Almost Thirty !

[Adam Grace]

I have a question for my older and wiser fly fishing buddies..... did you guys dread your 30th birthday as much as I am?

I find myself looking back on my life with fond memories of fish and the places in which I caught them during the past 29 years. Unfortunately I also look back with some regret on fishing opportunities lost. As I get older my fishing opportunities have been decreasing. Will my future birthdays be so filled with such retrospection? Or is it because I am very close to turning a milestone that is unofficially separating my "childhood" from the "adult" remainder of my life?

I think that I need a beer

[Rick J]

you are just a damn punk kid .

It is all downhill from here!!!!!

But I will still let you on my sled on the Klamath in the fall!

[FRSam]

Getting old isn't for wimps
You're still just a kid...you've got a loooong way to go....enjoy the ride while you can - it gets a lot bumpier the further down the road you get.
Enjoy that beer - it definitely helps!!!
Pete

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Adam

I know how you feel, when my Dick uncle was turning thirty I was crying because I thought he did not have long to live. He is in his 80s now.

I'll be 63 this month........

You are probably a third of the way through your life now.

I think you have a few good years left?

[David Lee]

I have a question for my older and wiser fly fishing buddies..... did you guys dread your 30th birthday as much as I am?

To be totally honest ....

30 was the second BEST thing that ever happened to me - the first best was Candida . Make more concrete plans to do fishing trips , and take advantage of EVERY chance to get a few hours in on the water or tying/rigging (almost the same as fishing , right ??) . Start to worry about getting the skunk , instead of how many days you have/don't have left !!

Oh , almost forgot ...... HAPPY BIRTHDAY Adam !!!!

David

[jlmelend]

What bothered me the most about turining thirty was that all of a sudden, if I ate an apple, I'd gain 20 pounds!

I don't know if this helps...but I was in school all the way until I was 33 and got married when I was 29 and had my first kid when I was 31, so I didn't enjoy myself until I was 40!

I say...no worries oracle...
Finish school, keep fishing, get a job you love, and marry a rich woman with a boat!

Happy Birthday...and be sure to catch another barracuda or two before you turn 40 and you'll be all set !

[MSP]

I have a question for my older and wiser fly fishing buddies..... did you guys dread your 30th birthday as much as I am?

I forget!

Happy birthday!

[East Bay Ed]

Relax. Thirty is a great birthday to have. You're are starting to reach the age of reason. You will not have maximum reason for several more years, but you will find yourself, are you ready for this, thinking instead of acting first.

Instead of wading a little deeper you will look around for options before you actually step into the best water. You will remember there is a tree/bush behind you before casting. You will remember to change your fly before putting everything down during the hatch when fish are selectively feeding. And of course when you feel your net or wading staff being pulled back you will turn around and loosen it, before it snaps loose and hits you in the back of the head.

Now don't get me wrong, there is a real downside to aging: remembering that you left that special box of flies at home on the breakfast table so you wouldn't forget it; needing to step out of the river after just stepping in because the cold running water forces you to take a leak; suddenly finding out that moss on rocks makes a stretch of river act like a ski run and that some muscle always pulls just as you regain your balance; trying to remember where you waded across the river when it is too dark to see the river bottom; and of course suddenly remembering that you locked the keys in the car when you first got into your waders. Of course, most of these will not happen until you are past sixty.

So what's my advice. Just smile and enjoy yourself. Always remember that in a few more years, you will be at your physical best on any given day and that the next day you will be just a little less coordinated.

[Adam Grace]

Thanks guys

[SteelieD]

Adam, Happy B-DAY!

30 was traumatic for me. Not exactly sure why, but probably for a lot of the same reasons you are feeling the way you do. For me life has definitely gotten better. More complicated, but better.

Remember, it's just a number. It sounds contrite, but, really age is a state of mind (with the exception of the aforementioned aches and pains that take a a lot longer to go away!). My wife often wonders who the 9 year old is in the house, me or my son!

Have fun and enjoy the ride.