Tuesday, January 3, 2012

2011 - in the RearView.

Another year, another 13,624 fish. A few more stamps in the ol' passport, a few more lines on our face, a few more gray hairs among the few remaining hairs on our head.

There were some pretty big changes in the way things roll around the Neil Creek Estate this year, and most of them were net-positive.

For starters, we are no longer trading our long-term joint health and general physical well-being for money anymore. On the upside, this whole "work with your brain" thingy is pretty nifty, and although the initial transition was a little bumpy, we are nestling into the role nicely, thank you. As for the downside, well...let's just say that there is more of us lately, and part of the new year's resolution is to dust off the old college weight-set and play a little more hockey than, oh, 3 games a year.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary with the wife this year, and are still secretly amazed that she has stuck around this long. Must be our amazingly awesome multiple personalities, or the copious amounts of cash that the Neil Creek Empire generates on a second-by-second basis...or maybe it's just that we remember to do the dishes every now and then and tell her that she smells nice.

We are also fully vested in what used to be a serious hobby - for richer (not) and for poorer, in sickness and in health, and for better and for worse...We are now full-time in the industry and we will try not to hate the briar patch too much, br'er Fox.

At any rate, 2011 is what it was, and if we can't change it, then at least we can remember the good and learn from the bad.

46 reasons that 2011 didn't suck.










The Cap'n, showing some deep respect for the cinematic flyfishing oeuvre








The Afro in Modern Fly Angling: A Triptych.




Got to make some TeeVee with this fella last fall.


Nice enough guy, but he needs to shoot the puck more.






It may be disrespectful, but if you spent hours dialing in a custom setup only to lose it on some sunken piece of detritus, you'd be pissed off too.


















The children at rest.






More food tourism.


















Go ahead. Fish for them.


















Just enough time to catch our breath...RoadTrip '12 v1 and v1.1 commence in 15 days.

Can't wait, Fisha.