Something I Never Truly Realized

I was watching Fly Fusion TV the other day on the World Fishing Network.  On a side note, both are awesome, but I digress.  Anyhow, in this episode ('The Next Bend") these two guys were fly fishing some stream that was nearly impossible to access in some remote part of Canada.  The stream was home to bull trout and cuttthroat if I recall correctly.  Anyway, it was pristine and magical and everything you would expect from a high-dollar fly fishing show with shots from drones and all.  The guys were cool, had probably forgot more about fly fishing than I will ever know, and seemed to have all of the expensive gear that all came from the same company.  They even wore button-up shirts under their waders.  In essence, they didn't look like me at all, but that's alright.  I'm not judging, just pointing our differences to lead up to my main point.  While we go about pursuing our passion in very different ways (I wear cut-off t-shirts and chuck big streamers at bass in farm ponds), we both still love fly fishing and that's good enough for me.

It was towards the end of the show that the host said something that resonated with me and I still have not been able to get it out of my head.  It's like hearing "Thunderstruck" at the beginning of your day and you spend the rest of the day humming it out loud or envisioning it as the soundtrack of your life.  One of the hosts (Jim McLennan) said "I've always thought that the great thing about fly fishing is that it allows you to completely focus on something.  In fact, it doesn't allow you to do that, it almost requires you to do that.  You can't have fly fishing and something else on your mind at the same time.  So fly fishing allows you to focus on something completely and that something is really not that important and the fact that fly fishing takes you away from the things that truly are important is one of its great values.  You can't fish and worry about something at the same time."  To me, that means fly fishing demands all of your focus.  In other words, if you go to the water and your mind is somewhere else, then you aren't going to catch anything.  Wow!  I never realized that before!

In my opinion, I live a pretty busy life right now.  I have a career that takes up about 50-55 hours of my time per week plus a wife and two young kids.  I also sponsor a fly fishing club for middle schoolers and have responsibilities around the house as well.  I also have to force myself to do things that I love (like running this site, tying flies, and actually fishing) so I can maintain my sanity.  I'm not complaining here, just stating some facts.  I fish (and hunt sometimes, all be it unsuccessfully most of the time) because I want a break from all of my responsibilities and duties.

What the host said made me realize something that I had never thought of before.  When I am fishing, that is ALL I am doing.  I am not thinking about bills to pay.  I am not thinking about a grocery list.  I'm not thinking about that email that made me angry last week.  I am thinking about my casting, my fly selection, the splash that I heard behind me.  I'm thinking about where fish hide, what fish might be eating, and the direction of the wind.  I am enveloped by nature and all that it offers.  I am able to enjoy all of the simple things as well as the intricacies that fly fishing provides.  I think fishing also returns us to a very primal place where our ancestors once lived.  While they fished for sustenance and out of necessity, we fish for pleasure and to return us to a simpler time (that was probably a little bit tougher if we are being honest).  It makes things fade away that you need a break from and makes life simple if only for a little while.

Norman Maclean wrote "But when I am alone in the half-light of the canyon, all existence seems to fade to a being with my soul and memories and the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River and a four count rhythm, and the hope that a fish will rise.  Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it.  The river was cut by the world's great flood, and runs over rocks from the basement of time.  On some of the rocks, are timeless raindrops.  Under the rocks, are the words, and some of the words, are theirs.  I am haunted by waters."  While this is a little deeper than my thinking process, I think the same message is being shared.

Maybe you fish for the same reason or maybe you fish for a different reason, I don't know.  But what I do know, is that fishing brings me a clarity, a calmness, and a change of perspective that I cannot find anywhere else.  It changes the way I look at the "problems" and "challenges" that are in my life and makes me appreciate things that I sometimes take for granted.  I know it sounds crazy, but it somehow restores my soul in a very religious way.  I know in my heart that God Almighty put fishing in my life because he knew that I would NEED it in my life.  And thank God it is there because it gives me so much, and maybe most of all, it brings me peace.