My Papaw taught me to fish and instilled within me a love for it. I got a little older, and he taught me how to cast a fly rod. Over time, I got busy with life and didn't go fishing as much, as many of us do. My Papaw also gave me a knife that he'd had for many years. and I used that knife fishing and hunting for many years. I cherished that little brown knife and it's tan holster. It was very special to me. It always reminded me of my Papaw, all the things he taught me, and how we both loved fishing so much. He loved us all more than he could ever put in words. My Papaw passed away in 2015. He was a Woodsman of the World and a true outdoorsman. When he was sick, I reminisced with him about his "numbered worms," trick (supposedly why he would always catch way more fish than everyone else) and about the time he caught the biggest bass of his life fishing with me. Before he died, I promised him I would find the time once again to do all the things we used to do, like hunting and fishing, because I loved those things just like him and missed them. I wanted to carry on the outdoor tradition for our family as I once did as a child and as a teenager. I have fished more in the last two years than I had in the previous six combined. Fishing just seems to bring me a little closer to him. One rainy afternoon last summer, two friends and I were fishing this creek south of Bozeman, Montana while on a trip. I had my Papaw's knife with me at the very creek pictured above. I had the holster strapped to my waders and used the knife to sever some tippet in rigging up. It was rainy and muddy, but we fished anyway. Rain soaked the trees an intense green hue and the water ran crystal gray. No phone serviced for miles, the gentle patter of rain atop our hats and the canopy of trees crisscrossing the creek were like a lullaby from the wild. I lost my knife by the creek that day. I was very upset, but later I realized that if there was any place to lose it, it was there. Now the creek has it, but I'm always trying to get back to the Creek now, so I guess it's ok. I know my papaw wouldn't be too disappointed in that. ~Daniel