Treasure Time Spent Fishing

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I have been fly fishing almost my entire fishing life. Yet in my earlier years it wasn't distinguished from any other style of fishing; it was just fishing. I still pretty much look at it that way today. My introduction to fly fishing was centered around lakes and ponds in the Midwest, casting about with small poppers and spiders for bass and blue gill. At the time I was fortunate to have access to a fly rod and reel. Whenever I had the opportunity to use the fly rod I would always gravitate towards it.

Since those early years my preference for the fly rod hasn't changed. I've always felt that the actual catching wasn't nearly as significant as the technique used to fool the quarry. As in those early years, fly fishing has always created challenges and mysteries. After many years of fly fishing, I find those qualities still there.

Fly fishing now is a way of life for me and is still my favorite means of recreating. I have been a guide, business owner, conservationist, teacher and ever-wondering student of the sport. I have learned to better appreciate what fly fishing is and treasure more the time spent in beautiful places with friends and family more significantly than the catch. All these things, combined with a lifetime of memories, are what make this such a special and unique sport. So much to do, so many places to fish, so many people to meet, so little time.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to meet many great anglers. Those who truly appreciate the sport seem to revel in all its facets. As time goes on numbers seem to become a thing of the past. It appears there's a natural evolutionary process we go through. First we want to catch a fish, then we want to catch a lot of fish, then we want to catch only big fish, and finally we just want to go fishing.

It seems at this juncture we have finally figured it out. After all those years of worrying about how many fish we caught or how big they are, we finally don't care and simply just go fishing, which is the true essence of the sport.

Given the number of anglers out on the water today, it would seem a logical approach to put less emphasis on the number of fish we are catching. Over the years we’ve hear many people comment about the rough condition that trout are in from being caught and handled. Many of those comments come from anglers who repeatedly praise their efforts of 30 and 40 fish days.

With the wealth of information and equipment advancements that the fly fisher has available today, such numbers are not uncommon. However, if we are interested in preserving the quality of our resources we might want to change the ways in which we measure the success of our outings. The old timers have figured it out. Maybe it's time we started figuring it out a little sooner.

Treasure Time Spent Fishing

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