Exploration

  Earlier in the year, I wrote a piece titled "The Map Room", that detailed my thoughts on how modern technology has taken a lot of the sense of adventure out of our fishing. This is a topic I feel very strongly about, and evidently, I am not the only one. After viewing a recent episode of the popular TV show, Flats Class that featured Flip Pallot as the guest angler, I was reminded that this may be a more universal feeling than I previously thought. Nevermind the fact that I'll take any and every opportunity that I can to quote Flip. He is, after all, the reason I took an interest in fly fishing so many years ago. But that doesn't change the fact that he is (as usual) 100% correct.

  As I push the 50 year old mark, I seem to spend a lot more time looking back with more than anything else, a sense of reverence for the good fortune I had to grow up in a much simpler time. I consider myself very lucky in that I grew up in a neighborhood that back then was on the very outskirts of town. Finding a new place in the wilderness to explore was merely a 5-10 minute bike ride away. Unfortunately however, like Flip referenced, not only have the number of wild places dwindled over the decades, finding one close to home like I had, for most people nowadays is simply nothing more than a daydream.

  Even more disturbing is the fact that many anglers nowadays simply don't have even the remotest desire, or the proper skill set to explore what few wild places are left. One only needs to look at any of the fishing related pages on social media for a painful reminder of how little of the adventurous spirit is left in today's so called fishermen. Some angler will post a picture of a fish he/she caught, and subsequently, dozens of people will respond almost immediately with inquiries of where, when and how. Too lazy to figure it out for themselves, they want somebody else to do the work for them. They have no idea that they are missing the REAL point of angling. That putting together a plan to venture into the unknown with a fishing rod in hand, and executing that plan whether, from a catching standpoint it succeeds or fails is one of the more valuable rewards of angling.

  In a way, I can't blame this generation of anglers. So many of them have grown up in a time where everything has been provided for them. From detailed aerial satellite photos to Sonar units that provide photographic like detail of the underwater world, to real-time information of where and when the bite is going off that is available at the touch of a button on their smartphone. I honestly believe they simply don't know any other way to be.

  It does make me sad though. Ignorance may be bliss, but these folks have no idea what they're missing out on. There are wonderful memories to be made and perhaps more importantly, very deep personal meaning to be found in the act of adventure and exploration. Those memories become even more profound when those adventures are shared with a trusted companion who appreciates it as much as you do. And, there is one thing I can promise you, there is not ONE part of me that will ever regret the thousands of fishless hours I've experienced exploring wild, unknown places with a fly rod in hand. If nothing else they make for great stories to look back on while sipping an adult libation around a camp fire.

Hope you all have a great week,

Andy