The Magic of Fishing

“In my view, the people who fish do so because it seems like magic to them, and it is hard to find things in life that seem magical”, a quote by Howell Raines. I don’t know Howell but I do agree that fishing is magical; to place my finger on the main reason is still something that I have not completely figured out yet.

Maybe for a fly-fisherman it is starting with a hook, some thread, a few feathers, a knowledge of what fish are feeding on….and a big imagination; then taking this creation of yours out into the waters, be they streams or still waters and fooling a fish into unknowingly taking your presentation. I am often asked what “IT” is about fly-fishing….what or why do I go to the lengths that I do to fool even the smallest of fish and the answer is not a simple one! The more I think on it the more I think I don’t even need an answer; what I know is that when it is going right there is nothing in this world quite like the take of an aggressive fish.

“Thinking and fishing go together well”; a quote from one of the finest artist of the 20^th century, John Atherton. Atherton did many covers for the Saturday Evening Post and pioneered many fly tying techniques…interestingly Atherton died prematurely after drowning while fly fishing. All this being said I couldn’t agree more as I do my best thinking while fly-fishing. It seems I solve a lot of school, home and volleyball issues while casting to a smallmouth bass.

Recently while fishing a small creek in our area I came upon a large smallmouth sitting at the head of a clear pool of water. I took some time to watch this fish as it moved from top of the pool to a big limestone rock about 20 feet further down the pool. He would tuck in under this rock and use the shade and camouflage of the rock to become literally invisible. I waited until he made his next loop and quickly stripped off about 30 feet of line and dry casted until he was clearly under ‘his’ rock. I made a very aggressive and quite perfect cast that put my Irish Jig on top of this rock…I then eased the fly off and when it was directly in front of the shade created by the rock I gave it 3 quick, erratic strips and then left it on the bottom. Out from under the rock came this beauty…I gave it one short strip, he picked the fly up and I set the hook on him; the battle was on. He came out of the water 3 times and stripped off several feet of fly-line many times. Eventually he tired and I backed him up, beached him, snapped several photos and released him back into ‘his’ pool; I watched and he immediately went directly back to his shady rock. This moment was magical and will be with me for as long as I can think straight. Lee Wulff, the great fly-fisherman of the northeast said this, “The fish you release is your gift to another angler and remember, it may have been someone’s gift to you”. My hope is that this magical moment is one that I released yet to myself or one of my fishing partners.

Rachel Carson, who was a writer, ecologist and scientists had the following quote on nature, “The lasting pleasures of contact with the natural world are not reserved for Scientists but are available to anyone who will place themselves under the influences of earth, sea and sky and their amazing life”. What a great quote and one that I will hang on to for a long time. How many times this year the small and mundane has become magical for me and made a lasting impression. Harrison and I were out a few weeks ago fishing a creek in our area and up ahead I heard a sound…one that was very familiar and yet I didn’t immediately put my finger on it. I was listening intently while watching him cast to a pool full of fish when my eyes caught a glimpse of a hen turkey standing atop a downed tree. She was clucking wildly and it was very obvious that she was giving us a tongue lashing over us invading her nesting area. As we neared her area she started pacing back and forth along the tree and tirelessly lashed at out us. As we quickly passed by she moved to one end of the limb and waited…not once stopping the verbal attack. Neither of us knew what to say and in all my years of turkey hunting I have never seen one gal so inflamed.

“Larger even than my memories is my anticipation of rivers yet fished”, a quote from the great CBS newsman Charles Kuralt, who long contributed his “On the Road” segments along with Walter Cronkite. Who knows what great fish are waiting for me around the next bend in my fly fishing adventures…but I will soak them up as another piece to the magic given to me by the waters that flow all around. My hope for you is that you can get outdoors and take it all in, catch a few fish, shake your head at the greatness of nature and Enjoy the Great Outdoors.