A "great" fly fisherman

[chumbucket]

Went out to breeches today and was having some interesting thoughts...do you consider yourself a "great" fly fisherman? At what point can you say "man I'm pretty good at this? I think to myself on some days Im a pretty good fly fisherman and other days feel like I flat out suck- getting hung up, losing flies, casting into trees, losing fish, or not getting a single hit while the guy next to me is rippin them out.

What defines a so called good or great fly fisherman? Is it consistently being and able catch a couple fish every time you go out or does a so called great fisherman walk into any scenario-season, weather, water level/clarity and catch a ton of fish?

 

[peteG41]

When you have the experience to know where and when to go and truly relish the time on the water without having to prove anything you are getting the idea ...

 

[MarkC]

Great is lost without practice. I used to be a decent caster until I did not fish much for a year (no weeklong fishing trips). It is taking a while to get it back.

Mark C

 

[afishinado]

I was a "great" fly-fisherman in my 20's and into my 30's, I knew everything!

Now, decades later I realize how much there really is to learn and master.

But that's what makes it fun.

"Its the not the destination, it's the journey"....Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

[tabasco_joe]

afishinado wrote:
I was a "great" fly-fisherman in my 20's and into my 30's, I knew everything!

Now, decades later I realize how much there really is to learn and master.

But that's what makes it fun.

"Its the not the destination, it's the journey"....Ralph Waldo Emerson

The older I get the smarter I used to be.

 

[wbranch]

I used to be pretty good until I turned 75 now for whatever reason I've lost most of my interest to fish anywhere locally.

I still go to my cabin on the WB but mainly to float and I still look forward to my two week Montana trip every year.

 

[Tigereye]

You can easily identify a great fisherman. They'll tell you all the time.

The humble ones usually catch more fish though.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

The fish will tell you fast enough. Just when you think your great everyone around you hooks up and your catching air. Guy on one side of the boat is hot and your 6 ft away using the same bait ,rig etc and getting nada . Great fishermen become philosophers. GG

 

[Prospector]

I think being great is a matter of being successful regardless of the conditions. Admittedly, there are poor conditions that are tough to overcome like a bright sunny day in June, relatively clear conditions but water levels at twice the normal gauge height, or a flat out murky stream. A great fly fisher will know how to deal with those situations to put themselves in the best position to catch fish. Maybe catching 6-10 on those days would be very good.

However this is where knowledge of fish and knowledge of streams begins to factor in. If I see a bright sunny day when I’m at camp do I decide that “I’m just going to my favorite spot” or do you say “since it’s a cloudless day I’m going to a heavily shaded location so I can fish dries successfully”. I’d argue that doesn’t make me a better fly fisher but it does speak to better situational awareness.

I have developed a system in Potter County that allows me to catch a decent amount of fish in a day. Part of this is the flexibility of fishing alone. Part of this is knowing the streams really well and the conditions when they fish best. Other people put in that same situation might be better fly fishers and will likely catch more fish than me.

There is an element of presenting a fly in the right manner. Showing trout a nymph at eye level that has been hatching for the last week. Fishing a dry fly a size smaller than the natural. Stripping streamers at intervals that entice strikes.

There are a lot of variables. If you are good at keeping records or good at remembering details you will figure out the patterns. Knowing when to be fishing and when to be eating lunch sometimes makes a difference too.

 

[allthingsfishing]

Let's not forget that a great fly fisherman gives back and passes on his knowledge to others and helps other people become great.

 

[krayfish2]

Great? Nah. Decent? I guess. Enjoy doing it? Absolutely

 

[redietz]

chumbucket wrote:
other days feel like I flat out suck- getting hung up, losing flies, casting into trees ...

If you're not occasionally doing both you're not fishing where the fish are, and not a great fly fly fisherman, IMO -- at least for trout. (If you're getting hung up in trees fishing for, say, false albies, then you're doing something wrong.)

 

[troutbert]

You must maximize your fish caught / time expended ratios!!!

Have you ever heard of Taylorism?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientific_management

 

[Canoetripper]

I know that I will never be a great fly fisherman, but if I can improve my basic fly casting and get tight loops, and also my euro as well as various forms of sight indicator nymph fishing, and learning soft hackle wet fly fishing, that should be good enough.

I never want to get skunked, but nobody else does either. I constantly try to perfect my basic knot tying while sitting in front of this computer that I am typing on.

Once upon a time, way back in the early 1980's a man hired me for a job. Very nice man. He told me that his greatest thrill was fly fishing with his Orvis Madison fly rod(which I think was discontinued years ago) and catching a wild trout on a fly that he tied on a very difficult place like the Letort.

I don't need to be that he good. He gave up fly fishing so he could play golf.

 

[Lkyboots]

Great fisherman are lucky enough to have access to great places to fish. I never thought that I'd have a problem finding a place to Trout fish but four of my best spots have been posted within the last couple of years. Most of the spots are probally posted to keep people from hunting but it sure limits the places I can fish. What gets me is there aren't many people that fish in these areas and all of them aren't even close to any houses.

 

[Baron]

Remember Gregory Peck playing Capt'n Ahab in Moby ****? Do you remerber him being all tangled in the harpoon lines when the "White Whale" dived to the depths with him attached. That was me today. Standing in the drift boat in the middle of Lake Towhee, Bucks Co. the wind was merciless, absolutely merciless. I caught me, I caught the dog , I caught the anchor rode. What a goin on. It was a challenge and it became fun.
Working the lake were 6 Osprey and one immature Bald Eagle. They took fish all day whereas I caught one smallish Bass.
I also saw a big Muscrat and heard the Bud Light frogs.
Brilliant Gusty Day, Gotta love it.
And Mike, if you're listening, I finally went all the way back to the back of the shallow swamp just to say I did. The water is only 8-15" back there and it must be quite a nursery all summer.

 

[larkmark]

I consider myself to be the greatest living fly fisherman.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

I just fish.

 

[jeffroey]

I've never considered myself a great fly fisherman but I do have great days on the water now and again.

When I was younger, I'd measure a great day by the shear number of fish netted, or the size of the largest stockie, or the longest cast made with accuracy.

These days, I measure a great day a little differently - It's more about flies not lost, smallest brooke safely handled, dangerous missteps not taken (I spend a lot of time solitary fishing on SGLs), and sometimes by the shear number of motrin, mustard packets, and manhattans that lead my post-excursion recovery plan.

I don't consider myself 'old' just yet but the point being my priorities have shifted over the years. What I chased to consider myself a 'great' fisherman a decade ago is different than what I'm chasing today.

I always thought what makes anyone consider themselves good or great or something else is a matter of what your personal internal measures are, the course you plot, and how successful you are at achieving them.

By my measures, these days I'm a good fisherman most days; a great fisherman only once in a while.

 

[Prospector]

It’s probably true that very few fly fishers feel that they are great, because of those humbling days that are bound to occur. Despite all the past experience and pre-planning those trout still need to open their mouth when you pass by and many days they don’t. Full disclosure on my days on trout streams in 2020.

I fished 25 days on 21 streams and caught 324 trout.
5 days I caught zero.
4 days I caught one.
That means in the 16 remaining days I caught 320.

So about 40% of the time I leave the stream wondering what I could have done to get better results. While 60% of the time I’m pretty happy with the decisions I made and the techniques employed.

Regardless of outcome, I always find both sets of days to be a joy.