I still cherish the memories I have of taking my son Alan and daughter Emma out saltwater flyfishing when they were children growing up on the Vineyard. Though the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby was a big part of our fishing efforts, we’d also go fishing in the spring and the summer and spend the winter thinking about it.

My children and I still remember those moments of catching striped bass and bluefish in the waters around the Vineyard. We cherish the sunrises and sunsets and the mirror-still water. We have many more memories of not catching anything, but always concluding that most importantly we had a good time together.

My children are grown now. Emma lives in New York city and Alan has a home in California. Recently Alan called me from a trip he took to Colorado with his girlfriend Jenn Gerard. He had a big fish story to tell.

It was one of those nearly still days when each cast of the fly landed on the water and the fish weren’t too far away, he told me. The fish were friendly too, taking to Alan’s handmade trout flies — Jenn caught five fish, and I think Alan did the same. It was catch and release fishing. Looking around, they saw the remnants of the cold winter, with snow still visible on the jagged tops of the nearby mountains. A quick passing thunderstorm came and went with its rolling thunder that echoed between the mountains. Later it was quiet. The two could whisper.

Alan told me he had thought about proposing to Jenn for a long time. The two spend a lot of time hiking, fishing and bicycling. When they visit me on the Vineyard we all go sailing together. My son said he was hunting for a memorable moment.

Out in the boat, now under the bright sunshine with their fingers oiled up from handling so many wiggling fish, Alan turned to Jenn.

“Would you please grab my tackle box over there and open it and pull out my favorite lure?” he said.

When Jenn opened the box, what she saw inside had little to do with angler’s gear, but a whole lot to do with the next chapter in their lives together. There was a ring.

Jenn’s immediate response isn’t printable in a family newspaper. But when she got past the surprise, the answer was yes!

Alan is a lucky man. I wish them both well and look forward to more tales from them of fellowship, flies and of course, more wiggling fish.