Why I’m hooked!

Fresh water fly fishing for me is a relatively new past time and so I am definitely no expert. I am however a quick learner, super keen and a lover of the outdoors. So when my father suggested I accompany him to New Zealand to learn the art of fresh water fly fishing, although apprehensive, I jumped at the chance.

Dad is a bit of an expert in the field and has been fishing for over 30 odd years. He has fished waters in New Zealand, Australia, the UK, Alaska and Europe. Plus he has heaps of fishing gear and equipment that I can ‘borrow’!

The tables are turned with Fly Fishing it seems – you become the hunter, the stalker, out actively searching for fish not just sitting back waiting for the fish to swallow your hook.

I didn’t get my first true bout of excitement when I felt a tug on my line, but when I actually saw my first glimpse of a huge cruising 10 pound fish. It was a large shadowy form hanging in the brown shallows of a quiet stretch of water on the Arnold River in New Zealand. My heartbeat doubled and in the heat of the moment with Dave the guide on my left shoulder, breathing steady instructions I summoned the composure to deliver a decisive cast. The fly landed in precisely the wrong place but at the right time.

‘Try again’ were Dave’s encouraging words. Next cast the fly landed in the right place at the wrong time. An hour and a half and many, many casts later, the fish was still quite undisturbed, still swimming around in circles, directly in front of where Dave and I were crouched. Frustrating? Yes! But more so I felt a keen determination to not give up. Riding the waves of anticipation, pleading the verdict in pained silence, heart in mouth, breath held, it was just too exhilarating.

I didn’t get that fish. However, as they say, there were others. Not that day, but in the course of a weeks trip I caught 17.

Despite not catching that fish, it is the one I remember the most and the one that will keep me going back for more. Because one day, with practice and learned patience I will hook and land that ‘elusive’ 10 pound trout.

So what it is about fly fishing that has me hooked? There is no definite one reason. It comes down to my love for the real outdoors, the wilderness, the natural environment, my Dad’s enthusiasm, the ride of anticipation and sheer excitement and lastly the wonderful feeling you get graciously thanking a beautiful four pound brown trout for a magnificent battle as you release it back into the wild. Plus it is a real skill. It's not easy. It’s a challenge and sometimes a battle. But because of this I feel...a better person.

* All photos taken by K Dunstan, November 2009.