After so many fly anglers wrote in to tell us that they’ve been affected by one of the first “7 Warning Signs You’re Not Fishing Enough,” we knew we had to do more. No angler should be without feeling the tug of a fish on the end of their fly line for too long.
Fly fishing withdrawal is a serious epidemic and the mass media seems to be vastly ignoring the problem all together. It’s our job to get you out on the water as much and as easily as possible, and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. If you recognize any of the scenarios below, drop everything and get out there. Right now.
1) It Takes More Than 1 Second To Remember When You Last Fished
That should be more than enough time to remember the last time you were out on the water, because it should be just earlier in the day or the day before. The memory should be so recent and so fresh in your mind that you can recall every color, spot and scale on the fish that you caught, where you caught them and what you caught them on. Unless you got skunked, in which case, you should remember every color in that pretty sunset.
2) You Got Skunked Last Time
Even if you just got off the water two minutes ago, if you got skunked the last time that you went out it’s time to get out there and make up for your losses. Sure, it happens sometimes, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept it. If you snuck out in the early morning before work, but didn’t catch any fish, it’s time to call your boss with the perfect excuse to ditch work and go fishing.
3) If You’re Stressed Out
It’s just a fact that if go fishing, everything you’re stressed about at work or in your personal life will simply melt away. At least, it will go away long enough for you to stop thinking about it constantly and actually find the solution. Or, even better, you’ll realize that whatever it is isn’t as important as it seems. Don’t believe me? Try remembering what you were worried about last year at this exact time. Chances are, you’ve totally forgotten about it.
4) You See Dust On Your Gear
If dust is starting to collect on your fly gear, then you’ve got a serious problem. We’re legitimately worried about you actually. Get out now. If you see dust on your gear, there’s nothing more important than going fishing right now. Forget work, forget your dentist appointment, don’t worry about getting the lawn mowed or your car’s oil change, just go fly fishing!
5) You Have Kids
Hang on now. I’m not saying that kids are fishing time-sucking experts that will steal your soul if you’re not careful, I’m just saying that…well actually, I’m kind of saying that. The fact is, kids and family time eat into fishing time, for good reason sure, but you’ll still be spending more time at parent teacher conferences than guide angler conferences. The great thing about kids being the reason you’re not fishing enough is that you can just bring them along the next time you get out.
6) If Your Boss Is Happy
Of course you want to make your boss happy, after all, how else are you going to keep buying fly fishing gear if you’re no longer getting paid. I just mean that if you’re boss is commenting on how hard you’ve been working, how late you’ve been staying at the office, all the extra effort you’ve been putting in, well then you’re probably do for a break. Take a personal day and play hooky (get it? get it?), you deserve it.
7) Your “Dream Species To Catch” List Is Getting Longer
We’ve all got one. That mental list that gets longer and longer with every fly fishing video you see on Facebook, well once that list is getting longer faster than you can cross off species, well it’s probably time to go fishing. Sure you may need to drop some cash to travel a little farther than normal to catch that exotic dream species, but trust me, it’ll be worth it. Just think of the story you’ll have once you’re not fishing enough again. Eventually, it will happen.
Tired of missing out on good fly fishing fun because you’re out of flies? Make sure your flybox stays full, sign up for Postfly now and get flies delivered to your door every month.
