Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current

Splash! A huge fish just came up just outside of your casting range upstream on the outer seam of the current. How many times have you crashed against the current just to slip, trip or fall in, when you could have just stepped out of the water walked up the shore and waded in within casting distance? Not an unfamiliar scenario? I have done this more times than I care to remember. This is part of the allure of fish. That splash of a rising fish grabs you and before you think it through your crashing through the water scaring every fish within 50 yards. It is like “throwing the baby out with the bath water.” It makes no sense to scare every fish that was within casting distance to get a shot at one far upstream. The parallels between the above and every day life are too obvious and individual to point out. The big fish making a big splash and the scaring off the smaller fish while running against the current, well, who can’t draw similarities? Is the big fish at the expense of the smaller but cacheable fish worth it? I say take your time and catch the closer fish and then mosey on up for the big one, out of the current. Rivers can have many currents, each with their own seams and drift opportunities. Changing or interacting currents can upset a good dead drift quickly and lose the opportunity for a fish. Too much belly in a line and it catches an intersecting current and the fly skitters across the top scaring everything it passes over. Current always runs from upstream down but never in perfect straight lines. It takes time to learn how to use currents in your favor and when you figure out how to use this liquid energy to your advantage and don’t fight the current, you will be successful!