tried it out after watching him for a while and I  liked it. It reminded me of Tai Chi and meditation - flowing water,  fresh air - it felt so natural.    So when we returned from our trip  I told my boyfriend that I wanted to fly fish. He replied,  "You don't know how." Instantly the tomboy in me rose to the  challenge. Growing up with three brothers, it was a  conditioned response. I had to prove to this boy that I could  indeed fly fish if I wanted to.  So I said, "I'll  learn." And a few weeks later an old timer in Arizona gave me  an old rod, a Reel O'Matic and my first casting lesson. I was  hooked and ready to prove myself to the guys.  With a  good year of fishing under my belt, I found myself at the  Santa Ynez River early one morning; no one around yet, big  pools, bubbling water, a golden eagle cruising up the river,  silence. I was fishing a hole with trout and smallmouth bass  in it. All alone, my mind wandered, and I was soon asking  myself whether or not I truly enjoyed fishing, or whether I  was just trying to be better than the boys. I contemplated  this thought while casting, the line unrolling rhythmically on  each forward and back cast. And I felt so very present, in the  now, in peaceful solitude with my world, breathing deep and  then? Fish on!  And the answer was yes. I love this. I  love the way I feel after a day of fishing, as though I had  spent the whole day meditating. I feel fresh and like a kid  again, all sun-baked and dirty after a day rock hopping up a  creek. I enjoy most the solitude. Even if I fish with a buddy,  I am still just with myself, my rod and the cast, trying to  come up with a recipe for catching that fish. I become so  peaceful fishing. And when I spot that big trout rising across  the stream, the adrenaline rush is crazy. It's amazing to me  that I can get so excited about a fish.  I realized that  what had started out as me trying to be as good as the guys  had become a practice instead. It is not a battle after all,  but simply fishing: sharing tips, swapping stories, being part  of a community.  I love being a beginner. It means I  have years to practice and learn about this thing called fly  fishing. And I hope I never lose that beginners mind, because  it is the fuel that pushes me further along and there is  always something new to learn.  BIO Kourtney  Morgan works as a sample maker for Patagonia where she began  fly fishing. Reflecting on the sport, she says, "I do so many  things I can't say which is my favorite. I will say this, they  all have one thing in common, I do them with joy and reckless  abandon." [IMAGE]  Photo: Yvon Chouinard [IMAGE]     Free Catalog  | Shopping Cart  | Privacy/Security  |  Email Sign Up  Contact Us  | Jobs  | Affiliate Info  | Your Account  | Customer  Service  Site Map  | Home    Call us anytime  1.800.638.6464   ? 2002 Patagonia,  Inc.    [IMAGE]  Half-Mass Bag  [IMAGE] Organic Cotton  [IMAGE] Email Sign Up    	[IMAGE]	


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