Hearing "Fishing is my therapy" bothers me more than it should

Flow Staters:

When I'm fishing, I'm closer to my best self. An open-hearted optimist. But here, trapped behind my desk, I can be cynical. I cringe and scoff inside when I see stickers or memes with captions like "fishing is my therapy". It's silly to try and unpack a bumper sticker, or close-read a novelty T-shirt. But I occasionally try to engage and explore my cynicism. Why do I feel so jaded about these?

Part of me is incredulous. Fishing healed you? That's all?

First off, yes, fishing is great. It can do a lot. It is not penicillin, a financial windfall, a fast and painless tattoo removal method, or a fresh pair of trousers. (These are not ways that I'm personally needing healing. I'm not back from shore leave.) Second, there's a finality to the statement. Like, "All done! Healed! Turns out the whole postmodern human condition thing was wiped clean by learning to cast a fly rod properly!" Third, the idea that someone has internalized "fishing is my therapy" enough to proclaim it suggests they've somehow decided they don't need actual talk-to-a-therapist therapy. Which makes me sad. Allow me to cast myself in the angry male role in a domestic disagreement:

Jane: Dick, I wonder, have you ever thought of talking to someone? You know, like therapy?
Dick: (slamming fly box lid shut with a thunk like a truck tailgate) Dammit Jane, I thought we talked about this! Fishing is my therapy!

There's also something about the "x is my y" metaphorical construction that just drains both ends of meaning. Take another walk with me down to Digressionville:

Comic art is my therapy.
Jesus is my therapy.
The garage is my therapy.
Hanging out in my cool neighbor Dan's garage is my therapy.
Making art—specifically oil paintings featuring a Marvel-movie-ripped version of Jesus, but with Cool Dan's face instead, giving me caring advice in his man cave—is my therapy.

Art therapy works. Religion can make you feel less lonely, and part of something bigger than yourself. And, well, Dan is great. But none of these things are therapy. The "is of essence," a massive flaw in the English language, forces us down this confusing path, and brings out my inner Southern grandmother, placing a hand on the shoulder of the bumper sticker bearer / T-shirt wearer with a soft "Well, bless your heart. Let's go down to therapy now, and be frustrated for a few hours when we don't catch fish, but ultimately grateful."

Fly fishing can be therapeutic and healing

Render unto fly fishing the things that are fly fishing's, and unto therapy the things that are therapy's.

I think original bible (O.B.) Jesus said something like that? Marvel-movie-ripped Jesus (with Dan's face) might have gently something more like: "Chill bro. Both are cool." Back in the garage, Jesus Dan and I would talk about what we've learned about ourselves from years of identifying and talking about our feelings with professionals.

Dan's right. Both are cool. I'm sad that I let linguistics and pedantry get in the way of a good thing. He is still bummed about the whole situation, you know, up there, and all the confusion that has caused. I tried to offer compassion, without proposing a solution. What, you were supposed to just hang out there? For what? To make your dad happy? No way dude, that couldn't be me.

And then Dan would have opened the unique beverage fridge in his garage, and passed me another Busch NA. (Which, despite what we have gained through the the recent explosion in the breadth of nonalcoholic beer SKUs, still takes the cake for me. And by cake I mean "prize for most acceptable while inferior bread-water taste". Add in sheer hot-day poundability, and The Nice Price—under a buck a can, jeez—and you get a winner. Skip those Athletic and Best Day fancy-schmancy BrewCroixes and dance with the girl you brung.)

A more charitable translation

Back to "fishing is my therapy" or "fishing healed me". What I think these bumper-sticker-sized thoughts would say, if you sat them down for an honest conversation in the garage, with Marvel-ripped Jesus neighbor Dan and some chuggables ("No booze for me thanks, I'm six years sober, try one of these") is more along the lines of something like this:

Exploring a new hobby, building a habit outdoors, and sharing it with others has made me feel different, healthier feelings than I'm used to feeling, and that has helped me claw back a little what it feels like to live my life on my terms. Fishing has become more than a hobby to me. It makes me feel more like the person I want to be. And it keeps me off my goddamn phone, which is just a pit of misery any way you slice it.

Which I believe. 100% truthful, when you bring in a little nuance. Fishing is where I learned to be alone with myself, in the world, where nothing inherently bad would happen.

And we have plenty of evidence to support it, for when your internal weather gets stormy and you need to take a day. I've done enough volunteering with Project Healing Waters to have personally seen how fishing can be a healing, therapeutic behavior. And this isn't macho MAHA posturing, with RealTree-print ear candling and rugged crystals disguised as medical treatment. "Brother, place these rare ores over your warrior heart and feel you power flow." Building a research-based case can't be encapsulated in a pithy slogan, so we'll have to dive deep.

Degens also welcome

I'm also not going to pretend there isn't a shadow side to this. A gentler way of thinking about fishing's healing properties might not be true for everyone. The opposite side of healthy habits, and good feelings, is obsession, neglect, and self-sabotage. Where fishing becomes a place to hide from feelings, and the people and things that cause them. Where buying another rod, or piece of gear, takes the place of leaving your comfort zone and going out into the world. Fishing can become a place to burrow down in silence and ruminate over something else for a change, rather than confront a bad life situation, or relationships going sour. It becomes a way to trade an unhealthy addiction for a less-harmful, still somewhat antisocial addiction.

In a less articulate sense, for the folks that don't care to be curious about what's going on with them, or just enjoy the degenerate angler side, "fishing is my therapy" might be fully ironic, nihilistic, and interpreted like this:

If fishing can be medicine, what's your prescription?

Despite my cynicism, these bumper-sticker-sized ideas can be made more true. Fishing can be therapeutic. Fishing can heal. Building your fly fishing practice can be a healing act. It can help you organize your life around positive goals, and healthy relationships. So here's what we're going to do about it:

For the next couple weeks we're going to be focusing on the theory and practice of how fly fishing positively impacts health.

• Later this week: What the research actually says about fly fishing and mental health
• After that: A conversation with a practitioner at the cutting edge of fly fishing therapy
• Finally: How fly tying can unlock flow states and positive growth without even needing to be near the river

So stay tuned for a springtime run focused on creating a positive benefit by building a healthy fly fishing habit. And then, guess what? We go out in the world and do it.

Leaders ➰

Ten fishy links to start your week on the fly side of life

Angling &...

Brachycentrus - The American Grannom (6-min read)

Get to know the American Grannom, or Mother's Day Caddis, an important early-season bug with some easy-to-imitate behaviors. Cosmic John has the goods, as usual. (cosmicjohn.substack.com)

One Fly, Unweighted (4-min read)

Over at Flylab, John Juracek extols the virtues of fishing a single unweighted fly. It can be a dry, a nymph, or a wet fly, but having a consistently (light) mass on the end of your fly line will allow you to focus on making consistent casts and improving your targeting. (flylab.substack.com)

🎥 4 Fly Fishing Hacks a Montana Guide Actually Uses (17-min watch)

Speedier blood knot variations, and multi-size indicators from balloon animal balloons. I'm not sure I'd use the latter, but I appreciate the quick tips and creativity from Pierce Oja of Wet Net Outfitters (Tim Camissa)

What's The Deal With Venezuela and Los Roques? (6-min read)

It's always interesting when fly fishing collides with geopolitics. Big dog of the travel outfitters, Yellow Dog Fly Fishing, is resuming trips to Las Roques in Venezuela in Spring 2027, a first since late 2019. One interesting note is that international visitors from countries other than the United States haven't slowed their fishing trips to the region. (yellowdogflyfishing.com)

...Aware & Active & Alive to the world

Restoring a Steelhead Sanctuary (9-min read)

Trout Creek on the Deschutes River is one of the most important steelhead spawning grounds of the entire lower river. Adam Haarberg, who orchestrates the Jefferson County Soil and Water Conservation District’s efforts rehabilitating Trout Creek, looks back on successes and setbacks. (deschutesriveralliance.org)

🎥 What happens when a whale is born? (7-minute read)

Big whale news this week, as researchers released a pair of papers and an amazing video capturing the inter-family teamwork that occurs when a sperm whale gives birth to a baby whale, in the hours before it learns to swim on its own. Science writer Elizabeth Kolbert was on the research vessel that made the remarkable observation, and wrote about it for the New Yorker, but make sure to watch the video as well. (newyorker.com)

The river otter’s remarkable comeback (5-min read)

Speaking of adorable creatures, Timothy Mihocik checks in from the Great Lakes, where river otters (yes, they live in lakes) are thriving. While an otter at work is generally a sign to steer clear of a trout stream, we'll take the good news. (rewildingmag.com)

What the Mountain Taught Me About Not Losing My Mind Right Now (6-min read)

Mountaineer Graham Zimmerman talks about the discipline of being concerned about what you can control, versus worrying about what's out of your hands. (grahamgzimmerman.substack.com)

Why We Should Broaden Our Definition of Wilderness to Include the Ocean (6-min read)

Gestalt equine therapist Nick Sharp argues the ocean is a boundless wilderness beneficial for the human mind. (fieldmag.com)

By intentionally entering a place like the ocean, we’re forced to reconcile with our lack of attention, respect, and patience. In exchange, we learn to embrace the discomfort that comes with being fully present, we redefine what it means to experience wildness, and experience what it means to live with intention. By doing so, we gain a valuable perspective that terrestrial landscapes rarely offer: unbounded scale, complete mystery, and a living rhythm that models our interior lives. We find the courage to accept that which we cannot control and to engage deeply with that we do not know. The ocean, in this reframing, becomes not only a wilderness of space but a wilderness of the mind, heart, and spirit—a place where acceptance, purpose, and identity converge.

Can a Legendary Tree Keep Louisiana’s Coastal Lands From Slipping Away? (5-min read)

We've talked before about the power of mangroves, but on the gulf coast of Louisiana an equally tireless ally is the Bald Cypress. After a spate of coastal restoration from communities has put tens of thousands of new trees into the ground, Ben Seal checks in on what's next to renew the wetland ecosystem.
(reasonstobecheerful.world)

Join us in Maupin this May!

Register for the Maupin Meetup!
The salmonfly hatch and all the beauty of late spring in the high desert will be upon us soon. Join CFS May 28-31 in Maupin, Oregon, for some classic big bug fishing and the DRA's TroutFest celebration.

Get in there!

Events 📆

Got an event you want the community to know about? Send it over, and I'll include it here. You can see all of our upcoming CFS events on Luma.

March 31, Santa Barbara, CA
Actor Tom Skerritt, author John Maclean, Trout Unlimited CEO Chris Wood, and others gather on a panel to discuss the movie's impact, and more. (Lobero Theater)

April 24-25, Gresham, OR
Sandy River Spey Clave (Sandy River Spey Clave)

April 25, Vida, OR
The Wooden Boat Show on the McKenzie River (The Redsides)

April 30, "Running Wild" Tour, Seattle
(Wild Salmon Center)

CFS: May 16, OR
Waterside fly tying and fishing field trip; more details to come.

May 20, Portland, OR
"Running Wild" showing (Wild Salmon Center)

CFS: May 28-31, Maupin, OR
It's our annual Maupin Meetup! Registered now, before it fills up. (CFS Events)

June 23, "Running Wild" Tour, San Francisco
(Wild Salmon Center)

June 26-28, La Pine, OR
Tenkara Oregon's Tenkara Bugout (Tenkara Oregon)

That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.

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Reason misleads us more often than nature.
– Luc de Clapiers, marquis de Vauvenargues