A Reel Challenge
Fishing has become a part of my life’s fabric. It wasn’t always—in fact, it’s only been since last spring, when COVID-19 made our family full-time residents of Blue Mountain Lake. (Blue is a place deeply entrenched in our hearts, but had always been a weekend and holiday getaway.) I fished some growing up, and I tried my hand at fly-fishing in college with limited success. More recently, it hadn’t gone beyond reeling in the occasional rock bass while throwing spinners from whatever rod happened to be lying on a friend’s dock. Fishing had simply never been high enough on the priority list, but in our new circumstances, the challenge became how to get outside, stay active and find some sense of normalcy.
Soon after the ice went out, my son Billy, a recently turned
