Category Archives: fly fishing

Posted on

Lessons from a Fly-Fishing Master

Meet Jim Kilburn, a master at the art of fly-fishing. God put this man in my path, literally. Driving down a Colorado gravel road, there is a man and a lady walking in my direction. I slow down my truck (probably speeding) and recognize who this couple is. It’s Jim, the fishing Guru and his wife June, right there in front of me.

I’ve heard about Jim. Several people in Westcliffe, Colorado, had told me about this man whose fishing knowledge was unsurpassed. This guy knows how to fish.

See, Jim is a master at fly-fishing. He has fished with guys that have written books about fly-fishing. Jim himself could write his own books, but I think he spent all his time fishing rather than writing about it. I must reach out to this gentleman.

What goes on inside my brain, I can’t explain. (Neither can my wife, Staci.) But in super important times for me, like the one happening now, my brain locks up. My hands are vise-gripping the steering wheel, my heart adds several beats, and my mouth suddenly goes dry.

When interacting with other humans, people use and expect a certain protocol. Start a friendly conversation with a warm hello. Share a bit of small talk with one another. Not me, not today.

The truck rolls to a stop next to Jim and his wife. Seeing this legend of a fly-fisherman before me, I hurriedly roll down the window. My conversation begins with, “Hey there, sir, can you teach me to fly fish?”

No protocol, no warm greeting, just a request from me asking a favor. Now I’m arguing with my own brain about the mishap in communications that I’ve just made.

I’m preparing to hear him say anything. Anything like, “Well, someday”, or “you’ll have to get back with me”. I’m even prepared to hear Jim say, “No, I don’t have time to teach someone like you.” But he says, “Sure, be glad to. I can go in the morning”. Now I’m nervous. The Master will instruct me in fishing techniques. The next morning, we arrived at a secluded mountain lake. Sage growing in the nearby field gives the morning crisp air a fresh scent. Does he teach me how to fish? Well…………. first he taught me some knot tying. I’ve tied knots all my life, but Jim had several knots he says are the best…. and they were. Despite my clumsiness, I felt the Master’s patience while he showed me, many times, how to tie knots. We tied flies to the leaders, which led to tying leaders to the fly line itself.

Does he show me how to fish? Well, now we study the “bugs” found beneath the submerged rocks. He shows me nymphs, and well, I don’t know the names of all the “bugs and worms and critters” that he is showing me. While their names elude me, I now know their appearance. My fly selection matches the lake’s natural inhabitants, and these will serve as bait. I’m fixing to catch fish!

But first… Jim shows me how to cast a fly rod. I’m in heaven! Jim is in his glory! I’m witnessing a man using his fishing rod as if directing a symphony. The rhythm of his cast, coupled with his smile, and line curving behind him, then powering forward to its target. I’m caught staring in amazement. Then Jim says, “Here, use my rod, now you try it”. Uh oh, uuhhhh, now it’s my time to mess things up.

I’m whipping the rod, popping the line, but hey, I’m casting. Jim, who understands and has a teaching heart, patiently guides me. It’s becoming obvious to me now that Jim has a love for fly-fishing. So much love that he will give of his time to be with me on this fishing adventure.

He has been standing far away, (so that he won’t get hit by the barbed hook while I’m casting), (or should I say whippin’, flapping’, jerkin’, popping his fly rod). He walks over and says the most unusual thing. “Listen to the rod. Hear the whoosh the line makes as it’s being cast.”

Well, knock me down with a feather (or an 8ft 6weight fly rod). I hear it! By hearing the “whoosh” sound, I’m able to get the “rhythm” of the cast. It’s almost magical the difference this has made for me. The transition from mechanical action to sensing the joy of watching the fly touch the water. In these brief moments I’m no longer a man holding a fishing pole. I’m a fly-fisherman showing confidence with each cast of the fly. I’m ready to catch fish. Bring it on! But wait…

Has Jim taught me how to fish as I asked of him? He instructed me on knot tying, insect identification, casting, water reading, wading, and fish stalking. Now he’s teaching me how to fight! This day had started with a terrible, hard-blowing wind. I expected the master to call off today’s fishing adventure because of the hard wind. Instead, he shows me how to fight… yes, to fight the wind. Wind may ruin a lot of fishing days for some folks, but not Jim. And now, not me. I’ve learned techniques to battle this foe.

Enjoying having learned so much more about fly-fishing has rewired my brain so that it’s now functioning on four of the six cylinders available. (That 5th or 6th cylinder is a rare occasion for me.)

On our spiritual journey, just like this fishing adventure, we must come to where we ask the Master for help. What we sometimes don’t realize is that our Master is helping us live this Christian walk. But it’s the small things that make the journey. God’s time with each of us is priceless.

Did Jim teach me how to fish? Has my Heavenly Father instructed me in Christian living?

I think in both instances the realization came to me. It wasn’t my learning that was important, but the spending of time with the Master…… Jim in my fishing adventure, and God in my Christian journey.

I’m sure that I should write more concerning this subject. But I’ve got fish to catch…… and a Christian journey waiting to be explored. Good luck. And fight that wind!!!!!

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, apprentice fly-fisherman, apprentice Christian

Posted on

The Wilderness Preacher: A Fisherman’s Spiritual Revelation

Here is a mystery, a riddle so to speak, for you to figure out.

(Step 1) I caught a bluegill on the fly attached to my fly rod.

(Step 2) But I landed the largest Bass ever on this same fly rod. How did I catch one, but land the other?

Here is the answer……

(Step 3) The Bass gets eaten (by me), but the bluegill is released to begin a new life after being saved from the near death experience with the Jaws of Death.

Wow! This fish survived me catching him on a fly rod, THEN being eaten by a large Bass as I’m reeling him in, THEN waiting while I took pictures ha ! THEN…. I cut the bluegill from inside of the large bass and revived and released him back into the lake. This fish was caught by me and “saved” from the Jaws of Death. He now begins a new life. I’ve nicknamed him “Christian”. From now on, when I fish this lake and catch a bluegill, I’ll wonder if it’s Christian.

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed- in a flash, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

I’m not much of one to explain the end times. It’s difficult for me to explain how our souls live forever. I have to rely on my faith and trust as I walk this Christian journey.

But I know what I know. And that is this. God (picture Him using a fly rod) sent his Son Jesus to this world. Jesus, (picture the fly at the end of the line to God), Jesus lets us choose if we want Him in our lives. When we accept Jesus, and His forgiveness, His love, His way of life, (picture the Bluegill getting hooked by the fly) we have a strong connection to God. (via the fly line and fishing rod)

The devil (in this case the Bass!), comes along to consume us. He wants to kill us, to devour us. Yet this connection I have to God is so strong, that even though I’m trapped in the Jaws of Death, He steps in to “SAVE” me!

He restores my soul. He revives me. (Just like I did the bluegill). He leads me beside the still waters. Yea though I walk/swim through the valley of the shadow of death/the Bass, I will fear no evil.

Thy rod (fishing rod) and thy staff, they comfort me. Surely goodness and Mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord FOREVER! (Taken from the 23rd Psalm)

So in the simple ways of the wilderness preacher, there you have it. My definition of being “SAVED”!

Theologians, clergy, scholars, philosophers, and maybe even religious know it alls can debate, argue, and give opinions as to what it means to be saved as a Christian. Me? I’d rather be fishing. I see what I need to see from God on each cast that is made. The main reason I love to fish? Well, it’s not about catching fish.

See Ya! Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, ” whoa, I got another one!”

Posted on

True Joy

See that smile? The young child just caught her first fish. What was just an ordinary day at camp suddenly turned into a lifelong memory filled day at camp when the young girl suddenly shouted out one of those most famous of fishing quotes,…… “I got one, I got one!”

This past summer I got to witness a moment of true joy, joy that had to come from Heaven. You see that smile? The young lady on the right is one of the church camp’s fellows/interns. Their “job” is to provide the guests with, well, any and everything. The “fellows/interns” are an amazing group of young people. They commit to giving of themselves for one year here at camp. One full year of serving God by serving man in this most beautiful of mountain camps. One full year of Bible studies, serving meals, cleaning, preparing for the next family group, praise and worship, making lifelong friends, enjoying God’s majestic creations, and picking up straw and pine cones (an inside joke 😉 ) Today her “job” was to help this family go fishing. It’s pretty obvious that she too was filled with “Joy from Above”.

You see that smile? The young lady on the left is the Mother of the young child who just caught her first fish. Now, get this. She caught her first fish when her Mother took her fishing at this very same pond at this very same church camp 27 years ago. A tradition continues!!

You see that smile? Well, it’s the one I’m wearing behind the scenes. This past summer I got to take lots of folks fishing. I know, I know, it’s such a terrible suffering that I must endure having to take folks into the mountains here to fish. But what I’m fixing to say is so true. Yes, I take people fishing here in the mountains, but honestly I take them to experience God! Ask any or all of the families, or dads, or children, or grandpas,…….. or the Mother of this child. Ask them did You feel God’s presence today? Was the joy that you experienced something that had to be supernatural. A joy that could only be described as a “taste of what heaven is like”.

That’s my “job” here at the church camp. Well, my job description on paper is that I’m the groundskeeper. You know, chainsaw work, weed eating, landscaping, (and picking up straw and pine cones).

But here’s a little secret. I’m here to help people experience God. To truly see Jesus and His Love, to feel His presence in these mountains and streams and pond here at church camp……that’s my mission. Here’s how it works.

This particular day, I’m cleaning up the property of fallen limbs from the storm. (I call it dancing with the chainsaw,…… I dance a lot!) I notice several people at the pond fishing. This particular family is fishing, but they are using the wrong bait. Oh, the bait would be great for 5 pound bass, but not for the small brook trout in this pond. I go back to the truck and get a few flies that I know these fish will bite. Something about fishing over the years, I enjoy seeing others catch a fish as much or more than me catching one myself. I tell the young child to try one of these baits. I share one of another of those famous fishing quotes,…… “The fish will bite this!” The young Mother helps her daughter put the bait on the line and casts it into the pond. Now we wait.

The wait is not long. Fish grabs hook. Child shouts “I got one, I got one!” Everybody goes from half asleep to “Battle stations”! “Get the net”, another famous fishing quote is heard in all the business of landing her first fish. While all this hectic activity is going on, I run over with my phone and begin taking pictures. My daughter has taught me a lot about photography. It’s all about the angle. It’s all about the lighting. But today, …..today,…… it’s all about the moment!

Look at the picture. The moment was captured on that image. Oh sure it’s a picture of someone fishing. But, it’s more. It’s a picture of true joy. Joy like that can only come from one source…….. God.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

Joy is a state of being. Happiness comes from circumstances. That’s why fishing brings joy to so many people. Even those days when the fish aren’t biting there is this sense of joy. But man when they do bite. Woohoo!!!!!

Now let’s talk about you. What’s your “job”? What’s your mission? This story shares some of the “behind the scenes” things that happened to make this fishing adventure come alive. (Example: Getting the right bait) You guys that are reading this have so many opportunities to help others see and experience God’s Love and Joy! (Examples: a kind word, a helping hand, sharing with another person’s burden, on and on) If you can spread a little joy, especially with all that’s going on in this world, there will be someone who has that smile of “Joy from Above”. And that someone, may even be YOU!

“I’ve got that Joy, Joy, Joy, Joy down in my heart…..” See Ya Dan Ainsworth wilderness preacher, fishing guide