The Best Classroom Is Fishing With A Senior Angler

They are a treasure trove of wisdom

Recently, one of my fellow Queen City Anglers Guild members passed away. Just before his death, he had been on a fishing trip, where he enjoyed the thrill of the chase and the excitement of the catch one last time. Over the years, I had the opportunity to fish with him and learned a lot about casting and life. He profoundly impacted my love of the sport, and his example taught me lessons on how to live my life more fully.

I attended his funeral service and was impressed by the turnout. The church was standing room only, reflecting the number of lives he touched positively. His ashes were interred in an urn that looked like a fishing creel and was displayed before the altar. It seemed a fitting memorial to a man who lived to fish and fished to live.

His passing caused me to reflect on several other QCAG members we have lost over the years and their impact on my life. It made me realize how precious yet fleeting my time with them was.

Fishing with senior anglers is often an underappreciated gift. I know that makes me sound “old,” but I believe it is also true. There is so much to be learned about the sport and life when you fish with a senior angler. In addition to catching fish, you get to catch a wealth of knowledge and experience and possibly make a great friendship.

Senior anglers often have decades of fishing experience to draw from. They can share tips, tricks, and proven techniques. They know how to read the water and understand fish behavior. Talking with them and listening to them can accelerate your learning curve dramatically.

They also have the best stories to share. Whenever I fish with an older angler, I try to move the conversation to stories of their youth or most memorable fishing experiences. Not only are the stories entertaining (which is a huge plus on a slow-bite day), but they often contain profound life lessons. The trick is to listen.

The senior anglers I have fished with have given me insight into fly selection and presentation. Their natural delivery has evolved over years of practice to become second nature. I try to emulate this in my own cast. I have read many books and articles to educate myself better, but there is nothing like having the benefit of an experienced angler to cut through the noise and get you focused on what matters. I have found that they love to help you become a better angler through their mentorship.

Probably the biggest lesson I have consistently had from senior anglers is the lesson of patience. My biggest casting mistake is rushing my back cast. But, when I fish with a senior angler, they have a calming effect on me by putting things in perspective. They have caught so many fish in their lifetime that the focus is on relaxing and enjoying the moment. There is rarely a reason to worry about catching fish. They revel in simply being outdoors and engaged in the sport they love. I am convinced this Zen-like approach leads to catching more fish. It is almost like the fish decides they want to “dance” with this fishing Yoda. I can honestly say that my senior partner often outfishes me when we are in a drift boat.

The other benefit a senior angler brings to the party is a sense of historical perspective. They have seen the sport evolve and understand why things are how they are today. One example is when the QCAG traveled to the Green River in Utah. It is one of my favorite fisheries in the United States. On the way back from a day on the water, one of our senior members asked if we could stop at the Flaming Gorge Dam Visitor Center. The Green River is a major tributary of the Colorado River. The dam was built between 1958 and 1964. Our senior member conversed with the curator the entire time we visited the center. When we returned to the car to go to Dutch John, we learned he helped build the dam as a young man. This led to some fantastic stories of what that experience was like and afforded us a unique connection to the Flaming Gorge. I will never fish that water again without recalling the fond memories he gave to us.

Fishing with a senior angler is about more than just fishing. It is about connection, legacy, and learning, and if that angler is a family member or close friend, it is about love.

I asked my colleagues in the QCAG to share memories of senior members they fished with. I wanted to share a broader perspective than my thoughts, so here is a sampling of what I got back.

My favorite story about Bill is that he was in the CIA, but his “cover” was that he worked at the Pentagon. His friends thought he worked at the Pentagon and would ask him to play squash or racquetball at lunch. Well, he was actually at Langley but couldn’t tell them that! Because your “cover” has to always be maintained, most of the time, he would just complain that he had too much work and couldn’t play. But occasionally, he would drive to the Pentagon and play squash so that his friends never got too suspicious. This was after he spent time at the University of Moscow “studying.”

Elmer was an Idaho native who had been the Choral Director at CCM for a long time. He and his wife had a place in Idaho they would go in the winter to “watch the snow, read books, and drink wine”! He ran many trips to Silver Creek, and we would stay cheap at Sun Valley because of all the ski condos. I swear it was only about 250 a week for a 4-bedroom.

I first met Jack at a dinner meeting for the Queen City Anglers Guild. I was being proposed for membership in this organization by a friend, and it was indeed a challenge to remember the names of all 50 folks I met that evening. As is usually the case with these things, several really stood out! Jack was most definitely in that group. During a 15-minute conversation, he learned who I was, what my passions were, my fishing history, my work history, and most importantly, information on my family and the quality activities that we did together. He was particularly interested in the outdoor activities that we enjoyed as a family, and when I informed him that I was a lifetime scouter and my family was very active (my son is an Eagle, and I’d been a scoutmaster at that point for about 15 years) this immediately sealed our friendship! Jack had also been a lifetime scouter and held numerous positions from the troop level to the BSA Dan Beard Council Board of Directors.

From this meeting onward, our friendship grew. We enjoyed regular business lunches together and Queen City Anglers activities. I don’t think there was a single trip he and I went on where we didn’t spend at least one day in a driftboat together. When Jack and I first met, I considered myself a very competent fly fisherman as I had practiced it for many years, worked for a flyfishing company, and spent a lot of time on the water in various parts of our country. Over many years (and MANY fly fishing trips), I learned a lot about fishing and life from Jack.

One trip in particular stands out. Jack and I were fishing the Bighorn River in late August. The weeds in the river were extremely thick and troublesome. Virtually every cast resulted in a wad of weeds on the end of the line that needed to be removed before the next cast could be executed. Hooking fish almost became a dreaded event as the fish would get entangled in the weeds and break off more often. I continued complaining as each fit fish I caught would get hung up in the weeds during the fight. I was becoming extremely frustrated. It was at that point that Jack came up with a great idea! He began by repeating the famous quote, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.” He followed this by suggesting that we increase our leader size to a leader designed for much bigger fish. We would then try to horse the fish in as quickly as we could, in a much straighter line than what was typically the technique used for fighting trout in a western river. Neither one of us had done this technique before, as we always tried to gingerly fight our trout to protect light leaders from breakage. This technique worked great, and from that point forward, we managed to land most of the 20+ fish we hooked that day.

At some point during the day, he compared the technique to what his law firm had needed to do with a brilliant young lawyer, fresh out of law school; they had hired many years prior. While brilliant, this young lawyer tended to overplay his hand frequently, get into disagreements with clients, and be the definition of high maintenance. As this young lawyer’s mentor, Jack had learned that the best way to deal with these issues was to quickly resolve each issue before it grew critical. As a result, they were able to keep this valuable young lawyer out of trouble for several years. The young lawyer eventually decided that practicing law was not for him and moved into politics. His name was Jerry Springer.

It’s interesting how we learn things throughout our lives, frequently in situations when we least expect it. The fact that I would learn one of life’s great lessons while “horsing” trout through weed beds on the Bighorn River is truly a testament to this, and I can’t thank Jack Stith enough for this as well as for his great friendship and for all the varied knowledge that he imparted to me over the years.

I will never forget watching Bill and Jim play pool at the LaWarre ranch (where Babe Ruth was known to have stayed). These two men were super successful in everything they did, and they could clear a pool table without missing!!!

As you can glean from the stories shared with me, fishing with senior anglers is about much more than fishing. It is about making a human connection and having an opportunity to learn about life in a way that can improve your personal journey.

We are all on this planet for a finite time. When my expiration date is up, I hope someone will tell me stories about how fishing with me impacted their lives. In the meantime, on the QCAG trips I join, I will make it my personal mission to fish with more senior members so I can learn from their experience how to leave a positive mark on the lives of others. Oh, and I will no doubt learn a bit more about fly fishing as well. I hope you opt to fish with a senior angler soon.