Fly Fishing

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

I was on a road trip by myself on my way to meet some friends a little while back and got to thinking about some of the past trips I have been on. I was thinking about all of the great times and fun that I had and was thinking about some of the stuff that made the trip fun that had nothing to do with the fishing. In fact, on some trips the time off of the water is almost more fun than time on. There are certain things that I have done on a trip where it became part of the trip and then every trip it wasn't the same without it and these things became traditions and rituals. In fact on some trips where the fishing was a little tougher, we have even thought about the fact that we didn't participate in one of these rituals and attributed our lack of success to not completing the ritual. I would like to hear some of the traditions, rituals or anything along those lines that everyone else does. Here are a few of mine (some may seem weird, but long fishing trips can make you a little crazy):

-Buying lottery tickets on steelhead trips. This was something my brother and i did every time we went to BC since you had to buy a daily license and they frequently also sold lottery tickets. We continued this tradition in Idaho where they also sold lottery tickets.
-Touching or holding my friend stu's "scarab". This was his steelhead good luck charm and any time someone was having a tough time, they would touch or rub the scarab for good luck. Many times they ended the day with a huge steelhead.
-Balancing your rod on your head while swinging flies. This one i am sure sounds ridiculous but it started on trips with my brother and i. After a week of holding a rod in one hand every day, your arm gets tired so we initially started it as that, but then it became somewhat of a tradition.
-Fishing only flies that I tie on trips. I frequently tie flies or try to tie a bunch in preparation of a trip, but then bring my fly tying stuff. Once I am on a trip, I end up only feeling confident in the flies I tie for the trip (specifically steelhead flies) and I even the exact same fly that wasn't tied on the trip isn't fished with nearly the same confidence.

Those are a few of ours, curious to see anybody elses.

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

Call it a superstition .. but, I have a real hard time with "nets" in the sense that if I bring a net, its kind of like saying "Oh, I'm going to use this for all the fish I catch." Hence, every time I bring a net .. I catch NOTHING. This is especially true for those giant steelhead nets ... I know it doesn't make any sense whatsoever and catching fish or not catching fish has nothing at all to do with whether or not I brought a net ... but, its just kinda like one of those little superstitions

Big Net = No Fish
No Net = Lot's of fish

Matt1515 · Location: Greensboro, NC

I have to get my double croissandwich at a Burger King that is on the road to the mountains. I've only been by there twice in five years without stopping and one time I broke two rods and the other I got a ticket. Now I WILL NOT go by without getting my sandwich. (plus, who can fish without the morning belly bomb?)