Sometimes the Fish Win

Sometimes the fish win, and that’s okay.

Despite the planning, despite the hours spent at the tying bench, the days spent reading, pondering what might put a fish in the net.

Despite the care we put in, the thought, the preparation, the money.

Sometimes the trout just win. 

We go a day without a catch, or maybe we land a few but man the fishing wasn’t like yesterday, or the week before, or the year prior, so we make excuses. 

We say, Oh well I was trying a new leader and clearly they don’t like it.

We say, I tried some different feathers in these flies it must put them off.

We say, well the sun was too high so they must not be biting.

Or we say any number of other things to try to rationalize why they just weren’t getting in the net like we thought they would. 

However I think as fly fisherman a little part of me wants the fish to win. A little part of me wants a day that makes me question my whole approach. To me that’s what this whole game is about. 

The endless pursuit of trout, the ambition to meat them on their terms and trick them into taking my fly. And in this pursuit the simple truth is, sometimes the fish win. 

If fly fishing was about catching, if it was about the numbers we put in the net it would not captivate us the way it so clearly has. 

We would not sit and think about the next trip, spend thousands of dollars on gear, or exotic trips. We would not pursue these experiences the way we have. 

This sport means more to us than that. 

It is a chance to meet trout on their terms in the wild places they call home. A chance to see and experience the world in a way most will never event think possible. 

And in this endeavor. In this mission to see the world and catch wild fish in wild places there is a simple truth we all must come to.

No matter how much experience we have. 

No matter how much money we spent.

No matter how many flies we tried.

No matter how the weather was .

Some times the fish just WIN.