500 words about... week three

Even with a busy week and time out of town, I managed to stay on task

Master the basics

I used to kid my father, telling him golf game would improve more with coaching than new clubs. After teaching and guiding all these years, I believe that more than ever. A fly rod is just a tool. I’ve watched Lefty Kreh, Joan Wulff and Flip Pallot all cast a fly line without a rod. How do they do it? They are skilled fly casters, adapting their skill to replace the fly rod with their arm and hand. Good tools are important, but knowing how to use them, and use them well is more important. Nothing beats it.

Get grounded

Occasionally, when the fishing is tough, I’ll start to feel the frustration build up. Generally, things will not improve from there. I have a technique that helps. I’ll stop, hook the fly to my rod and stand still. If I’m not in the water, I’ll step in up to my mid-calf. Then I take a few moments to connect to my surroundings. I’ll feel my boots on the river bottom, the water against my legs, the smells, the sounds and sights. My shoulders will drop, my jaw relaxes, and my breathing will slow. It reminds of why I’m out there in the first place.

A sense of humor

About a week ago, I was listening to Charlie Sykes’ podcast with Tim Miller and Sykes was commenting on how he tries to cultivate a sense of humor about all that is happening. He noted how some people don’t understand how he can have a sense of humor when democracy is burning. Skyes response was “If you don’t laugh, democracy will burn and you will burn with it.” That’s a good way to look at it. Many a time I’ve done some stupid thing while fishing. It’s easy to get angry, upset, or frustrated when it happens. But it can quickly ruin the day if I let it. When I stop, take a breath and chuckle at what happened, it somehow lessens the pain.

Experience and expertise

There is a story that goes something like this. A guy brings his car into the shop with a problem he can figure out. The mechanic fixes quickly. Hands the guy a bill for $100. Guy says you worked 10 minutes, that’s outrageous. Mechanic says I’ve spent 30 years learning how and where to do it in 10 minutes. I’m not just charging for my expertise; I’m charging for my 30 years of experience. When you hire a guide and price it in your head based on time, you are no different from the guy with the car problem. Don’t be that guy.

Instinct

The following quote from Vitaliy Katsenelson resonated with me. “What your instincts and gut tell you should only be considered when you have a lot of prior data to work with.” He was writing about how Warren Buffett can look at a business and quickly say yes or no as an investment. Fly-fishing can be like that. One of my favorite things to tell students and clients is “the river teaches and the fish grade.” The river and the fish are your data. The more data you collect, in other words, time on the water, the better your instinct and gut feeling will serve you. Same thing works for fly casting, fly selection and equipment. The more data you can gather, the better.