Well it’s winter… again. Why does that keep happening? As I write this I’m stewing in my own juices as they say. Literally because of a watermain break up the street. You never want a shower more than when you can’t get one. And figuratively too because winter can make one become insular. I don’t get to fish with my esteemed fishing colleagues enough at the best of times and in the winter that drops to zero for the most part. For me it’s not the actual fishing with people (usually I wander off on my own, even when on a trip with others). But it’s more the campground conversation about the fishing that gets me excited and reinvigorates the brain with new ideas and possibilities: ideas about new places to go , new things to try, old ideas to challenge… that sort of thing.
I’ve noticed that anglers seem to get a bit cranky in the winter. At least on the socials. The same philosophical arguments seem to heat up pitting one faction keyboard warriors against the other. The problem is we’re not fishing enough so we start to channel that energy into arguments… errr I mean discussions. It can happen to me too.
The Five Stages of the Angler
Please take this all with a grain of salt. Tone’s hard to convey on the interwebs and I’m not really that worked up, but I do think it’s worth thinking about just a little.
I’ve got a bee in my bonnet. This is what I’ve been thinking about: The Five Stages of the Angler. I believe this may have been taken from the hunting world originally but don’t quote me on that. The general idea is that there are five stages that the angler progresses through in their angling journey. You’ll see the stages given different names in different sources but the figure below gives a general idea of the concept.
Can we please get rid of this way of thinking?
My biggest problem with these “stages” is that I can’t see what purpose they serve. Why create a hierarchy? How does it serve you, others or the sport? Is it just so you can say “Hey look at me I’m stage 5 and aren’t you cute down there wallowing in stage 3.” ? A way for certain anglers to look down their noses patronizingly at other anglers? A way for one person to devalue another person’s pleasure activities. I just don’t see the benefit.
These stages are often spoken about as a progression. As if we become more “evolved” along the way. And that instantly rubbed me the wrong way when I heard it. Firstly it doesn’t allow for differences in personality and personal enjoyment. Furthermore if it’s a progression then being a “Stage 5” angler is just another feather in your cap and no different than any other stage in that way. Just a box to check. What’s the point in that?
Mainly, when looking at myself anyway. I just think it’s BS.
Now don’t get me wrong I have no problem with how anybody views their own angling. I actually love the idea that we practice tenkara differently and get different things out of tenkara. I just don’t personally think that the progression of stages and hierarchical way of thinking is all that helpful.
When I think of myself with respect to these stages, I see them more as fluid ideas predicated by mood, circumstance and natural predilection.
I think plenty of folks move from one category to another and back again in the course of a season, an extended trip or even in the course of the day. I know I do. And I’m not afraid who knows it.
When I first get out after a long spell off the water. Heck yeah that first fish is great! Get the scent of skunk off, get back in the groove. Then I’ll admit I want a few more to hand. And once that’s taken care of; Yes please, throw in a bigger fish (of course sadly this doesn’t happen that often for me). Then all of that taken care of the next day or the next part of the day I can relax a bit. Take some time to refine that stalking and sight fishing, or maybe become a temporary futsu kebari snob. Time to challenge myself and experiment a bit. But maybe the futsu aren’t doing it. And suddenly maybe I’m back to wanting to catch more fish… who knows.
I do know that the more frequently I get out the more likely I am to be happy “just to get out” or to spend time fishing in ways that our new to me or maybe less productive.
Speaking for myself at least, those latter stages are more available states of mind when I’ve had the luxury of more time on the water.
But honestly the attraction for me of fly fishing and tenkara angling is the satisfaction of learning new angling skills and knowledge. And generally the way to test out angling skill is to catch fish. So for that reason at least for now I see myself returning to the start of the “progression” over and over and only sitting legs-crossed in enlightenment at Stage 5, after a hectic scramble earlier that day or week fighting back and forth in the lower regions allotted to us heathens in stages 1 through 4.
To Paraphrase spoon boy from the matrix:
Do not try and advance through the stages, that’s impossible. Instead, only try to realize the truth… there are no stages.
So get out there and have fun and don’t worry about what stage you’re at just be mindful and follow your joy.
If you want to read some other more “philosophical” articles of mine here’s a few to check out:
The Unsuspecting Minimalist and a Review of Sorts
Applying Restrictive Practice to Tenkara
Casting Around: A Good Day Unravels
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I think of the stages as not Beginner through Master, but rather changes in ones relation to the game. ‘Familiarity breeds contempt’. The deeper you get into the understanding of angling, the easier this game becomes, and also the more brainless and boring it becomes. So we start challenging ourselves. The handicap can increase or decrease based on mood. As long as its fun for you, I really don’t care what ‘stage’ you enjoy yourself in. Thanks for the article, Anthony.
Thanks for the comment. After nearly 30 years of fly fishing I still keep coming back to the same things. I take forays but usually circle back around to my comfort food. I find it relaxing and meditative. Often I’ll get a certain bug to investigate something and that will consume me for a while, until for whatever reason I want to move on from it and go back home to my comfortable place.
But I certainly understand what you mean. I think the forays into things satisfy my urge to roam and grow and then make my returns to the old stuff fell fresh again. And maybe also allow me to see the previous routine with new eyes.
I think of it as “approaches” or “goals” and they vary each outing. Anthony and Jonathan align with my outlook… this is not a hierarchy, it’s more of a flat circle (like almost everything in life), where all of the optional approaches are equal but different and where you fall on the circle can vary a little or a lot outing by outing. My approach or goal for a particular outing varies because of a lot of factors – my mood, if I’ve got something skill-wise I want to work on at the moment, if I’m trying out new gear or a new fly, if I’m exploring new water, whether I’ve got someone with me and whether they’re experienced or a beginner, how exceptional the scenery is, how difficult the water or the terrain is and on and on. Sometimes at the Wisconsin Tenkara Driftless Campout I don’t even fish on an outing. I’d rather take the opportunity to watch some of the anglers who are visiting fish. It may be one of the few opportunities I get to learn something from a highly skilled angler who I normally don’t get a chance to see in action. I think the concept of the hierarchy comes about from insecure or immature anglers. It probably comes from the same place that the disdain for Tenkara by some Western Fly Fisherman comes from.
A flat circle is a good way to express it.
Winter in Colorado is my “shut down” season. I do this with personal intent to take a break and experience “not fishing”. Maybe a little bit of a Zen practice I suppose. To appreciate the sound of drum and the silence between the beats. Winter is the silence between the beats that let me appreciate the moments I am hitting that drum and making a sound. There is plenty to do in my life related to fishing that I can focus on instead. Reading books, tying flies, turning my spools, meditation, hiking, and visiting friends.
Appreciate this article. We do like to feel superior over others sometimes don’t we? It would be better that we understood how to just be happy with ourselves and avoid the comparisons. The only race we have is to the end of our lives. No need to step on others getting there.
Thanks for the comment. I hear you about the “shut down”. I’ve got lots to do in the winter as well. I’m happy to shift down and spend time playing my guitar badly and currently I’ve been finding building guitar pedals very relaxing and rewarding.
Avoiding comparisons is key.
Agree that something is lost when we are comparing ourselves to others rather than just enjoying your own journey. It takes away from something that could be simply pleasurable.
In terms of the hierarchy too – I find the “stage 5” funny. The notion that one could enjoy fishing for just the fishing. It is hard for me to believe (deep down) that one is not a bit disappointed if one does not catch a fish.
“It is hard for me to believe (deep down) that one is not a bit disappointed if one does not catch a fish.” … I hear you on that for sure