"Bad fish. Not like going down the pond chasin' bluegills and tommycods. This shark, swallow you
whole. Little shakin', little tenderizin', an' down you go". Quint - JAWS
It recently occurred to me when I was invited by a good friend to fish in Yellowstone National Park that not only do people have different fly fishing skill levels, but they also have different levels of expectations from their fishing experiences. One gentleman in our group looked at me oddly when I told him that I preferred to hunt big fish. He made the dismissing comment, “How would you know if it was a big fish or a small fish? You don’t have any control over what fish bites your hook.” It was at that moment that I paused and stepped outside of myself consciously and put myself in his shoes.
He then further attempted to psychoanalyze me by making a comment along the lines of, “What deeper issue is driving you to want only big fish?” While there is no doubt that I have some severe emotional issues when it comes to my passion for fly fishing, I couldn’t help but think that this gentleman was cultivating a barren field. I replied, “For starters, I put myself in a position to catch big fish by going to the places where only they live and eliminate other options.” He still looked at me with skepticism turning away, as if to say, lets just agree to disagree. Was it not that obvious to him? In my mind, a 32-inch Brown Trout is a completely different animal than a 12-inch Brown Trout. Same DNA, but different instincts and habits, different reaction triggers and different appetites and diet. Obviously one’s approach and methodology for stalking a giant brown is different than the regular garden variety you’d find in some small stream. As the hunter, there is also that whole predator prey thing going on.
It hadn’t occurred to me that this gentleman was resigned to “take whatever the river gave him”, I personally try to be more proactive than that. This also suggest the notion of luck. Sure there is a level of luck involved with fishing and sometimes luck is better than skill, but to consistently catch big fish, one must be elevated at both luck and skill. The harder one works, the luckier they get.
I got to thinking a little further about this conversation as it didn’t quite sit well with me. Was I so oblivious to everybody else’s definition and expectations of fly fishing? Maybe. I then tried to compartmentalize the different ways that people fly fish.
There are quite a few anglers who just enjoy going out and being in nature, we hear this all the time from anglers. If they catch a few fish here and there they are thrilled, but for them it is just about being out in beautiful surroundings and trying to catch a fish or two. This group teaches one to stop and smell the roses. Gratitude and grace are the key attributes.
There are those anglers that work at honing a specific method and wish to catch a lot of fish. These are the ‘number guys.” Whether it is dry flies, euro nymphing or indicator fishing these folks are out there pounding the water hard. Through repetition and determination, this group possesses off-the-chart skills, that breeds confidence.
The next group is interesting because they may have passed through the first two categories and settled here. They tend to be more “experienced” but also set in their ways. In fact this group can by blended in with other groups. This bunch of anglers is in pursuit of a specific fish, in a specific circumstance, with a specific method and are not interested in any other means of catching fish. This could be a green drake hatch on the Henry’s Fork, a specific slab rainbow that has been sucking down PMD’s on the Missouri for the past twenty minutes, or hopper fishing in late August on the Sun to hungry browns. One can learn a lot watching this group of jedis.
Then there is another odd group of anglers that will only fish to specific species, by any means necessary, we all know a few of these cats. The steelhead junkie, The tarpon king, the trout purist. There is also a lot to learn from this group as they have honed their skills and evolved their methods. These people are “specialists”.
And lastly, there is this masochistic group of anglers pursuing only the biggest fish. Their mantra: “I would rather fish all day and catch one big fish than a bunch of small fish.” Without a doubt this group possess the most passion and blind faith, sometimes the only thing keeping them going and driving them forward. They fish with urgency and precision. Admittedly, if you are not in this group and fishing with someone who is, beware, it can be an uncomfortable experience and even a bit of a nightmare.
For the record, I don’t believe there is any best or right level of category. The right category is the one that you personally are on right now and enjoy. At some point in my life I have experienced each of these groups and they all have positive attributes to grow from. It really has nothing to do with your skill level, but rather how you approach fly fishing mentally. Each group has it’s own problems to solve, balancing conventional wisdom and thinking outside the box. Sometimes there is no box.
What constitutes a big fish? Well, if I have to tell you then you don’t know. You just know! It could be a fourteen inch Brook Trout on a stream where eight to ten inch fish are the norm. It could be a monster eighteen pound Arctic Char, where the average catch is around ten or twelve pounds, it could be a twenty eight inch lake rainbow where the average fish is sixteen inches. It is all relative, but when you catch them you know. In each case, it is that fish that stands out and doesn’t quite fit in with the rest.
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