It was mid June and my birthday was right around the corner. I was turning 14 and couldn’t wait. One day I was at Wally World geting some bulbs with my mother, when I came across I fly tying set on sale. I had been molding my own soft plastics for spin fishing for a little while, and I asked if maybe I could get it as an early birthday present. She agreed only because I had been sick for a while and needed something to keep me busy. As soon as I got home, I began tying my first flies. Now it took weeks to grasp the concept, and my creations were disasters, but I was determined to start fly fishing. There was one problem, no fly rod. My birthday neared, and I was really hoping to get a fly rod. One day while going through Kittery Trading Post, my mother asked me what kind of fly rod I wanted for my birthday. I didnt know what to say to her. So, we went over and asked a guy for help, and help us he did. He showed us a great deal that couldnt be passed up, and my mother just about made me cry when she said, “Ok, lets get it!” It wasn”t even my birthday yet, but she knew it was a good deal, and she wasn”t going to let it pass her by. When I got home, I practiced casting in the yard, and reading websites on how to start fly fishing. I bought some flies to go by when I wanted to tie one, and my tying gradually got better. I went fly fishing a few times to no avail, but they did etch some marks in my experiance level. Soon, I was ready to try and catch a fish for real, and I worked hard at it. I fished the town docks, and caught perch and bass. Some bass I caught were even 20″! I loved fly fishing, and I went no where without my fly rod. One day while fishing the docks, I noticed another man fly fishing. I made my way over to him, and introduced myself. We fished that whole day together, and he helped me with my casting. We made plans to meet the next day and do it again. I couldn”t believe it. I was actually catching fish, and now I had someone to do it with. The next day we went out again, and caught more fish together. He told me that he was from England and that today was his last day in the area. We fished the rest of the day, and then said our goodbyes. I was sad to see him go, as I had no one else to fly fish with. To this day, I can’t wait for July to roll around, so I can fish with him again.