The River Runs Deep
I am by no means and 'expert' fly fishermen. I am however, an enthusiastic fishermen looking to introduce younger generations into the sport to ensure our collective future.
Fly fishing is the quintessential form of fishing. It requires knowledge and techniques that span well beyond that of your average 'chunker'. Instead of throwing exactly what fish eat and waiting for a fish to bite, fly fishermen (and women) try to mimic the actions of bait-fish through the use of feathers, hair, thread, glue, and many more random materials. Now I'm not criticizing these other fishermen, I think that in a lot of cases, say, bass fishing tournaments, a tremendous amount of skill is required. Using lures and plastic worms to land fat large-mouth bass definitely requires skill; the guys catching 600lb tunas in the middle of the ocean, yeh, definitely have skill. But from my years on a Cape Cod dock throwing worms every night, I think its safe to say that although I was catching a lot of fish, I really didn't have too many skills.
I was introduced to fly fishing back in 2009 by my buddy George. We took his Boston Whaler out to The World's End, a well know fishing hole between Hingham and Hull, when he said that it was time for me to put the bait down and pick up a fly. The idea seemed so foreign at the time. Tripping over tangled line while waving your arm back and forth, all to try and catch a fish that is no where near the top of the water. I thought that it was the most absurd thing I'd seen. But the truth is. Ten minutes after I picked up that fly rod, I was hooked. No pun intended. I was literally hooked. In the midst of waving my arm around, the fly came whipping by and straight into my forearm.
Fast forward five and half years later, and I can't even imagine what I would have missed had I not started fly fishing.