Not so long ago, someone unfamiliar with the sport of Fly Fishing, ask me  to try to explain what Fly Fishing means to me in just one sentence. Thirty years ago I surely needed 3 hours or more to explain it, but after nearly five decades of asking myself the same question, I did not find the answer that challenging anymore. In fact, I found the answer to be quite simple. So simple that I only needed five words:

Fly-fishing is merging with nature

In reality anyone who participates in the sport knows firsthand that fly fishing is so much more then wetting a fly, or casting a line, or landing a fish. The real experience is fishing while being in perfect harmony with the wild. Fly fishing actually brought me NOT only back in nature but also taught me how to respect and handle nature and wildlife more then ever.

Fly fishing and also fly tying both distressed me enormously from my busy army job and responsibilities in the past. It was the best medication for me to bring my mind back in peace again and it indeed worked far better than any pills, powders or drugs. The thrill to see a fish coming up for your own made dry fly is a feeling that push and forces me even for more

Maybe fly fishing is an addiction or obsession for many but I don’t think it is for me, because I grab my camera or pencil as easy as my fly rod. I also like to chat a lot with other fishermen and guides and I can watch beavers, otters, moose, bears, caribou or birds for hours with my fly rod just standing next to me. For me, it’s all belonging to fly fishing. Among good friends we can talk hours about flies and forget all about time,  missing a good hatch is not unknown to me and that too is a part of fly fishing!

Having an enjoyable chat about trips from the past, experiences or special fishing techniques are very common among older fly fishermen. I remember a nice situation with me and my friend and founder of the Continental Trout Conservation Fund Rene Beaumont when we were in Bosnia and meet some other fly fishermen from Holland. We had some very pleasant talks and a nice cold beer while our “young” guide was just trying to push us to get fishing again…..  He simply didn’t understand our feelings and behavior.

Its not easy to explain a young enthusiastic fly fisherman that we “oldies”  can enjoy a chat, nature, wildlife as much or sometimes even more as our real fishing. I met a lot of interesting people on banks of the rivers and it is not strange to me that a pleasant talk and making a new friend can be the highlight of the day for me.

When I look at my closest circle of fishing friends, I can say for sure that it doesn’t matter if we catch fish or not. Of course everybody love to catch a fish but you cannot predict the conditions and sometimes you hit some blank days too or have to fight the Gods of weather. Our pleasure comes from just being out there on the riverbank and enjoying the river with all its beauty and surroundings.

At the Dutch fly fair in May 2012 I overheard a few fly fishermen complaining loudly about one of their recent fishing trips.  Not only did this catch me by surprise, it set me thinking too. One of the complainers had fished a place that I had fished for many years with great pleasure, enjoyment, and success.  Of course I had my good and not so good “catching” days over the years, but I always felt that the fishing was great. The complaining was not only saddening me, but it was clear the complainer directly linked poor catches to a bad trip.

For me and for thousands of other fly fishermen worldwide, poor catches do not necessary equate to a bad fishing trip. I have fished nearly fifty years with fly now, and I have had dozens of trips where hardly any fish were landed.  That lack of “success” never kept me away from fishing. If one cannot handle poor catches and blank days, I think it is perhaps time to search for a pastime other than fly fishing. 

Let me illustrate for you: Since the early nineties, when I was closely involved with Fyn’s sea trout project, I made about 30 “week-long” trips to hunt for sea trout  in the coastal waters of Denmark. Thanks to my diaries, in which have described all my early catch reports,  I can tell factually that I had successful weeks with some extremely high numbers of catches too.

However,……….. my records reveal that 1/3 of these trips were without catching any fish at all!  Altogether there were many days of toiling and sweating in all sorts of weather without any “catch” results. Not even a take!  In total perhaps about 70 days of carrying on with fishing with only one expectation:  a chance to hook an enormous sea-trout (or steelhead).  I ask myself:  “Did I have ten “bad” trips or did I learn a lot more about fishing and still had a good time?