whitetailfreak
Senior Member
There comes a time in every trout fisherman's life where they start to get more joy by watching others (particularly their sons and grandsons) than catching trout themselves. This mostly comes out of necessity at the point in their life where they can no longer wade the creeks and branches that they've fished their whole life.
Several here know of the struggles my dad has had the last 5 or 6 months as multiple back surgeries and complications have restricted him to a wheel chair. He's currently being treated for his back wound and undergoing physical therapy at a local Western NC facility and although he's made progress he'll probably never regain his pre surgery mobility.
The good news is pop's was wanting to go fishing and it just so happens that his care facility is just a few minutes from one of our favorite trout streams. He knows that he's likely to never tie on another fly, wade a creek or cast a line but I saw joy that has been lacking for the last 6 months. Just being on the creek sitting in my Tacoma with the window down smoking a Winston made life normal again after months of being in the Hospital. We had limited time as his wound vac had only several hours of battery remaining so I strategically positioned my truck to where he could see me coming up a long stretch of creek. As I brought trout after trout to hand over the course of the morning I would get a thumbs up and a big smoky grin after each one. Now that I have dropped him back off and am making the hour and a half drive home I'm wishing that I would have taken more pictures but nevertheless I'm blessed to have had this day with Dad.
Several here know of the struggles my dad has had the last 5 or 6 months as multiple back surgeries and complications have restricted him to a wheel chair. He's currently being treated for his back wound and undergoing physical therapy at a local Western NC facility and although he's made progress he'll probably never regain his pre surgery mobility.
The good news is pop's was wanting to go fishing and it just so happens that his care facility is just a few minutes from one of our favorite trout streams. He knows that he's likely to never tie on another fly, wade a creek or cast a line but I saw joy that has been lacking for the last 6 months. Just being on the creek sitting in my Tacoma with the window down smoking a Winston made life normal again after months of being in the Hospital. We had limited time as his wound vac had only several hours of battery remaining so I strategically positioned my truck to where he could see me coming up a long stretch of creek. As I brought trout after trout to hand over the course of the morning I would get a thumbs up and a big smoky grin after each one. Now that I have dropped him back off and am making the hour and a half drive home I'm wishing that I would have taken more pictures but nevertheless I'm blessed to have had this day with Dad.
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