BONEFISH AND CREDIT CARDS [OR LOVE THE ONES YOU?VE GOT]
Just when I?ve decided there just isn?t any way I?m personally going to see a running bonefish in the foreseeable future, (something about moving to Arizona for the winter), a couple of emails hit which almost make me wish it wasn?t so.
Ladyfisher,
I try to live every moment of every day with nothing more on my agenda than to wring the best out of what is right there in front of me. This isn't quite so hard of a paradigm shift to achieve once you've been flattened and tenderized by 3+ years of severe neurological meltdown and a decade or so of severe chronic pain. But it still flies against all of the influences and pressures placed on "civilized" people. I'm always saddened when I run into folks who are still chasing that elusive "high"...some perceived goal...that is always just over the next ridge. I like the image of someone running through a rose garden to get to the marigolds on the other side.
I am very outcome-oriented by nature and philosophy. But I have learned not to neglect the process. A good parallel exists in fly casting. Many basic fly casters do pretty well with their stroke fundamentals on grass and false casting and such. Put a target out there or take them fishing, and their skills deteriorate by about 50%...sometimes more. Their focus shifts away from controlling slack, smooth acceleration, well-defined stops, good timing, and a straight-line path of the rod tip to willing the fly to hit that target. And they subconsciously begin trying to "push" the fly to the target. This truly is like trying to push a cooked spaghetti noodle uphill. It's not going to yield much besides frustrated effort. Instead, if the angler remains focused on the process (the part they can control, by the way) instead of the result, the result will naturally follow. They will not have to work at it and they will achieve success.
I've had people ask me many times what my favorite quarry, type of fly fishing, or place to fish is. When I am completely honest (some folks don't want true honesty, but a short and polite answer) I have to say that I don't truly have a favorite fish, fishery, or fly fishing style. I have a grand time standing at a farm pond catching bluegill and small bass on a switch rod that I can cast all the way across using a single spey. I have fun using a Tenkara rod on a small stream in the backcountry. I have a blast fishing throwing big ole bass bugs to shallow largemouth. I love wading streams and walking banks hunting smallies and trout. And I thrill for all types of saltwater fly fishing from walking a beach for snook, or paddling the flats in a kayak or canoe casting to tailing redfish, to chasing tarpon in a flats boat. And I would hate to give up one for the other, or even to declare one superior to the others.
Fisheries are what they are. Some have big fish and some have smaller fish. Some have a lot of fish and some have a few. There are a lot of other features to a fishery as well. I approach each one for what it has to offer. And my goal is to experience it for what it is, not to compare it to something it is not. I love to fish a few trout streams where I rarely see anyone else and there really aren't that many fish. But what is there are wild trout...in an unusual place or now-rare native habitat. I can fish these all day and catch one fish under 12" and have a fantastic time! I also fish places so over-stocked with large trout that you can catch 50 trout over 15" in 3 hours or so. These places tend to be somewhat crowded. Socializing becomes a bit more important and I truly would wonder what was wrong with me if I only caught one fish in a whole day!
Fishing close to home is convenient and I can do it often. That is what makes it fantastic! Fishing trips to far away places? Well, let's be serious: it's not usually that the fishing is so much better than any other good fishing locale. It's just the change of scenery, routine, and doing something "different" that makes it special. Experiencing something new to you is fun for most of us.
So I applaud you for writing this column this week. I meet far too many people in general who are always seeking fulfillment from something that lies just beyond the horizon of their lives. And this is most disturbing to me when I encounter it among anglers and hunters.
flyguy66,
Ever since homo erectus walked out of Africa we have been searching. It is a survival mechanism that even if we were to no longer need it, it would take us a very long time to escape from the hold it has on us.Every day I see people who are hell bent on getting one more car ahead of every one else. Where are we all going really! Unless your trying to catch the next space shuttle to some far flung planet your not going anywhere. But yet people drive like their life depends on them getting to the stop sign first. And what's scary is that they appear as if they will take you out if they have to. I'm not so sure that the human race does't have some kind of planned obsolescence built into its DNA! We do need to stop and smell the roses from time to time and also take the time to reflect on what is really important and more so, why it is important. OUCH, NOW MY BRAIN HURTS! Hope I haven't gone too far on a tangent here! LOL!!!
Thanks for playing, Dave S.
Ah, fishdog54! There is, of course, nothing wrong with searching - so long as one learns to enjoy the quest! What I cannot help but pity is the happiness lost of all of those who, while spending a perfectly splendid day on a quiet little stream catching beautiful 12" trout, are wishing they could be somewhere else...somewhere with bigger fish, more spectacular scenery, etc. And I really get tired of fishing with people on world-class fisheries who can speak of nothing all day other than to compare lists of who has fished more of the famous destinations advertised in magazines and on TV. They're just buzz-kills. They usually don't understand why I am so quiet. They also end up thinking I am some sort of fly fishing wizard because I caught a lot more and bigger fish than they did even though it was my first time fishing there. It's not very often a matter of being more skilled. It's usually just that I'm living in the moment. They're using all sorts of measuring constructs to judge everything with: size and numbers of fish, whose gear cost more money, whose cost LESS money (this is also a common competition), who has what sponsors, who has fished the most famous destinations, who knows the most "celebrity anglers" (that's a funny phrase if ever there was one), etc. Frankly, fishing is not a competition for me...not against other people, against the natural environs, against some ethereal construct in my imagination, against something I saw in a movie, against law enforcement, or against the fish. I go to cooperate. And I go to find the magic in what each day has to offer. The only competition is with my own folly - those things that could rob me of the happiness available to me there.
fishguy66,
I agree. Your observations/assessments are spot on. The "American Dream" probably does more to make us miserable/dissatisfied, then it does to make us content. When we get used to having it all, anything less becomes unacceptable. It's a matter of not taking for granted, the little things. For example, you go for a long period with being in pain, which keeps you from, lets say , going fishing. Your focus may be on not being able to fish. Then you have a day without pain. Now, you are just happy that your not in pain! Fishing is no longer your focus .I guess some people NEED to experience loss in order to get that wake-up call!
Also, I do believe you can have pride in ownership without going over board, and I would have more pride if I made it myself. I guess there can be a fine line between pride and bragging.
Best regards, Dave S.
I certainly hope so! LOL
I've dallyed with other species, and been prone to short-term romances with far-off places, but there's a little warmwater lake full of gills, crappies and bass about 20 minutes away that has welcomed me with open arms since I was old enough to swing a rod. No matter where my last fling took me or how long I lingered there, it's always welcomed me home and I've been as glad to see it as it was to see me. After thirty-odd years the thrill has never left. There's no place like home. And nothing has spoiled the feel of a nice gill tugging on a light rod.
i do small trout locally and far away, big trout near and far away, panfish in the pond, and bonefish on the flats. every fishing trip no matter how short or how long, is really great! what's nifty is the differences. yep, bonefish will make your reel scream like nothing else (oh, maybe tarpon), but a 7 inch brookie can be just as tricky to hook, and just as satisfying.
the folks who discover large fish and give up on small ones weren't really fishing in the first place, methinks...