Fly fishing is a multidisciplinary endeavor. Practitioners must be able to relate fundamentals of limnology, aquatic biology and entomology, along with the basic skills, techniques and tactics of the sport in order to venture forth with reasonable expectations for success.
This is not a power sport. Thought, observation, insight and planning combine with stealth, rhythm and precision to briefly capture and admire the trout.
An intriguing component of the sport is creating imitations of the food chain or "flies". Creativity and hand/eye coordination are critical to create masterpieces but I am quite sure that a good flyfisher who is just an average fly tier will always catch more fish than the expert fly tier who is not a good flyfisher.
I really respect the talents of those master fly tiers who have developed the craft to present levels. Many non-fishing individuals have expressed their appreciation for this artform as practiced by the masters. A market for this tying art captures in shadow boxes, many creations never destined for the water.
Flyfishing - and my enthusiasm for teaching it - is not just about flyfishing. This deals with a way of life and a basic body of knowledge about ecological relationships. Flyfishing is just the conveyance to that knowledge and perhaps even a path to inner understanding. To paraphrase Robert Traver, the places where trout are found are pleasant places, profound and mystical to those who are willing to put down the rod for a moment and contemplate.
I came on board back when there was still a real focus on filling those large wicker creels with "a good basket of fish". Those days have passed and now we all need to focus on the ethics of flyfishing. We will benefit from a fundamental understanding of the food chain from top to bottom. Our collective stewardship of the stream and the resource must give equal or even preferential opportunity for the osprey and the otter to fish with us. Our understanding must recognize their need to kill trout as well as our need to make catch and release a basic tenet of our way. Hopefully we all learn to provide for all users and to delay gratification by leaving other anglers, be they human or animal, the space needed to practice their craft.
We must also realize our relationship to the way of the trout. When considered in the vast realm of the unending universe, the bond between our species as carbon based lifeforms sharing many of the same requirements and perils, may be much more similar than dissimilar. Barren waters in areas formerly habited by trout speak volumes about our own species diminished prospects for the future. The ephemeral events that are the benchmark of flyfishing are, in reality, fragile short term reoccurrences that have been entrusted to us. Our record to date seems sadly profligate.
To be successful the flyfisher must learn to adopt a logical and problematic approach. The virtues of patience and experience come into clear focus but this may be offset by an acquired proclivity for old clothes, squashed sandwiches, wine, bourbon and a strange, yet delightful sense of deja vu as the weather warms each March. As we spread the gospel of flyfishing for trout we have a chance to mold ideas reaching far beyond the streambank.