Top Ten Reasons Why I Still Fish Part 2

OK on to reasons 5 through 1.

5. Newspaper articles. Again, if I don’t fish, I won’t have anything to write about. I’ve been writing articles for the Amador Ledger Dispatch (http://www.ledger-dispatch.com/) since the end of October 2010. I’ve written about everything from fishing the upcountry lakes to being sure you have what you need when you venture out to fish in the winter. Fishing = articles in the paper. They have a blog, too.

4. Fly fishing. Going back to #9 in part 1, I got started fly fishing just before that trip. When we signed up, they told me I needed a fly rod to fish for Steelhead. Ok, I got one because it was the same cost as renting one from them. I did a little research and ended up with a rod, reel, and all the accessories necessary to stand in the river, waving a stick. Before we went to Oregon, I thought it would be prudent to do a little practice with the fly rod. In the stuff I got when I purchased the rod, was flies. Having no idea what I was doing, I drove over to the West Fork of the Carson River and tried my luck. To make a long story short, the first two fish I caught on a fly rod were 18” Rainbows and I was hooked for life. There is no comparison to fishing a spinning rod to a fly rod. Even though I fish with both, a fly rod is way more fun.

3. Friendships. Since I started writing about my fishing, I’ve come into contact with a lot of people both through my blog and people I meet while fishing. I’ve made some good friendships and some good fishing partners. They are the kind of relationships that you can call someone up and say, “Hey, let’s go fishing” and they are just as ready as you are. Some are close by, others are states away. Those that are farther away are the kind of friendships that make swapping fishing ideas an open discussion rather than the closed mouth way a lot of fishermen are. The one thing I’ve learned about fishing; is that you never know it all.

2. The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Thanksgiving week this year has held both of these feelings. On Monday of that week, I fished Lake Camanche and caught two Rainbow Trout that went about 3 pounds and 4 lbs - 15oz. I had another one on that stripped line off my reel for about 20 or 30 feet and then gave me back the lure. That was the thrill of victory. That same week, I fished the same place, with the same lure, and caught nothing. That is the agony of defeat. What that kind of week does, is keep you going back for that next thrill of victory. It’s the excitement of the chase.

1. Communing with Nature. Fishing gets you out of the house. It gets you away from the hustle and bustle of city life. It gets you away from the daily grind (this is the way my friend from Wales describes his job). A lot of people that fish go to the lake, stream, or river and never look around at Nature. You should take in the wild flowers, the beauty of mushrooms growing on trees and out of the ground. Just stop and take a close look around. There is beauty everywhere from the small Garter Snake you jump while walking by (Yeh, I know. I hate snakes too) to the little bug that lands on your arm. Probably something that is hatching and that is making the trout go “buggy”, but being Entomology stupid as I am, I can only appreciate the bug itself and not how it relates to the fish, its Latin name, or for that matter, its English name. You know, Caddis, Mayfly, Nymphs, and all that stuff. If nothing else, when you’re sitting in your camping chair on the side of the lake and the fish aren’t biting (which is more often than not), take a look around you. You just might be surprised at what you see. This is why I still fishing.

That's it. Thanks for taking the time to read them.

Mark