To string or not to string

I was up on North River last Sunday. I planned to start fishing about a mile down the road from where I parked. As I was gearing up, I had this internal conversation. See if you recognize it.

“Ok, it’s a mile or so back down the road, should I rig my rod up here or wait until I get a better look at the water? If I string up, I’ll be ready to go, but if I wind up bushwhacking, it will be a pain in the butt.” [insert heated social media discussion about which way to carry a strung rod, tip forward, or tip behind. You know the one I’m talking about…)

Almost every time I go fishing, I think about whether I should string the rod and tie on a fly before walking to the water. Most of the time, I tie on a bug, and most of the time, I guess right. Or, and this may be closer to the truth, I fish what I tied on since I’m too lazy to change.

While doom-scrolling social media, I came across Splitting the Fly Rod (with VIDEO) by Domenick Swentosky at Troutbitten. It prompted me to consider my own case.

BLUF: Swentosky strings the rod, breaks it down into two sections, and secures them with a hair tie. He demonstrates his quick and easy way to do this in the video. It’s worth watching.

I like his technique; it makes sense. I’m stealing a couple of hair ties from my granddaughter (who am I kidding? I’ll buy some, take a few and give her the rest) and I’ll give it a try.

As I’m banging away at the keyboard, I’ve also started thinking about the whole tie a fly on before getting to the water thing. I’m going to rethink that as well. I’m going commit to waiting until I get to the water.

The time saved is a false saving in some respects. I mean, what’s my hurry? A couple of minutes sitting on the bank by the stream observing the water more carefully is time well spent. Enjoying a few contemplative minutes just relaxing before focusing on the fishing can’t hurt.