An epiphany on the road to Whitemans

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

I fade back and forth from carrying tons of gear to next to
nothing...somtimes my shirt pockets are all that I fill and other times it's
my entire angling bag....I prefer minimalist, but when I'm having a rough
time I end to carry everything known to man just in case.

Tim Apple

I fade back and forth from carrying tons of gear to next to
nothing...somtimes my shirt pockets are all that I fill and other times it's
my entire angling bag....I prefer minimalist, but when I'm having a rough
time I end to carry everything known to man just in case.

Tim Apple

"Peter Charles" wrote...
A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more -- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

I've often thought about this myself, though I've yet to be driven enough to
take any action. Several modern pioneers of fly fishing have cursed Lee Wulff
for inventing the fishing vest for just that reason.

.. . . but it *does* seem a bit odd that such a gear whore can also be a minister
of the minimalist approach.
--
TL,
Tim
------------------------
http://css.sbcma.com/timj

Peter Charles wrote:

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Damn, I miss Montana.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Peter Charles wrote:

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

"Why do we fish?" For all of us, it's more than just catching fish,
but the "catching" is always required somewhere in the mix. The
social aspects plus the opportunity to innovate has always been much
higher than "catching", on my priority list. As is obvious with such
priorities, my "catching" suffers. Frankly, I don't put nearly as
much effort into it as I should. But when I ask this hard question
again, am I ordering my priorities this way because they suit me or in
part because I don't want to make the effort to move beyond an average
level of "catching"? In other words, am I hiding behind my priorities
to save myself the bother of doing the "catching" right?

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

When you can sit down to the vise, tie up two identical dry flies,
put one on the brim of your hat and the other on the end of your
tippet, then walk down to the stream at precisely the right time
KNOWING that you'll catch as many fish as you care to, that's a
minmalist approach. Of course, if you live right on the stream you
know the flies of the season and have naturals to copy just by
picking them off the screen door. It's quite a bit harder for the
"weekend warrior" who has to travel to the stream.

Damn, I miss Montana.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Peter Chales wrote:snipEnter the minimalist angler as a highly effective
angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout.

I have often and for many decades thought that I should drive from Dallas to
Yellowstone while carrying and fishing only soft hackle flies and each time, I
just can't make myself do that. Each time I catch a nice trout on a hopper or
beetle, I know I made the right decision again. I guess my balls are just too
small. Most of the time the room befind the seat of the pickup is full of
flyboxes. It is surprising how many flyboxes I carry on a motorcycle on those
other years.

Big Dale

On 6 Aug 2004 07:55:07 -0700, (Peter Charles)
wrote:

SNIP

Enter the minimalist angler as a highly effective angler. I've always
loaded myself up with bulging vest, stuffed pockets, spare spools,
spare rods in the car, all precautions against not having the right
thing to satisfy picky trout. But this load of gear is really a
recognition that I haven't taken the time, haven't made the effort to
know what I'm doing. I have burdened myself physically with armloads
of gear to avoid having to take on the mental burden of selecting just
what is necessary and no more –- to avoid having to know what I'm
doing.

So here I am on Whitemans, wet wading, one small fly box, one spool of
tippet, one rod, one reel, and thinking about what I am actually doing
instead of just chucking the contents of multiple flyboxes at
unimpressed fish. Before I left the house, I had decided where I
would fish using the right bug for that water, time of day, and at
that point in the season. Bingo, epiphany time. By forcing a
minimalist approach, I have to really know what I'm doing as there's
no margin for error. I've stripped away the excuses, the multiple
flybox crutches, and faced the fish armed with a handful of flies and
my wits. Stripped of the superfluous gear, I'm reading water,
examining bugs, search bankside bushes, catching fish, and in the
process, discover that there's an amazing mental clarity to the
minimalist approach.

Is it more fun? You betchya.

Funny you mention this...I've just returned from Colorado, and on
several days of fishing, all wading wet, I never had more fishing gear
with me than one rod and reel, a single spool of tippet, a coupla-few
flies (usually tied right before the day's fishing - I was losing a
couple a day to the willows in the SMALL streams), a Victorinox knife,
and hemostats (which got sole use in an on-stream lighter repair).

Perhaps the most telling thing about it was going into town(s) for lunch
or other breaks, and seeing guides loading up sports, all wadered- and
vested-up, with the sports looking at us like we were crazy and us
looking at them similarly.

I did notice that many of those wasting their time casting to the hogs
at the public area below the Taylor Reservoir Dam were geared/kitted to
the nines, including a couple in a convertible Porsche. It occurred to
me that gear, knowledge, and ability had nothing to do with one another.
When I waded out once (again, wet, and sans gear) to take a picture of
some of the fish, they looked at me pretty harshly G.

As usual, I had a blast, and it appeared the sports were, too, so I
guess it is a to-each-their-own type of thing...

TC,
R

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply

A fishing life offers all sorts of opportunities for mini-epiphanies
and I've recently tripped over one that's worth mentioning.

Anti-epiphany - what good is it being a gear whore without being able to
show everyone what a good gear whore you are by wearing a 30 lb vest?
Sheesh. Some people have no respect for the rules. 'Sides, without that
heavy vest, you can easily float down stream in the feeding duck position.

--
Frank Reid
Reverse email to reply