NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS 2017 BY JOHN BERRY

I was sitting here at Blue Ribbon Fly Shop a few minutes ago, when I got a phone call, from my assistant manager, Henry Seay. We were discussing our work schedule, when I realized that it was Wednesday and I had not written my column. I have been out of town for the last few days celebrating Christmas with my family and I had pretty much lost all track of time. I thought for a minute about what to write about and then it came to me. With New Year’s Eve coming up this week end, why not write about my New Year’s resolutions for the coming year. 

First, of all, I want, to fish more. That may sound a bit strange coming from a professional guide that spends a lot, of time, on the water. Between my job managing Blue Ribbon Fly Shop and Berry Brothers Guide Service, I am either guiding or otherwise immersed in fly fishing most every day. The problem is that I do not get to fish much, on my own. Though my wife, Lori, and I have guided together several days this year, we have had precious few days fishing together without clients. During the coming year, I hope to fish, with Lori, at least once a week. 

My next resolution is, to kayak more. During the past year, I have not kayaked a single time. Lori and I bought our kayaks several years ago and have used them often to explore new water and to access remote fishing locations (both warm and cold water) that you can’t get into any other way. We not only have the kayaks but we also have a great trailer and other accessories that make it easy and comfortable to be in the boats. Here again my work schedule has kept me pretty busy and I have not had much free time to kayak and I really miss it. I hope to incorporate kayaking into some of those weekly fishing trips with Lori. 

Last year my brother, Dan, passed away and I inherited a bunch of fishing gear. The problem was that I already had a sizable amount of tackle myself. It was time to thin the herd. His stuff was basically better than mine. I went through it and kept the very best for myself. I have been going through the rest of his gear trying to determine, where to donate it. I gave a few fly rods to our old fishing club, the Mid South Fly Fishers, a bunch of fly tying material to Trout Unlimited and some other items to the Sowbug Roundup. I began selling off my old gear. I still have several rods and reels that have a bit of age, on them, but are still quite serviceable. I plan to continue selling off my gear until I am down to just the rods and reels that Lori and I actually use. 

These are my resolutions, what are yours?