Fly-fishing in Alaska - Part 1

Something from the tackle box:

       Don’t be annoyed by anyone who does wrong, and don’t envy them.  They will soon disappear like grass without rain.  Trust the Lord and live right!  The land will be yours, and you will be safe.  Do what the Lord wants, and he will give you your heart’s desire.  Let the Lord lead you and trust him to help.  (Psalm 37:1-5 CEV)

       I do not believe in some people having good luck verses others having bad luck.  I’m not even very keen on the whole concept of “luck” in general, at least not as most people understand and use that word.  But this doesn’t mean that I’m a five point Calvinist in the reformed tradition either, attributing everything that is, to God’s will for it to be that way.  I believe in free will.  There are a whole range of possibilities inherent in almost all of the circumstances of our lives, a multitude of directions in which almost every little thing can go, and out of love, and for the possibility of love, God allows it to be that way. 

       Although God can and often does intervene in the affairs of our lives, to bless us, or even to curse us if it might draw us closer to him in the end, for the most part he allows us to live in the uncertainty of that multitude of possibilities inherent in any situation, and therein learn the truth that if we but look to Him in trust, we can know that in all things, all the possibilities of every little circumstance, no matter how each of them may turn out for us, God works for the good of those who love him and are called to fulfilling his purpose for their lives. As Isaiah told us; you will again see the Lord, your teacher, and he will guide you.  Whether you turn to the right or to the left, you will hear a voice saying, “This is the road!  Now follow it.”  (Isaiah 30:20b-21 CEV)

my 7th grade science teacher

       Outside of those occasional workings of direct Divine intervention in our lives, always done to accomplish God’s ends, which, as I said before, I do believe in, I do not believe that there is any “luck” involved in any one person being any luckier or unluckier than any other person. Or at least no “luck” which cannot be accounted for by ones influence on the variables that can modify the mathematic probabilities which are applicable to all of us on an equal footing.  Or, as my 7^th Grade science teacher told us in class one day, “The more you learn and the harder you work the luckier you will get!”  I believe there is a lot of wisdom in that observation.

       If, for instance, I know for a fact, from learning and from practice, that the Bluegills at the east end of Jordan Lake will take a yellow rubber spider quicker than they will a black rubber spider on a fly rod, I will be much “luckier” if I fish with a yellow rubber spider when I’m there. 

       Nothing is guaranteed mind you.  I may catch no Bluegills at all on any particular day using yellow rubber spiders.  I may even get out-fished by another fisherman who’s using black rubber spiders on another day.  But if I know that, as a general rule, the Bluegills at the east end of Jordan Lake prefer yellow rubber spiders over black ones, all else being equal, I will catch more fish using my yellows than that black spider fan will, over the long haul. - Unless, of course, - I don’t - because I haven’t correctly understood all of the other variables in the situation as well as I thought I had – while God and the black rubber spider fellow are laughing at me.   

       With all of that being said; my wife sure seems to be better at winning things than I am for no apparent reasons at all.  When it comes to door prizes and charity raffle tickets she has gleaned far more and nicer rewards than I have over the years, and I don’t think there’s enough time left in this life for me to catch up with her. 

my wife's door prize

       Once we went to a charity function where everyone was guaranteed to win a door prize.  She won the television set.  I think I might have won a nice pocket calendar, or something, I really don’t remember.  Oh! Now I remember, it was a camping hatchet.  I still have it.   

       My beautiful wife also recently won a week-long trip for two up the inner passage of Southeast Alaska on a luxury cruise ship.  I am really so grateful that she decided to take me along with her.  She is a peach.  I have never once, not even for a moment, regretted not using that hatchet I won on her television set back then. 

my door prize

       Now, on these cruises there are side excursions that you can book for each of your several stops along the route.  These were not covered in my wife’s prize package, you have to pay for those yourself, but if you want to do more than just walk around town and shop when you get to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, the booked excursion is you best option to do something interesting in the time allotted. 

       As my wife would survey the catalogue of excursion choices for each stop, asking my opinion on each of them, it was hard for me.  There were all kinds of things to do.  Walking tours, carriage tours, car tours, boat tours and duck-truck tours, - ascending incline trams and descending zip-line rides, - small plane and helicopter rides over the glaciers, - train excursions up the canyons and over the mountains along the trail into the Yukon, - whale watching, seal watching, moose watching, bear watching, and eagle watching packets offering every hope, but no guarantees, of success.  All of them sounded very interesting and rewarding, each in their own way, but what I was interested in was the chance to fish.  And they offered that chance!

       Jackpot! All three of the Alaskan stopping points offered the opportunity to go fishing.  What an opportunity to indulge my passion!  Ocean fishing, stream and river fishing, high mountain lake fishing and every kind of fishing!  Look out Halibut, Salmon, Cutthroat, and Dolly Varden, I’m coming after all of you in turn! 

       But wait! This is my wife’s trip.  I am her guest, - and I love her, - and she doesn’t fish like I do.  She will fish, - but she doesn’t love to fish, - at least not every chance one can, like I do. 

this looks like so much fun!

       “Dearest, that train ride into the mountains at Skagway sounds neat.  Let’s do that. – And that duck-truck tour of Ketchikan looks like fun too! – But would you mind if I got on one of those little puddle-hopper planes and went fly-fishing for the afternoon while we’re in Juneau?  You know how much I love to fish, - and I’ll probably never get another chance to go fishing in Alaska, - and I love to fly-fish more than any other way to fish, - and I’ve always wanted to go up in one of those little pontoon planes and land on a lake in the wilderness, - The other fishing excursions sound like a lot of fun too, - but this is the one I really want to do. – Would it be alright with you?”

       “Hmmm. – Let’s see what the brochure says; ‘Enjoy an afternoon fly-fishing one of the many scenic hideaways in the Juneau area.  Fly to your wilderness fishing site by small water-landing plane.  Experienced pilots.  Veteran guide and all top grade equipment is provided for each small group of 3 to 5 participants.  Guides are trained to deal with bear and other wildlife that may be encountered.  Excursion suitable for every level of fly-fishing experience from beginner to advanced.  Expect to catch Grayling, Dolly Varden, cutthroat, and several different species of salmon depending on the season.  All fishing is catch-and-release.  Visit outfitter’s website for more details.’”

       “That sounds exactly like what I want to do while we’re in Alaska.  I would love to do that!”  

       “Well, - it certainly is one of the more expensive excursions in the catalogue. – A helicopter ride up to the glaciers to hike around and fly back is about the only one that tops it in price.” -

       “Yes, I’ll admit that it is expensive, - but I really, really do want to go fly-fishing while we’re in Alaska. – We don’t have cutthroat trout here in Michigan and I’ve always wanted to catch one of those.  It would be sooo cool to go fly-fishing in Alaska, - and this will probably be the only chance I ever get to do it, - and I really do want to do it. – Could I?”

       “Of course you can Honey.  We’re getting most of the trip for free, so we can spend the money to have some fun while we’re on it.  I figured that this is what you would most like to do when I first got the brochure, so have some fun and catch some fish.  I love you.”

       “And – I – love – you, – too.”  - HOORAY!! – I’m going to go fly-fishing in Alaska! – I can hardly wait until we get there! – I am one lucky, - or let me say, as I ought to say, - I am one very “blessed and loved” man!

Something to take home in your creel:

       Determining just how this world all works in relationship to its Creator, including the part that we get to play in all of that, is hard to say for certain.  It’s hard to say from just observing the workings of the world going on around us.  And I would contend that it is no less hard to determine from what we are told about how it all works in scripture. 

       Some would say that the Bible clearly insists that God is firmly in control of, and has indeed dictated, every single aspect of all of existence, right down to the number of hairs that are currently growing on each of our collective heads at any moment in time.  Others would say that, while the scriptures do indicate that God does indeed know the number of hairs currently on each of our collective heads, it does not insist that he causes that number to be what it is at any point in time.  That number will be influenced by the freedom that God has granted to all of his creation to truly participate in the life he has given it.  And, as far as we humans are concerned, the freedom to participate for or against his will for it all.

       While God maintains his ultimate control over the final outcome, the ultimate destiny for all of his creation, including each of us as individuals within it, he has also created us in his own image, each with the freedom to assist or resist in that march towards his eventual kingdom come, his will being done, on earth as it is in heaven.  We get to choose to accept or decline to participate in that march at every turn it takes. 

        It’s nothing to boast about if you choose to accept, in as far as you do participate you will do nothing positive in that respect apart from God’s grace, the power of his Holy Spirit working through you, enabling you to do it.  If you chose to assist, you cannot claim any credit for anything that comes of it apart from God working in you.  But you still get to choose!

       It’s also nothing to despair over if you have chosen to resist, - for the time being, - God’s love for you will not cease for all that.  The eventual death held over you by the powers of all the alternatives to God’s Way will still dissipate the moment you turn back to your Creator in loving trust and submission and give yourself over, heart, mind, body and soul, to his will.  The door to redemption and participation in God’s never ending life is never closed to you, at least not as long as you draw a breath in this life.  You can never shut God out in that respect. 
       But still, it is your choice to make.  God does not insist that any of us must choose his love, wherein we find life, or that any of us must choose against his love and life.  We are free in that regard, even if we are free in no other.  Love demands that freedom, - and God is love.