Fly Fishing

Troutlife · Posted: Sun 01/24/10 8:33 pm Post subject: Fly Fishing: A Hobby Or Job?

I have always had an addiction to fishing. I spend every free day I have fishing or doing fishing related things. Now I am closing in on making important decisions in regard to where I want to go in life. I would love to hear how people fit this addiction into their daily lives. I feel as if it would become dull to make fishing your job (as a guide, ect.). At the same time, I don't want to only be a weekend fisherman. As Mikey Weir says "It boils down to, at what point your hobby becomes a passion." How do you fit this passion in your life? If you are a guide, what made you decide to become one, and what are the pros and cons? I'm simply trying to figure out where I want to take this addiction...
thank you

jeremy · Location: Portland, Maine

What a great question. Probably, an age old question. I think of it like an onion with layers. There are many layers and different degrees of the "passion" for fishing. For those who have made it their livelihood, whether it be guiding, fly shop, film maker, commercial fly tier, media outlet, author, lodge owner, gear manufacturer etc.., the passion goes to a different level. But, I don't know that I would call it a "job." To me, a "job" is a task we have to do to make money. If someone is doing something they are passionate about, its more than a "job," Yes, of course, there would be times when it becomes tedious and mundane with all sorts of trials and tribulations ... but, at the end of the day, the core passion is still there. So, I believe that deciding to engage with your passion by introducing it to your "work" world is a great thing. Because, you will never know the answer unless you try it. And, what's the worse thing that could happen? You revert back to getting a "job" and fly fishing as a "hobby." But, you may find that a career in fly fishing (whatever that may be) is your calling - and you are that type of person who can combine their passion with work and balance them in creative enough ways to keep the work and the passion alive. Good luck with whatever you choose.

PS. I should note that I have personally never been a fly fishing guide. I did however commercial fish for several years on swordfish long lining boats etc... I'd spend up to 30 days at a time at sea with some pretty salty characters and captains who spent their life fishing for a living. In general, these guys were some of the nastiest, meanest, hardest, most jaded miserable guys you could ever meet ... but once and a while, they'd still smile .. and no matter what, they LOVED to fish.

rustayy · Location: Ft Lauderdale/ Islamorada,FL

Troutlife- What a great question, but incredibly hard to answer. For me it is both. I guide for trout in the Eastern Sierras, and I wouldn't change it for the world. I enjoy each and every day on the water weather it be for myself or if I am teaching a newbie in the sport. The visible joy fly fishing brings to people makes it all worth it for me. I would say that there are WAY more pros than cons. For starters, you get to share your passion/hobby with someone else....and get paid for it. How does it get better? Secondly, my office is one that is secluded from almost everything like traffic, phone calls, and cubicles. For me, it was and is a dream job, and I feel very lucky to have it a reality now. I guess if there were a "Con" side of this topic it would be on a personal level. Yes, there are days that the fish are not biting, and your rookie "Clients"( for lack of a better term)might be breaking off nymph rigs one after another, or getting snagged on the bottom in the same spot 25 times in a row, but it all comes down to how you look at it. You could be doing something else, like joining the rat race in a mundane corporate life. Robert Elliot once said, "Rule number one is, don't sweat the small stuff. Rule number two is, it's all small stuff." I feel this pertains to my job as a guide. If you are a patient person, and enjoy teaching and sharing your passion then guiding is probably a great choice for you. You, like 99% of all other guides might never be a rich man, but if you love what you do then you will never work a day in your life. I wish you luck in your decision, and no matter what you choose, your love for fly fishing will never change.

Chernobylv8 · Location: Chile

Hi TroutLife:
Good nickname for the question, maybe you got the answer there.

The only thing i can share with you about guides, that i´m not one, is that you have to learn how to fish with the hand of others. Because you spend most of the time trying to make "them" catch fish.

If you make the math of equation, maybe can help.

Best

Cristián

kory_k · Location: New York, NY

Both in fact more than a hobby more like an obsession and passion and frequently a job. I have spent my entire life flyfishing and most of my adult life working in flyfishing.started guiding at 18 and since have worked in many levels of guiding, running flyshops, hosting international trips and so on. For me it was always different than my personal fishing. Even if I was fishing a spectacular international destination there was still that element of work and pressure to fulfill the clients expectation so it was still a job. Don't get me wrong it is a killer job and it is not to say I didn't like the job in fact I loved it but for me it was completely different from my personal fishing. Even after guiding and being on the water every single day rowing a boat for three weeks straight teaching people and helping them catch their "fish of a lifetime" or land 18-20 inch fish all day long on dries or more commonly untangling knots watching people miss and break off fish or get drenched or snowed on and sunburned through he highs and lows I still never felt like I had been fishing and wanted to fish that much more. In fact it fueled my passion that much more. I wanted to go back after I got off the water and fish myself. There were even days where the clients let me fish or in the case of hosting I fished all day but it never compared to when I was fishing on my own time with no expectations except for me going fishing eiher by myself or preferably with a good friend who shared the passion. Those moments were and always will be the true golden moments and regardless of whether I work in fly fishing or not (prob always will to a certain extent) will always be passionate about those times.