When Did You Realize You Weren't a Beginner Anymore?

This thread prompted me to take a look at where I am:

12 Fly rods
9 Fly reels
2 Library shelves filled with fly fishing books
3 Pairs of waders and wading shoes in various stages of life
14 Drawers of flytying materials and custom flytying bench

and assorted fly fishing paraphernalia too numerous to count!!!

I just celebrated my 67th birthday and realized I have been fly fishing for over 50 years. No I guess not a beginner anymore. Maybe just one step above.

Also believe in the philosophy of he who dies with the most toys wins.....
 
done this about 7 years, but I always seem to have streams to find, gear to improve, biology to learn, better maps and safety to understand.

tend to look back and think, "why didnt I get this before?," so I kinda constantly suspect I am beginner-like in having things to improve...
 
been doing this along time and im self taught. just a few years ago i had a guy from this board ask me to come to falling spring because he was having trouble. i didnt feel like i had much to offer him but i came. i explained to him what i was doing, made a cast and landed my first trout. caught several including a good brown. a week later he sent me a pic of a large bow. right about then i felt a little seasoned.
 
The only time I don't feel like a "beginner" is when I go out w/ a true beginner. Then I realize how much I just do out of instinct and 2nd nature. It's really my deficiency in teaching others that makes me realize that I'm not a beginner anymore. It's having to think out and try to explain the things that I take for granted. Makes you realize that what is 2nd nature to you is NOT 2nd nature to a beginner.
 
I'm a well-experienced beginner. Though I generally know what knot to tie and rod to carry, when it comes to the actual “catching fish” part, I find myself humbled more often than not. But even after 35 years, I still have the passion of a beginner. The only difference is that these days I don’t really care about how good I am or how many fish I catch or if I’m able to “figure them out.” I honestly don’t. I’m just happy to be out.

Flyfishing is no longer what I do. It’s who I am.

I agree that you can never figure this sport out. It’s kind of a microcosm of life. If someone thinks they’re a master of life, they’re either insane, a total fool or a politician (a combination of both).
 
But even after 35 years, I still have the passion of a beginner. The only difference is that these days I don’t really care about how good I am or how many fish I catch or if I’m able to “figure them out.” I honestly don’t. I’m just happy to be out.

Flyfishing is no longer what I do. It’s who I am.
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Getting a little OT, but I find these statements a little contradictory. Maybe it's just different personality types.

We're all happy to get out. But caring about success and being happy to be out aren't mutually exclusive. If I get skunked, I'm still happy. If I have the best day of my life, I'm happy.

But that doesn't mean I don't care about succeeding. That "drive" is what I define as the "passion" in the sport, whether for a beginner or veteran. If anything, the vets seem to have more drive in my mind. It's because they expect more. They know what CAN happen when they put it all together.

And it is really the frustration of failure that keeps the passion in it. That's the enjoyment of our sport. When I stop being frustrated for having a poor day, I'll hang em up. You can't have that frustration if you don't care about success.

When you do succeed it's rewarding. And the great thing about fly fishing is it'll give you a new puzzle tomorrow.... There is a never ending supply of puzzles to solve.
 
pcray1231 wrote:
Getting a little OT, but I find these statements a little contradictory. Maybe it's just different personality types.

We're all happy to get out. But caring about success and being happy to be out aren't mutually exclusive.
Click to expand...

I guess it is about personality types. But there was a time when if I got skunked it would really bother me. And I know people now who are like that. In my younger days I was more focused on catching than fishing. I was more into specific technique than the overall experience. I'm not saying that's wrong. If you're into the technical aspects that's great and certainly a part of the sport. So is the puzzle solving. I still enjoy it, but now my appreciation and enjoyment of a trip doesn't improve or worsen drastically depending on whether I can figure them out or not. And I never take the fact that I can get out and fish in the first place for granted... like I used to.

 
Ok, this is hard to explain.

Am I bummed if I get skunked? You bet.

Did I still appreciate and enjoy the trip? You bet.

Now, success is relative, I've had days where I thought catching 2 or 3 was fantastic because I thought I'd get skunked, and other days where catching 20 is a disappointment because I was expecting 80. It depends on your expectations going in, which depends on stream type, conditions, etc. And I've had days where I did very well overall, but still had moments of frustration because I couldn't effectively fish that one brush filled hole or get that one bastard bank riser to hit.

But the frustration is absolutely necessary for me to enjoy the sport. That's the fun part! My response to frustration is motivation. There's gotta be a challenge of some sort to overcome.

If I were successful at everything I tried, I'd lose motivation pretty quickly, and at that point I might as well hang em up.

Don't get me wrong, I love just being outdoors. But I could just hike, or go sit on a bank and get that. The FISHING aspect adds something by being a game you play with nature. And a game isn't worth playing unless:

1. At the start, the outcome is uncertain.
2. You have the passion to strive to win it.

It's like watching football. Just watching a game is ok. But it's a lot more fun if you're emotionally invested in who wins. It's even more fun if you understand the game to the point where you're evaluating blocking schemes, defensive sets, WR routes, and the like. The ultimate experience is fully understanding what's really happening at a deep level while having an emotional stake in the outcome.

But losses are a necessary part of it. If you were 100% sure of a win at the opening kick-off, well, it wouldn't be fun anymore.
 
I get what your saying Greenghost. I really could not care less about my numbers. Do I mind getting skunked? Nope not one bit. It really does not happen all that much but it also happens to everybody. Ironically, in line with what pcray said, if you don't take the skunk every now and again then catching a couple dozen would lose its value. I think if you, as most do, think of fishing as a sport then pcray is right on. To me it's more along the lines of entertainment and keeping the hands and mind active. This way of thinking makes me no more or less passionate or committed to fishing. It's just a different way of looking at it. I think it also costs me less to think like this as well.
 
I am just now in season two of fly fishing so still largely a beginner at age 40...but I will say I learned a lot more about it this year.
 
Every time I realize how much I have learned, have yet to learn and probably will never know.

That being said, I don't consider myself a beginner as much as a journeyman in the company of fellows. Around here, that is some good company to keep.

For anyone who may consider themselves a beginner, remember that you have a lot to offer by approaching the art with your own perspective. As an instructor I love working with folks at all levels because they all bring a different perspective and I learn something from everyone every time. So embrace your newbieness, it doesn't last forever, and then you get to pass the art on!
 
like everyone else said never stop learning, and at times I still get humbled by a river and feel like a beginner.... but I would have to say the first time I actually caught a big wild brown on a dry fly on the upper D!
 
Following two distinct events, realized I was moving along

First, in the GSMNP, deliberate actions resulted in a rainbow to hand. Reading the water, locating a good fish, getting in the right position, selecting the "right" fly (one I had tied), using the "best" cast, proper drift, ......

Second, rereading a fly fishing book I owned, for the umpteenth time. Mentally said "Oh, but of course."

Not at the beginning of the trail, just on a new section.
 
For me it'll be "In the Year 2525"

Extra points to any of you old timers who can name the band...
 
Oh yea, Sager and Evans....


 
WE HAVE A WINNER!!!

You can pick up your prize, a pack of zig-zags, @ any Sheetz...
 
I'd say I've moved on from a beginner this year.

I started fly fishing last year.

Ive become much more comfortable with everything. Casting comes more naturally now. I can control the distance and accuracy. I'm able to tie flies that actually catch fish. I spend less time untying knots and more time fishing. I can usually land more fish than I miss. I actually feel comfortable giving advice/helping my buddy who just got into fishing this year.

All and all, I still consider myself a novice by all means, but I feel like I am no longer a "noob"
 
I'd say that I am no longer a beginner...just based on the fact that I've been fly fishing for 10 years now and I feel comfortable helping others or teaching other how to fly fish. My dry fly game however is still in the beginning stage although I don't like to admit it. While I'm not a beginner anymore I can definitely tell you that I will never stop learning. For instance I learned today not to trust felt waders 100% of the time right after I took a nice dip !
 
I'd say it was somewhere in the last year. I mostly fish by myself but when I do go out with others, I notice that I can "hang" with experienced fisherman. I catch my share. A skunk day is a rare day and I think that has less to do with how I fish and more to do with when and where I fish. I also stopped counting fish. It's no longer a numbers game, unless I'm at zero and then I'm perfectly aware of how many fish I have landed that day!!!
 
Two points. First, no one has defined a beginner; therefore, we have no criteria to use to determine whether we have moved on from what may be defined as a beginner. How can we judge when we have nothing by which to judge??

No, I'm not saying this as a criticism, just making light of the question. After all, I can only hope I've moved beyond the "beginner" rating ;-)

Let's look at it this way. Fly fishers (who's primary focus is trout) go through 5 stages; 1) want to catch a trout: 2) want to catch as many trout as possible: 3) want to catch big trout: 4) want to catch most challenging trout: 5) just want to get out and fish for trout!!

I've been at #5 for some time now...

Here's a question: Is someone who has fly fished for 10 years and averages 2 outings per year averaging 3 hours per outing any more or less a beginner than someone who is in their first year of fly fishing and has already logged 20 outings averaging 4.5 hours per outing? Beware, this is a loaded question...
 
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