"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his
excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to
buy the field”
The parable of the kingdom of heaven portrayed as being a treasure hidden in a field often reminds me
of those times when I felt I had found a secret fishing place. It felt as if no
one else knew. I had the treasure all to myself and those I wish to share it
with. It was my secret place. It was a
sliver of the kingdom of God
and like the man in the parable I was willing to give up everything else to be
there.
I remember having this feeling when I hiked up into the
middle and upper portions of Cheesman
Canyon. The Deckers area was always
popular but it was the secrecy and seclusion of the canyon that beckoned me to
make the hike up and around boulders. Back in those days I hardly saw people fishing
in the canyon and if I did, I could always just hike a little farther and find
new secret holes. There were big wild rainbows
in those holes. As I hooked those big rainbows I remember laughing that no one
else was there. I had found a secret treasure.
There was the ‘dream stream’ before it became everyone’s dream stream. I remember
standing in those meanders in the midst of those vast meadows wondering if I
had truly found a treasure that would last forever. South
Park was paradox; a huge open God
forsaken place and yet teeming with trout. The huge expanse of the land and sky
intimidated me and yet at the same time I was drawn to fish those quiet,
lonely, secret meanders.
I remember when the upper several
miles of Eleven Mile
Canyon became treasure after it was
designated as Catch and Release, fly and lure only water. The trout population
grew abundantly and quickly. This too, was a piece of paradise; a secret place
in our own back yard hidden by huge granite walls.
The Arkansas River tail water in Pueblo
felt like a winter treasure. Here was a place to catch large trout (some very
large), in the winter and often be comfortable. Who would have thought the steel city would
hold such beautiful trout in an urban area? This too, at least for several years was ironically
a hidden urban treasure.
These were and still are the best fly fishing treasures in
the Colorado Springs area. Over the
years I have been willing to give up quite a bit on my schedule to fish. At
times I would cut work to fish or drive to these places after work to catch a
few hours of fishing. Or, on weekends I would post pone those normal domestic
chores and responsibilities to fish. Why fertilize the lawn when there is
treasure to be found? And at least in the beginning, (even if it were only in
my imagination), these places were somewhat secret. Of course, over the years,
that changed. Word got out. Articles were posted in the newspapers. The people
came. Lots of them. The guides came. I was and am one of those guides.
Without blaming anyone, sadly these places no longer have a
sense of secrecy for me. For me, this new awareness has taken something special
out of these places and has diminished the feeling of these places being a
treasure that I had once found. It is difficult to have a sense of secrecy and
discovered treasure when virtually every hour of every day someone, (even if it
is me), is standing in those places. Almost every square inch of river bottom
is stepped on every day. When the rivers filled up with fishermen I went to the
still waters; Spinney and Antero. This preserved a sense of secrecy for a while
until, like the rivers, word got out and the crowds came there too.
I know I was not the first person to have found these places.
More importantly, I was not the first person to feel I had found the treasure
then to feel that secret treasure slip away. Long before me there were others
who found the treasure. Others fished these waters long before me, long before
I was even born, all in their own secrecy.
So, I have to consider the very real possibility that maybe it
was I who invaded their secret places. Maybe, in some way, I took the treasure
from them even as I watch more and more people fish in runs and holes that are
no longer secret for me or anyone.
And that is a loss of treasure which is sad for all of us.
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