What Did YOU Learn About Fly Fishing This Year?

I know we are all looking forward to what the New Year will bring but it's also a great time to be reflective.  I was thinking about this last night and put a post up on Instagram asking the question...

"What did you learn about fly fishing this year?"

Was it a new place?  Was it a skill?  Was it a casting technique?  Maybe you started fishing glass?  Was it new gear?  Was it a new mindset?  What was it?

 

The most significant fly fishing "skill" that I learned was in late January on the Rio Negro in the Amazon with Nomadic Waters with the guides showing me four or five different ways to get a fly unstuck from tree branches when constantly casting into structure looking for peacock bass.

The reality is that you’re going to get your fly stuck a lot when you're fishing in the Amazon.  The fish you are looking for live in downed trees that have fallen into the river.  You've got to get the fly to where they are at. 

Learning these new techniques made for more productive days since we weren’t stopping every couple of minutes to paddle or motor to the fly.  These newfound skills have proved handy in other places that I’ve fished this year, too.

Listen and watch your guides. They want to teach you and make you a better angler.

So, what did YOU learn this year?  Leave a comment here or better yet, on the Instagram post that I put up last night.  I am looking forward to reading the responses.