You ask, ” What is the attraction to fly fishing”? If you watched the famous movie, A River Runs Through It, I believe you felt the draw to fly-fishing. It drove more rich and famous people to move to Montana to take up fly- fishing than any other reason. Perhaps it was the lovely story but I believe it was the fly-fishing that many people had never seen before. The beauty of the men at their private spot of a glorious river, casting their fly into an amazingly blue pool of water, letting the fly settle behind a boulder, and then wham, the fish hit. Who wouldn’t think it is beauty at its best.
Fly-fishing is to me like watching a prim-Dona ballet artist perform Swan Lake, only better. The execution of the perfect cast is like receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. It is almost as difficult and needs perhaps years of practice. But even a poorly cast fly is better than not trying it.
The first fly-fisherman that I remember seeing was my Father. He was poetry in motion. He was grace and beauty all mixed together. He was what started my love of fishing. Today I am a die-hard fly-fisherman. I started fishing with a spinning rod because my Father didn’t think I would ever be able to make a good enough cast with a fly rod to catch a fish and wanted me to catch a few before I got discouraged. That just didn’t last long because I saved my money and bought myself a cheap fly rod. I practiced in the front yard with a piece of yarn hooked to the leader, as that’s what I had read from a fly fishing article and I practiced and practiced. My dad didn’t know how serious I was until he took me fishing and my first cast with my new fly rod was pretty darn good. In fact he thought it was good enough that he gave me one of his fancy rods.
That fancy bamboo fly rod has now fished the best rivers that Montana, Alaska, Mexico and Colombia has to offer and my casts throughout the years have improved. I know it wasn’t the rod that I loved the most, but the thrill of the beautiful cast when a fish darted out to receive it.
Fly-fishing is much more than catching a fish. To me it is the beauty of the river, lake or ocean. It is the great time walking up the river in the quietness of nature. It is watching my line float behind a large rock and seeing the fish make a dash for it. It is teaching a young person the finesse and joy of learning to fly-fish.
The attraction of fly-fishing may have started with the media reporting how cool it was and how popular it had become, but the real clincher is once you have tried it you will never go back to a spinning rod. I will also bet that once you try fly-fishing, you will be as in love with it as I am.
Today there are many classes to teach you how to cast a proper fly. They can be found at many community colleges and a search on line you should be able to find one near you. You will be opening a door to one of the best and most beautiful experience with nature. It doesn’t matter if you catch a fish or not, it will be a wonderful day or a new life on the river.