In this issue:

• The Frugal Fly Fisherman
• Spritual Dryness
• The Pipe at the Bottom of Upper Dam
• Le Tombeau d�O�Connell Cathedrale en Montreal
• Websites of Interest
  

The cost of fly fishing equipment has escalated to the point of absurdity. Earlier this week I was on the Maine coast, Kittery to be exact, when I stopped by a well known "trading post" to purchase some leaders and tippet material for a fishing adventure a little further northwest. Even though I own six fly rods and have another on the way, I felt morally and materialistically obligated to see what this store had in stock. Oh, it had a fine selection: St. Croix, Sage, Scott, Winston, and a host of other respectable brands--just the right stuff for dreams and divorces. I picked up one rod, a nice little six-footer manifestly ideal for some weird situation I have yet to encounter, looked at the price tag and immediately thought something I am quite sure God was not pleased to hear. My friends, it will be be a cold day in the hot place before I ever put five hundred bucks into a plastic rod, especially a six foot buggy whip.

Nowadays the perfectly donned fisherman bears upon his person a monetary investment of no meager amount. Seduced by articles and advertising into believing that only the latest and greatest is good enough, he steps into a stream wearing and casting close to a thousand dollars provided he has been conservative, considerably more if he has been wanton. Fly fishing can easily become a financial black hole, sucking in every last cent of the angler's so-called disposable income, but how many working class individuals can sustain that kind of expenditure? Certainly not I, and probably not you.

Thus, to help the readers of THE CHURCHWARDEN comfortably manage their fascination with trout and the lesser species, I am introducing a new section entitled THE FRUGAL FLY FISHERMAN. It will be an occasional paragraph or two exploring ways in which we can affordably feed our addiction. Rejected for obvious reasons, the original title for the column would have conveyed its purpose most accurately. It was almost dubbed, The Cheap-Ass Fly Fisherman!

Naturally, I solicit your wisdom and experience. Every sound suggestion empowering the idea of cost effective fly rodding will be printed, so please write to me at [email protected]