SFR Losing Interest

[Matt B]

This reminds me of a chat with Long Rod long ago about the forks. He said he hadn’t fished there in years. I couldn’t understand it. Now I do lol.

I can relate to this, too. I still go up there, just not for fishing so much anymore. One notable exception is we do a multi-family campout up there each summer, at least once, and I have been able to get kids into the little sharky cutts on dries, which is a super fun diversion from swimming, rock-chucking, soda-swilling, and all the other great things about summer family camp.

You need a nice family boat. The heck what the wife says; easier to ask forgiveness than permission, and is she really going to complain as she soaks in the rays of sunny Lake Sammamish, sipping a cold sparkling rosé, while the kids swim happily off the back?
Don't tell me she has a sun allergy. Or can't swim. Or is deathly afraid of incidental contact with watermilfoil. I don't care!

 

[Mossback]

Reading this thread I'm sort of losing interest...
Lots of stages in life, and there's a lot to do in the outdoors.
Western Washington is full of things to do, just not river fishing for big trout like in the Rockies.
Then again, not much saltwater fishing there...

 

[Coach Potter]

My kids are young, so fishing with them isn’t really viable yet. I’m hoping my oldest can snag some panfish off Zak’s dock some time this summer though.

I appreciate the wisdom in these replies. I never thought I’d get bored fishing locally, because where I grew up was basically a desert and moving here was a massive upgrade. However, I think I am done with the local options now. I think that is the real issue here. I probably won’t bother fishing unless I have the time to venture further.

This reminds me of a chat with Long Rod years ago about the forks. He said he hadn’t fished there in years and that he wants ADVENTURE. I couldn’t understand it. Now I think I’m of the same mindset.

My old bow hunting partner and I came to this conclusion at separate times. We would hunt as many times as we possibly could, even if it was only for a few hours, and many of those hunts were only a few hours. We did that together for years.

About 10 years ago he decided he was going to trade in his broken up 10-12 days/half days in exchange for doing a week solid somewhere that was "worth it" to him. Initially I didn't get it...now I'm doing it the exact same way . His quality over quantity approach makes more sense to me now.

Last year I fished far fewer days than normal. However, when I went it was somewhere I really wanted to go and I fished multiple days in a row...much more enjoyable.

 

[Canuck from Kansas]

This year will be my daughter's third year fishing (she's 12) and I've already told her she's hooking her own damn worm from now on I've tried to get her to fly fish but she's already seen how successful it is to catch bluegill all day long with a worm.

Go to the Bluegill thread, they are readily available on the fly.

 

[Dez]

Go to the Bluegill thread, they are readily available on the fly.

Oh I know that haha, try changing a headstrong 12 year old girl's mind when she's in the "I know" phase

 

[Zak]

I'd rather discuss those things on this forum than just about anywhere else online.

You and me both.

 

[SurfnFish]

Multi-interests keep it fresh as the appeal of some wanes while others increase, so not feeling it just a sign to be doing something else. And it doesn't really matter what we're doing, just as long as we are.
A book written in the early 70's by Ram Dass titled "Be Here Now" focused on creating a framework of mindful living, of being in the moment regardless of the activity, of appreciating the here and now...less about what we're doing and more about how we're doing it.

 

[Jacob Watrous]

I went through that when my kids were younger. Missed the little buggers all the time, and they needed me as much as I needed them. Fishing took a hit and that's perfectly fine. It lifted a bit when my youngest turned 2 and was able to euro nymph, but it still struggled and my eldest never took it up. As my kids gained independence and wanted to do things with friends, my time and energy to go fishing came back. I bet your experience will mirror that to some extent, too.

But be prepared for and ok with life throwing you a few wobblies every so often. Last year my youngest declared his love for gear fishing, which cut my fly fishing opportunities back a bit. Then this year it's really fallen off a cliff. I've fished 4 days since 1 April (an ~88% drop over last year) because I've been consumed with learning a new language and preparing to move my family across the Atlantic. I'm telling myself I'll make it up fishing the polders and spey casting on the Spey, but we'll see. For now, I know there's nothing wrong it's just that my attention span and hours are finite.

Which is all a long-winded way of saying "Life is messy, your kids will surprise you, and the fish will still be there when the dust settles."

 

[Coach Potter]

I went through that when my kids were younger. Missed the little buggers all the time, and they needed me as much as I needed them. Fishing took a hit and that's perfectly fine. It lifted a bit when my youngest turned 2 and was able to euro nymph, but it still struggled and my eldest never took it up. As my kids gained independence and wanted to do things with friends, my time and energy to go fishing came back. I bet your experience will mirror that to some extent, too.

But be prepared for and ok with life throwing you a few wobblies every so often. Last year my youngest declared his love for gear fishing, which cut my fly fishing opportunities back a bit. Then this year it's really fallen off a cliff. I've fished 4 days since 1 April (an ~88% drop over last year) because I've been consumed with learning a new language and preparing to move my family across the Atlantic. I'm telling myself I'll make it up fishing the polders and spey casting on the Spey, but we'll see. For now, I know there's nothing wrong it's just that my attention span and hours are finite.

Which is all a long-winded way of saying "Life is messy, your kids will surprise you, and the fish will still be there when the dust settles."

"when my youngest turned 2 and was able to euro nymph" I see what you did there

 

[Long_Rod_Silvers]

You're getting to the point where you think fishing is what you love, not realizing it's the destinations that are the fun part. You just fish while you're there. Gotta find yourself some new spots to start exploring!

 

[JayB]

I’m not as keen on fishing as I used to be. Not sure what to think about it.

I took my dad on a week long trip during November. The fishing was great, but 2 days into the trip I missed my kids. That was a bummer for the rest of the trip. I think I might be done with fishing trips. I realized I would rather go on a family vacation where I can sneak off for a couple of days, but spend the rest of the trip with my family.

I went fishing for the first time this year yesterday. I fished Snoqualmie. I ran into 5 other people fishing, throughout the day. I caught nothing. It sucked. I’m losing my skills as quickly as I gained them. When I got home, I found myself wishing I had stayed home and made progress on cleaning out the garage instead.

I’ve been fly fishing on and off for 28 years. Never really lost my mojo like this before. Anyone else had a similar experience?

I've always had more hobbies than time, and while I can never say I ever lost the desire to fly fish - I had a 10+ year period where I only went fly-fishing a handful of times, only because I was more into a different hobby at the time and had to prioritize. I never stopped thinking of myself as a fly-fisherman, and looked forward to doing way more fishing in the future, but it just wasn't the right time.

One thing I've learned to do in the process of juggling multiple hobbies and interests is to let myself get pulled in whatever direction the combination of interests, energy, and enthusiasm takes me as opposed to pushing myself to persist in engaging in a hobby at a certain level or intensity just because I feel like I need to keep my skills up, I'm pursuing a vision or goal I came up with a few years ago that I haven't re-evaluated, etc. When I haven't heeded that lesson, nothing has killed the stoke faster than trying to row against the tide of enthusiasm and force myself out the door when I'm not really feeling it.

 

[Jacob Watrous]

"when my youngest turned 2 and was able to euro nymph" I see what you did there

No, he really did. It’s not rocket science when you’re fishing the irrigation canals and waterways between Quincy and Pot Holes. Tons of rainbows and no wading needed—perfect for a small child.

He needed hand holding and a lot of help at first, but he picked it up quickly. There and doing donuts at Pass Lake boat launch in the bow of my Stealth Cat.

I didn’t subscribe to iCloud until later on, so the older photos are in photo books at home, but here he is at 4.



And here he is on the Hood Canal with @Nick Clayton at age 3 with a fish he caught.



For clarity, what I was doing is trying to make the point that including the kids can help if you can tailor the methods to them, but even then the little jerks might become gear fishing purists.

 

[John Svahn]

Been fishing my whole life as far as I know. In my early forties my interest began to wane. Then I did two things: I started keeping fish sometimes which expanded the experience to menu planning, groceries, cooking, and adding an additional purpose. I learned a bunch of new things (for instance trout in a certain lake taste great on the bbq in spring but muddy in the fall, so those fall fish get smoked) I also started fishing much less. Now I kinda treat fishing like a big to do rather than my lifestyle, and it got me back into it.

 

[Dloy]

For a long time my perfect day was 18 holes of golf, fishing for a few hours, and cocktails with friends. I still golf frequently (trying to reach single digits), maybe have a cocktail or two, and enjoy making something interesting for dinner. Fishing has waned but I need to work on getting out occasionally. I’ve gathered enough gear and boats to stock a small fly shop, so I just need to make and take the time.

 

[Evan B]

No, he really did. It’s not rocket science when you’re fishing the irrigation canals and waterways between Quincy and Pot Holes. Tons of rainbows and no wading needed—perfect for a small child.

He needed hand holding and a lot of help at first, but he picked it up quickly. There and doing donuts at Pass Lake boat launch in the bow of my Stealth Cat.

I didn’t subscribe to iCloud until later on, so the older photos are in photo books at home, but here he is at 4.

View attachment 183385

And here he is on the Hood Canal with @Nick Clayton at age 3 with a fish he caught.

View attachment 183386

For clarity, what I was doing is trying to make the point that including the kids can help if you can tailor the methods to them, but even then the little jerks might become gear fishing purists.

Man, I had some fun times in those sneaky little irrigation ditches growing up there. I spent my first 18yrs growing up on a farm South of Ephrata. Most the ditches had nothing in them, but a couple were surprisingly productive. This was back in the 90s so I'm sure some things have changed, but I had tons of fun tossing flies in those in middle school/high school.

 

[Coach Potter]

No, he really did. It’s not rocket science when you’re fishing the irrigation canals and waterways between Quincy and Pot Holes. Tons of rainbows and no wading needed—perfect for a small child.

He needed hand holding and a lot of help at first, but he picked it up quickly. There and doing donuts at Pass Lake boat launch in the bow of my Stealth Cat.

I didn’t subscribe to iCloud until later on, so the older photos are in photo books at home, but here he is at 4.

View attachment 183385

And here he is on the Hood Canal with @Nick Clayton at age 3 with a fish he caught.

View attachment 183386

For clarity, what I was doing is trying to make the point that including the kids can help if you can tailor the methods to them, but even then the little jerks might become gear fishing purists.

It’s awesome to get your kids going early! I Love the pics and believed you! But, I was really hoping you were also taking a shot at Euro Nymphing at the same time.

 

[Jacob Watrous]

It’s awesome to get your kids going early! I Love the pics and believed you! But, I was really hoping you were also taking a shot at Euro Nymphing at the same time.

I think Euro Nymphing takes enough shots at itself every time someone releases "tactical" products or a new pellet fly pattern.

Reality of that sport is that a bead on a bare hook, and in some flows just a bare red hook, performs just as well as a "Dustin's Dojo Perdigoon with Enhanced Marketing".

But we digress.

Jared, man, keep your chin up and enjoy those kids.

 

[Brute]

I think Euro Nymphing takes enough shots at itself every time someone releases "tactical" products or a new pellet fly pattern.

Reality of that sport is that a bead on a bare hook, and in some flows just a bare red hook, performs just as well as a "Dustin's Dojo Perdigoon with Enhanced Marketing".

But we digress.

Jared, man, keep your chin up and enjoy those kids.

When I first saw your picture, I imagined you in olive drab conducting a counter drone strike from Kiev...

 

[CosmoKramer]

Is it worth transitioning to Spey for steelhead in WA/OR/ID while keeping my single-handers for MT/ID trout?

Tried lake fishing and did not enjoy it, but the fight was better than SRCs and silvers. Maybe I should move on to spin rods... (kidding)