"I’ve been described by a few mental-health professionals over the years as having obsessive tendencies."
If you're going to fly fish, good tendencies to have.
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How do you justify catch and release as anything but the torture of a sentient being for your own pleasure?
I've been fly-fishing for more than fifty years and it's the most focused form of meditation that I can possibly imagine. I may not be the most successful angler when it comes to catching (and releasing) the little creatures but that's why they call it fishing, not catching. I'm getting the itch just sitting here writing this comment.
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I grew up fishing with flies (and worms, grasshoppers, frogs, bread etc.) on the Charles River, pretty far upstream from Boston, and it’s still some of the best dry fly fishing I’ve ever had. There were stocked trout, but I also learned sunfish can get pretty selective when a hatch is on. I’d often fish alongside a woman from down the road, a little rough around the edges, but an early introduction for a small town kid in meeting people from other walks of life.
At times I’ve thought that I could do many of the things I enjoy in the outdoors without fooling fish, but it does sort of force you to connect to the world in a way that you might not otherwise. It’s not just about getting away.
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Keep fly fishing. Doesn't sound obsessive at all. It sounds like a healthy hobby.
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I have been fly fishing local ponds, streams, lakes and bays near my home in Red Bank, NJ for years. Adding a Tenkara rod makes spur of the moment fly fishing even more convenient and simple. My twist, like Pete Bodo wrote in the Times in 1999, I don't use hooks: https://www.nytimes.com/1999/11/07/sports/outdoors-hookless-fly-fishing-...
My website is https://kindfishing.com/
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Brook trout on Long Island? Surely you jest. However, it may be that now rare example of sea-run brookies. The stock in the stream is probably planted, I don't see how a year round brookie population can survive in Long Island. Any comments?
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For the past 30 years, my friends in Milwaukee have been raving about the fly fishing in the Milwaukee river.
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@RichNau
It's true.
Up at esterbrook Park you can see the annual run since the dam was removed, and the river edge crowded with anglers
Are these urban catches edible or is it strictly a catch and release game?
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@Local Gringo: Well, can't say for all cases, but brook trout don't tolerate pollution, heat, or low oxygen. Whatever body of water you take brook trout from is clean, cool, and well-oxygenated. So, I'd say in that case, safe.
@Local Gringo very, very few fly fishers keep fish they catch. The principle is “There are too few great fish for them to be caught just once.”
Obsessiveness is clearly over-diagnosed. Why would anyone ever want to obsess about avoiding these experiences?
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I started chasing trout as a nine year old in 1942 in the Cascade mountains in N. California, Then as a teenager in the Sierra's and over the years in each of the western states and western Canada. I produced three books on the subject. An old friend now gone told me that God did not deduct days spent fishing from kife. More fish are hooked and lost over the campfires than are ever encountered in the streams. Not because fishermen are liars, they merely have distorted recollections of what probably began as the truth. At age 80 I had to give it up, but the memories remain.
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I wish state NDRs in the Midwest saw the benefit of developing and maintaining urban river fisheries. Fly fishing can be a great recreational opportunity for the young, the old, the disabled, and everyone in between, and not everyone has the time or resources to travel several hours to find serviceable fly fishing water.
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I was looking for something new to learn and came upon a cool little seminar on birdwatching. I can relate to how excited one can become about a new venture. I'm all about the birds now...
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You may not be seeing otters in the LA River but that does not mean they or other wild creatures are not there.
I grew up in Burbank not far from the river in the 50’s & 60’s. My older brother explored those same haunts of the river and found wild nature abundant. He found nutria, deer and foxes in that wild habitat.
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this is a great piece of writing. fly fishing requires you to focus entirely on the moment and your immediate surroundings. it's like an outdoor meditation retreat with the prospect of an adrenaline hit and beer. there's little in life better than that.
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I’ve written www.lariverflyfishing.com for the past eight and a half years. Good to see that the NYT is taking an interest in our river. Now if the feds would release our $3 billion in eco-renovation money that would be really cool.
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