A friend and I went out for a quick evening with the intention of fishing a small stream in the area. Rigged with a three-weight, we were excited to cast dries to the small fish that inhabited the stream.
The weather shifted and our plans changed last second to hike to a lake that had been on our minds. This resulted in a few beautiful trout caught, including my biggest westslope cutthroat trout to date. It was unbelievable.
This trip was successful not just because of the size of fish we caught, how many fish we caught, or even the laughs we had on the lake. It was so successful because of one factor that has great power in all our fishing trips.
Expectations
The gap between expectations and reality determines the success of each fishing trip (and life experience). The best fishing trips occur when there is a significant gap between expectations for the trip and how the trip plays out in reality.
There are two sides to this equation. In fly fishing, we have much more control over our expectations than the many other factors that play into the success of our day on the water. Letting the weather, hatches, and angler pressure play itself out while keeping reasonable expectations is the best way to set your fishing trip up for success. Though, this is easier said than done.
How is one genuinely excited and motivated for a trip but manages expectations to set the day up for success? I love being excited about big fish, epic hatches, and great times on the river with friends. Though I am not the first to be burned by high expectations. I’ve had my fair share of trips leave me disappointed when in hindsight, they shouldn’t have.
Morgan Housel, a finance writer I follow, said it best when discussing the topic. “Expectations are like a debt that must be repaid before you get any joy out of what you’re doing.”
Fishermen and women often carry great amounts of expectation debt going into a trip. Reading articles about the location, tying flies for the trip, previous trips to that watershed, and rumors of the hatch, all set a high bar for the trip. A lot must go right to pay off the expectation debt to the point the success of the fishing trip blows you away.
This isn’t easy in the fishing culture we live in today. The demand for bigger fish, better hatches, and more fish to the net is higher than ever. We are trained to expect insane fishing when planning a trip through the social media and marketing that companies, lodges, and influencers share. Though the environmental and water quality issues work in the opposite direction.
I hope this article helps you realize the power of expectations. We spend so much time researching locations, tying fly patterns, and improving our skills. This is for good reason, as it leads to more fish caught. But we spend little time managing expectations for the trip, which have more say in the success of the trip than any other factor. Having low expectations is a superpower not only in fly fishing but in life. I hope you can learn to use it to your advantage.
Neither of us woke up that morning with any thought that a personal best trout were to be caught that day. That is why it was so special.
Trips like these are hard to forget and impossible to replicate. Our expectations would never allow it.
