Greener Over There?

Do you ever dream of fly fishing a particular stream you’ve never been to? I’ve had those dreams! But when I’ve actually gone and fished them, even though amazing, it wasn’t as incredible as I imagined. Looking back, I realize that my mind tends to be a bit unrealistic about expectations.

I suppose I’ll always have fantasies of epic fly fishing adventures in exotic places. But after chasing those dreams a few times, I’ve learned to "tamp down" my imagination a bit. Most of the time, anyway. I mean, if there’s a big trout waiting to be caught in a pristine stream, I ask myself, “are those fish any bigger than the ones in the San Juan?” And then I compare the costs of fishing both streams. Yeah, I’ll probably just go to the Juan for a big fish in the net.

But here’s the thing, my tiny home waters and the streams just beyond them are pretty great too. It’s actually a blessing that I have trout streams close by because it keeps me from getting too excited about traveling far away and fishing the mythical trout waters. I’m honestly just happy to fish my streams with the little trout, and I don’t get bored with them. They’re beautiful streams, especially those at high altitude, and they provide enough variety to keep me interested.