Fishing Alone- Sapillo Creek, Gila National Forest

Fishing alone. I always fish alone. I didn't grow up fishing. No outings with friends, or brothers or dad or grandpa.When I started fishing it wasn't necessarily my intention, but now it has become a habit.Recently, I've had some opportunities to break the solo angling barrier, but I just didn't follow through with it. There are advantages and disadvantages to fishing alone.The first would seem obvious-you're not sharing the stream or fish with anyone. Since I fish at times and places that no one else does( I have seen a total of 5 other anglers in a dozen years of fishing), I've begun take those advantages for granted. But on Sapillo Creek a couple of weeks ago, I felt the rare pang of a disadvantage. I had hooked, landed and released a huge Gila trout (easily over 16 inches and a couple of pounds), and I realized I wish someone else had been there to witness, share and just laugh over this extraordinary bit of circumstance.Sharing it after the fact would not be the same at all. Perhaps that's why so many want to write about their fishing experiences- to relive with others those nearly transcendental moments. We have to convince someone, and perhaps ourselves that it indeed did happen.