SELF will be publishing new articles for this series throughout October.Read more here.
We had waders on, waterproof boots, and overalls.
But here it was, the real thing, the point where waters meet.
Jackson Gibbs
Its why Id come: To make things real.
And to catch fish.
I viewed fishing as a hobby reserved for retired old men whose humor was based on disliking their wives.
handmade fishing fly, fly tying
To be fair, this is how a decent chunk of fishing enthusiasts portray it.
Fishing culture relies heavily on novelty T-shirts featuring slogans like Part Time Hooker or The Tug Is My Drug.
My personal favorites are the flatly menacing ones.
chandlerphoto
I Fish So I Dont Choke People.
I suppose that, not unlike a corny dad, Ive found peace in fishing.
Im technically present, but I feel more like a spectator in the dull events of my daily routine.
Macro shot of a Red, brown and white dry fly fishing fly used for trout fishing
Another one of those less desirable confluences.
Fishing activates my senses in a way thats hard to replicate with other methods.
Brians business, City Fly, specializes in getting urbanites like myself into the wild.
When hes not fishing, hes pursuing acting.
Teddy and I drove up to Hancock on a Saturday to fish all day Sunday.
This is only partially true, as Brian informed us.
Yes, the lure is differentinstead of live bait, a tiny fly is used.
But the rods are also much longer and feel lighter.
If youre not casting, youre reeling in the line to cast again.
Fly-fishing is a finer art than bait-fishing.
Its damn near balletic.
It is not, as I assumed based on fishing tropes, all in the wrist.
Your wrist actually doesnt bend at all.
Understanding the life cycle of this tiny insect is crucial to a successful fly-fishing trip.
Fly-fishing is a world in which the tiny things matter quite a bit.
But the emphasis of fly-fishing is often the microscopic.
Just like insects themselves, its bewildering how much detail can be packed into such a tiny form.
It was a reminder, for me, of how things actually work.
Of course, on an intellectual level, Ive known this to be true for much of my life.
Ive seenThe Lion King.I know about the circle of life.
Thats what fishing does for me.
Its brought life back into a world that was starting to feel dead.
How many times, in life, have I passed by rivers and lakes without a second thought?
Ive received mixed feedback about my new hobby.
Its hard to deny that theres some truth in there.
On that trip, I caught four fish.
Two brown trout, two rainbow trout, all beautiful.
We threw them back.
For me, that fishing trip was hardly about catching the fish, anyway.
