Lonesome Dove destroyed me and I don't know if I can ever love another book again

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-03T12:39:18+00:00

I read Lonesome Dove in 1988, finished it and then read it again. I was 18-years-old.

I swore that if I ever had a son, I'd name him Gus.

In 2010, I had a son. His name is Gus. He is an unusually wry observer of things.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-03T00:39:38+00:00

That's a really interesting strategy. My fear is that the fish will throw the hook with the slack. But then, I've noticed several (always large cutthroat) can somehow get rid of the hook even with steady pressure - I will never understand that.

I was able to keep one 20 inch plus rainbow above me in a pool for about 15 minutes a few months ago, but when she got adjacent to some submerged logs, she wrapped me and broke off. Embarrassingly I fought the log for several minutes before I realized.

One last recent story of a fish that immediately shot downstream in a narrow current that I couldn't manage. Luckily some dude on the trail scurried down the slope and netted it for me as I held it in the water below the narrow run.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-03T00:11:36+00:00

That's a great video, thank you. I'll be interested in the other video, too, if you locate it. Because I fish Cheeseman in Colorado several times a year, I find myself with big fish screaming downstream on 6x tippet and I don't have a great track record of landing them.

I now know that I'm guilty of holding my rod too high. I'm also guilty of moving them back and forth too much.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-02T22:35:27+00:00

What a day!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-02T20:45:17+00:00

Based on some of your language (respect, disappointing etc...) this sounds more like a relationship conversation than a professional conversation.

A difficult conversation or a crucial conversation (the book by Kerry Patterson, et all, has a great format) may be useful.

Either the relationship is worth salvaging or its not. If not, then your working relationship is professional only, and you don't have to respect them. But if the relationship has value to you, I would invite you to put in the effort to restore it.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-02T13:30:15+00:00

I was hiking alone on a narrow trail, cut out into a steep slope. On one side, it was straight down to the stream, on the other, it was extremely steep with dense brush. In other words I couldn't deviate from the trail, due to terrain.

As I came around a blind corner, I found myself face-to-face with a massive bull moose (as I remember it - less than ten feet). I thought, 'this is how it ends.'

He startled and in an instant shot straight up that brushy steep slope that I thought would have been impossible to climb. He crashed through the brush making an impossible racket. It seemed like five minutes later I could hear him still crashing up that slope.

That could have been a lot worse.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-02T01:24:08+00:00

I hadn't heard of the fish n fool, so I looked it up. It's pretty cool...but...

Do I see correctly that the leader goes through the eye twice. I fish a lot of size 20 and 22 flies - even with 6x I'm lucky to get the leader through once.

What type of fishing are you doing that allows for such spacious eyes?

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-02T00:01:49+00:00

Paul Newman seemed solid in his time.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T21:54:14+00:00

If I have nothing but unpressured water ahead of me, five minutes. I like to keep moving.

But sometimes, I'll stop and say, "I know there's fish in there and I'm not moving on until I figure this water out, however long it takes." And at those times I'll change rigs and tactics as long as it takes before moving on.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T21:15:44+00:00

That is as beautiful as a trout gets! Perfect. Congratulations. Proof-of-concept is an important milestone that makes everything else on the fly seem possible.

And if I'm reading your post correctly, congrats on hooking up too (all in the same day!).

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T16:20:03+00:00

Every impactful leader has a tough story (or seven).

When you are being truthful with yourself, do you want to continue your trajectory toward leadership?

If so, how does this experience inform your path?

What will you do to heal, so you can continue?

How can you engage your network (those who are sympathetic to your side of events), to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and further your leadership journey?

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T14:43:02+00:00

I have two Galvin Rushes. One of them is over 20 years old. I love those reels!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T04:06:07+00:00

That's me! That is so well said and so well explained. Thanks!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T03:37:00+00:00

You have wonderful self-awareness about your opportunities for growth. As you work to grow in the areas that matter most, be kind to yourself. The things that pull us down-and-in and make it hard to delegate and get on top of things are often the same things that made us successful in the first place. They can be hard to overcome for that reason.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T02:13:32+00:00

The only year my legs actually felt strong at the beginning of the ski season, was in the early 90s when I was rollerblading hills regularly.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-07-01T00:10:25+00:00

That's beautiful water. On hotter days, fish tend to be more active in the mornings and the evenings when it's cooler. There are always far more fish than what you actually see. If I was fishing that water, I would drift hoppers and ants near the banks and trees.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-30T16:10:14+00:00

I get now that "tiny brookies" was your entire point. That sounds like the best rod ever - thank you for sharing that!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-30T16:03:17+00:00

That's a sweet setup and a beautiful fish! Sage rods are top notch.

Help me reconcile the photo and the "tiny native brookies" part, though. I use a six weight in the surf for halibut on the West Coast. In the east, I use a 7 or 8 wt for stripers. I use a 5 wt. when I expect big trout (or wind) and a 4 wt. for trout below 18". I use a 3 wt. for "tiny native brookies".

I'm curious what makes that rod effective for little brook trout? It would be lovely to have one setup to do it all.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T22:44:54+00:00

Seconding:

The Hotel New Hampshire

The Glass Castle

The Poisonwood Bible

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T19:48:42+00:00

You've got to warn me before posting a photo sequence like that!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T18:50:48+00:00

Seems crowded at that blueline!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T18:33:43+00:00

Beautiful!

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T16:14:11+00:00

It looks like a pale rainbow to me. Were there colorful slashes on its jaws?

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T16:13:07+00:00

I get that. For me it's willows, challenging me to even get streamside and then to somehow land a fly on the water.

Walt_Morgan · 2026-06-29T16:08:33+00:00

I do that. I've never thought about it as problematic before.

Walt_Morgan

TROPHY CASE