We've all been there (at least I hope I'm not the only one): We've been thrashing away at the water for hours trying to get the fish feeding in front of us to take, and the guy/girl upstream is catching them like he's using powerbait! You begin to walk up-stream to have a nice conversation with a fellow fisherman when... your "fishing pride" takes over. Fishing pride (FP) is like the cartoon devil conscience on your shoulder, only there isn't much firepower to the other side of the debate.
[Struggling fly fisherman accepts defeat and begins the walk of shame upstream to the next angler]:
FP: Hey, you!
You: Who, me?
FP: Yeah, dummy. You're getting outsmarted by a couple of fish!
You: Well, I'm about to go ask this nice fisherman who's catching all the fish for help.
FP: NOOOO! You'll be the laughing stock of the fly shop. He's going to head back and tell all his buddies about how this NOVICE came up begging for advice. Then when you walk in to the fly shop later, they'll laugh you out of town! You'll never be able to fish this stretch of water again!
You: You're right. I can't ask him for help. I'll look stupid. I can figure it out myself.
FP: Try a few more flies in your box, you'll figure it out big guy.
My inagural trip to the Bighorn River in eastern Montana was the first, and last, time my fishing pride got the best of me. There I was, two years into fly-fishing on an amazing river with nearly 10,000 fish per mile...NOT CATCHING A THING. The angler in the hole upstream was catching fish on every other cast. I'm not sure that day's dialog between me and my fishing pride was similar to the one above, but it was enough to prevent me from visiting with that angler and limited me to 4 or 5 fish to hand the entire trip. Next time you are having trouble on the water, novice or not, take a chance and ask a fellow angler. There are plenty of fish to go around, and there is always someone who knows more.
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