Fishing Perspective

[CanuckCamper]

I ran accross this blog from Rick McGuire while researching a trip and after reading a few heated debates over the last while I thought I would pass it along for a little perspective on what I think our hobby is really all about.

 

 

 

Catching is only a part of it.

 

Most of the time when we go fly fishing it becomes only about the catching. The reality is that this is not going to be the case every time. To better take advantage of our time on the water, the following list of related activities should be helpful in making your experience as meaningful and fun as possible.

 

1. Do a stream seine and turn over rocks to find out more about the aquatic insect life in the water. Get some type of aquatic insect book and learn more about trout food sources.

2. Practice new casts and presentations so that when you need them, you have them in you arsenal. For you golfers, this is just like going to the practice range.

3. Learn to read the water better and find those in between areas where there are fish and most fisherman ignore.

4. Clean up all trash as you do your streamside walks so that we leave it better than we found it.

5. If you see fish, watch them intently and learn more about their behaviors.

6. Take a nap!

7. Practice new knots.

8. Just look and listen. This sport rarely takes us to ugly places. (The Truckee in Reno the one exception. Sorry Mike)

 

This list could on and on but I think it gives you an idea about using your time wisely and the water and enjoying your time out there. No doubt catching fish is fun and exciting but when things slow down on us we definitely can take advantage of that time.

 

Rick McGuire guide/instructor TFFO

 

[maxwell]

thats what its all about right ther!

[northfork]

Absolutely. That is a good list to go by..

 

I also just love being out there. Nothing like watching a bald eagle or osprey come in at 100 miles per hour and hammering a trout.

[Gil]

Having taken a lot of inexperience people down the river this summer I have noticed it's a hell of a lot more fun fishing with a person that isn't extirely focused on only catching fish. It's also near impossible to show someone how to cast who is focused on the fish. You are better off getting them out on the back lawn the night before or hand them a spinning rod if they much catch that fish.

 

I also realized I could also stand to relax a bit more myself. I now try to work a few new casts, photography etc. into my day.

 

On the other hand:

-- I still get a thrill every time I get a hook-up.

-- Still count how many fish I've netted.

-- Measure all fish over 20 "

-- Break into a sweat and whimper if a fish is over 23"

-- Do a victory dance if a fish is more than 24"

-- Brag to friends and family about all the fish I caught till I'm told to shut up.

 

Well no one is perfect....

[fishguide76]

Having taken a lot of inexperience people down the river this summer I have noticed it's a hell of a lot more fun fishing with a person that isn't extirely focused on only catching fish. It's also near impossible to show someone how to cast who is focused on the fish. You are better off getting them out on the back lawn the night before or hand them a spinning rod if they much catch that fish.

 

I also realized I could also stand to relax a bit more myself. I now try to work a few new casts, photography etc. into my day.

 

On the other hand:

-- I still get a thrill every time I get a hook-up.

-- Still count how many fish I've netted.

-- Measure all fish over 20 "

-- Break into a sweat and whimper if a fish is over 23"

-- Do a victory dance if a fish is more than 24"

-- Brag to friends and family about all the fish I caught till I'm told to shut up.

 

Well no one is perfect....

 

nothin better than catching fish you need to be told to shut up about. but love to watch others when they get those big ones

[Hawgstoppah]

yup. over the years ive gone from a have-to-catch-fish guy to a just wanna be on the water guy. nothing better than finding some fish to watch too, as watching them instead of casting to them can be an invaluable teacher.

[Wolfie]

all of the above that are given by the posters, PLUS, the thrill rapped up with nervousness of watching my Wolf when she 'lifts her head up to the clouds'..that is a signal something of major interest has caught her attention..

 

..it could very well be deer, her favorite playmates, or what took place on Monday.. a good size blackie came to the edge of a cliff that was towering over us..she was going litterly WILD..and it took everything I had in me to stop her from crossing the water and climbing up that cliff.

 

..catching fish by any method, other than Fly fishing, is not as rewarding as catching fish on a presentation, but none the less it all combined as the most rewarding 'hobby', or 'therapeutic form', man and woman can have.....................Wolfie

[Bigtoad]

 

.. or 'therapeutic form', man and woman can have.....................Wolfie

 

Really Wolfie????? I thought sex would probably be the #1 form of therapy for a man and woman? Maybe fly fishing a distant 2nd?

[Wolfie]

Really Wolfie????? I thought sex would probably be the #1 form of therapy for a man and woman? Maybe fly fishing a distant 2nd?

 

...well..Bigtoad..it wasn't the fly fishing I was referring to not entirely, but the "sound of water", no matter how one hears it, it is the soothing element in both genders..now you..a young stud haven't tasted sex in a hot tube before...drunk or sober...it's the water that turns on the urge for sex!.....damn i wish i could put up one of my smilies now.......................Wolfie

 

[reevesr1]

Great topic. I agree with all the above and wish I spent more time trying new casts, flipping rocks, etc. I just have a hard time not spending every second trying my hardest to hook a fish on each and every cast. It's a work in progress....

I will say that after reading this post, I made it a point to clean up a couple of random sites on the Liv yesterday.

 

Gil, I could have written your post. Particularly the no one is perfect part.

 

This also got me thinking about people I have fished with, both new fishermen and not so new. So, I just went through my pictures on ImageShack. It's like a FFC Reunion. I counted 60 different people I've fished with in the last 3 yrs, and I know I've missed several. 28 of those were FFC members, and I know I've missed several of those too. I found 3 kids that I've tried to teach to fish (not including mine), 4 adults that I took on their first trip (one of which routinely outfishes me now) , lots of family, and many, many fishermen who are far more accomplished than I'll ever be. Next time I go through the pics, I will count the different bodies of water I've been fortunate enough to fish in the past couple of years........

 

I'm not sure how I could be luckier than I am.

 

 

 

 

[Wolfie]

Well..I can tell ya Rickr...you just haven't met me or my Wolfie as of yet...till then...ask the "toolman"..

 

I'm not sure how I could be luckier than I am.

[beedhead]

More times than not....(especialy in a place I have never bin before)...I put my rod down, and do a slow standing 360, and soak it all in....Good thread...I find way way too many people fishing as a competition...Each to their own mind ya...I will not fish with people like that...I get just as exited when someone else catches a fish, cheerin them on ect ....Heck, my buddy can hammer six fish in a row, and me with not a hit, I don't get all pissed off....Hell, that's fishin....

 

Cheers...Jeff..

[Hawgstoppah]

I'm finding myself more and more interested in what "else" goes on around the stream. Yes, that includes looking at and identifying flowers, wildlife, taking time to just sit on the bank and soak it all in, even somewhere I've hiked 5 miles to get to and fish are happily rising... I like to have a good bit of time to soak it in sometimes..