Why Is Fly-Fishing Different?
Fly-fishing developed as a sport rather than a way to put food on the table. It's a much more visual sport than most other kinds of fishing and often more like hunting than fishing. Fly-fishermen often stalk an individual fish they see feeding and try to outsmart it with a fly that imitates its food. And fly-fishermen first developed the concept of catch and release.
The Sport of Fly-Fishing
There's a difference when you go fishing if the goal is to catch something to eat rather than just to have fun catching fish. Fly-fishing seems to be more about fishing for sport than catching fish for food, and most fish caught are released to be caught again. Fly-fishermen have reverence for the fish they catch, treating them gently and trying not to harm them.
The challenge in fly-fishing is to get the fish to accept an artificial bait, often one you made yourself, as food. Once that challenge is met the fight of the fish becomes important. Rather than pulling the fish in and landing it quickly and efficiently, the fly-fisherman gets the most fight possible.
Tying their own flies is an important part of the sport to most fly-fishermen. Many study the craft of tying flies and the habits of insects as much as they study the habits of fish. They can identify almost any kind of insect a fish will feed on and match it to the appropriate fish.
The Attitude of Fly-Fishing
Fly-fishing is more of a solitary pursuit than are other kinds of fishing. Although several friends may go fishing together, for most freshwater fishing, they split up and fish alone. It's difficult for more than one person to fly-fish from a boat at one time, so one person fishes while the other maneuvers the boat. Even in saltwater fishing where a boat is necessary there is usually a guide that controls the boat while one person fishes.
Fly-fishing seems to be a more contemplative sport, too. The classic image of a fly-fisherman is someone standing in a pristine trout stream all alone, with nothing but the sounds of nature. The fly-fisherman concentrates on fishing and the actions trying to get the fish to hit, and nothing else. The simple fly-fishing equipment doesn't create much of a disturbance and the fisherman becomes one with nature.
For many years fly-fishing was considered an expensive sport only for the few to enjoy. But today's modern equipment is inexpensive enough for anyone to fly-fish, and TV shows and books have taken some of the mystery out of it. As more and more people learned to fly-fish, it has become less intimidating, so more fishermen are willing to give it a try.
