The beginning is special. It is in the beginning that the bond forms. After the excitement of something new wears off. When you are not catching fish. When you have to re-tie your knots. When the fish are rising to everything except your fly. It may not seem like it. And you may not notice it, but these are the times when something special happens between you and the river and the fish you chase.
Across the river a trout is happily filling his belly with bugs.