Fly Fishers Inc

The latest issue is online here:
http://www.flyfishersinc.com/

No, you go ahead...

My last post looked at the worst case scenario in people I likely won't fish with, identifying instances of crossing my personal boundaries - those things that I simply hold dear to my fly fishing that another chose to repetitively not honor. This doesn't make me absolutely right, it simply means that I cannot fish with, much less be around people that do as one has. This isn't about being right, it's about having as mentally healthy a fly fishing experience as we can - one that reflects the same in life.

Let's step back a minute, looking at the difference between fly fishing and other activities in life. For most who progress beyond banging out as many fish as their personal worth decrees, fly fishing is an intimate activity. It's not like doing laps of a swimming pool, miles on the road running or cycling, how much weight you can lift, or "I skied 18km or number of runs today". You can fly fish with other people, though seldom more than one or two, which immediately reflects its intimacy. Because fly fishing is a reflection and projection of our inner self into a moment on a trout water, usually in a quiet setting, it is important to determine what you consider the qualities of someone you would like to spend intimate time with.  To spend the precious time we have for such intimate reflections of ourselves with someone who simply trashes or walks over our inner values is not being true to ourselves. While we might desire friendship, we have to ask ourselves if we can afford to potentially sacrifice that intimate part of ourselves. Then ask who would you want to fish with? What are your personal parameters?

Personally, I love to spend time on the water with others who can make an observation without driving it home. I can give a reply or simply leave it as an observation or statement, and feel free to make my own about something completely (ir)relevant then or later. Seldom do such people feel a need to educate me as I feel little compulsion to educate them. I might make a suggestion or two through the day but I'll never give a history lesson or try to lord anything over anyone. If I do, it's a sign to me that relationship needs communication, which is a two way street. Subtlety in a moment or two through a day to try to enhance someone else's experience is my style. I'm never on the water trying to strut or one up - the last thing I ever want to do is badly out fish anyone - I get an awkward feeling and want to help the other. I have never fished anywhere near 100% of my ability with anyone, except Amelia. I simply don't want to show anyone up, nor enter into competition. We're on the water together and the day will unfold as it is. We're not in grade school and there is no teacher - student. We're friends on the water. There doesn't have to be a spirit of "my way/opinion is right". It can simply be a day enjoying a hatch, watching a friend cast to a fish. If he catches or misses is of little consequence on the day or friendship, that moment will be the lesson unto itself for both of us as it pertains to the fishing. We might make adjustments to the style or tactic of fishing we're doing and hope for better closings.

I don't fish wish my friend Barry as much as I'd like. Time simply doesn't afford it. But when we do get on the water, he & I do the exact same thing "no, you go ahead". You see, we both know that fish will be caught. We both know that we'll each get a neat experience that day, be it a fish in a neat location or just a chance to watch the other fish. If he gets a 2 foot brown - brilliant! If I get a 5 pound rainbow - great. If we each catch 5" cutts, even better. It doesn't matter. There's no imposing that a fly pattern, tippet size, or brand name is the right answer. We know that the fish will take care of themselves - we'll get a few. What we do is honor each other without compulsion to step ahead of the other.

I haven't fished with my friend Jim in a couple of seasons, but fishing with him was a great example of people of similar skill and perspective. Simply rotating fish and having fun in discussion without posture. There's no feeling amongst either that the other is something greater, thus removing the one who perceives himself the lesser angler from trying to educate or posture.

I have another friend whom I've only fished with a few times. Granted I've fished a little more, but he loves to sight fish. I was able to spend time with him a couple of weeks back. Am I a better fisher? Meh, I don't know, who cares? We both enjoy sighting and we have been able to enjoy time together on a few waters both here and New Zealand. We try our best to be each other's eyes and we each love to see the fish and study the angles and actions of fish. In my case, I honestly am getting to the point that I love the video taping of fish more than catching them myself, and am torn when it gets to be my turn to fish. But the point is that he pipes up to remind me that it is, indeed, my turn. If I then choose to give way, it's my choice and it happens when I happily do so based on what I feel for myself.

Contrast that to my friend I wrote about in the previous blog post. When we fished on our distant holiday I gave way every day, literally putting my rod away or simply blind fishing the water every once in a while between sighted fish, just so he could have the experience of sight fishing success at some point. At the end of the day it was about his failures or how close he came. Missing was the - "hey, wait a second, Dave just gave way for 6 or the 7 hours we fished, maybe tomorrow I'll honor him". Every day it went the same. And by the end of  our time enduring his "me, me, me", I'd had enough. The honor between friends was missing. And when honor between friends is missing, it's tough to come back. The last thing you want to do with someone like this is try to communicate what you see happening because if they don't see it themselves, it'll be received not in the "hey, let's try to communicate and build our relationship", rather, it'll be received as an attack and beget an attack right back. Another friend of mine always joked that this fellow taught me everything I know about fly fishing for how he tries to lord over me just how much he knows. It got painful to watch.

I can't comment too much on my fishing with Amelia publicly. I will say that we see every facet of our relationship while on the water. I don't know any couple that spends as much time together as we do, and less so in how we go about life and the close quarters we spend time together. 3 months in New Zealand in a 4x4 van and 5 months a year pulling 14 to 20 hours a day working together at our lodge. I've seen a few other couples ready to kill each other after a few weeks of having to experience the full front of their spouse's personality. For us, the bottom line with that is honoring each other and communicating well, and seeing the bigger picture in every moment that this is our life together. We talk about our honest feelings openly and pull the tough stuff out in order that we are both completely honest. Niether of us would have any other relationship.

Enjoying company on the water is what winds up being most important, be that the company of yourself or others. The crazy thing about fishing is that if you spend enough time doing it, you'll catch fish. Astute, eh? Given that outcome is inevitable, and considering that expanding your data set of experience to include both sizes and numbers will occur, what's the end result? Be it that you enjoy time alone or with others, mutually respecting and honoring their fishing is what it boils down to. In my one friend's case, he couldn't see just how deeply he cut not only the honor and mutual respect on the water, but discounted my efforts in fisheries management. It's a tough one but I finally had to cut off fishing with him.

Ultimately, as I mentioned before, this comes down to a good sense of self, a good sense of what values you have for your time, and how strongly you hold on to those values in intimate settings. Fly fishing is intimate, and not everyone can share those times with you. We're not called to share our intimate side with everyone, and it's up to us individually to determine at what point we only let certain people share in those moments.

"Fishing Result Deficiency Syndrome"

To open, we all have our reason for fly fishing. At some point, we all have to admit to ourselves that we do it because we fulfill a need in our lives in some way. Even if we do it to enrich other people's lives, we get something out of it. So, we all have some form of result that we derive from fly fishing. The other introductory point is that I am a firm believer that negative example provides a world of examples of opportunity where we can grow and share, so others can learn and use another's negative example to a positive end. That said...

I've fished with, watched, or guided a lot of people and have seen a lot of different personalities. I myself have had a lot of different emotions and reactions in my fly fishing, and have had a few perspectives change through the few decades of doing it. Nobody is 'right' in how they fish, and the result of effort and skill doesn't always line up as you'd think. Further, there is no 'right' way to act and react to what happens on the water, as there certainly are as many varying aspects of personalities - and moments of personalities - as there are varying moments on the water.

However, for the people I've been on the water with, a very select few people have gone above and beyond the call of duty for how the result of fly fishing affects their self worth. These people are completely engulfed by the outcome of their fly fishing. In fact, a few folks I've been around have seen their lack of fishing result affect their entire being. Size and numbers - or a combination of the two - rule their world and unless the result is within their pre-ordained data set, their expectations, their over-estimation of their ability... their self worth falls, their reactions outlandish, and their entire being crashes. No fish = no self worth. No result = no self love.

I've seen it quite a few times on moderate levels, and unfortunately a few have completely melted down in a day or over a short period of time. Their reaction isn't usually an outburst, rather, an inward downward spiral that manifests itself in countless symptoms that are painfully obvious to those around them. They remain this way until the results change or they go home and somehow manage to see the sun rise again. And God help those around them if these people begin to have success in fishing - the equal opposite is also then true.

Such symptoms include: quietness; disengaging; withdrawal; belittling others; owliness; mood swings from euphoria to outright being pissed off; snippiness; passive aggressive comments; subtle comments of comparison of result; turning away from, deliberately ignoring, or even flat out walking away from others when they hook up or catch another fish and they can't; they can't share in their fishing partner's success; throwing rods, gear, boats, etc around out of frustration. The list goes on and most aspects aren't pretty. In fact, I've seen all the above from one fishing partner!

We all have moments in time, a minute here or there where we deviate from the core of who we are due to a momentary reaction to a situation. We recognize these moments and apologize and get back to having fun for others as much as ourselves - often more for the other. But I'm talking about the people who spiral out of control for a complete afternoon of fishing, or have one afternoon of pity party extend to two days or on to 2 or 3 weeks on an extended fishing trip.

Most often, these individuals can't see past themselves. They often forget that if they have been taken to a river or are being taught by someone else, that the person hosting them is sacrificing a part of their free time, sacrificing their personal holiday time, or sacrificing part of themselves for the benefit of the one they are assisting. In the end, instead of appreciation, the person taking time out of their fly fishing time receives a whole host of the above attitudes instead of appreciation.What's amazing is that rarely do these people realize that they have completely melted. They act as if life is normal or deny how they're acting, project onto you that you have the issue or problem, and sometimes even attack you for wanting to discuss what's obvious to everyone else around them. "I don't have any problem, everything's fine," I've heard a few times. Complete dismissal, lack of ownership, and a clear cutting of any possibility of deeper relationship by being vulnerable in admitting even the slightest character flaw. And vulnerability - its expression and sharing - is so important.

I once spent successive days fishing with a fellow who couldn't cast 25 feet accurately, nor with any kind of line control to average wariness brown trout. He kept spooking them or missing the two or three takes he did manage. I was on a distant vacation and he his, yet I gave way to him. We were supposed to rotate fish but because he was continuously showing poorly I kept giving my turn to him. By the end of our time together, there was no recognition of me foregoing my opportunities in his favor - I often went entire afternoons without fishing after catching on my first attempt - in order to give him opportunity to catch a fish. I didn't want to show him up, frankly as I knew his ego couldn't handle it. In fact, he went so far as to state to me, "You get to do this all the time," when I consistently gave way one afternoon. At the end of our time together, he'd managed to land one fish and he was sulking, loathing, and so entrenched in his own pity party he didn't realize that I was paying good money & sacrificing my vacation time to enhance him. There was absolutely no recognition of anything past himself and his fishing experience. He stayed that way for some time, to the point Amelia & I decided to gently part ways so we could continue to enjoy our vacation - you don't want to hear Amelia's perspective! The flipside is that when this person is catching fish he's on top of the world and having a grand time, and everyone knows it.

If you identify with any (large or small part) of what I've written here, be it having suffered through it or if you are honest enough with yourself and those around you to admit you are this way, ask yourself if you or your friends should be subjected to this? Friends put up with friends to a degree, and compassion is always encouraged, but at some point you need to take ownership of your actions and realize that pouting, withdrawal, and the other negative aspects impact the ability of the others around you to be care free and enjoy their time as basic social tact suggests they can't otherwise. It's difficult for one person who cares about someone else to show their elation when the other is a kill joy mired in self loathing. Most who suffer from fishing result deficiency syndrome will never realize how miserable they are to be around.

So, what can we do? If you are on the receiving side, it really comes down to our personal boundaries, how much we can tolerate and how strongly we feel we are to be treated to what standard. That's a mouthful but so true. We have to be honest to ourselves how we are feeling and own our reactions or building reaction. It's very important to keep our composure and remove ourselves before we act out of our own character, standards, or views. Allow the other person space and time, and don't get caught up in their negativity.

If you are on the perpetrating side, the first step is certainly to own up to it and listen to what your mind is telling you. It's easy to recognize those feelings of jealousy, self loathing, angst, anger, etc. It's extremely difficult for some to admit even to themselves that they have a character flaw. We all have them. It's contrite to simply say 'get past yourself', but that's ultimately where this is heading. Recognize where you are at, and perhaps explore the notions of boundaries, fostering friendship, sharing in others' joy through difficult times, personal integrity, work on your self confidence and recognize that a strong outgoing personality is often a front to hide inner flaws, etc. Be honest with yourself and take the time to explore these things.

There is so much to enjoy about fly fishing once we establish that it isn't all about 'me'. Take the time to enjoy the fact that someone else that you care about is enjoying a moment. Let go your personal frustration. Put the rod down, watch & absorb the beauty of someone more skilled or more successful. Look at the artistry of the lines on the rocks, the trees about you. Stop placing so much importance on having a photo of your mug with a fish. There's simply so much more to enjoy in and about fly fishing than the fish.

New Zealand Non Resident License Review

They're finally thinking of increasing non-resident license fees in NZ - they are the same for residents as non at present. They are asking for input. The discussion paper is as follows:
http://www.doc.govt.nz/upload/documents/getting-involved/consultations/current-consultations/non-resident-fishing-licences-discussion-document.pdf
The discussion paper and justification is extremely poor and relies on reaching, unproven points. However, the bottom line is it makes sense. If you have comment, please read and have your voice included with a response to it.
Cheers

You Again, eh?

The flight tickets arrived for our wintering in New Zealand yesterday. The temperature certainly dropped while we were on the water, and then the sleet and rain slowly started turning to something a little more sinister. We'd forgotten how fun this stuff is! The next month and a bit can go by quickly now... I think we can just about hang up the Alberta season.



Fall Friends

A friend invited me to fish a quiet reach of his favorite water. We'd fished together on a few out of the way waters in New Zealand last December. It was a wonderful day, though I should have seized more of the opportunities to film the amazing sight fishing we had. While the clouds covered the sun we had chances to catch fish and hooked a few. As soon as the sun came out no fly or tippet could come within 15 feet of the trout - they spooked instantly. It was a great day to see the reach.
The next day Amelia & I headed out to a small spring creek we'd not been able to fish all season. We came across a few fish and enjoyed a great day together in the warm, fall sun.
Through both days I managed to video tape a few moments that reflect the feel of the season... in a short video I call "Fall Friends" - both the sight fished browns, the staging browns swimming together, and the people I was able to enjoy time on the water with.
You can see the video on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9Ml8yNTNsM) or look at the video to the top right of this blog. Be sure to watch it in HD as there is some clear footage. :)
Cheers & happy autumn.

We Made Orvis News Photo of the Day Again!

It was a neat experience and neat to swim with the fish:
http://www.orvisnews.com/FlyFishing/Picture-of-the-day-flrtress-lake-brookies.aspx

Brown Trout Edge Structure

Need some help with brown trout. I've been brain storming a bunch and writing down the specific structures they hold on the edge of. I'm hoping some folks will email or post about what neat features you've come across browns holding - you know the stuff - logs, weedbeds, boulders - but what about shopping carts, different types of structures like that? This is for a forthcoming production that I am finally starting to work on. :)

Please share - info@flyfishalberta.com or simply comment below.

Thanks!