The Second Fly Caster: Fatherhood, Recovery and an Unforgettable Tournament

By Randy Kadish

From The Second Fly Caster:

When I was a boy I thought my father was the greatest fly caster on earth, so I grew up dreaming of following in his way and not of becoming, as my mother wanted, an accountant.

Today, I am a man who often relives the important events in my life, but when I think back to the five state casting tournaments my father won, most of their images and sounds have melted and flowed into downstream memories, except for the images and sounds of one special tournament. Instead of fading over time, they ripened in my mind in more than just a visual way, and now they are almost as vivid as the moments of today. …

e-Story Description:

Erik, a young boy, is proud that his father, the winner of several state championships, is probably the greatest long distance fly caster on earth. But then a threatening prelude and an unexpected outcome of a casting tournament leave Erik reeling with unanswered questions about what once seemed to be only a sport.

These questions linger and then, years later, deepen when Erik's idealistic plans and actions are crushed when he experiences combat in the Vietnam War. He struggles, unsuccessfully, with his demons, until a seemingly accidental discovery lead him back to the ways and new meanings of fly casting. Through their prism Erik learns to see himself and the world in a forgiving light.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Randy Kadish
• Release date: Apr 6, 2011
• ISBN: 9781458053787

Randy Kadish

I'm a native New Yorker. After a good deal of disappointment, I gave up writing. Then my mother passed away, and I found that fishing helped ease my grief. Almost accidentally, I wrote and sold a fishing article. Afterwards, my articles and memoirs appeared in many publications, including The Flyfisher, Flyfishing & Tying Journal and Yale Anglers' Journal. To me, much of my writing is about how the challenges of fishing and the beauty of the outdoors helped me come to terms with loss and with a world I can't always understand. In a sense, my writing is autobiographical, as it reflects my own gratifying, but at times, difficult journey of emotional and spiritual recovery. On the long road of my journey, I slowly learned that, even when I don't have answers, I must strive to find forgiveness and self-worth and to connect to the good in the world. (This is how I define spirituality.) I therefore love books where the main characters struggle against inner and outer conflicts and then try to do what's right. My most recent book is, The Way of the River: My Journey of Fishing, Forgiveness and Spiritual Recovery.

Book preview

THE SECOND FLY CASTER

A Story of Fatherhood, Recovery and an Unforgettable Tournament

by

Randy Kadish

author, The Fly Caster Who Tried to Make Peace with the World

Smashwords Edition Copyright © 2007 by Randy Kadish

https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/randyflycaster

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When I was a boy I thought my father was the greatest fly caster on earth, so I grew up dreaming of following in his way and not of becoming, as my mother wanted, an accountant.

Today, I am a man who often relives the important events in my life, but when I think back to the five state casting tournaments my father won, most of their images and sounds have melted and flowed into downstream memories, except for the images and sounds of one special tournament. Instead of fading over time, they ripened in my mind in more than just a visual way, and now they are almost as vivid as the moments of today.

I’ll start telling about the tournament this way: Our small, historic town was almost exactly in the middle of our state. On the outskirts of our town was a beautiful, banana-shaped lake. The lake and our town were in a valley, and therefore shielded from the