The Fonz: Not too cool to fly fish

Published 10:21 am Tuesday, July 12, 2011

I recently read Henry Winkler’s new book and my first thought upon reading the title was that he obviously hadn’t fished the Skykomish in Sultan or the North Fork of the Stilliguamish in Darrington.

While I have to admit that I may be being unfair to Sultan and to Darrington, I have met some

scary people on the river in both places.

I’ve met some truly wonderful people there as well, but during my fly club’s annual cleanup on the Stilly, I’ve come across a few folks living in tents or old trailers that were downright scary and looked a lot like meth cookers.

Or at least their trash looked a lot like it came from equipment used to cook meth.

But of course Winkler, whom old folks like me know from his role as “The Fonz” on TV’s “Happy Days”, is really saying that he hasn’t met any idiots while fly fishing in some pretty exclusive places in Montana. Or maybe its that the people he meets in Hollywood are so loonie that the folks he meets on rivers seen tame by comparison.

I looked forward to reading the book because I love fly fishing and photography and thought I might grab some tips about both. There were some nice photos in the book, but Winkler is definitely a point-and-shoot sort of guy, so there weren’t really any tips.

He’s a basic fly fishing guy as well, and I like that in the book.
Winkler explained how he grew up in an urban setting and got involved in fly fishing and the outdoors later in life.

He talked about how fly fishing serves as a metaphor for his life and has taught him a lot, like how its important not to give up while fishing or to give up in life.

He thinks of fly fishing as a “washing machine for your brain”, helping you clear your head of other concerns.

It was nice to feel like I got to know Winkler better and that fishing is an important part of his life. Fishing has long helped me clear my mind of stress and other problems, so its nice to see it does the same thing for others.

I have met some idiots on the river, but that doesn’t stop me from agreeing with Winkler that fishing is pretty wonderful and it teaches some good life lessons.