I’ve never felt that the fish I catch validate me as an angler. I’ve had the fortune of catching my share of larger fish over the years; and while some of them were caught in very challenging situations that made me work my best game, many others were honestly just a matter of the right place, the right time and the right drift. Catching a big trout doesn’t validate you as an accomplished angler, and not catching a big trout doesn’t mean you aren’t already one. Many anglers conversely don’t get excited about catching a dink trout. While I love catching larger fish, I do get excited about catching a small wild trout because they are something special and they aren’t just there by accident. We don’t find small wild trout in places that have been compromised, in habitats that are of poor quality or waters that don’t have all the elements required to sustain them. A small trout is an indicator that everything is right, that last year’s spawn was a success and the stream I’m standing in is in good shape. Small trout don’t validate or invalidate us as anglers, but instead say everything we need to know to validate a stream and it’s potential. I don’t target these little guys; but they always make me smile when one of them nails a fly, and hopefully one day this little fighter will be that pig that dreams are made of if we just take care of them and the water they live in. Till next week … www.ramsayflies #ItsAboutTheFish #PAWild
