[Fish Bones]

Why Do You Fly Fish?

I have a question for you. I hope you respond and give us your thoughts. I hope you share with all of us the reason why fly fishing is so special to you.

What is your favorite part of fly fishing? Why do you enjoy it so much? Do you simply like to catch fish, as many as you can, no matter what? Do you do it mainly for the joy of being outdoors? Is it somewhere in between? Do you enjoy the camaraderie aspect of fly fishing the most? Do you mostly enjoy trying to outsmart Mr. Fish? Do you fly fish because of the peaceful serenity that you get from many fly fishing destinations? Do you do it for the grandeur of nature? Is it a combination of several, or all, of the above?

Each angler in unique in their own way. For me, I’m not in it to just catch fish. Sure catching fish is fun. I love to catch fish and lots of them. My big enjoyment however, comes from nature and the great outdoors. I prefer a small mountain stream deep in the forest. I enjoy fishing alone, surrounded by the hugeness and beauty of my natural setting. If I catch fish, which I usually do, then great. If I don’t… so what? I live by a quote by Henry David Thoreau… "Many go fishing all their lives without knowing it is not fish they are after.�

So… please respond to this post and let us all know… What’s in it for you?

Thanks,
Steve

[Curtis]

Fly fishing is the best way for me to restore myself. I get lost when I am on the water. There are times when I start near my vehicle and by the end of the day, I have several miles to walk to get back. I don't even realize how far I have gone. I love the rhythm of the casting. Sometimes at the end of the day, after snipping off the fly, I will spend a half hour just casting. The sounds of the wild surround you and you are part of it. I love watching what is going on. I love seeing what God has created for me. I am in awe when in a beautiful place. Sometimes it is just the getting away. One summer, I drove up to Flaming Gorge. It is about 3.5 hours from my house. I got to the river, got out smelled the air, watched the river for a while and felt restored. I got back in the truck and drove back, stopping at a small creek much closer to home to fish. It was not the fishing that brought me there that day but the river and the getting away.

[Fish Bones]

Curtis:

Great response... You make me wish I was standing knee deep right now!!!

[Curtis]

Me too. We are having a cold snap right now. After the warm weather we were having and the great Baetis hatch we were experiencing, I cannot wait to get back to spring. The feel in the air when you are on the water is so magical. The birds come back with song. The world just seems to be waking up and coming back to life. I love it.

[BigCliff]

If I tried to explain why I go fishing where I do, I would basically end up transposing Curtis' response, because we seem to be drawn by many of the same aspects of this sport. He said the same things best, and I'll just "second that motion".

Instead, I'll try to explain why I prefer fly fishing over other methods. I think it really boils down to the constant action. There are quite possibly more different ways to fly fish than there are to fish with conventional tackle, and I love all the different forms of action the different methods provide. There's constant action when drifting nymphs or dries, when swinging wets or streamers, popping a bug for bass, and when trying to beat the wind and not spook the fish at the coast.

I think this constant action actually adds to the appeal of the natural surroundings rather than subtracts. Were it not for the fact that we often do move into a zen like state where everything that exists outside of the movement of your indicator or tension in your stripping hand is an afterthought, the grandeur and serenity of our surroundings might not have the same impact. We experience much greater contrast due to the fact that while concentrating on fishing we seem to be in control, but then look at all the aspects of our surrounding environment and realize we are just a minor scratch God made in the process of sculpting a masterpiece.

I will readily admit that fly fishing is not always the most effective or efficient method of hooking fish, but I know at least a few of the reasons why it is my favorite method.

[Fish Bones]

Sounds like Cliff and Curtis live by the same quote by Thoreau.

[Salmo Nella]

Originally Posted by BigCliff

I will readily admit that fly fishing is not always the most effective or efficient method of hooking fish, but I know at least a few of the reasons why it is my favorite method.

It may not be the most effective method for hooking fish, but it is the most effective method for what you seek.
In more than 45 years of fishing I have fished many different techniques, and still do for that matter. Each of them is picked, not for efficiency in hooking fish, but for enhancing the fishing experience. These experiences are not always condusive to fly fishing (anyone who has been in the stern on a "tuna boat" and heard the cry 'hook up', knows a different kind of fishing adrenaline).
For me, and apparently for others, fly fishing enhances the type of introspective and largely personal experience of extreme concentration, mental challenge, zen like relaxation etc.
I took up fly fishing at the age of 12 when I bought a fiberglass noodle rod at Big-5 sporting goods for $15 (I still have it but it doesn't get fished much) because it was an incredibly efficient fish catching technique. I suspect that even in my adolescence I recognized something more than that in the sport... otherwise my fondest memories from then would not be slow fishing days for small trout, in a small clear stream 4 or 5 miles from the nearest road. With wet hiking boots trying to make it back to camp before it was completely dark because I was so rapped up in fishing that I didn't notice the sun had set.
This remains my favorite way to fish and I still find myself too far from camp with the sun already down. At the end of the day I remember the take of that 12" (monster) rainbow under the hanging branch on the inside bend but I can't remember if I ate lunch or not until I look in my vest for it.

[DAVY WOTTON]

Above all else, the skills l have learnt, the many places l have fished all over the world, the many friends that l have known both still here and gone, a lifetime of being involved as a professional fly fisher, the products that l produced and whatever else that comes in to this equasion, the reason why l love to fly fish is simply this.

I am at peace with my self and the world that l live in, it is mine for a short period of time, we are only passing through time and leaving memories of that with those that live on, as they will also.
Be gracious that you are here and are able to enjoy the creations of this planet, that have been bestowed upon us.
There a many who will never come to know those pleasures.

Davy Wotton. 3/15/05

[fshfanatic]

There are few things I am truly good at. Flyfishing happens to be one of them.

[TJ Rowden]

It is my therapy . . . ;o)

TJ