I've been fly fishing for 50 years I recently I noticed that my casting isn't quite as strong and I can't hike 10 mile to a stream anymore. Has anyone else noticed a deterioration in fly fishermen over time?
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I've been fly fishing for 50 years I recently I noticed that my casting isn't quite as strong and I can't hike 10 mile to a stream anymore. Has anyone else noticed a deterioration in fly fishermen over time?
I figure it has been 51 years for me. What I want to know is who suddenly put all those rocks in the streams I fish and who moved the parking lots so far from my favorite holes. They also made those size 18 hooks a lot smaller than they used to be. And the eyes on those hooks. They never used to be that size. I don't know who done it but I suspect Obamacare is responsible.
David
48 years for me. And why do my feet get colder than they use to? And why have the waders I've purchased over time gotten bigger? Not to mention the rocks and hook sizes that djo has mentioned nor that the tippet seems to shake a bit more when trying to thread it thru the hook eye. And speaking of tippet have you noticed that 6x is getting smaller and seems at times impossible to thread?
Ain't it grand?? I wouldn't trade it for he world!
60 years for me... [Good Lord!] Made it up to 10,000 feet last summer with the 42 year old "kid" to fish for Brookies in the Beartooths. I took longer to get up there, but by golly I'll keep doing it even if I have to crawl. I figure if I don't keep using it I'll lose it and IF I kick off on the way I'll just be that much closer to the Pearly Gates... [The inspiring part of this thread is that all you guys are complaining but still going..!]
Fly Fishers are like a fine wine. They age well with time until they turn to vinegar.
Larry ---sagefisher---
Wow! You folks are champs!
I've probably been fishing for 40 years, but have only REALLY been flyfishing for 6!
Still...I've noticed tying flies and attaching flies to tippet has indeed gotten more difficult. I'll keep going as long as I can!
I've been fly fishing for only about 45 years now. The biggest change I've noticed in the last couple of years is that I have a hard time keeping the same enthusiasm level for as long as I used to. I still go out eager in the morning, but am usually ready to call it a day before it gets dark now. That, and I am finding aches that I never used to have after a day of fishing. It's still as enjoyable while I am fishing, and I look forward to it just as much or more than I used to, but I seem to pay more for it too.
Ted
Keep on training, guys! Push-ups, abs, stretching, little running, etc. Wading rivers and hiking is better with an athletic base. I'm 56 and jump from boulder to boulder like a hopper;)...(and sometimes swim like a Rocketfish.:eek:)
Well yes they do, as do we all, but fly fishermen seem to age more gracefully somehow.
Sorry, that was too funny to let pass by......Quote:
Originally Posted by djo
The good lord has given us patience to replace all that youthful eyesight and tactile abilities.... right? :)
Pretty obvious from this thread that we deteriorate mentally first.....;)
Buddy
"Old fishermen never die... they just smell that way".
Chuck
I've only been fly fishing, wade fishing freestone streams and rivers, for ten years, but started at age 60 after a good number of years of regular mostly outdoors physical activity like hiking, both on and off trail in the mountains and deserts, and road biking.
One of my favorite saying is "Do it so you can."
So I keep doing stuff so I can keep doing it. Not to say that there isn't a higher price these days than even five years ago, but the cost of not doing it is a lot higher than the cost of doing it.
John
That's right. Why run down the hill for one, when we could walk and have them all, if you know what I mean. I hear all you guys. I am much slower and easily out of breath but, I've been smoking since I was 12. I don't get anywhere fast. My minds gone and barely think about sex. I must be getting old. It sure isn't for wimpsQuote:
Originally Posted by Corvus
JohnScott I like it, your saying that is...
(One of my favorite saying is "Do it so you can.")
I will be turning 50 on the 20th of this month... I do find that going slower lets me see and learn more.. ;-)
I have the hat that says exactly what Chuck441 said!! Old fishermen never die, they just smell that way!! :cool:
If I buy another new fly line, I know it will outlast me :(
Start likin' it cause it ain't gonna get no better. A man's got to know his limitations
This year I turn 50....sounds old. I don't feel old mentally....but I hurt now after too much work and at times need to take it easy for a day after. Now when I am wading, or after a long day on the stream, I feel every Airborne operation I was on.....all 220-some....at once! So I stand still longer. It's a forced patience. And at times it works in my favor since I tend to cover a hole better. I can't see up close as well anymore, so I change flies less. Seems some of my old patterns do much better than I thought....now that they get a chance. My wife worries that I hunt & fish most times alone....wading in the winter and climbing trees in the dark. That doesn't worry me. I'm more worried about the soccer mom driving the minivan....in the mall parking lot. I'm not as fast as I used to be.....and those &^%$#es are scary!
It's been 49 years since my first fish on a fly that I tied myself.
I no longer portage my canoe long distances, run to chase a bluefish blitz, or wade where it's fast and deep.
But is that because I'm older or just wiser ?
The poor eyesight however is different story
I also am a 60 year victim of the malady. I will admit that I don't dare wade anymore nor can I even lift my canoe onto my car. My recourse has been to continue participating in a tying club that I started years ago as a Town Park and Rec. activity. Even as a mere craft activity it keeps me active. ;)
I remain the magnificent physical specimen I was at twenty. I can still look down and see my feet(With the use of a periscope) . I'm sure I could still do fifty push-ups if I could get past my disinclination to do the first one. The rest of the world though is definitely deteriorating. Grouse coverts have become thicker and more difficult to walk. The current in all rivers has become stronger while the insects have become smaller. The new hooks all have smaller eyes than the old Mustads. The first order of business for the new congress should be to look into these matters and set the world to rights again.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbowchaser
I agree. Some of what you speak of can be attributed toglobal warming and the rest to a phenomenon called mid-global expansion which Iam sure is a direct result of global aging. Hell, I don't know what the causeis but I see it happening all around me.
Well, 45 years of tossing flies for me and I am beginning to wonder if they still put eyes on the hooks. I don't seem to be able to find the little buggers anymore. It also seems like all those little stones in the creeks have turned to house size boulders. But in the end I wouldn't trade all that I have experienced in all those years on the water for anything. With the Lord's help I will get several more years on the water before I have to give it up.
"I can still look down and see my feet(With the use of a periscope)":lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
(rainbowchaser)
If it's "global warming", the cause may be due to the lack of daylight found around the belt buckle region?
I personally suspect that the problem is related to the proliferation of barley and hops. I continue to research the matter.
I caught my first largemouth on a popping bug some 45 years ago....is that possible? Even so I'm only 59, barely. another couple months will see the end of the 50's. Up until age 50 I was doing quite well, thank you very much! 55 told a different story and at almost 60 "I'm not the man I used to be". Truth be told I'm a COMPLETELY different man than I used to be!!! Everything that has been mentioned is true as, I believe, are the various reasons stated, with the exception of what used to be my favorite beverage, malted barley, hops, yeast and water. I haven't had a drink in over 3 years......maybe that explains some of these problems!!!
Deteriorate???
$%#&, yeah!!!!!
...but I'm more efficient with what I have left to work with! ;)
I enjoyed the comments but I have one question. All the guys that claim they have been fly fishibg for a mere 40 or 50 years are really newbies that should look to the future and think about how they will face up to puberty? :D:D:D
Growing less able. It's not the smaller hooks or the finer tippet. Just think back at the friends you have met and enjoyed through the years of flyfishing. Then it happened, you disageeded just what water was the best to fish, or something as small as what was the best fly for this time of year. You parted ! Each went to fish his own favorite water. Then one day your friend was gone to the big fishing hole that consumes us all in time. You think that if we could have only agreeded to disagree and hung togethrer while floating the white water, eventually we would have ended up in a clear pool where the big ones hang out any fly works.
Crunchy
Of all the things I miss, I miss my mind the most. Take care, John.