SO YOU WANT TO GO FLY FISHING?

May 17, 2010

So you’ve made the decision to fly fish, at least to learn how? It could be a mistake. Unless it is something you are doing for yourself. Not because it might make someone else in your life happy. It’s about making you happy. Being successful at fly fishing takes more than going out and buying a fly rod, reel, line and associated stuff.

Just getting the right stuff won’t do it. Spending big bucks won’t do it. You can purchase entry-level gear to get you started for less than $200. Or you can spend a thousand or more.

What should you expect from fly fishing? That all depends but mostly, it depends on what you really want. Being part of a historically connected society (or religion, if you’ve read or seen “A River Runs Through It”) takes time, among other things. If it really is a religion, being a member means more than simply showing up.

Fly fishing can be whatever you want - or need - it to be. For most anglers, fly fishing is not about numbers. Not who caught how many fish. It’s the total experience of being where fish live.

It is reading the water, knowing the fish and their habits. Learning about the fishes’ food, where they appear in which form. Learning about fly fishing equipment; which line to use, and for what purpose?

Learning about the differences in rods, and why those differences exist; and about how to find the optimum rod for your use in a particular situation.

And where do you want to fish? Is this an annual vacation trek? Do you have “home water,” a nearby fishery you can get to often? How much time can you devote to your new avocation? Note, I did not say hobby or sport. Those who get good at fly fishing treat it as an integral part of their lives.

Casting is very important. It is easy to do, but not necessarily easy to learn. If you want to fly fish, bite the bullet and learn to do it right. A good school also will bring you up to speed on equipment. You should be ready to catch your first fish when you come out of a proper class. On top of that, you really need to practice your casting, because if you don’t you’ll lose that important sense of timing.

Ah, but you won’t know what to fish, or maybe how to play a fish. Or if you hook and land a trout, could you hook and land a salmon? Or bonefish? How about a carp? (Yes people really fly fish for them.)

It is all a learning experience. Just when you think you have one aspect all figured out, you go where the fish are entirely different, or the rods, lines, and fishing conditions are different - like wind!  New challenges. It becomes a way of life. Are you prepared to make that commitment?

Success is measured in your personal pleasure. How much you are willing to put into fly fishing is in direct proportion to what comes back to you. It can be in the form of personal satisfaction, as in, “Hey, I got that right!” Or as simple as taking a deep breath and being aware that nothing has intruded on your thoughts except this fishing experience. It is intricate embroidery on the fabric of life, and incredibly personal.

Natural beauty surrounds nearly all of the fresh or saltwater fisheries. Not a small thing either. The connection via a fly line with the water, or - if you really did get it all right - the fish, is primal food for the soul.

If you want to have a private place, that place where the soul lives, where you can retreat and unplug from all the other stresses intruding on your life, fly fishing can provide that place.

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