Never Stop Learning

I'm a terrible trout angler.
 
If you didn't know by now, I recently moved to Colorado from Oregon. And if you also didn't know, Colorado is an excellent trout fishery. Over the past year, I've been navigating new home waters, and it's been a humbling experience, to say the least. 

When I say I'm a terrible trout angler what I really mean is — I've prominently only fished with a dry fly, a streamer, or swinging flies.

It can be frustrating because it has made me a less well-rounded angler. I tend to look at all the waters here as if I'm in the Pacific Northwest casting my Spey rod across a big steelhead-green pool. This tactic has not worked out well for me in my new home waters.

I find myself constantly grabbing the Trout Spey or my 7-weight whenever I'm out fishing. I'm still enjoying my time, as I love casting a Spey rod, or chucking streamers on a float can be super productive. But last winter is when I realized how truly poor I was at nymph fishing.

I was fishing with my fiancé, who was born and raised in Pennsylvania. Where growing up meant George Daniel was the idol you looked up to in the fly fishing world.

On this winter day, he had a euro stick, and I had my Trout Spey. As I'm swinging away in the cold wind all I hear are finches paired with the hoots and hollers of Wills hammering fish while finding myself out-fished AGAIN.

Spending the last 10 years in the northwest you could say that I became a bit of a fly fishing snob. I hate to admit it, but I used to make fun of the people who were snobs and cared only about the tactics used in fly fishing. Yet here I find myself narrowing my tools and tactics with only my Trout Spey and 7 weight walking back to the car skunked again. It wasn't purely snobbery as to why I avoided trying the nymph rig. I realized it was mainly out of comfort. I knew how to use them; I felt more comfortable and confident in the tools I had spent most of my fly fishing journey using. But I also like to catch fish. It was then I realized it was time to learn how to use the euro rod. 

I have always been an advocate for being a more well-rounded angler. Being able to approach different fisheries and figure them out has always been a goal of mine. I was limiting myself by avoiding the euro rod, or even a simple nymph rig. It just so happens nymphing is super productive where I live now. There's a reason that Colorado allows you to fish with three flies (not that I could ever get myself to do that). One Day, I finally forced myself to pick up the euro stick, a handful of nymphs, and nothing else, meaning I'd have no other options to fish. 

I won't lie; it was a big challenge on the water at first. It felt awkward and unknown. I didn't quite understand the method or approach. It felt like I was learning to fish all over again. This is where perspective and goals came into play. I decided to jump into the learning part of fishing. I forgot about the fish and catching one. Instead, I focused on the enjoyment of simply learning a new style of fishing. One of the greatest joys of fly fishing is the abundance of learning opportunities. It made me feel like I could never get bored of it (which says a lot considering my severe ADHD brain). Finally, there it was— moments into me feeling like I was finally "getting it," my line went tight. I even felt the take, it was thrilling! I was shocked by how hard the fish pulled and then cartwheeled downriver. A few moments of chaos later, I'm gazing at the fish in the net with an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment. 

It was a great reminder to not let myself get complacent and to never stop learning.