"Imagine your [mindset] when you are given a fly the size of a mosquito and a fishing line the diameter of a frog's hair and you must thread the frog's hair through a hole the size of an ant's eye on the end of the fly
"Or the time I spent on the river bank untangling my fly from an evil shrub that sucked it in damn near every time I back-cast... but there I was in Colorado [River], standing in 35 degree [Fahrenheit] water and having the time of my life."
-- Christine Stapleton, from her article Fly fishing and Bipolar.
I have long known about the therapeutic value of fly fishing. Many of the youth who gravitated to our clubs when I was a youth fly fishing club coordinator were labeled "problem kids."
I did not find one who didn't respond well to self-esteem building rudiments of tying flies and catching fish with one's own creations. Aside from the ones who had much more drastic personal issues, one stands out from all the others -- a fellow with the initials MM.
When MM came to us he talked in almost inaudible mumbles and would not look anybody in the eye.
We welcomed him to our club and taught him to tie flies. He complained that his flies did not look very good. As always, I explained to him that looks were not as important as catching fish and that the fish would be the judge.
His breakthrough came when we took him fishing. At one point, we heard yelling and screaming. Stunned, we all looked to see MM landing his first fish. Through the simple act of tying flies and catching fish with his flies, we saw MM build his self-esteem to where he was looking us in the eye and talking with confidence.
How rewarding an experience for all.
THE REPORT
Fishing on our Lower Mainland and Interior lakes is good.
The Fraser River is fishing well for spring, pink, chum and cutthroat.
