Graham Nicol takes a look at some of the reasons we love this fly fishing thing so much.
Why do we fish? What led to us taking up this compulsion? Is there a cure or alternative option?
Interesting questions with none having a definitive answer but nevertheless justifies a worthwhile discussion and to be honest that’s the reason for the article!
If I look at myself it was because all my friends already fished, invited me along and I caught the bug. Rather badly to be honest. For many of us older folk it was a chance to be hunter gatherer bringing some of the spoils home as proof that we are adept and being able to provide food on the table it is a totally worthwhile pastime. With catch and release being practiced more and more that argument is no longer nearly as valid and perhaps the argument lies more along the lines of testing oneself against a wild adversary.
For some it was an outdoor interest that was to be either shooting or fishing with the first being viewed by some parents as slightly more dangerous! For others it was the decision lay between golf and fishing with the former suiting those who can only do part days, like to dress up and are happy to discuss business while participating. Fishing tends to lie more on the solitary, mis-dressed get away from it all mindset. There are some chaps who manage to do both or all three which I find incredulous for certainly “happily married” would definitely then be defined as an oxymoron. I can accept fishing and shooting together as long as the seasons are clearly defined with absolutely no overlap.
What’s interesting about fishing is that it rapidly becomes an obsession that knows no limits. You can never have enough kit, there are not enough days in the week or season to fish and when conditions are adverse one almost becomes a manic depressive. The internet has become a phenomenal source of information for the angler but also adds fuel to the fire with regards to the compulsion. He can discuss, learn, inform and rant with dearly beloved obliviousness to it all. There are some pretty obvious traits with the lifelong addicted fisherman. The first is sense of dress which has gone out the window. Preferences for brown/beige/khaki like colours along with fleeces and cargo trousers are strong signs of the affliction. The next is one's own personal well-being with unkempt hair, unshaven features and a terrible weakness of looking into every watercourse wherever one is at the time. Why do non-fishers not believe we anglers can see rising fish when we cross bridges? Why do anglers' wives drag their beloved around shopping malls which is the complete opposite to the peace and tranquility of being outdoors at the waterside? These are questions that cannot be answered and I suspect the latter is pure retribution.
There is no cure for this addiction bar the following:
1 - Drowning while wading
2 - Electrocution holding one of the best conductors of electricity in a lightening storm
3 - Starvation by forgetting to both eat and return home for replenishment
4 - Theft of all one's tackle
More likely it is good old fashioned old age whereby as bits of the body no longer respond to the excesses of tramping up and down hills and bank sides the angler has to scale back his activity. Eventually it gets to the point of reading and dreaming about it all. But hey we are all on this planet only once and so enjoy it. Get out fishing and ignore the dire consequences.
Many thanks to Devon Contemporary Photography for the pics