GETTING BETTER

As I have eluded to in other posts, I think that going from beginner to good in this sport is easier than it has ever been- thanks to the amount of information that anglers have at their disposal to learn from. Once you go from beginner to good however, choosing to want to get better rather than think you are already great is a personal choice. And while most if asked the simple question of “do you want to get better” would say yes, most do not act in a way that actually makes getting better possible. They hit a plateau, and join the many other anglers that are “good”, but just that.

With an intro like this you may ask what is my motive? Am I writing this from my high horse about to tell you how to be a great fly fisherman? No-I am writing this article because I myself felt I was plateauing, and hated that feeling. And to change that I had to change myself. Since doing so, and over the last 3-5 seasons, I’ve learned more than I perhaps ever have on the water. All it took was challenging myself when it came to my approach to the sport. And I can tell you first hand it is worth doing.

GET BETTER REQUIRES GOING OUTSIDE YOUR REGIONAL CIRCLE OF INFLUENCE

Today in fly-fishing, most people feel the need to identify with a certain camp. This sport has become predictable where you often assess an angler’s fishing politics if you will by way of the shops they chose to support, anglers they support and fish with, and the culture that comes with it.

Generally, it is not a coincidence that certain types of clicks form on certain rivers, since each region has a culture that predominates based on the water and methods that prevail there. For instance, euro nymph bros have a strong hold on central Pa, because the method is very effective there. A few old school dry fly bros try to hold on, but the new era of casting mono prevails. In contrast, you then have the White River in the Midwest. Beards,streamers, big browns. Macho shit. Add in some mouse “night time is the right time” opportunities and you really have some hashtag material to work with.

The first region or culture you identify with as you begin to dedicate yourself to this sport has a strong impact on you. It shapes your views on what is “fly-fishing”, causes you to prefer and glorify certain methods, and reject others. And everyone goes through that process, and it can limit you if you buy in too hard. A streamer bro that chucks meat unconditionally on a 200-400 grain sinking line can probably cast far, but is not likely going to be able to land a 22 blue wing olive with touch and a reach cast 60-70 feet away. Nor will a mono-casting frenchie-nymph bro that exclusively mimics a Heron by way of a long fly rod and hasn’t seen his fly line in 3 years.  And a dry fly bro that likes to watch himself cast 60 feet even when he doesn’t have a target is unlikely to realize the fish are right in front of him.

Getting better means becoming fundamentally comfortable with the fly rod, and different fly rods, different lines, knowing how to read any type of water, and having a general sense of where the fish are, regardless of species in different conditions and water type. If you don’t escape the influence of your go-to waters and methods, you won’t get better. You’ll just experience déjà vu repeating the same outcome of success in a limited set of circumstances. That is called being good, not getting better.

Whether it be fishing from a boat, or in the water, dealing with wind, big water or tight casting quarters, high water, or low water and fine tippet, dealing with those scenarios are all about putting yourself in those situations, rather than saying they “aren’t for you”. And to get better, you shouldn’t just deal with them when they present themselves by odd chance, you should seek them out. Don’t be the guy that only fishes a 3wt and small to medium streams that requires no wind to toss his medium action Winston and small dries. Don’t be the guy that gets taken out of the equation on high water because you don’t have or know how to throw a sink tip and a 7wt with confidence. Don’t be the guy that doesn’t fish at all when the fish aren’t rising because you don’t fish when the fish aren’t rising. And don’t surround yourself with anglers that do any of these things and cause you to limit yourself and develop weaknesses.

GETTING BETTER MEANS DEVELOPING INSTINCTS AND ORIGINAL IDEAS

Getting better requires taking one step back to take two steps forward. And that requires a willingness to fail. Most good anglers can make the cast and convert when put on a fish. And it is expected that a good angler will consistently be able to do that. But converting on fish that are in predictable well known waters at predictable times isn’t very difficult, whether it be a guided trip or even fishing on your own. And improving beyond that point requires the willingness to take on more of the thought process on your own. It requires finding fish in areas others don’t go, developing patterns or approaches that are your own and new, and having the confidence in your fishing instincts to experiment and push things further.

For me, there may not be a better example of this than Joe Goodspeed. Joe, despite being well known in the sport for his rod design (contact, esox @ Thomas and Thomas), is the most secretive, guarded, and experimental angler I’ve met. In the new school of sharing everything to “protect the resource” and other bs to justify the uncontrollable urge to tell others of your success, Joe is an old soul when it comes to the ethics of fly fishing and keeping your mouth shut. Fish stories aside, the dude is the best angler I’ve ever met when it comes to targeting and catching big fish. Joe’s strategy is to fish so called “marginal” trout water, and consistently pulls out fish in the 25”+ class on water that anglers drive over or disregard everyday. And if you ask him where he caught the fish, you won’t get a response and if you do it is a lie. And that’s fine, if not respectable.

Any perceptive angler who talks to Joe about his approach to fishing notices several key things. First, Joe does his homework. Once you understand what your target fish needs to survive and thrive, it is very possible to be objective and search for those ingredients and find water that has potential. The angling community’s take on those waters is irrelevant to an angler that has confidence in what they know the fish need to survive. Most anglers don’t trust their ability to study though, and would rather stick to water they have been told is good, or they know has fish. They don’t want to experiment because, god forbid, they might get skunked. Which brings me to my second point.

Joe isn’t afraid to fail.  He is willing to experiment, and try out places that might be good, or might not be good. But he tries. And when they pan out as being good, the spot is protected because it is unpressured and off the radar, despite having the fish he is searching for. Hence his secretive nature. Very few anglers can be quiet anymore and it always gets out and starts the gradual destruction of what was once a good thing. Classic example being the frenchie bros blowing up a certain and previously toxic Pa waterway by way of telling just one fellow fishing friend at a time.

With regards to secrets in the fishing world, many proclaim there are no secrets left anymore. These are the people that google where to fish and these people are wrong. There are a lot of secrets left, and sometimes they are right under your nose. They are the rivers that are declared by the state to not have trout, but do. They are the rivers that are overshadowed by other, more well known rivers nearby to the extent that no one ever gives them a try because they prefer another day of déjà vu over a day of exploring, and god forbid wearing waders rather than floating in the drift boat. They are the rivers that fish poorly 9-10 days you fish them, you just need to know the day to be there. And if you know to show up on the day to be there, you are getting better as an angler.

GETTING BETTER MEANS TARGETING DIFFERENT FISH

For the first 10 or so years of my fly-fishing life, I targeted one fish- trout. While I got good at targeting trout, I didn’t realize that I was limited in situations where the water or conditions weren’t what I was accustomed to. The first time I tried fishing for a new fish with the fly-rod was steelhead, and I admittedly didn’t like the feel of it. I didn’t like the heavy rod and generally felt clumsy on the water that day. The guy that took me that day was an all around angler, and I watched how he seamlessly transitioned from being a trout guy, to a steelhead guy, because he was both He used a spey rod in tight quarters with no issue, and plucked several nice fish out of the fast top end of a rapid that I guessed was too fast to hold fish.  

Taking the above into account, it all connects and translates into becoming a better fisherman. 3 weight to 12 weight you feel comfortable. Floating line to full sinking line you feel comfortable and know how to adjust your cast, shoot line, cast with limited room behind you, and/or execute accordingly based on the conditions. And each river and place offers different scenarios to help you develop those skills. Seeing fish, whether it be a nose, fin, tail, or something else…. You learn to see it.. These are all things you absorb when targeting different species and which cause you to expand your comfort zone as an angler. And each fish scares you in a different way. Being scared by a big brown sipping dries on a tight bank is a different type of fear than seeing a permit on an open flat 60 feet away in two feet of water, with 20mph wind gusts and a moving boat with one shot to lay it in there. Different fear and different skills. And a well rounded angler can make both casts when it matters. You just need to put yourself in those situations to elevate your game to the point that nothing throws you off and prevents you from delivering the fly in the way that you have to.

In the east, we are fortunate to have a lot of sport fish to target for this purpose, with a few examples being (1)false albacore (2) musky (3) carp (4) striped bass (5) landlocked salmon and many other species within a short drive away. The question is- do you want to do something different, or catch the same fish on the same rod and setup you have been using all season? Expanding to new species also brings back that initial excitement you felt when you first started fly-fishing and got amped every time you hooked a fish, regardless of whether it was 9” or 19”. It brings back the excitement because it is new, and experiencing something new and learning is a great feeling that will allow you allow you to maintain and sustain a high level of passion for the sport throughout your angling life, all while challenging yourself and expanding your skillset. So with nothing to lose and so much to gain, why not get better?