Size/Quality vs Numbers vs Drive Time: A Musing

[Hairstacker]

I live in San Jose, so for me it's a 4 hour drive for small ones and big ones... I'd rather catch 10 12-13 inchers all day than 2 or 3 18-20 inchers.

Well, now that's interesting 'cause I'm just the opposite -- I'd rather catch 2 or 3 18-20 inchers than 10 12-13 inchers all day. Might be a good poll topic.

[WhipperSnapper]

Well, now that's interesting 'cause I'm just the opposite -- I'd rather catch 2 or 3 18-20 inchers than 10 12-13 inchers all day. Might be a good poll topic.

It's because I like action. Yeah, I like just being out there, but driving 3-4 hours I like to get into some fish. Hell, if I just liked being out there, then I would drive 30 minutes to the Santa Cruz mountains and fish the San Lorenzo river... Where the best I can expect is just being out there.

[Frank R. Pisciotta]

This is all good stuff & reinforces that we who participate in this sport have specific likes & dislikes; fresh/warm/salt, stream/surf/deep water/lakes, dry/wet tarpon/bones/trout/bass/salmon etc.etc. Essentially it is all relative. Since I mostly freshwater fly fish for trout or steelhead; I can only speak for myself relative to my persoanl preferences.

Below, IMO, is a good example of the natural progression of a fly angler (not sure where I first heard this):

1st Phase-----------------------Numbers; more the better
2nd Phase-----------------------Size; the bigger the better
3rd/Final Phase------------------Quality of the Experience*

* "a total experience" (my tag-line on my 1st brochure in 1984)

Frank R. Pisciotta

[Fly Guy Dave]

Well, my big thing is wild native trout. Sometimes I've driven hours and then hiked (or backpacked) for a few hours more to catch just a few six inch trout. Of course it might be a rare subspecies, one was even thought to be extinct, but it's still worth it to me. Like others have said: it's the experience. But it's also the research it took to find out where they are and the success of finding and catching them once you are there. It's not about size or numbers with me at all. But we all have our own "thing" about FF that floats our boat.

Cheers!

--FlyGuy (Dave)