Articles With the Tag . . . spot burning

We’re out there to catch trout. That’s what brings us to the water. But how many do we catch? And really, how many should we catch? What are the expectations? And how can we know that we’re fishing well?

Counting is a way to gauge our success, not just against how well we did last time out, but how well we are doing compared to what is possible. What’s the bar? What’s the ceiling? How many trout could be caught if we had everything just right — the best fly and the perfect drift . . .

In this episode we mix it up. This is the Freewheelin’ Troutbitten, with an hour long question and answer session — just a freeform conversation about trout fishing on a fly rod and  a few other things mixed in.

It’s a fun discussion filled with details and tactical takeaways., with some good disagreements, differing opinions and good humor . . .

There are two ways to tell the experience of an angler: how he holds a fish and how he keeps his secrets. The latter is probably more important.

My secrets aren’t your secrets. The places and dreams that I find sacred and worthy of protection are likely much different than your own. Among good friends, though, the respect for another’s treasure is given. It’s hard to find a good fishing partner who yields to this tenet — to find a friend who will protect your secrets like his own — because secrets are a burden to carry, and most choose to shed that weight and give up a prize that isn’t theirs.

So we come to accept that holding secrets is a lonely affair, and that’s okay for me and the other introverts — of which I think the majority of the fishermen’s gene pool is comprised. It’s the damned extroverts that you have to be wary of. It’s the gregarious guy whose off-hand remarks about a river can sink the best of spots.

As most of us quickly realize, good fishing friends are hard to come by . . .