On Wading

Early in my career, I worked for Rockport Shoe, a really fine company that made a really good product. At the time, the company was getting into the golf shoe market and the creative folks on the marketing team were tasked with coming up with a tag line to go along with the product. Rockport was known as the "walking shoe" company. With this as it's DNA, the tag line that eventually came out was "Walk the Course". After all, what value could be derived from a comfortable golf shoe if one just drove around in a golf cart chasing wayward shots? I thought it was a pretty neat idea and the shoes certainly developed a following within the golf community.

I got to thinking about this the other day after seeing yet another advertisement for a rubber raft on my Instagram feed. In fact, it is almost impossible to get away from the fact that inflatable boats are becoming all the rage among the fly fishing crowd. While I can see the attraction to having one, and there are certainly some advantages in being able to paddle merrily down the stream, I think some of the soul of fly fishing is being lost along the way. I think too, that there are disadvantages to being stuck in a boat more often than not. At least on our easily waded rivers.

With this in mind, please indulge me while I make a case for the advantages one gains while "wading the stream". Perhaps the biggest benefit gained in wading a river is the intimacy of the experience and the knowledge gained from that intimacy. Sitting on the bank of a river allows one to observe closely the goings on in a specific pool or riffle. In fact, the only way to really get to know a particular piece of water is to sit and observe. Not just once, but many times over the course of the season in a variety of conditions. Only then will the true nature of a particular spot reveal itself to the attentive angler.

Imbedded within the above thought is that one begins to learn the hatch cycles of a particular piece of water by spending time on that specific stretch. If you drift by a spot in the early evening, you will only see a small sliver of what is available. By staying and observing one can learn some interesting things. I know particular stretches I have observed closely will often have two or three different flies hatching or engaging in spinner flights on a given evening. Some of this activity attracts only small fish, while other bugs will bring up bigger fish. I have only learned that by being present for an extended period of time.

We often talk of reading the water to locate fish. The wading angler is going to see things that the drift boat angler will never see. Think of it as the student that reads Moby Dick from cover to cover versus the student that goes the Cliff Notes route. Each will gain something but only one will truly understand the entirety of the work. Reading a trout pool is no different. You have to read the whole pool and that takes more time and more effort. The rewards, however, are greater. You will begin to know those hidden nooks and crannies that hold larger fish, the ones we want to catch more often.

Another benefit the wading angler has is that should the fishing just not be on in the spot he or she has chosen, there is the flexibility of moving both upstream or down. The boat bound angler can certainly move but that is in only one direction. On some days or evenings that may well work, on others, this will be a hinderance.

Finally, the wading angler has the ability to simply be by themselves, whereas the drifting angler is far more often than has a friend or even two friends with them. That is all well and good but there are times when it is cleansing to the soul to just get away from everyone, find a piece of water, enjoy the feel of water pushing against you while seeking out a fish or two to catch.