Saturday, December 27, 2014

Hope, expectations and fly fishing


Your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing guide,
Catch & release, Fly fishing only!

Hope, expectations and fly fishing


    "The charm of fishing is that it is the pursuit of what is elusive but attainable, a perpetual series of occasions for hope" John Buchan




   In this season of light we are reminded of the hope for the return of longer days, the warming energy of the sun, the anticipation of the oncoming new year. Some of us even have hope for the fishing. Most of the time when we think of the word "Hope" we tend to be focused on a desired outcome. Certainly we are hoping to catch another fish, more fish, bigger fish, the fish of our dreams etc. Simply walking out the front door with our tackle in hand is an act of hope. No one goes fishing without some positive sense of anticipation or expectation for the day. For most of us there is a goal, a specific focus- We want to catch a sea-run Cutthroat trout, or a salmon, or a steelhead etc. Our hopes are pointed. We have a sense of purpose. And this is something that helps us get out of the house and onto the water to begin with. We are motivated.  


Hopes fulfilled

   Certainly no one ties flies for hour after hour, especially in the dark of winter, acquiring new materials, hoarding every last feather, fur and tinsel snippet imaginable, filling their fly boxes with numerous patterns, without also dreaming of the fish that they will be encountering in the future. No matter how many times I have heard that fly tying can save me money, I have always had more money invested in tying materials than I have in actual tied flies, and I never have enough flies. This has been going on for years. It's all about that next fish. I sometimes wonder if there is an inverse relationship between denial and hope?


"A perpetual series of occasions for hope."


   What could be more optimistic and hopeful than having a closet full of fly rods?  Who would go to all of that trouble and expense, collecting all manner of rods, in tapers, lengths actions and weights suitable for every species of fish conceivable, without having some sense that there was a fish waiting out there for them to catch somewhere?  Again I say that this can only be an attribute of hope. We are living in expectation. I know people with dozens of fly rods. Not to mention the reels. And everything else.

   In the ancient Greek mythology there is the tale of Zeus and Prometheus, and Pandora's Box.  The story goes that Prometheus stole the fire from Zeus, who was the supreme god of gods. This enraged Zeus and he then created a box that he filled with all of the many evils. Zeus kept his knowledge of the contents of the box a secret. Pandora was warned not to open the box. Pandora opened the box anyway, and the many evils escaped out into the world again. Lying at the bottom of the empty box, only hope remained. In this context one can think of Hope as the greatest potential for anything to happen, at any time, no matter what we desire. I have had a lot of fishing trips that went this way. Anything that could have happened did happen. Not all of it was what we were hoping for. 

   So this leads me to this thought of Hope- to begin the New Year, and to carry forward. Most of the best experiences of my life were never exactly what I had planned on or hoped for. But something worthwhile happened anyway. If I could recognize one aspect of this that held promise it is this- A lack of expectations is elemental. I wasn't expecting anything in particular, or at least I did not limit myself to that. I just went out there and cast a fly. No one could have told me on what day that I would have caught the best fish of the year, after hundreds of casts to the same water for hours. No one could foretell the arrival of the pod of Orcas, that came frolicking along right in front of us as we fished for salmon from the beach all day. Who could predict that we would catch the biggest wild sea-run cutthroat I have ever seen, under a hot, bright sun, in shallow water, over a muddy bottom, on a falling tide. I have had too many moments of grace on the water to ignore this. Somehow we go out the door with our hopes, and we make our plans, set a goal, and along the way something else quite remarkable can happen. But we have to be open to that. The harder we focus on a specific desired result, the farther away it can get. But when we let go of that, sometimes we get a gift. My hope for you is that this will be your best year ever. Happy New Year!


Fly Fishing Gift Trips

   As a reminder to you, and for the holidays- I offer fly fishing gift trips to anglers year round. This makes a great holiday or birthday present, graduation, retirement, reunions, etc. These are a guided day of fly fishing, for one or two anglers, including lunch, snacks and soft beverages. Additional anglers and larger groups are negotiable. I share my own custom tied flies for the day as we fish these beautiful waters. Once you contact me to arrange this gift for your friend or loved one, I will provide you with a gift card for you to give to the recipient. And they can then get in touch with me in advance to work out the details of their Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure. This gift trip is valid for beach or river fishing, catch & release fly fishing only. I also offer rowboat picnics on a quiet estuary here, or private fly casting instruction sessions. Contact me for the details.



Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide and Instructor

  I am guiding fly fishers on the Olympic Peninsula beaches, rivers and streams. We walk and wade, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in freshwater and saltwater, and in the rivers for trout and summer steelhead. This is strictly catch and release, traditional fly fishing only. Lunch, snacks, soft beverages, and use of some equipment is included. I also offer personalized and private fly fishing and fly  casting instruction for beginners.  I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure, for beginners through expert anglers. Public presentations, Naturalist guide for rowboat picnics, Tide Pool and  river trail day trips. Please call, write or email for booking details.  

Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Licensed Washington State Guide 
Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618






Monday, December 15, 2014

The Gift of Fly Fishing



Your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing guide,
catch & release, fly fishing only!


Winter. 



   The gift of fly fishing


    It is only the second week of December and yet we have had winter and autumn weather on and off since late October. November saw some truly arctic cold days, and we got some good early snow pack at higher altitudes in the mountains. December rolled in with a warm blast that sent the rivers skyrocketing. We just got through some of the wildest days I have ever seen here, as far as wind and rain goes, and there have been several records broken for Autumn and December temperatures. And it's not even winter solstice yet. The rivers are on the drop now, the mountains are getting colder again, we're seeing much better flows than we have seen here in weeks, and those early winter, hatchery run steelhead are still rolling in. I will be guiding for the hatchery runs through December. I will not be guiding for wild winter run steelhead on the Olympic Peninsula rivers. The runs are too severely diminished now, and I don't think that we should be fishing for them at all.

Early winter sea-run Cutthroat fishing.

    On the beaches

   On the beaches here we have seen some beautiful days between the storms and freezes. I think that some of the sea-run Cutthroat do get back out into the saltwater to feed, when the smaller rivers get too dirty and flooded in the winter. And the saltwater clears up quickly after the storms. When we do catch Cutthroat here in the winter they tend to be larger fish, Well worth the effort. And thankfully we are in the Olympic Mountain Rainshadow, so we do enjoy much fairer  weather than the areas to the north, south east and west of us. The mountains protect us. Seattle gets about twice to three times the amount of the rain that we get here near Port Townsend in the winter. If we get a few sunny, mild days in a  row here, the trout will come back up to the surface to feed along the beaches. For my guests who come in the winter months, I keep an eye on conditions and forecasts here, and I let them know when things are looking right for a day of beach fishing. And we do catch a few nice wild fish around here. Yes, even in the winter.


 "All that is not given is lost." 
Mahatma Gandhi

   One thing that I try to hang onto is the notion that our fishing lives are a kind of gift. It is inscrutable to me that there are people who have no interest in the outdoors life. They have no sense of wonder at the sight of the first flock of migrating geese, nor for the sound of the first loon of the year coming back from the arctic, they get no anticipation of  a wild fish on the other end of their line. I have met some of these people, and I have guided a few. Once afield, they are strangers in a strange land. I have no idea how this works, but there are some people who are never going to be outdoors people, they won't go hiking or camping, nor will they ever be true fishers or hunters. It is just true. I have spent my whole life in outdoors adventures. When I am away from the trails and the waters for too long, life becomes a place where I am merely waiting to live, until the next outing, and the next raindrop on my face and the wind at my back. I have always been this way. The modern world offers me very little solace. But taking a brief walk beneath the tall firs, or a hike along a river trail, a few hours of wading and casting, some light on the water and a row along the bay, and I am healed. Sometimes all that it takes is a glimpse of a hawk or eagle, briefly sweeping across the sky, an owls distant hooting in the night, to remind me that I am a part of something greater, and that we all share this life with every living thing. It is a blessing to experience life in this sometimes primal way. You might know what I mean- A sense of Unity.

Happy Holidays!!!



Fly Fishing Gift Trips

   As a reminder to you, and for the holidays- I offer fly fishing gift trips to anglers year round. These are a guided day of fly fishing, for one or two anglers, including lunch, snacks and soft beverages. I share my own custom tied flies for the day as we fish these beautiful waters. Once you contact me to arrange this gift for your friend or loved one, I will provide you with a gift card for you to give to the recipient. And they can then get in touch with me in advance to work out the details of their Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure. This gift trip is valid for beach or river fishing, catch & release fly fishing only. I also offer rowboat picnics on a quiet estuary here, or private fly casting instruction sessions. Contact me for the details.


Olympic Peninsula Fly Fishing Guide and Instructor

  I am guiding fly fishers on the Olympic Peninsula beaches, rivers and streams. We walk and wade, fly fishing for sea-run Coastal Cutthroat trout in freshwater and saltwater, and in the rivers for trout and summer steelhead. This is strictly catch and release, traditional fly fishing only. Lunch, snacks, soft beverages, and use of some equipment is included. I also offer personalized and private fly fishing and fly  casting instruction for beginners.  I would be happy to help you plan your Olympic Peninsula fly fishing adventure, for beginners through expert anglers. Public presentations, Naturalist guide for rowboat picnics, Tide Pool and  river trail day trips. Please call, write or email for booking details.  

Bob Triggs
Little Stone Flyfisher
P.O. Box 261
Port Townsend, WA
98368

Licensed Washington State Guide 
Certified Fly Casting Instructor
Trout Unlimited Aquatic Educator Award
U.S.C.G First Aid/CPR/BLS/AED/BBP/HIV Certified

Phone: 360-385-9618