A write up I did on my sickness for the swing

[Reel Ventures on the Fly]

The easy win
ON OCTOBER 23, 2015 BY GARRETT STRICKLAND

My brother, a guy who would choose a nice restaurant over a nice run on a river, nailed it when I was discussing my passion for fly fishing for steelhead. He explained it best when he said, “no one wants the easy win”. I grew up fly fishing, always working my ass of for a grab and in my later years, as I put my elitist attitude in check, I opened my eyes to other aspects of angling. I don’t know if it was my overall curiosity to learn everything about fishing or if I was just tired of watching my non-fly fishing friends catching all the fish.

Well I chose to open my mind and take a walk onto the dark side. It was opening day for our winter steelhead season on the American river and I joined up my good friend and guide Cameron Beck of American River charters. The morning air was crisp and the sunrise was no where insight as we launched the drift boat in hopes of beating other anglers to “the spot”. We work with anticipation to our anchor point were we set up to pull plugs. As we sit in the dark with our wet waders freezing to the seats waiting for the sun to bless us with a little bit of warmth and enough light to fish, I tried to relate the idea of a lure triggering a bite of a steelhead to the presentation of a swung fly. Obviously the lure has its advantages with its capability to dive deep and either sit in the face of a holding steelhead or surprise that steelhead that is on the move, either way enticing a bite. In efforts to be open minded I slowly convince myself that both are earning a reaction bite from a steelhead and the thrill of the hunt was still present as we must search out an aggressive fish to bite....to continue reading follow the link to my blog, thanks https://garrettstrickland.wordpress.com

[Terry Thomas]

Thanks Garrett. It is about the chase and fishing the way you want, fully realizing that there are other more efficient methods.