It had been one of those days. You know the type – you get to work with a plan of what you need to do, but the phone doesn't stop ringing, and there’s a wall of emails where everyone needs something done ASAP. The day flies by, but at the end of it, despite running around like crazy, you still haven’t got through the work you wanted to do. Frustrated, drained and more than little bit cranky, you're exhausted. Never mind that out the window, the sun is shining and a little voice says, “Wouldn’t you rather be fishing?”
I’m fortunate that I live in an area surrounded by good fishing opportunities within a very short drive – but this is also a burden. It preys on your mind when the fishing is so close. It’s right there; you’re like a dog outside the butcher’s shop. And there’s that bloody voice again: ‘The trout will be looking up at terrestrials…’ You try to concentrate on the answering another email query and put thoughts of splashy rises out of your head, but it’s too late. Mentally, you’re already on the stream.
Not the view I always dream of!Having fishing at your disposal means it’s far too easy to go fishing! It’s not like I have to plan a weekend or a longer trip. And you can imagine what it’s like when I’m having those ‘in–head’ debates on the merits of prioritising grocery shopping, lawn mowing, house cleaning... or fishing? There may be such a jungle in my yard that I can’t find the path to the front door; I’ve lost the washing machine under a pile of dirty clothes; and there’s no food in the house except for cereal (but no milk). But hey, let’s go fishing!
So, with the fishing decision made and only a touch of guilt, I left work and headed into the hills to check out a little stream I hadn’t fished for a while.
Now heading off fishing when you’re feeling a bit cranky, can go pear-shaped. Any normal little thing – like a snagged back cast or a slight leader tangle – can be perceived in a more negative light; blown out of proportion. It can fan the cranky mood into crabby, or, depending on the angling issue in question, even blow out to cantankerous!
So I arrived at the creek – but with the frustrating work day still buzzing in my head. I was a bit exasperated with the wind blowing across the stream. Annoyed that the sun was the wrong angle, making the water glary. Maddened with all the algae in the creek. Irritated that the flow was lower than I expected. So, I cast into the first pool. Now when I say pool, I’m being really generous. It was really just a bit of slower flow and maybe 40cm deep, but it was a chance to wet the line and see how the leader rolled over the cicada fly. I wasn’t expecting much. And I was still thinking hard about a work issue I could have managed better.
Out goes the cast and BANG! A reasonable fish for the creek just ate the fly! Hmmm……
First cast, first trout and I can feel the fishing doing me good already.In the next ‘pool’ I watched a small fish, probably a rainbow, try several times to eat the fly without success. I’m not one of those anglers who pass up a small fish; after all, each trout is a challenge regardless of size. I changed to a smaller Yellow Sally. Still no luck with a hook up, but it was heartening that the fish tried to eat the fly every few drifts until finally I (and the fish) gave up. I continued upstream but the water ahead looked a bit shallow. Typical, not even enough water to fish! So, still a bit cranky (though less so than when I got out of the car) I decided to turn around and try downstream.
However, after taking a step in that direction, I startled a brown snake (and vice versa). Perhaps it was my leap in the air and racing heartbeat, but I changed my mind again and headed upstream. Having a brown snake almost under your foot certainly clears the head of more mundane things!
Going upstream was a good decision. Most of the larger areas of stream held fish. Not huge, but some good ones for the size of creek, and they were certainly far from gullible. The outing became a mental game about fooling each fish, rather than catching numbers. Wading had to be deliberate and careful in the slow, low water. I had to keep changing flies, trying to work out the requirements of individual trout. For example, on one pool, I tried four different flies. A trout would come over, check out the offering and then slink back into the cover. I spent a fair amount of time on that fish and didn’t catch it.
Even the smaller trout often required a few fly changes to fool. Not a bad thing...The fishing and fly changing went on until the sun got lower and it was time to go. I realised I’d been fishing for an hour and a half, yet I’d only covered a few hundred metres of creek. I’d wracked my brain at nearly every pool, trying to come up with what might work, and I’d made countless fly changes. However, in that time I’d forgotten all about the frustrating work day. The crankiness had gone, replaced by relaxed and happy. The mood change wasn’t just due to catching fish in a nice location, although I’m sure that helped. I think it was more about the concentration this session demanded; the kind of focus that blocks out all those other stressful thoughts, issues and deadlines we often carry around with us. The flyfishing ‘process’ had changed my mindset, as it so often does.
It's hard not to feel a bit better in an environment like this.So despite a less than promising start, it turned out to be one of those days; one of the good ones!
(PS: We shouldn’t feel guilty if we prioritise fishing highly. It’s therapy and it’s doing us good.)
