Spectacular scenes, rivers draw his interest

Jon Kocan - NewsPress

July 03, 2007 09:29 am

— Due to the lack of a volunteer, this week’s story is about someone whose name you see all the time.
It was the beginning of September when my name started to appear in front of stories in the NewsPress. Though I am just now nearing one year’s tenure at the newspaper, I have been around Stillwater a lot longer than that.
Like many of the folks in town, I was born at Stillwater Medical Center and lived in Stillwater until I left to attend college. I am a 2000 graduate of Stillwater High School and a 2004 graduate of Drury University in Springfield, Missouri.
Stillwater has served as a home base for me over the years but my story is focused on adventures both far and near. Pretty much all of my free time is dedicated to hunting, fishing and exploring the outdoors.
I am a firm believer that hobbies should take you places in life. There is no way to explain some of the wild and remote places that hunting and fishing has taken me. Some destinations are well known, such as Yellowstone National Park. Others are not listed on maps and do not have names.
I have had an the affliction since I was able to store memories. I cannot pass a river or stream without wanting to walk its banks or fish for its inhabitants. The same goes for forests, mountains and meadows. I just have to get out and explore and see what’s there.
I have never been that captivated by concrete and human creation but always wanted to know what is around the next bend.
Many people see hunting as a brutal sport. There is no doubt that hunting brings one nearer to the realities of death but that aspect is only a small portion of the experience. Those who hunt know they spend most of their time watching and observing.
As for fishing ... it is a rare occurrence that I kill any fish these days. I usually just take a picture so no one thinks I am lying and send them back to their liquid environment.
Fly fishing is my main passion. For me, it is the most complete avenue to outdoor enjoyment. When I am not fly fishing, I tie flies. I do so because I cannot seem to find what I want in stores.
Fishing with my fly rod also takes me to the places I want to be and allows me to fish the way I want to fish. Clear freestone rivers are found in some of the most spectacular places and instead of taking a picture and driving on, I have to get to fish a while.
Not much has really changed for me over the years. These days when I am not able to get out of town, I take my three-month-old lab on long walks in the back yard. Just as when I was a kid, we walk through the woods, play in the creeks and get lost in a world that has little stress.
Staying in touch with natural surroundings keeps me in tune with a world that is not dictated by commercialized holidays and staged events.
For me the changing of the seasons dictates my migrations, whether it be waterfowl in the fall or spawning fish in the spring. Spring comes when turkeys strut among the first blooming flowers and fall is noted by deer moving in and out of the rut and ducks and geese spilling down the plains by the thousands.
I guess I have to say that I share my story with what’s around me. And I continue to live by an adage relayed by my father on some of our early duck hunting trips. He would tell me you can live life however you want, there is just something great about being waist deep in water with your dog and trusty shotgun in the morning only to end up in a suit at a formal event in the evening.
Everybody has a story and I may be the one on the other end of the line the next time the phone rings.

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