New Water

It is a natural impulse for the angler to adopt a reach near to where he lives that is readily accessible and which he can call his “home water”. This section of river or stream he can learn intimately and develop a detailed enough knowledge so that a reasonable degree of confidence can be assumed. This involves learning the particular lies of the fish, the rhythm of the insect hatches, and the seasonable water conditions. It also may involve learning the patterns of fellow anglers so that he may avoid them and gain some measure of solitude, which is such an important aspect of fishing local. Familiar surroundings, familiar fish and proven tactics all have a comforting, reassuring quality but like so much in life this familiarity can also breed complacency. It can be relaxing but does not provide much opportunity for growth.
I know anglers and guides who never stray beyond a few well known miles of stream and while this type of focus may increase the chances for success, I personally would find the boredom excruciating and the lack of challenge completely at odds with what I consider to be the main satisfaction in angling ,which is to acquire new skill or knowledge. I admit that the bulk of my own guiding work is on about eighty miles of river which I have seen plenty over the last twenty years, but I try to leave these confines as often as possible. It is also a fact that the particular river I work on is actually several rivers, each totally separate and unique and which one I am on is totally dependent on water flow levels. In the spring my river can run as high as twelve thousand cubic feet per second and by late August have dropped to less than two hundred. It goes from a torrent to a trickle and I have actually fished it both higher and lower. For my own angling pleasure, I travel each summer to other bodies of water that are either totally new or still extremely challenging for one reason or another.
I was thinking of this same approach to experience as I came across an interesting essay on traveling over at phronesisaical.blogspot the other day. There truly seems to be a divide between those who seek new direct experience and those who feel no need as well as a divide that differentiates the meaning of such “new” or “borderless” movement.Some feel pleasure is a good enough reason to go somewhere, others look for something deeper. Then there is the whole other universe of inner as juxtaposed with outer experience. (an angler can spend a whole lot of time thinking about things other than fish as he is fishing) I’m not sure just what it is I’m angling for here but I can’t wait to learn some new water.