The Journey is the Destination
Yes, But …
I thought it would be interesting to spend a little time in our heads, and out of our bodies this morning. Even though this is another “Wholistic Wednesday,” I wanted to test Chat’s ability to find the nuances we have already found – and those of you who are new to fly fishing will come to find – on “traveling 300-miles to a river to fly fish,” and arriving at out destination. I confess, writing “creative” prompts for ChatGPT has become my newest “writing micro-challenge,” and I dig it.
Yes, But Once I arrive at my Fly Fishing Destination, THEN WHAT?
I have talked about these things in the past, but for those of you arriving here, this may be day one article one, the first you have ever seen of this website, a website that has been around for eighteen years now.
So let me add an old trick to the “very first thing” a fly fisher should do: Check the grill of your car for fresh dead bugs, and your windshield too – for that matter! The first hint of possibilities could be stuck to your car! Slowing down is integral to fly fishing success, my friends. We know there’s a time for fast, and a time for slow and easy. Maybe that is part of the aging process too, but pacing allows your mind to take the spherical approach to a problem (I will go over spherical thinking on another Wholistic Wednesday). It frees up both sides of your brain, and it isn’t helped by a Red Bull or Ketamine.
Here is What Chat Said
The very first thing a traveling fly fisher should do when they arrive at a new trout river—especially one like those in Arkansas—is slow down and observe before ever making a cast.
Here’s the sequence most experienced anglers follow when arriving at a new destination:
- Check in with local knowledge – If not already done, stop at a local fly shop or marina for the latest hatch reports, recommended flies, and current river conditions (flows, clarity, generation schedules). This often saves hours of guesswork.
- Scout the river – Walk the bank or wade carefully and look for:
- Trout rising (look for surface dimples or splashes).
- Insect activity (mayflies, midges, caddis, terrestrials).
- Holding water (riffles, seams, pools, undercuts, behind boulders).
- Match the hatch (or conditions) – Once you see what’s happening, select a fly pattern that imitates the most available food source. If no hatch is visible, start with a reliable searching setup (like a nymph rig or small streamer).
- Adjust for safety and regulations – Make sure you’re aware of any special regulations (barbless hooks, catch-and-release areas, slot limits). Also note water release schedules if it’s a tailwater (as in much of Arkansas).
So, the very first action is to pause, observe the water, and “read the river” before stringing up and fishing.
END NOTE: I hope those of you new to the fly fishing scene, find this article helpful! Those of us with a few years on us, maybe this is our reminder to SLOW DOWN? Speed is in the nature of the individual though. Some of us just run hotter than our friends. I know I run hotter. Do you? That takes some awareness, some dialing often times.
This is a new era, it looks like about the third? era to me, of the Texas Fly Caster website. We have gone from a writing and occasional video, to writing with video, and now to a time where ChatGPT does the technical writing here on the site. I am being freed up in a way … to concentrate on the more creative side of writing and video content making. But, I am aware: the ChatBots are gobbling up the creative writing along with the technical articles (by the thousands) they find on this site. At some point, the bots will be feeding me my own information when I prompt them for a story on XYZ. It’s just a matter of time. I think, maybe this is how the ChatBots will end, caught in a loop, consuming their own output.
