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A big elephant walked into the room and I didn’t even know it was there. This week’s fishing report is dedicated to shoving the pachyderm right back out the door.
Last week I was told, and quite understandably, that when I report on fishing, I always say “the fishing is great!” I stopped to think about that.
Well, it’s true; I pretty much always write that the fishing is great. Not every time, but often enough. So with that admission, let me explain.
The fact of the matter is, fish are living, breathing creatures that have to eat to survive. Not unlike you and me, skipping a meal, skipping a day of eating, or skipping several days is a very uncomfortable, and even a scary, proposition. So we can all agree, fish have to eat.
There are days when fish have the opportunity to eat more than on other days, based on the strength and timing of hatches and spinner falls. There are days when there is very little natural food to eat and the fish eat opportunistically. In either condition, the fish are eating what is available to them.
We, as fly anglers, are trying to match these food sources and cash in on the fish’s need and will to feed. When we pay very close attention to the details, we can almost always solve the riddle of what fish want to eat, or what they are willing to eat when there isn’t much natural food in the system. When an angler dedicates his life to solving these daily riddles, they become less of a riddle and more of an “action.” Furthermore, these riddles that repeat themselves annually aren’t even riddles to the full-time angler anymore. Again, they become action plans more so than riddles.
So for an angler to meet these conditions head-on, with a head full of this knowledge, the angler is going to be at a large advantage over the fish. If that angler works in the fly-fishing industry (me!), then they normally make a living by helping other anglers solve these riddles quickly and efficiently. So this angler is now going to report on the fishing, and because fish have to eat and because the angler knows what they are eating and when they are eating, because it’s their livelihood to know, then, yes, the fishing is going to be described as great.
So get out there and fish today. The fishing is going to be great!
Happy fishing, everyone!