As all members know, November 18-22 FATC is looking forward to hosting Altar Fly Fishing’s
Soul of a Pastor trip to Montauk State Park. https://altarflyfishing.org/altar-2021-trips/pastor/
In preparation for that weekend, Mike Bisaga and I went to Happy Pappy’s to do a
walkthrough of the kitchen and restaurant area with owners Glenna and Bill Ard. By doing
this, we were able to develop a clear vision of how we were going to prepare and serve the
meals, and how much FATC volunteer help we would need for the whole weekend. It was a
highly productive visit. The Ards are wonderfully generous people.
By noon, Mike and I had completed our work with the Ards and were ready for lunch.
Happy Pappy’s was the perfect spot. As most of you know, they make awesome
sandwiches and great pie. The blueberry pie we ordered will not soon be forgotten.
What better way to spend the rest of the day than with a little fishing. About 1 PM Mike and
I entered the river below the cable. Yes, it was rainy and a little breezy, but we had the
water to ourselves.
It didn’t take long to figure out the hot fly, it was the egg pattern–boom, boom, boom. After
catching slowed for a little while, we tried lots of other flies until we found their new
preference. Clearly it was the cerise worm–bam, bam, bam. We fished down to the first
bend and back. By then it was 5 PM, and we were thinking about dinner. We didn’t keep
count, but we were both well into double digits. Not a bad way to top off a good morning of
FATC event planning.
I talked Mike into stopping at the Tator Patch in Rolla for dinner. The thought of their
famous pork tenderloin sandwich and walnut wheat draft beer was too much to pass up.
They really came through for us. The place was busy but the service and food were both
great. Mike and I used the time to further discuss plans for the Soul of a Pastor weekend. I
think the great food, and a little beer, led us to some great ideas for how FATC will use all
our volunteers to provide great meals and on-the-water fishing support for the visiting
pastors. Those who volunteered will be getting details soon!
Work hard and play hard–it’s the recipe for success!
