There’s nothing like teaching somebody to fish
Teaching someone a new skill can be difficult. Since you are familiar with the activity, it can be difficult to explain what you are doing and why you are doing it. Trying to teach fishing to someone is no exception.
Last week our niece Michelle, her husband Doug and their daughters met with us in Montana. Michelle’s No. 1 priority was seeing bison up close in Yellowstone National Park. Doug wanted to learn how to fly fish and catch a trout. Their sevenyear-old daughter Elle was looking forward to spending time with her Great Aunt Janelle. Madison, aged four, was anxious to explore everything new and wanted to pet a deer.
Doug and Michelle had not really fished before, so they were facing a whole new experience. Spin fishing is simpler to teach than fly fishing since there are fewer issues to deal with. Jigging for perch or walleye is relatively easier to explain and do compared to trying fishing in a moving stream.
Fortunately for me, both of them are physically active and co-ordinated. Even though fishing was new to them, they picked up the basics of fly casting quickly. They did not have to overcome years of spin casting. The main problem with learning to fish moving water is that there are so many factors involved.
You cast out your line. Then you mend the line upstream so the fly does not begin to drag. Then you must keep your eye on the fly at all times. As your fly approaches a pod of rising trout, you must be ready to raise your rod and set the hook into the trout’s jaw. React too slowly and the trout spits out the fly. React too quickly and you pull the fly out of the trout’s mouth. As you can see, there are many things going on at the same time.
When we came to an area where fish were rising, it was time to put the fishing lessons to the test. Right away trout were slurping down their flies. At first they struck too late and the fish were gone. Then they both had fish on, but failed to keep their line taut and the fish flipped off their flies. Finally Doug landed a brown trout, but the camera was still in the drift boat.
The second time, fly fishing for Doug was an opportunity to experience wading in the river. His casting went well, as did all the other little things involved with fly fishing. The only problem was that other than a few strikes as we began, the fish stopped feeding and we both went fishless. They say a good teacher often teaches by doing the wrong thing. In this case, I fell on some slippery rocks and went down in calm water. Doug yelled over asking if he should save me or my fly rod. There is nothing like a student who loves to make a joke at his teacher’s expense.
The day after Doug and his family left, my wife and I returned to the same area. This time the fish were feeding, and we both rose many trout on dry flies. This part of the river features quiet pockets of water surrounded by raging currents. Your chance of landing any big trout over 18 to 20 inches here is slim. We both lost the bigger fish we caught. Our success was in getting the fish on the line. That we did, but landing them was not in our favour this day.
It was too bad the fish were not feeding as aggressively the day I had Doug there. All in all, he did get to experience several different types of fly fishing. Everything from nymphing with a strike indicator, to dead drifting nymphs, to casting dry flies over feeding trout. He said coming back was a certainty.
This kind of attitude on the part of an anxious learner is what makes teaching someone how to fly fish so rewarding. I hope by the next visit that Elle and Madi will also want to try their hand at fishing. Seeing a smile on an adult’s face when they catch their first trout is one thing. Seeing that smile on a child’s face is a long-treasured memory.