It was a couple of weeks ago, I was having a very bad week overall; life had recently proven to me that, despite my wishes, many things were actually not under my control. I was quite frustrated when I realized that staying at home was not doing me any good. With the need to escape, I got my fly fishing gear in the trunk of my car and headed to the Chattahoochee River, to connect with mother nature, unwind and maybe catch a some trout.
About 30 minutes later I arrived at my destination, geared up and was ready to get in the river. It was a beautiful day, the sky was blue, the ambient temperature was mild and the breeze was refreshing. The water was cold as it was supposed to be but much cloudier than in my past visits. I hadn’t been there over a month, maybe two.
As I started wading my way in and cast my fly, I was greeted by another angler, a spinner. He told me he has tried everything already but had no bites yet. "Well, at least the scenery is prime time", I replied!
I started my day with a dry fly (Elk Hair Caddis) and persisted with it for about an hour, no bites. After wading a bit, I changed to an attractor (like a Royal Wulff) and added a dropper, trying to provoke a stubborn trout. Tried, and tried, and still nothing! I further waded along the stream still hoping I would get some action. The water was not as cloudy anymore but it was still hard to sight spot a fish. After another hour, I was already pretty far from where I entered the river, I tried nymphing. At this point of time, I was alone on the river, no other angler at sight; very unusual for such a popular stream. I kept on trying for another hour, until it was finally time for me to pack my stuff up and return home to take care of my dog.
I did not catch a fish that day, but just by being out there, getting the energy from the cold water stream and from the fresh air, watching the birds and keeping myself busy trying to figure out how to catch a trout, made me feel much better. Maybe that was not my day after all, so I will try again another day. Maybe the fly was not right, so I will try to find out what are they biting next time. The point is, do not give up and, most importantly, enjoy the ride in the meantime. Keep on trying, learn from your mistakes, and make the best out of your time while you learn. Enjoy the scenery, connect with nature, take time to appreciate what you have, have faith and persevere.
Most fishing blogs I know and enjoy will tell you about the techniques, the gears, the streams, and will; ultimately, conclude with fish being successfully hooked. Yay!!! I got to tell you, and I am pretty sure it is only with me (right?), but there are times when the "catching fish" part is missing from a fishing day - now, remember, all other fun elements of it are there, so rejoice. If that was not a "perfect fishing day", let's call it a "close to perfect" fishing day, and move on.