Passing on the Joy of Fly Fishing

Where have all the children gone?  Are they sitting in front of their TV’s playing BASS 2007 on their XBOX 360?  I know one thing, they aren’t fly fishing.  When I fish I observe and talk to people more than I fish.  I enjoy being outside with my family, and that gives me time to chat with other fishermen.  Very rarely do I see a child with a fly rod in hand, and that saddens me.  We hear of Indian languages and lore being lost to the modern world because nobody wants to take the time to learn and understand them, I fear fly fishing will go the same route.

As parents (I have two daughters and two step daughters) we teach our children by example, whether that pertains to how we act in front of other people, driving a car, or in this instance fly fishing.   But today’s society is a learn it quick or don’t learn it at all type of world.  Children seem to get disinterested a lot quicker than when I was a kid growing up in the 70’s, and parents don’t seem to have the time to focus on their children like my mother and father did when I was growing up.  We are now expected to work 60 hours a week and spend less time with our family because we need to keep up with everybody else in this world.  It cannot happen!  Our children are the most important thing in this world, because our children will make important decisions about global warming, logging practices, stream restoration, and yes- teaching fly fishing to their children.

Fly fishing has become a “more mature” sport since it’s heyday in the 80’s.  Until that time it was seen as an elitist sport and still is in certain circles.  It’s not an easy skill to learn.  I spend time with my 10 year old daughter teaching her how to cast, how to see where a trout may lurk under a stream bank that has been eroded by the water’s current.  I just spend time doing it.  I don’t want to see the sport that I love, that my father taught me on a green lawn beside our house, Shakespeare Wonder Rod in hand flailing away like a boy trying to swat a bee in front of him.  My father was not even close to an expert but he took the time to show what he knew to an 11 year old boy and helped me “mature” into a young man with a love for fishing in general.

Did fly fishing stick with me right away, heck no! It took college for me to get back into it.  I used it to forge new friendships, relieve the stress of finals, and that stuck with me until this day.  I credit my father with igniting that first spark for fishing, and his patience with a young boy frustrated because the piece of yarn tied to the level 7 weight line wasn’t going more than 10 feet in front of him ( there are times today when I barely surpass that feat).

Take the time with your children, a neighborhood girl or boy and show them perseverance, ignite that spark for fishing, because without them fly fishing will just become another dead language.