Stoicism and fly-fishing — Week four

Here are this week’s thoughts.¹

“You could enjoy this very moment all the things you are praying to reach by taking the long way around—if you’d stop depriving yourself of them.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Often I hear, people say they want to learn to fly-fish but it looks too complicated or too hard. But is it? Only one way to find out – give it a try. The simplicity of Tenkara was a big selling point to me. For aspiring fly anglers, it’s an easy starting point.

I’ve regretted not going fishing more than I have regretted going. I wanted things (weather, time, gear) to differ from what they were, so I put it off.

“The beautiful and good person neither fights with anyone nor, as much as they are able, permits others to fight . . . this is the meaning of getting an education—learning what is your own affair and what is not. If a person carries themselves so, where is there any room for fighting?” —Epictetus, Discourses

It happens eventually. Someone else is fishing where you want to fish. Are you going to pick a fight, which at best will leave a bitter taste in your mouth, or are you going to move on? What was your goal when you set out, fish or fight? In every case, I’ve chosen to fish. I’ve also resisted the temptation to “educate” them. If they stop and politely ask, I’m happy to share my plan and answer their questions. A little streamside camaraderie is fine. But I came to fish and enjoy myself.

“This is why we say that nothing happens to the wise person contrary to their expectations.” —Seneca, On Tranquility of Mind

Luck or experience? I don’t trust to luck unless I don’t really care about the outcome. The proverbial coin flip. I’ll make a cast that needs more luck than skill now and then because if it doesn’t work out, I’m not invested in success. I let experience guide me. I have expectations born of that experience to guide my thinking.

“What assistance can we find in the fight against habit? Try the opposite —Epictetus, Discourses

“Match the hatch.” Shape, then size, then color.” “Smaller and darker.” These are maxims in fly-fishing. Often, they are habits as well. The problem with habits is some are bad. Fish hit strike indicators, and I know that’s not part of their diet. There’s a reason we have attractor patterns. The usual stuff not working, try something out of the ordinary. “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines," said Emerson. Not so for wise fly-fishers…

“How does it help, my husband, to make misfortune heavier by complaining about it? This is more fit for a king—to seize your adversities head on. The more precarious his situation, the more imminent his fall from power, the more firmly he should be resolved to stand and fight. It isn’t manly to retreat from fortune.” —Seneca

Recently I caught myself starting to lose my temper when, once again, I stuck a fly in a tree on my backcast. When I regained my composure, I had to laugh. Who was going listen to me proclaim by incompetence, or care if they did hear? How was getting angry going to get the fly back faster? Thankfully I fought the urge and moved on.

“Philosophy calls for simple living, but not for penance—it’s quite possible to be simple without being crude.” —Seneca, Moral Letters

Regular readers know I’m a big fan of Tenkara. Its simplicity is one of its many virtues. “I believe the way toward mastery of any endeavor is to work toward simplicity; replace complex technology with knowledge, hard work and skill,” wrote Yvon Chouniard.

But stripping something down to its core doesn’t mean you have to make it ugly or difficult. Fly-fishing, whether Tenkara or rod and reel, benefits from the craftsmanship that has gone into make the tool the best it can be.

From the start, I wasn’t a fan of the “one way of Tenkara” crowd. The Tenkara only or only this way dogma demanded a fealty that wasn’t justified. It was a little much for me. There was a lot to learn from other ways to fly-fish.

Same for teaching folks to cast. There are some things you can’t change like gravity and physics but if your “style” accomplishes the task, then who am I to say it’s “wrong”?

“It is possible to curb your arrogance, to overcome pleasure and pain, to rise above your ambition, and to not be angry with stupid and ungrateful people—yes, even to care for them.” —Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

“Oh lord, it’s hard to be humble,”² goes an old county song. Arrogance looks bad if you are an instructor or guide. I try hard to temper my emotions, using success or blunders as teaching moments rather than shining up my reputation or making excuses. Sure, I want the physic income of being considered a great guide but I don’t want to make a show if it.

You will encounter some stupid and ungrateful people if you are teaching, guiding or fishing long enough. The trick is to not let them ruin your day. Care for them? That might still be a stretch for me…

1. I’m reading Ryan Holiday’s “The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living.” I encourage you to get Holiday’s book, his insights are excellent and well worth your time. As a thought exercise, I’m writing on how each daily reference relates to my fly-fishing experience.

2.