just read a great adventure article from the big pull blog, the author is exploring a interesting Atlantic salmon river in the western Russia. The river is big and mighty, fish are big and strong, quite an interesting read. Among those great exotic stories, one caught my attention. Ryan mentioned the river is fast and wide, it is really difficult to make a drift to the spot where salmon holds, even with a long rod. So the most practical way is to reply on a fishing guide to maneuver the boat in the center of the river and you have a much easier position to reach the salmon and make a good drift (of your fly). The man, Ryan, refuse to do so. He decided to go a hard way, fishing from the bank, from the wade which is way more harder regard to the cast and drift and fighting the fish. He mentioned, by doing this way, he is the one actually fishing, not a just a "rod holder". Spot on, I can not agree with him more!
To me, most of the fun part in fly fishing is to figure out "where" is the fish, "how" to deliver the fly and "what" strategy to use. If it all come down to the point smoothly and get the hook up. It is a accomplished achievement. If you don't, you switch to plan B...c...etc... This is the feel of accomplished a task, the reward is from the moment of hook up (reward from the hunt itself), Not really come from the trophy (I really don't care if I land the fish or not). What really annoyed me is someone try to teach me how to fish, how to fight the fish on the river. I think I have done that to my friends uninternationally. I think it is bad! It's really a worst thing you can do on the water. Unless someone is asking, otherwise it's really "a moment killer". I have a fish on, I am dancing all around with the fish, enjoy the ecstasy! Just me, fish and the electric connection between us. I am the one really fishing...fish on my way, whether it's a hard way or a unsuccessful way!
Direct quote from the big pull: LINK
From my time here and on the Ponoi, it seems there is a strong tradition in Atlantic salmon flyfishing of covering mid-river lies from a boat. We don’t really have that in steelhead fishing, and frankly I can’t dig it. I want the challenge of knowing that some fish are just going to be harder to reach than others. Plus, the fish deserve their refugia. It took Blacky and I a couple days to communicate this to our guide, Vasilly, who, like all guides, probably prefers the boat because a.) his dudes hook more fish, and b.)in positioning the raft for the perfect swing, he is really the one fishing, the anglers becoming rod holders. We finally had a breackthrough moment on the second day when, after trying to trick me into fishing from the boat, I said in my cursory Russian, “No, we want only bank. No fish, no problem.” Gradually he got on the program and actually started to root for us, to take pride when one of us hooked up, handicapped as we were from the bank.
what is "moment killer"? ha... one of my favorite episode..
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