The Pursuit of Insanity (Winter 2013)

Not too many people know this, but Albert Einstein defined winter steelheading a long time a go when he said that insanity was, “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I might be insane by Einstein’s definition, but I know that about every 1,000 casts my insanity is disproved. Or something like that.

Since I moved back to Oregon, I haven’t worked as much as I may have needed, but that left room for my fly-fishing obsession and throwing feathers at some anadromous punks as I call them. I’ve never really pursued winter steelhead before, and it is exactly that. A pursuit, and one that makes you question your mental stability. You see, each time you go out with a spey rod and get on rivers as good looking as the ones Oregon has to offer, you get this sense of entitlement that you should hook and land a fish. Obviously this is not the case. For some reason though, I do the same thing again, and again, and again in anticipation for that first grab and the sound of a screaming reel. I didn’t get that this winter.

But you see. It isn’t the same every time. At least this is what I have to tell myself. There are different thoughts running through your head. Different experiences shared with different people. A different eagle laughing at you from atop his perch.  All these differences are what makes it fun though. It’s another tug on the slot machine, but this one won’t exactly take all of your money. Just a tank of gas here and a breakfast burrito there. I can justify that.

Fortunately my effort was not completely unrewarded. I did land a steelhead. It was winter. I did catch a steelhead. Unfortunately it wasn’t a “winter steelhead”. I can’t complain though. Any one of these fish caught by a swung fly is a success in my mind. It may not have had much fight left, since it was a summer return. But, a steelhead is a steelhead.

Whether or not I am insane for pursuing these incredible fish, one thing remains the same. If they’re in the river, I’m going to be there doing the same thing over and over until the result grabs my fly.