Method

Bittersweet

 The progression of a fly angler has been discussed many times and goes something like this:

First – just catch a fish
Second – catch lots of fish
Third – catch big fish
Last – catch fish using preferred method

Seems pretty straight forward but it’s very confusing to some. Some folks can’t understand why anyone would fish all day in high water with a dry fly with no success when their buddy is roping them in the back of the boat with nymphs. Or why anyone would stand in an ice cold steelhead river up to their junk swinging a fly for days on end without even a tug when their buddies are catching fish with beads,  jigs and bobbers. Different strokes for different folks.

Roderick Haig Brown said it well.

“In the pursuit of sport, method is everything. The more difficult the method, the greater the yield of emotional stir and satisfaction, the higher the placement in a sportsman’s set of values.” 

I know this is pretty close to the original quote but it might not be exact. If anyone can find it and send it to me I’ll give you a dozen free flies. It came out of an old steelhead book called Advanced Steelhead Tactics  by Deke Meyer 

So I guess the bottom line is the value you place on your method. How many, if any,  bobber caught fish are equal to one caught on the swing or on the dry? Only you can decide.