Why do you fly fish?

RCF

RCF

Legend
Forum Supporter
I'll start:

I flyfish to get away from it all. I want the breeze flowing through my locks of balding hair. I want to hear the sounds of nature; birds chirping, rustling of grass; leaves rustling in the wind, gurgling of water of going by, and even the rattle of a snake nearby. To hear the call of a loon, a raptor flying above just before they dive down for lunch or dinner, and even the sound of a moose approaching the stream with their baby before seeing me in alarm. The tranquil sound of a stream or river flowing by as it has done for ages. I listen to the sounds of slurping fish on a lake taking a small morsel of their meal.

I flyfish to relax from everyday pressures; to re-center myself on what is important to me ---> family and friends. It allows me to get back to nature and all of the beauty it provides.

When I flyfish, I do not have a care in the world except one. I do not care if I catch a fish (well, sort of), I do not care about the stock market. I do not care about traffic. I do not care about politics. I care about me and maintaining true to myself and my physical and mental health. It has allowed me to connect with by kids in a quiet time. While they may no longer fish with me, they still are proud of their skills of tying flies and show their friends what they can do. They, also, still remember of the 'tugs' on the line.

Flyfishing has created a lot of lasting memories. I was learning how to flyfish with my dad and catching my first steelhead on the Dose to my last fishing trip to Rivers Inlet before his passing shortly thereafter. Flyfishing is all about creating long term memories. A memory from our adoption group, she caught fish for the first time in her life. A couple of weeks later I received a hand written note which said "I love tugs'. HBMCC had a chance to get away from his family commitments and caught a trout in the 18" category. Biggest one ever. A bit later it was as 24"+ fish. Then a nice fish which broke his 10 lb test line. Memories were created.

Flyfishing is like a sanctuary; hearing the sounds of nature, the line sliding through the guides, watching the fly land where it should (sometimes), and the occasional slurp by a fish (when I am lucky).

As I get older, I am learning (slowly) to give back. To help others understand to what is available. Is it going to be like it was 50 years ago? No. So I do not discuss that. I discuss/show what is now. Help them appreciate what we have now and why it is important.

Flyfishing is in a unique place. We are creative, appreciative, willing to give back, help others, and remember to what once was. We care. We educate and share with others, regardless of race, color or religion, etc.

Lets keep it up!
 
I fly fish so I can slay those critters, get trophy fishes and post my exploits on facebook, show everyone how great and knowledgeable I am 😆

Seriously, I fly fish because it is intoxicating to me, for many of the reasons stated by @RCF. Flyfishing also provides me a connection with a father I never really knew (posted the story on an old Westfly thread - won't repeat here), and for that, it is almost sacred to me.

cheers
 
Because I like fishing. Fly fishing is just one tool in the box that I use to do that. I am pretty open on here about not exclusively being a fly fisherman, but I do enjoy fly fishing a lot. Hopefully that's obvious since I spend time running a forum as a sort of side job that doesn't give me a paycheck 😂

My fly fishing is almost exclusively for warm water species; primarily carp, these days. I've been working on incorporating it more into my tuna game, but progress has been slow there due to my love of tossing irons (jigs).

Never been more than a casual trout fisherman (largely due to them not being abundant in my immediate area). My best steelheading days are definitely behind me. So I'm finding ways to adapt to keep fly fishing as part of what I do.
 
For the women of course! Fly fishing is the most fun you can have with your clothes on! Duh!

So I can drink whisk(e)y early in the morning and not be judged! Cigars too of course and smores for breakfast are fantastic! Or pop tarts!

Oh yeah, there's something about fish, but I can't recall that... maybe once I wake up next year...

467197318_10234377088233774_5072338721033839500_n.jpg464408695_10226979044806031_891420020696901709_n.jpg476905643_10233739172156825_4390443409444817821_n.jpg8-13-2009 8-32-50 AM_0006.jpg8-13-2009 11-08-58 AM_0009.jpg6-28-2009 6-01-47 PM_0004.jpg6-24-2009 2-10-38 PM_0048_thumb[1].jpg002 (2).JPG001.JPG004 (2).JPG010 (2).JPG5-4-2008 4-50-39 PM_0008.JPGP8120268.JPG
 
Last edited:
My parents set my older brother up with materials to tie flies. It never quite worked out for him. A junior high instructor gave me a five minute lesson. I started tying. I had to start fishing because I had so many flies... And there is never a bad day on river bank or shore.
 
I have always loved fishing. My folks built a house with McDonald Creek (Agnew/Carlberg, WA) being one of the property lines. My brother and I explored that creek from our place to the mouth many times. Frank Kriener hauled a steelhead out of the creek below the Hudson's place. It wasn't until I was in college that I started tying flies (@Zak - muddler minnows). I didn't have a fly rod so I used my one and only spinning rod, split shot and muddlers. Damn, the Klamath River had some nice rainbow trout and a muddler was good bait for them. I bought a Sage 890 blank in 1979 and built a fly rod; I primarily fly fish these day. Why? I still love to fish.

@Tim L, @Roper - great photos, see you in May.
 
I fly fish for the challenge of catching fish, trout, with a fly that I tied. I also like the history of fly fishing and being part of it. I like the challenge of trying to read the water where the fish might be. I like the challenge of wading new parts of streams that I fish. I like the challenge of my continuing efforts to improve and learn all I can about the sport. Just a little sorry that I started up again so late after a 50 year lapse.
 
RCF said:
I'll start:

I flyfish to get away from it all. I want the breeze flowing through my locks of balding hair. I want to hear the sounds of nature; birds chirping, rustling of grass; leaves rustling in the wind, gurgling of water of going by, and even the rattle of a snake nearby. To hear the call of a loon, a raptor flying above just before they dive down for lunch or dinner, and even the sound of a moose approaching the stream with their baby before seeing me in alarm. The tranquil sound of a stream or river flowing by as it has done for ages. I listen to the sounds of slurping fish on a lake taking a small morsel of their meal.

I flyfish to relax from everyday pressures; to re-center myself on what is important to me ---> family and friends. It allows me to get back to nature and all of the beauty it provides.

When I flyfish, I do not have a care in the world except one. I do not care if I catch a fish (well, sort of), I do not care about the stock market. I do not care about traffic. I do not care about politics. I care about me and maintaining true to myself and my physical and mental health. It has allowed me to connect with by kids in a quiet time. While they may no longer fish with me, they still are proud of their skills of tying flies and show their friends what they can do. They, also, still remember of the 'tugs' on the line.

Flyfishing has created a lot of lasting memories. I was learning how to flyfish with my dad and catching my first steelhead on the Dose to my last fishing trip to Rivers Inlet before his passing shortly thereafter. Flyfishing is all about creating long term memories. A memory from our adoption group, she caught fish for the first time in her life. A couple of weeks later I received a hand written note which said "I love tugs'. HBMCC had a chance to get away from his family commitments and caught a trout in the 18" category. Biggest one ever. A bit later it was as 24"+ fish. Then a nice fish which broke his 10 lb test line. Memories were created.

Flyfishing is like a sanctuary; hearing the sounds of nature, the line sliding through the guides, watching the fly land where it should (sometimes), and the occasional slurp by a fish (when I am lucky).

As I get older, I am learning (slowly) to give back. To help others understand to what is available. Is it going to be like it was 50 years ago? No. So I do not discuss that. I discuss/show what is now. Help them appreciate what we have now and why it is important.

Flyfishing is in a unique place. We are creative, appreciative, willing to give back, help others, and remember to what once was. We care. We educate and share with others, regardless of race, color or religion, etc.

Lets keep it up!
Click to expand...
+1

Fly fishing is a great excuse to explore and understand the great diversity of freshwater and saltwater ecosystems.
 
There are only a few activities I engage in where all the “noise” in my head gets quiet and I can be 100% truly in the moment. Flyfishing is one of those activities. That state of mind is a gift. Achieving it is critical for sustained happiness through all the other noisy times.
 
What else am I going to do? As a kid I loved baseball and basketball, but was a mediocre player. And these days I'm not even that good. I also liked to hunt and fish, but these were pretty casual interests. While I was in college I attended a fly casting class at Green Lake. Then and there I realized I'd found my calling. Oh, I continued to attend college classes and eventually earned a degree and found an occupation that came with a paycheck. But fly fishing is what I lived for. But for fly fishing I may have become a renowned scientist who discovered cures for disease, or a best selling author, perhaps an artist, or maybe even a statesman. Instead I discovered fly fishing, and both I and the world are better off for it.
 
I fish because I am compelled to. I could rationalize it in a thousand different ways, all somewhat valid, but summarily I just have to. Sometimes I do so with a fly, and oftentimes not, it really doesn't matter to me that much the methodology. A good fisherman should be competent in multiple modalities. I fly fish when the occasion calls for it I guess.
fb
 
RCF said:
I'll start:

I flyfish to get away from it all. I want the breeze flowing through my locks of balding hair. I want to hear the sounds of nature; birds chirping, rustling of grass; leaves rustling in the wind, gurgling of water of going by, and even the rattle of a snake nearby. To hear the call of a loon, a raptor flying above just before they dive down for lunch or dinner, and even the sound of a moose approaching the stream with their baby before seeing me in alarm. The tranquil sound of a stream or river flowing by as it has done for ages. I listen to the sounds of slurping fish on a lake taking a small morsel of their meal.

I flyfish to relax from everyday pressures; to re-center myself on what is important to me ---> family and friends. It allows me to get back to nature and all of the beauty it provides.

When I flyfish, I do not have a care in the world except one. I do not care if I catch a fish (well, sort of), I do not care about the stock market. I do not care about traffic. I do not care about politics. I care about me and maintaining true to myself and my physical and mental health. It has allowed me to connect with by kids in a quiet time. While they may no longer fish with me, they still are proud of their skills of tying flies and show their friends what they can do. They, also, still remember of the 'tugs' on the line.

Flyfishing has created a lot of lasting memories. I was learning how to flyfish with my dad and catching my first steelhead on the Dose to my last fishing trip to Rivers Inlet before his passing shortly thereafter. Flyfishing is all about creating long term memories. A memory from our adoption group, she caught fish for the first time in her life. A couple of weeks later I received a hand written note which said "I love tugs'. HBMCC had a chance to get away from his family commitments and caught a trout in the 18" category. Biggest one ever. A bit later it was as 24"+ fish. Then a nice fish which broke his 10 lb test line. Memories were created.

Flyfishing is like a sanctuary; hearing the sounds of nature, the line sliding through the guides, watching the fly land where it should (sometimes), and the occasional slurp by a fish (when I am lucky).

As I get older, I am learning (slowly) to give back. To help others understand to what is available. Is it going to be like it was 50 years ago? No. So I do not discuss that. I discuss/show what is now. Help them appreciate what we have now and why it is important.

Flyfishing is in a unique place. We are creative, appreciative, willing to give back, help others, and remember to what once was. We care. We educate and share with others, regardless of race, color or religion, etc.

Lets keep it up!
Click to expand...
I was thinking of taking it up but the wife says no , you already have a boat and thousands in salmon gear. You can do your Zen thing in the boat.
 
Fishing is my way of recharging my batteries. Stress melts away, no “connected” to the outside world. Enjoy time with a good friend, sharing stories and drinking whiskey. And of course the challenge - tricking something with a brain the size of a pea to take a fly 😂
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top