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It Ain’t luck
Harvey Phineas Farkle was known as Harvey P. to the adults, Mr. Farkle to use kids. He was without argument the most skilled trout fisherman in our part of Maine. He was a man of independent means and rarely missed a day of the trout season over a period of nearly 40 years. He knew every foot of every stream within 50 miles of his home. He read everything ever written on trout and knew within days when every mayfly hatch would come off. In the winter he spent several days a week in the high school gym practicing casting a fly into a tea cup 25 to 30ft. away. If he missed, it wasn’t by much. He was often asked why he practiced casting. He would say it was the same reason Ted Williams of the Red Sox- now in the Hall of Fame- took so much batting practice. Williams would get incensed when someone called him a born hitter. He said it was learning all he could about hitting and constant practice that made him the great hitter he was. Harvey felt the same way about fly-fishing. For some reason, Mr. Farkle took a liking to me. He was my mentor from the end of my first year of high school until I graduated and left Maine. I knew I was no longer a callow youth when he said to call him Harvey P. A common greeting between anglers is, “Had any luck?” This greeting always rankled Harvey P. He considered it an insult if his skill at catching fish was even remotely referred to as luck. During my few years fishing with Harvey P., I heard him answer that question several ways. “Regarding what?” “No, but I’ve caught several fish.” “I’ve had better days, but 50 is still pretty good. “I haven’t fallen in yet or waded over the top of my boots, or stuck a hook anywhere in my body.” “Luck has nothing to do with it.” “I prefer to think of it as a skill acquired over many years of study and hard work.” “It ain’t luck when you have been at this as long as I have.” Some of the locals knew that asking Harvey P. if he had had any luck would get his goat, so they would always be certain to ask him. He had some choice words for them. Women and children may read this column so I won’t repeat exactly what he said. You may someday fish a stream in the White Mountains of Arizona, meet a not-so-young fly fisherman, and ask if he has had any luck. If he smiles and says, “No luck at all, but I sure have caught a bunch,” you have met a disciple of Harvey P.
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