Listen Up

Listen Up

David Sparks Ph.D.
David Sparks Ph.D.
Whatever you do, do not be a know it all. Be a sponge for information.

I don't know anybody in the country who knows as much about flyfishing as Josh Mills. In fact I have recommended to many of my friends that if they are interested in going after trout, salmon, steelhead, whatever with a fly rod, they get in touch with Josh. Now all of that said, you would think that Josh Mills, would never need to have an outfitter show him where to go or what to do. But the fact is that Josh got to know all that he does by keeping in ears wide open and his mouth shut. I'm sure, using an analogy, that a knowledgeable hockey player could probably give a few tips to Wayne Gretzky. That's how it is with Josh. Listen to his advice. "The best thing you can do is try to absorb one or two things each time you go out with a guide on a fishing trip. It's one of those things when I talk to my guide friends and they tell me there is nothing worse than a client who comes out and expects to catch double digit fish or expects the big hogs all day long. They can't control the fish to actually get onto your line. You have to do your part. At the same time, every guided trip that I have gone on, has helped me with a new technique, a new way to read the water, a new way to set up my tackle, or anything like that because they are the ones who have decoded the river and a lot of these techniques will cross over to your home water. Best thing you can do is ask them what can I do differently? Is there a tic in my cast, is it something I can fix? That is how you get the most amount of value aside from soaking in some pretty breathtaking scenery and usually some pretty darned good fishing.

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