Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #13 — Fish with Friends

by | Oct 22, 2017 | 1 comment

Fifty Tips

People are different. We aren’t compatible with everyone else, and I guess we’re not supposed to be. My nature isn’t a great match for some anglers, and that’s obvious as soon as we hit the water. I don’t need to fish with a clone of myself to be happy, but I do need a guy who will put in a few hard hours and walk a couple miles to find good fishing before suggesting that it’s quittin’ time.

I enjoy fishing with guys who have a reason for doing what they do. I like innovators, and I like a good tactician with a reason and a purpose for everything he does on the water. Understanding the why and the what behind how another guy approaches a fishing situation is fascinating to me.

I’m also looking for a partner who won’t count my fish, but I don’t care if he counts his own. I can accept minor exaggerations I suppose, but I want a friend whom I can trust. This bullshit about all fishermen being liars, and the notion that it’s somehow funny, doesn’t work for me. Just tell the truth. Among the Troutbitten guys and my best fishing friends, I know I can count whatever they share with me as something I experienced first hand, and they know to expect the same from me.

I guess trust is a big part of it, really. I trust the info my friend provides about fish numbers or stream conditions, and I know I can trust him to keep secrets too. Most importantly, I trust him on the river, and I know he has my back. I know he’ll stay late just because I want to, and he knows I’ll float a river that I’d rather wade because we’re friends who care about each other.

I also know that my best fishing friends hold me accountable. I work late on Saturday nights, but I love to fish on Sunday mornings. So I rarely get much sleep before the alarm dings at 6:00 am. If I know I’m fishing alone, it’s too easy to cut the alarm, roll over and pick up a few more hours of sleep. Then I don’t get on the water until noon, and I miss half the day. Ultimately, what do I really gain from the extra hours of sleep? On a Sunday of fishing? — Nothing but missed opportunity and skipped memories. So I like to line up a good fishing friend for Sundays, someone I know holds me accountable, someone who I’m committed to because I know they’re good to their word. And when the alarm sounds at 6:00 am, I rise because I won’t let my friend down.

It takes a while to find good fishing friends, but the search is worth it.

 

Enjoy the day
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com

Share This Article . . .

Since 2014 and 1500+ articles deep
Troutbitten is a free resource for all anglers.
Your support is greatly appreciated.

– Explore These Post Tags –

Fifty Tips | friends | friendship
-- Jump to the Comments Section --
-- Jump to the Comments Section --

Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

Apparel

Stickers

Books

More from this Category

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #50 — Fish Hard

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #50 — Fish Hard

,

Here we are, at the end of fifty tips. Just two weeks shy of a year ago today, I started this series with a plan. Determined to publish every Sunday, I wrote these tips to be a little different, trying for something unique, and with a new take on some stuff many of us may not have considered for a while.

. . . What brings us back is the trout. Fishing without catching only goes so far. It only lasts so long. We dream not just of the woods and the water, but the trout too. And catching those fish brings in another art, another appreciation for the challenge and a new way to be creative. It also fulfills our human need to learn something. And without a trout on the end of your line once in a while, you’re just hiking through the water with a ten-foot stick . . .

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #49 — Your Line Hand

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #49 — Your Line Hand

, ,

Ever feel like your dominant hand has all the fun? It holds an ice cream cone, throws a football and sets the hook on your biggest trout. Your off hand is so neglected that at times you might forget what it’s used for. Fishing with a spinning rod keeps your other hand busy — constantly doing the reel work. But we aren’t reeling in line much while fly fishing, right? And at the close distances we often fish for trout, it’s easy to forget to keep the line hand involved.

So this is another one of those “Duh” tips. It’s the kind of thing that seems obvious. And yet, by considering all of the tasks for the line hand, we become better anglers. It’s always the little things that make a difference in life. It’s the basics, refined to perfection (or something close to it) that make us better — that bring more fish to hand.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #48 — Fish the Other Stuff — Fish the Weird Stuff

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #48 — Fish the Other Stuff — Fish the Weird Stuff

,

There’s a canyon stretch on my home stream with a gated, gravel access road used by dog walkers, runners, hikers, bird watchers and crazed fishermen. It’s a wonderful three-mile walk up into the canyon or down from the other side. In some sections the path bumps up against the towering limestone walls, and you can feel crisp cool air pushing aside the heavy heated blanket of summer.

There are huge chunks of those same rocks that have broken off through time. They remind you how many centuries this place was here before you were, and how long it will remain after we’ve all turned to dust. The eternal boulders were separated from the crest of the cliff through the earthly power of spreading hemlock roots that infiltrated every available crack, until eventually an enormous boulder fell to the forest floor and rolled into the river, providing a landmark and a constant reminder of how small your space in time really is.

So it’s a good walk up in there. And lots of anglers make the trek. But here’s the funny thing: people stop and fish the same places, day after day, year after year. All of us do it.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #47 — See the Dead Drift

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #47 — See the Dead Drift

,

The dead drift. That’s what it’s all about, right? It’s the baseline for a decent presentation and the starting point for real success in fly fishing. Oh sure, we strip streamers. We swing wet flies. And on occasion we may dance an Elk Hair Caddis on its hackle across the river. But by and large, the dead drift is our objective when fishing for trout — especially wild ones . . .

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #46 — Fight Big Fish Upstream

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #46 — Fight Big Fish Upstream

,

Midday. High sun and an overpowering heat. I stalked the banks of a large Montana river with my Border Collie at my side. I mirrored his shepard’s crouch: low, with my head forward, almost crawling through the dry sage brush.

We paused strategically under the thick Douglas Firs, not only for a break from the unrelenting sun, but for a real chance at deception. The large wild trout, it seemed, were at the moment, predictable — laying close to the banks (sometimes within inches), and waiting for the next overhead meal from a hapless hopper or any other random terrestrial occurrence. The evergreen limbs provided the shade for true cover — our only opportunity for real stealth.

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #45 — The Dry Fly is a Scout

Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #45 — The Dry Fly is a Scout

,

The fly is an explorer tied to the end of a string. It bounds along with the current, making discoveries and telegraphing its collected information back through a line. Whether nymph, streamer, wet or dry, our fly is an investigator sent forward to probe the water and search for trout — and to collect more information than our eyes can see.

Standing riverside, pinching the hook of a caddis dry fly between forefinger and thumb, with slack line and a rod poised to send our fly on a mission, we scan the water for signs. We look for rising trout and likely holding lies. And we look for  much more than is easily visible. The currents of a rocky, rolling river are a converging and confusing mix. And what we may decipher through polarized lenses is a mere scratch of the surface. So we send a pioneer.

What do you think?

Be part of the Troutbitten community of ideas.
Be helpful. And be nice.

1 Comment

  1. Chase H. on October 24, 2017 at 9:34 am

    Amen.

    Reply

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Articles

Recent Posts

Apparel

Stickers

Books

Domenick Swentosky

Central Pennsylvania

Hi. I’m a father of two young boys, a husband, author, fly fishing guide and a musician. I fish for wild brown trout in the cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round. This is my home, and I love it. Friends. Family. And the river.

Pin It on Pinterest