Fractions
By Neil M. Travis, Montana/Arizona
When I was in school one of my least favorite subjects was
fractions, and I think that is more or less a universal feeling.
However, there are many things in our lives that are controlled
by fractions, and one of those is fly fishing. Before you stop
reading because you think that I am about to launch into some
hyper-technical aspect of our sport let me explain.
This year many of the rivers here in Montana remained high
and basically unfishable for a much longer period than we
have become accustomed to in recent years. When the rivers
began to become approachable the clear water was within
inches of the bank. If you cannot consistently place your fly
within a couple inches of bank your chances of success are nil.
Most of my fly-fishing in recent years has been restricted to
spring creeks and lakes, and it has been many years since I
have spent a day fly-fishing from a moving boat. When a friend
of mine recently invited me to float the Yellowstone River I
suddenly realized that it had been a couple decades since I
had spent a day floating the Yellowstone casting flies from the
moving platform of a drift boat.
For several years I did some guiding on the Yellowstone,
and one of the things that I came to realize was that fly-fishing
from a moving boat was a learned art. In conventional fly-fishing
the only thing that is constantly moving is the water. You wade into
position, select your target, and begin to cast. Casting from a moving
boat changes everything. You are moving, the water is moving, and
the targets are flying passed at breakneck speed. No matter how
hard the person working the oars tries to slow the boat down it
continues to move more or less rapidly downstream and you must
continually pick up your fly and cast it toward the next target that is
rapidly approaching. You have to hit that pocket, drop your fly next
to that log, get a good drift under those bushes, and you must do all
this while you are moving. You have to cast with enough slack to
allow your fly to drift without drag, but not with so much slack that
you cannot set the hook if a fish should suddenly hit your fly. You
must constantly be watching your fly and also preparing to pick it
up and make the next cast. I have seen otherwise competent fly
casters turn into rank beginners after standing in the front of a
moving drift boat trying to consistently put their fly within a few
inches of the bank.
There are a number of other places in fly-fishing where the
difference between success and failure can be measured in
fractions. The timing of a successful cast, the distance that
the rod travels, the amount of power applied to the cast,
and when that power is applied are but a few of the examples
of the importance of fractions in successful fly-fishing.
Well I'm happy to report that I still remembered how to cast
from a moving boat, and although my casting arm and hand
were more than a bit tired after 6 hours of constant casting I
was still placing my fly where I wanted it when we pulled into
the take-out. I'm not quite ready to fish that way everyday again,
but I hope that I don't have to wait another couple decades to
do it again. ~ Neil M. Travis, Montana/Arizona
From A Journal Archives
|
