A GOOD TIP AND AN ANECDOTE TO PROVE IT

 
I would like to emphasize a technique that I always employ before I start the day's fishing-  when you are setting up your equipment and choosing the lures, hooks, weights, etc. that you will be using for the day, make sure to spend a little extra attention to your rod.  If you have a two piece rod and are getting ready to assemble, hold the tip of the pole so the eyes are at a 90 degree angle to the ground.  Then insert it into the bottom half.  Insert at this angle while GENTLY and slowly turning until the eyes of the pole are lined up.  Push down with a little pressure to make sure the two pieces are snug.  If you just push the top piece in and twist back forcing it to fit, you will eventually expand the connector and the top half of the pole will slip around.  This may cause it to come apart while casting and you could possibly lose the rod with a fish on the line.  Not a pleasant experience, as demonstrated below.

We love to entertain visitors.  One year, our dear dear friends Ron and Diane were out from Cincinnati for a few days to enjoy the beautiful area around Steamboat Springs. There were scenic drives, good food, shopping for trinkets and tee's, and of course the roaring river where Ron and I would take in a bit of trout fishing.

It was an overcast day (a rarity in the state that gets over 300 days of sunshine) and by the time Ron and I reached the river, it was drizzling.  Of course, this would never deter a couple of die hard sports such as ourselves.                                                                             

Now, a little history of my fishing experiences together with Ron.   We dated two very close friends who were in high school together.  (We both ended up marrying these cute little sweethearts.)  But I digress.  After a double date, we would head down to the Ohio river for some hard core catfish fishing, usually around midnight.   We would down a couple of beers and wait for the big cats to come around.  There were some great stories that came out of these fishing outings that have to be told in person in order to appreciate them.  All fact, no bull.  In looking back, the stories were the only thing to come out of these trips.  Can't remember any fish that are worth bragging about.  But we laughed a lot and had fun!  What fishing is all about.  

The only other fish outing I can remember making with Ron was to an Indiana State Park.  Once again, it was raining and the fishing was not good.  Ohh, we were catching a few fish but they were tiny...and I mean tiny.  We then got the bright idea of putting the fish next to small rocks to make the fish look bigger in the pictures.  What turned out were pictures of small fish next to small stones.  I wouldn 't swear to it but I think it was Ron's idea.

Because of life's journeys, Ron and I really did not get to fish together as much as we both would have enjoyed.  So you can imagine how thrilled we were to be able to be going fishing in a Colorado river.
  
When we approached the river, the current was strong, bouncing off rocks and downed timber just as nature intended.  I left Ron at a good spot and I moved downstream a little ways. We both began to fish and within a couples of minutes, I heard Ron calling my name.  I knew what it was!!   Ron had caught a fish.  I ran back to see if I could help land the fish, but then I saw it-  Ron standing there with just a half of a rod, the top piece bouncing it's way downstream like a fallen stick that just fell from an overhead branch. I watched as the rod tip floated off to be lodged in a beaver dam somewhere down stream.  And there was Ron exclaiming, "Hey, what's wrong with this pole you gave me!"  The only thing I could do was laugh and, of course, Ron cracked up as well.  Our long awaited fish outing was over before it began.  But once again we achieved what fishing is really about: having fun and laughing out loud.  Hence, the lesson learned- a quick twist of the tip of the pole will certainly save your equipment and prolong your fishing outing.

But alas, I have since had the privilege of fishing with Ron and, well, history does have a way of repeating itself....