Sunday classic / It Only Takes One Good Day of Fly Fishing to Make A Trip

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Quality over Quantity is true in several aspects of fly fishing. Photo By: Louis Cahill

A while back, I wrote a post about how important it is to not put all your eggs in one basket (fishing only one river system) during your fly fishing travels.

What I didn’t mention in that post and should have, was how important it is to not give up when it seems like the entire universe is conspiring against you. My last trip to Wyoming with Louis was pretty awful. We had to overcome a car break down in the middle of no where, water levels so low we couldn’t float in the drift boat we rented for an entire week, and one of us was almost hospitalized by infection. We lost 2 1/2 days of fishing that trip and we were constantly at each others throats. Even the cold beer flowing over our lips wasn’t enough to raise our morale. I’ll leave it at that, because I’m sure Louis will be writing a very humorous piece down the road shortly, detailing the trip, and I don’t want to spoil it. Here’s the important point I’m I’m trying to get at. It only takes one good day of fishing to make a fishing trip meaningful.

Yeah, we’ve all had perfect fishing trips in the past. The problem with that is perfect fishing trips aren’t the norm, and we often find ourselves in the middle of a trip, complaining about the not so optimal fishing conditions, and then start passing judgment on the present trip by comparing it to our past epic trips. Wake up…., fishing all over the world is getting tougher each year, and we better prepare for it by resetting our fishing expectations accordingly, otherwise we’re going to be setting ourselves up for future disappointment. Again I’ll say, it only takes one good day of fishing to make a fishing trip meaningful. Live by this, and you’ll keep the confidence that’s needed to find success when everyone else fails.

Our fly fishing success should be tallied up all together on our death beds, not just from individual trips. Photo By: Louis Cahill

Despite everything going wrong that week in Wyoming, we stayed focused and kept fishing hard, and in the end, it was our very last day of fishing that turned it all around. Louis and I decided to go all-in on a piece of water we had never laid eyes on, and we experienced a perfect day of trout fishing. It can only be described as heavenly, what I would picture fly fishing in heaven to be like, and it washed away all the negative turmoil we had piled up during the trip, leaving us with pure harmonious thoughts for our travels back home. Don’t make the mistake of drowning in your sorrows if a fly fishing trip starts out bleak. Man up, persevere, and search out greener pasture, if that’s what it’s going to take to land some fish.

Keep it Reel,

Kent Klewein
Gink & Gasoline
www.ginkandgasoline.com
hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
 
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5 thoughts on “Sunday classic / It Only Takes One Good Day of Fly Fishing to Make A Trip

  1. Kent,
    Very encouraging post man, I agree that most of us, myself included, are guilty of fantasizing about that trip to the keys or Montana, it’s healthy to keep your expectations realistic and more importantly without fish, enjoying where your at, which is usually away from the office, none of us can complain about that right???
    Thanks for the pat on the back

  2. On the other hand, the fact that I’m not catching doesn’t spoil my trip for “fishing.” I recently spent 4 full days on the Animas just south of Durango. Caught a single fish and never saw him: my tippet broke as soon as I was able to yell, “YES!” Was that disappointing? Hell yes it was, but it didn’t do a thing to kill my enthusiasm or desire to fish this stretch of water. I knew going in that action was going to be slow but I was also committed to the Animas at this time of year and immersed myself in the fact that I was standing in some of the most beautiful country and clean water known to man. The San Juan was an hour south and the temptation of 80,000 fish was strong but for me anyway, its not about numbers; its about the complete experience. I will return to the Animas and will fill my net with a big brown. It just wasn’t my time . The trip however, was a complete success. My .02, cheers!

    • Soooo, yeah… its been a lousy week. Apparently I focused on the opening line to this article and the fact that it references a previous one about that my first response to this would have been more appropriate for. This article itself addresses pretty much exactly what I was trying to say. I’m an idiot. Too much medication in the last sleepless 7 days and nights, folks. Great article Kent, sorry for being a dumbass…

  3. For me, the greatest gift of fishing is its requirement for focus. This article makes the point, I think, that regardless of other “stuff,” keeping your focus on fishing, with all its many variables, is not only its own reward but also defines the avenue to a great day. Some people call it confidence, and it’s related, but I’ve seen a lot of confident anglers who can’t catch diddly on a consistent basis. The fish decide when they will offer us a great day (or even just one great hookup); we just have to be there with our focus on in order to make the most of it.

  4. Pingback: Tippets: One Good Day, DIY Tips & Tricks, State of the Trout | MidCurrent

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