I just read this off of another web site and really thought it was good and will share it. I did use the author’s name to be safe:
Flyfishing Thoughts and Links
[b]
“Flyfishing is not about fishing and not about flies,
but rather about communing with nature.”
There is, to me, no feeling quite comparable to that experienced after studying a river and its environs, correctly selecting the appropriate fly, laying it gently where it will drift naturally to the chosen spot, and then, suddenly, watching it be taken by the intended prey. A quick flick of the wrist sets the hook and then the water explodes with the frenzied fight of a contending trophy King salmon, steelhead, rainbow, cutthroat, brown, or brookie. To have outwitted the ever-cautious instincts of the adversary is but the beginning, for it is the play and the netting that is the main event.
To those who think of flyfishing as sport, I pray we never meet. Flyfishing may be many things, but sport should not be one of them. On the one hand, it is the natural extension of the art of fly-tying and, on the other, is an art unto itself. But, in its sublime essence resides a respect for and communion with nature and life. As a process, flyfishing is an integration of understanding, of presentation, of skill and cunning, all subconsciously interwoven and operating while the fisherman’s mind drifts, reflects, contemplates, and appreciates among endlessly changing vistas. Only when the fly is taken is focus required, for all else is, or at least should be, both outwardly reflexive while inwardly relaxing, therapeutic and almost spiritual by design. These attributes belong to no sport of which I know.
To flyfish for food is acceptable where allowed and needed, but to release the catch back into its native habitat–not to be caught again another day, but to honor its struggle for survival–is to give ultimate homage to the fish and the art of catching it, and elevates the mere flyfisherman to the realm of reverent naturalist.
[RIGHT]Jack B. Keller, Jr., flyfisherman[/RIGHT]
[/b]
I really like that definition. Especially the part about communing with nature. For me, it’s always been about that. That’s why I never understood the whole “ego” thing, that so many have.
Reading that description, I see no difference between flyfishing and any other type of fishing that I do. Doesn’t matter if I’m pitching jigs for bass, casting spinners for trout, soaking bait for catfish, casting live sardines to tuna, casting huge streamers to sharks, or even presenting flies to trout on a spring creek. The only thing different is the places and the tools. The same for most of my angling companions.
I half agree. I think spirituality, to use the term loosely, is a large part of fly fishing, but I also think refining and trying new techniques - catching fish - is also a part.
I also believe it is the casting part of fly fishing (yes, I’m a fan of George M.L. La Branche) that makes it a sport.
To my fly fishing isn’t about one thing. It’s about many, including friendship.
I fish because I love to; because I love the environs where trout are found, which are invariably beautiful, and hate the environs where crowds of people are found, which are invariably ugly; because of all the television commercials, cocktail parties, and assorted social posturing I thus escape; because, in a world where most men seem to spend their lives doing things they hate, my fishing is at once an endless source of delight and an act of small rebellion; because trout do not lie or cheat and cannot be bought or bribed or impressed by power, but respond only to quietude and humility and endless patience; because I suspect that men are going along this way for the last time, and I for one don't want to waste the trip; because mercifully there are no telephones on trout waters; because only in the woods can I find solitude without loneliness; because bourbon out of an old tin cup always tastes better out there; because maybe one day I will catch a mermaid; and, finally, not because I regard fishing as being so terribly important but because I suspect that so many of the other concerns of men are equally unimportant - and not nearly so much fun.
-John Voelker (Robert Traver )
p.s. bit of trivia, this weekend is the 50th anniversary of the release of John’s movie - Anatomy of a Murder.
What does communing mean? You know, the verb. To commune.
You can commune with nature. I know that. Is there anything else you can commune with? Can you commune with the lady at the post office? How about a guy at work? Would they kick you out of the army if they found out you were openly communing? I’ve never heard that word used with anything but nature.
Flyfishing Thoughts and Links 
