Wolfgang wrote:

"Conan The Librarian" wrote in message
...

And it shows. :-) I hope to one day reach that point myself. And
actually, I did somewhat on the evening when you were "coaching" me.
Working with that long leader and casting across my body forced me to
abandon my preconceived notions (mostly gained from casting oversized
"flies" for bass), and "go with the flow". And of course it didn't hurt
that there were cooperative fish in the area. :-)

Catching fish is the ostensible raison d'etre of the whole exercise, to be
sure, and even I would have to raise a bemused eyebrow at a fly fisher who
claimed that he didn't like it when the fish bite because it interferes with
his fishing, but there is a great deal more to what Mr. Miller so incisively
refers to as "the mystery" than outwitting and outfighting a six inch brook
trout. But the attempt to outwit and outfight a six inch brook trout can,
done properly (well, for some of us anyway), encompass and even justify all
that is explicit and implicit in that mystery.....and, yeah, cooperative
fish are indeed a boon to the riparian philosopher.

In my (much too limited) experience, the *search* for those
cooperative fish seems to be enough justification. That's what lead me
3 or 4 miles up various trails in the GSMNP, when as I later found out,
I could have found just as many fish (and possibly larger ones at
that) within a few feet from my campsite.

No worries. It's just that I told Carol that there was *some* evidence
that my whole time there wasn't spent drinking beer around the campfire.
:-)

I believe I only have the one photo in which a fish is clearly and
indisputably identifiable. I'll send it, but I strongly advise saving it
for one of those times.....you know.

Oh dear ... yes, I *do* know.

IIRC, you were actually stretched out on a boulder the size of a large
sofa....

And more comfortable than some sofas to which I've been subjected, although
I got a good night's sleep on one last night.

I assume that's related to your comment above? :-|

Anyway, the irony wasn't lost on me that after four solid days of
fishing, I caught the most and biggest fish of the trip within 40' of my
campsite, while being given casting advice and using a borrowed rod and
fly. :-)

Timing is the key element in casting with a fly rod. Cast when the fish are
indisputably hungry and actively doing something about it.

And we return to your statement about cooperative fish. :-) And of
course there was that discussion we had about how we so often approach
the whole thing wrong. The next trip I take I think I'll try the "fish
in the morning, return to camp mid-afternoon for some eating/drinking,
get back on the water near dusk" approach.

My only problem was I felt like I needed a semi-automatic to keep up
with the rises of the fish. :-)

Chuck Vance (of course that would have made C&R a bit more
difficult)

I'm pretty sure I had as much fun in the watching and jumping up and down as
you did in the catching.

And that sums up a lot of what was so enjoyable about the time I
spent with you and Jeff. You both encouraged me to cast to prime lies
first. At the same time, I was having fun watching how you two
approached the water, and I was just as happy to see one of you catch a
fish as I was to get one myself.


Chuck Vance (well, *almost* as happy :-)