Levels of fishermen

Read that one before. Doesn't fit me.

#1: Ok, yeah, I went through this.
#2: Still there, at times.
#3: Cool for a change of pace, but doesn't excite me all that much, and will likely never be what drives me.
#4: Still there, at times.

#5: Really doesn't belong here. I believe this should be present from day 1, when you first lay hands on a fly rod. And if you ever lose it, you should hang em up.
 
You can tell the competitive natures at a glance at the comments. I am usually out-fished by persons I fish with and it don't confront me in the least. I can't be a beginner, because I've been at it too long. That said, I am the least successful experienced fly angler that I have ever known.
 
I don't see how anyone could be a expert in all aspects of fly fishing in Pennsylvania to be considered a true expert. That's a lot of ground (or I guess it'd be water) to cover in a lifetime, unless you were fortunate enough to not have to work full time. We have steelhead, native, freestone, limestone, river, warm water, carp... list goes on and I think everyone on here knows what I mean. I fall in the know enough to enjoy myself category. I usually catch at least a couple fish, but I've been made a fool a few times by some educated trout lol.
 
Yo Ryan - who was the famous philosopher that said something like: "Good luck is the residue of design; bad luck is for losers"?
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Donald Trump? j/k.
 
You can tell the competitive natures at a glance at the comments.
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The key is who you're competing with...

Am I competitive? Absolutely. But it's not "against" other anglers. It's against myself and my own expectations of myself. I don't derive any pride from outfishing another angler. I don't feel any shame if I am outfished, though I may be interested in the tactics that led to his success, so that I can further my own.

I kind of see it as a team sport, where we're all on the same team. We're all at different skill levels, but we all have the same goal of getting better compared to ourselves. And we can and should help each other do that.

And as I said, even if not successful, I thoroughly enjoy myself. In fact, that can be more fun, cause now you have a challenge to overcome. If you meet your goals and expectations every time you go out, it would become boring real quick.

I don't see how anyone could be a expert in all aspects of fly fishing in Pennsylvania to be considered a true expert.
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Agreed. Tried to allude to that in a previous post. It's a wide ranging sport with a lot of different styles and situations. You can be pretty far along the learning curve in one situation and a complete beginner in another. And regarding that learning curve, there is no "end".
 
pcray, you stated that #5 doesn't belong on the list. Please don't take this the wrong way; but, I have to pull rank here. I have a lot more years on my worn and sometimes tired body and, yes, my brain. I am telling you first hand that #5 is as relevant as #1 and I say this based on experience.

Please, everyone, don't interpret #5 to mean that just being glad to be out doesn't also include a desire to dupe a few fish not and then: it does. I try to open my mind and take in all there is to enjoy when I'm out on fish water. Otherwise, I am missing some true blessings.
 
Yes, but "being glad to just be out in the water" is universal, if you are not happy to be out on the water then why the hell would you do it in the first place.

Being glad to just be in the water isn't a "level of fishermen" (if there is such a thing.) Its just a state of happiness that every single skill level should enjoy. Being skilled and able to observe things in more detail and have the knowledge of what exactly is going on around you and then in return catching more fish as a skilled "expert" fishermen adds to that initial happiness. It doesn't subtract that initial happiness of just being on the water it can only ADD to it.

Therefore being more skilled then less skilled is obviously a trait that everyone wants to achieve, if the only thing that you are after is the basic feeling of happiness you get from just being out then you are missing out.
 
LOL - I can see where OL is coming from. I may not have put as much abuse on my bod as he has (or maybe I have?), but I think the accumulation of years, experience and experiences and maybe even expertise have caused me to shift my focus from my personal self to a more outward view. It's not just altruism these days that gives me as much and even more pleasure by giving up a great spot and rising trouts to another angler hungrily watching me; helping with stocking; attending township meetings to improve regulations for streams; and teaching grandkids and vets to cast and ffish. More than anything now, I want to be reassured that the trouts and the stream resources are in good shape for yet another season.
 
I've been fly fishing for a lot of years but I guess you could say I'm a slow learner or stuck in my ways or just have some personal preferences about how I like to do things. For example I would much rather catch a few on dry flies than catch more and bigger ones on nymphs or streamers. And I'm lazy too and my eyes are getting bad so I hate all the messing around changing my leader etc. to switch back and forth from nymphs to dries. I'll often just lay on the bank and wait for a riser rather than pound the water with nymphs.
 
Let's see......Saturday, rainy, less crowded, 14/20
Sunday, cold front, less time out, 2/3
Monday, little rainy, less crowed, 11/16

I think I suffer from percentitis.

 
OldLefty wrote:
pcray, you stated that #5 doesn't belong on the list. Please don't take this the wrong way; but, I have to pull rank here. I have a lot more years on my worn and sometimes tired body and, yes, my brain. I am telling you first hand that #5 is as relevant as #1 and I say this based on experience.

Please, everyone, don't interpret #5 to mean that just being glad to be out doesn't also include a desire to dupe a few fish not and then: it does. I try to open my mind and take in all there is to enjoy when I'm out on fish water. Otherwise, I am missing some true blessings.
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I can vouch for OldLefty and #5. He really means it when he says he just enjoys being out on the water and I enjoy it just as much when we fish together.
 
pcray, you stated that #5 doesn't belong on the list. Please don't take this the wrong way; but, I have to pull rank here. I have a lot more years on my worn and sometimes tired body and, yes, my brain. I am telling you first hand that #5 is as relevant as #1 and I say this based on experience.
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I recognize your rank. Just making sure I'm not misunderstood.

I've been fishing for around 30 years, fly fishing for about half of it. To be clear, your #5 (just being happy to be out on the water) applied to me on day #1, and still applies to this day, with virtually no change.

So I'm not saying it has no place. On the contrary, it means everything. If it isn't there, this isn't the sport for you. It's the one thing, that despite all these different styles of fishing and skill differences and so forth, makes us all the same. It's the ultimate goal that we all share.

Whatever happens while you're fishing is ALWAYS good because, the core motivation underlying everything else was always just to get out on the water. It's not to say you don't have any motivations above and beyond that. But it's true that even the worst day fishing is still a very good day, because we enjoy fishing.

It would be also true to say, that if you are kept from fishing for a significant amount of time, "getting out on the water" seems a little sweeter. Ok, a lot sweeter. Because that was always the underlying goal, and hence when we didn't have it, it's what we really missed. Those moments help you realize it.

Hence, doesn't belong on the list because it's not part of the progression of an angler. It's ever present in all anglers. If you aren't happy to "just" be on the water, even lacking success, you're not really an angler to begin with. I took this as assumed in the OP's question, and thus to be discussing all that is in addition to this core truth.
 
Hook_Jaw wrote:
Ryan I guess you should go with better fisherman come on up to penn's I'll show you around.
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1st take a look again at what I said, I said IF, I'm not claiming to be the chosen one. I'm just saying fishing is not about luck.
2nd Spent many days on Penns Creek, love it, have caught some nice fish.
3rd would love to go out with some folks from the sight so I will let you know next time Im headed that way, that is unless you were trying to big boy me there in which case I'll pass.
 
lestrout wrote:
Quote:

Hook_Jaw wrote:

It's better to be lucky then good


and Ryan sez "Disagree greatly when it comes to fly fishing and a lot of other things. Chance favors the prepared mind. If I go out with two friends and catch more fish than them 19/20 times that's not luck, that's a difference in ability."


Yo Ryan - who was the famous philosopher that said something like: "Good luck is the residue of design; bad luck is for losers"?
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Chance favors the prepared mind is a quote from Louis Pasteur, but I think I like yours better.
 
The best of facts beats the best of skills. -- Bobby Lee Cook
 
Beginner - cell phone pics of fish to buddies
Advanced - posts pics on social media + above
Expert - has blog + above
Pro - enters competitions + above
 
JackM wrote:
That said, I am the least successful experienced fly angler that I have ever known.
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it would seem you have forgotten about me.
 
moon1284 wrote:
Beginner - cell phone pics of fish to buddies
Advanced - posts pics on social media + above
Expert - has blog + above
Pro - enters competitions + above
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We have a winner!
100% accurate
 
I feel that there is much misinterpretation regarding #5. I detest making statements about my skills and experiences. Like I stated earlier, I'm am apparently a beginner because I still ask questions even after more than 50 years with a fly rod. That said, I believe I've progressed through 1 through 4 and, as a result of my skill level and experiences, I must say that I'm really just glad to be able to get out and still wade a trout stream and do all the other "stuff" I do under the banner of fly fishing.

I'm not the aggressive fisher I used to be, not that I can't be, it's that I don't need to be. I don't know, either, if I'm a "smarter" fisher. Some days the fish win their battle with me more than I like to admit. Actually, they flat out make a fool out of me at times. I still use slow periods/days to practice a difficult presentation cast or strive to achieve a better drift. Other times I like to sit on the stream bank and just take in the stream, flora and fauna. There is such a variety of factors that go into the real meaning of #5. I could go on and on trying to explain what I mean. Maybe you just have to feel it to fully understand it.
 
As a nearly 50-year veteran, I pretty much think I know what OLefty is discussing. I still chase hatches. I fish most often with nymphs, though I sometimes get tired of that and leave them at home and fish the water with dries. I never became a great caster. I think Moon284 is pretty much off base for how I feel about most levels, though I like to take pics of nice trout, mainly for myself.

I had a great time last week fishing a little stream that I haven't fished for more than 20 years, with a handful of 7-inchers being my top fish. I was mainly glad that acid rain does not seem to have had a deleterious effect on the little stream. It was a 50-minute walk to get to it; it took an hour and five minutes to walk back to the jump-off point. At 66, I don't know whether I'll be able to get there and back again. I was (#5) just glad to get there (and back).

I suspect OL is in my age range; and, yes, at my age, I'm glad to be on the water as he noted. I used not to "smell the roses" when astream, but I do notice more along the water than I used to, which I hope is a good thing.

Anyhow, I think OL's #5 is a legitimate response to the topic.
 
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