THE QUESTION (fiction)
"Grandpa, why do you fish with flies?"
"Well, there are lots of reasons but I guess it's mostly just because I enjoy it."
"But couldn't you catch a lot more fish with a lure or bait and still have just as much fun?"
"I suppose if catching lots of fish was what makes fishing enjoyable then I should just use lures or bait but fly fishing is about much more than just catching lots of fish."
"I don't understand. I thought when you went fishing you wanted to catch lots of fish, especially big ones. When dad and I go fishing we always try to catch our limit and we hope to catch some big ones too."
"It's OK to catch big fish and even lots of fish but you asked me why I fish with flies and not with lures or bait. I gave you a short answer but the truth is that there are lots of reasons why I use flies and not lures or bait."
"Can you tell me what they are Grandpa?"
The old man laughed and motioned for his grandson to come over and sit next to him on the porch swing. As the boy settled down next to him the old man pointed to a bird that was sitting in a tree. "Do you see that bird?"
"Yes, I can see a bird up in the tree."
"Do you know what kind of bird it is?"
"No, I don't know much about birds."
"Are you curious about what kind of bird it is?"
The young boy stared at the bird and then at his grandfather. "Is it a special kind of bird?"
"No, it's a very common bird but when you spend time studying that bird you discover all kinds of interesting things about it. The more you know about that bird the more interesting it becomes and even though it is just a common bird because you have spent time watching it and learning about its habits it becomes something more than just a common bird."
"Does the bird have something to do with why you fish with flies?"
Again the old man smiled. "Yes and no. When I go fishing I find enjoyment in observing what the fish are doing and then trying to fool them into taking my flies as if they were real food. To do that I have to know something about the various insects that they eat, how those insects behave and how the fish react to those insects. The more I observe and study the things that fish eat and the fish themselves the more enjoyment I get from fishing. In fact, I get more enjoyment out of observing the insects, the birds, the fish and everything else that I see when I go fishing. When I think about it, fishing is just a small part of the reason that I spend time fly fishing."
The young boy was quiet for several minutes and then he hoped out of the swing and disappeared into the house. A few minutes later he came back carrying a book from his grandfather's library. It was a bird book and he opened it to a picture of the bird that had been setting in the tree. "That's the bird that was in the tree. I think I want to know more about the birds and things. I think I might like to learn to fly fish."
The old man smiled.