Story: Crossroads

Photo: Louis Cahill

How often do you find yourself on the water, throwing the same rigs in the same runs, probably for the same fish you caught last time? It’s easy to get in a rut in fly fishing, especially if you don’t live in an area with tons of public access and good fisheries.

And what happens when that rut takes you to a familiar place, but the fish don’t cooperate? What if they start refusing your flies? Do you chalk it up to the inevitable day of bad luck, or do you try to solve the puzzle?

That’s the story Louis Cahill tells in his latest over at Gink & Gasoline, which I think gets at the heart of many of the problems we all face on the water. I’ve posted a short excerpt below, and you can read the entire story here.

“Do I try the same thing again? I made a good cast, and I got the drift I wanted. Everything seemed to be going well, right up to the refusal. I could tie on a different fly, but what if that wasn’t what was keeping him from eating? Was it the tippet? I really have no idea. I could change flies all day long, but if it is indeed the tippet that is the issue, then we’re not going to get our desired results. Running through these ideas, I came to the conclusion that I would downsize my tippet AND change flies for my next presentation.”