A FF@ participant need only be someone...

     ...that loves to fish and in particular, to flyfish.

     Fishin' has always been one of life's most pleasing gifts, for me.  I
     can honestly say it's been and important part of my life for more than
     54 years now - since I was old enough to remember.  Of course, catchin' 
     is probably next best.

     For me, it doesn't matter whether it was when I was 6 or 7, sittin' in
     an old wooden rowboat on Posey Lake, "still" fishin' for whatever the
     good Lord wanted to put on the tabel that day, with my Grampa Stump
     and Uncle Roy Van Wagner; or with Billy Vincent as he taught me how to
     flyfish for bass on Bishop's pond when I was 8 or 9; or trollin' for
     pike on Big Bear Lake, with my Uncle Percy Beebe; or wading the
     Yellowstone or some unknown stream near our camp, as we traveled
     across Wyoming and Colorado in 1954; or rowin' and paddelin' around
     Harwood Mill Reservoir, flyfishin' the brush and banks for "bream",
     with my 3 sons (my daughter Sue never cared for fishin'); or wading
     the icey waters of the streams and rivers north of Ludington with my
     Dad and 3 sons, trying to convince the steelhead they wanted to be
     caught; or floatin' down the Chatahoochee, tryin' to figure out why
     all those big bass weren't jumpin' in my boat; or driftin' off
     Savannah, bottom fishin' with fellow pilots from the "Cobra Course" as
     we prepared to return to Viet Nam; or standin' on the end of a jetty
     on Mustang Island with my Dad, the mist from the splashin' waves
     coolin' our faces while we dangled little hermit crabs along the rocks
     to entice the sheepshead; or flyin' in to Beaver Island with my Dad
     and 3 brothers, on the first day of Bass season, and sustaining
     ourselves on fried "fiddleheads and mosquitoes"; or whether it's just
     my 82 year old Dad and I in my 14' Starcraft, working the shoreline of
     Lake Logan with our "plastic" (ask Henk Verhaar to explain) flyrods 
     fishin' for bluegills.

     These are gifts to be shared with others...

     If one takes time to ponder the spirit of the FF@ credo, it says
     nothing about anyone being new or old to participate, nor does it say
     that one must display the knowledge of Henry Kanemoto, or the wisdom
     of the "Old Coot" before he is allowed to post a message, nor does
     it say we can't ask questions - a FF@ participant need only be someone
     that loves to fish and in particular, to flyfish.

     Cheers to all from the "Heart of Dixie."

     Larry Woodard
     Madison, Alabama, USA!!