We Know They’re In There
You checked the weather. You checked the water. You packed enough flies to supply a small sporting goods store.
You got up before sunrise, drank questionable gas-station coffee, drove an hour and a half, pulled on cold waders, tied on the fly that absolutely worked last time, and stepped into the river feeling pretty confident.
Three hours later?
Nothing.
Not a rise. Not a bump. Not even one of those suspicious little tugs you can lie to yourself about.
But that’s okay.
Because according to the guy at the fly shop, the guy at the gas station, and somebody’s cousin who fished here Tuesday...
The fish were definitely here yesterday.
The River Owes You Nothing
This is the part nobody puts in the fishing pictures.
Some days you can do everything right and still get completely ignored.
You change flies. Then change them again. You go smaller. Bigger. Darker. Lighter. You add weight. Remove weight. Move upstream. Move downstream.
Eventually you’re standing there staring into the water like the trout have personally offended you.
Meanwhile, your buddy makes one terrible cast into a spot you already fished twice...
Fish on.
Of course.
Now he’s an expert.
And you’re going to hear about that fish for the rest of the day.
A Bad Day Fishing Is Better Than a Good Day at Work
Eventually you stop worrying about the fish.
You notice the fog lifting off the water. You hear the river rolling over the rocks. Somebody opens the cooler. The dog has discovered something disgusting and is extremely proud of himself.
And suddenly getting skunked doesn’t seem quite so important.
Because years from now, you probably won’t remember which fly you were using or how many fish you caught.
But you’ll remember who was standing beside you.
You’ll remember laughing at your buddy’s terrible cast that somehow caught the only fish of the day.
And you’ll definitely remember that the fish were biting like crazy...
yesterday.
We’ll Be Back Tomorrow
That’s the funny thing about fishing.
We can spend all day getting ignored, lose three flies in the trees, snag the bottom six times, miss the only good strike we get, and swear the fish have packed up and moved to another state.
Then somebody asks:
“Want to try again tomorrow?”
Absolutely.
Because sooner or later, everything comes together. The weather is right. The water is right. The cast lands exactly where you wanted it.
And for just a second, the line goes tight.
That one moment is enough to bring us back all over again.
Besides...
We heard they’re really biting tomorrow.
Around the campfire
What would you add to this conversation?