Paige....The Fisherwoman

From the first moment that I met Paige I knew she was serious about fishing.  She used to talk about it when we had district meeting in Monza, Italy.  She would talk about how much she loved fishing and especially how much she loved to fish with her family.  She would brag constantly about what incredible fishermen her brothers and father were, and she also mentioned that she wasn't too bad either.  Once Paige and I started dating I knew that it was time for me to get serious about the sport.  I had gone fly fishing once before Paige and I started dating and I am pretty sure I went because I knew one day I would have to prove my worth to Paige.

Paige and I went fishing for the first time together in Sun Valley, Idaho, on our third date.  That morning my brother Steve, Paige, and I went to fish the Snake river.  Paige was awesome and caught at least a couple fish.  I struggled and just tried not to look like too big of an idiot, it was only my second time and Steve held his own and caught a couple fish.  After that one trip the legend of Paige the Fisherwomand, started in my family.  Every time Paige and I would go fishing and I would say I caught a couple fish, my family would say, "We know Paige caught a couple fish but how many did you catch?", implying that Paige caught all the fish for our family.

In reality this was not to far from the truth for most of our marriage.  We would fish together and Paige would catch more fish than me.  I would get discouraged because I really wanted to catch fish and she would tell me how much better I was doing and that my cast really was looking better. Typical Paige right, never thinking of herself, always trying to build everyone else up.  I always thought that Paige had the most beautiful cast.  Considering that almost all the time she was the only girl out on the river, that fact never bothered her.  She loved going out there and proving to all the men that she was just as good if not better than they were.  And of course she looked a million times better than any of us, that is for sure.  For many years Paige wore a pair of wadders that had three sunflowers sewn onto the front pocket, super cute and super Paige.  Not only did Paige look great when she fished she also made it fun to fish with her.  When all the heavy hitters were out fishing all day long, Paige wasn't afraid to take a break.  When I got tired I would walk over to her and she would bring in her line and we would sit by the river and talk.  Looking back now I realize that those are some of the most precious memories I have of our marriage. Paige was also famous for bringing treats to river.  You could always count on her to have gummy bears or some thing sweet to make the experience just that much better.

This last memorial day I went with the Stovall family to Yellowstone Park to do some camping and fishing.  Needless to say I was very nervous to step into those waters for the first time without the help of my best friend and in fact when I did step into the water I began to cry but then I began to fish.  I told myself that Paige wouldn't want me to waste a good day of fishing so I girded up my strength and had at it.  That afternoon was the best afternoon of fishing that I have ever had.  I would like to say it was because I have now become, as Kirk would put it, a not so bad fisherman.  But the truth is I had someone telling those fish to bit my line, because that is what I needed, typical Paige, always thinking about everyone else.

I hope they have good trout rivers in heaven....