For me it is fly tying. Since I was a child, something about it has always captured my interest. It’s a kick to catch a fish on a fly that I have tied. 8)
Someday I like to try my hand at making my own fly rod. I think that would be a lot of fun.
What aspect of fly fishing do you enjoy other than the fishing?
I’m with you. I love to tie flies … sometimes I’d rather tie than fish.
I love the being there where it happens. Like Betty H says in her signature " trouts don’t live in ugly places". Of course that means that , for me,flyfishing is exclusively for trout ,and for me, IT IS.
Mark
Smoking cigars since it’s the only time I do it. 
Fly tying is probably highest on my list followed by tackle. I LOVE looking at, buying and owning fly rods & reels.
After that it’s the books. There is an unbelievable amount of fascinating reading about this sport/hobby both old and new that fills many hours of my days. I have over 300 titles in my personal library.
For me it is several things like the peace and quiet, birds, trees, sounds of the water, frogs, wild flowers, mayfly hatch, caddis hatch, the sound of the wind through the trees, drifting down stream on my Hobie Cat alone just me and the river, the feel of the rod bending and vibrating when a fish is on, constantly moving forward to see what is around the next bend and then there is the fly tying and being creative and last but not the least is teaching the Beginners Fly Tying Class. Been teaching it twice a year for over 7 years and still look forward to the next class. Fly fishing and fly tying is the most rewarding, satisfying and relaxing sport going and I hope and pray that The Almighty will give me many, many more years of it.
I love to tie flies. I love the idea that they actually work. I love the fish-ins both the FAOL fish ins and the local Canadian fish outs. ( for some reason the local fly club calls them fish outs. ) I really love fishing by myself. I really love fishing with my friends and family. I really really love this website. It connects me with people with the same interests as me .
I love the solitude of a clear mountain lake in the hours just before dawn with the loon laughing forlornly down the lake.
God I love it all!
:shock:
redacted,
The time spent in the mountains.
Rocky
Lijke some others said, it is an excuse to get into some fabulous places.
Also, I enjoy the shopping side of it…
The people I have meet and the friends I have made over the years, plus the ones I still have yet to meet and befriend.
Dot
The do-it-yourself parts. Tying flies, building rods, furling leaders, etc. I like using home built components as much as possible. For some strange reason that really appeals to me. If I had the facilities and/or skill, I’d probably try making a reel too.
I’ve also been hosting fly swaps here on FAOL, and that is a lot of fun, too. It forces me to tie a lot more flies than I would normally, and I get to see a lot of the talent of people from all over the world. There are a lot of great guys participating here.
I like the work you have to put into it… provides satisfaction on a good day out. Whether it be tying your own flies, building your own rods, furling your own leaders, learning more about fishing this way and applying it on the water… all of that. When they come together and you catch a fish on a fly you made, on a rod you built, with a leader you furled using techniques you read about and practiced in the field… fabulous feeling!
Not to mention the places the trout live. Doesn’t get much prettier out in the great wide open than that!
I’m very lucky I get to fish during the week so where ever I am I usally have the water to my self .So for me its the solitude.
I enjoy the casting! Even if I’m not catching fish, at least I have something to do other than wait. I switched the flyfishing after I got tired of the waiting and the monotany of regular fishing. I also enjoy the questions I get asked by other anglers; I’m in a warmwater area and not many people flyfish around here.
I would say the thing I enjoy the most after the fishing is the fly tying. Like Warren, I also teach fly tying. I have been teaching 2 different classes one for Kids and one for adults. They have both been a blast and very satisfing. I am about to finish up both of them. I look forward to the fall when I will be conducting more classes. It is a joy to share with others. I was ask many times what I get out of teaching fly tying. I just smile and say the thank you and the smiles are what it is all about. Seeing the flies my students have tied from the beginning the to the end of the classes, To really see the progress they have made is for me a gift I will always treasure. John
A friend likes to remind me about what I told him once about mushrooming;
It’s the best excuse there is for wandering around aimlessly in the woods
The way I feel about fly fishing is much the same. It’s the places I get to go where I would normally wouldn’t have any excuse for being.
As for tying… I tied all my own flies for over 30 years… never cared for it :shock:
Watching the sun rise on the mouth of 18 mile creek…because I walked in the dark to get there…
The call of the wild turkeys, the geese and their gander…
The first hook-up of the morning, that rush of adrenalin…
The smell of the lake…
Steam, rising off the water…
Rising steelhead…nailing your mouse pattern!
The best part of flyfishing to me is the take…that jolt coming up the line to your hand is priceless. Not knowing what you have on the other end is also up there. Especially for a pot pourri warmwater fisherman like myself. You could have a nice bass, crappie, or the biggest gill of your life on the other end…who knows?
The other aspect that I love is catching fish on rods I built, and flies I tied. I have not fished a factory rod in 5 years and haven’t fished a fly that wasn’t tied by me in about 6.5 years. I just like to fish with equipment that suits my every need and want, and custom is the only way to go, whether it’s rods or flies.
Good topic.
Lou
“What aspect of fly fishing do you enjoy other than the fishing?”
Catching
Sitting in my float tube on a warm summer evening.
Sitting in my recliner on a cold winter night, thinking about #1 and #2.
My reason for liking fly fishing is tricky to understand even for me.
With a little help from Howell Raines, I have come to see that fishing has always been my break from the competitions of life. In prep school I competed for high ranking in class (marks) to get to a better college to get to a better job. College was the same competitive game leading inexorably to the rat race of being “employed.”
But I always enjoyed an early June fishing trip with my father as a way to recover from the stress of cramming for exams and worrying through them. Later, similar trips with friends would help me recover from the Sturm und Drang of the workplace. A thought from Walton interprets it to me. Fishing was a comtemplative sport while most other sports were competitive sports. With the advent of BASS, FLW. PWT, PMT and many other tournament circuits, much of fishing no longer has that relaxed contemplative pace. Fortunately fly fishing is holding out against the trend. For me it is still a peaceful backwater off from the raging main channel of the river. That is what I enjoy.