“My soul has grown deep like rivers” William Carlos Williams
During the early 80’s when I ventured up into Cheesman Canyon for the first time I learned rather quickly that the best way to entice those big rainbows that were in the bottom of those deep boulder formed pools was by deep water nymphing. When in doubt, and not getting strikes, I added more and more weight getting the fly deeper and deeper. Often that adjustment was what was needed to get the fish to take the fly. Years later, I also learned this was the trick on waters such as the Taylor River where lazy monster rainbows gorged on mysis shrimp would lay low in deep runs and not move up even several inches for a fly. I had to go deep. I also remember adding weight to leaches and wooly buggers while streamer fishing on the Platte above and below Spinney during the annual spring spawning run and then for Browns in the Fall in the Tomahawk section and then more recently in 11 Mile Canyon’s deep plunge pools. And even last weekend while fishing the Arkansas below Pueblo Dam, I had to add more weight. Getting down and going deep seemed to be the way.
It takes a bit of courage at first, particularly for the novice, to go deeper while fly fishing because it can be intimidating. There is the immediate problem of the awkwardness of trying to cast a lot of weight and to do so in a way where one does not make a mess of things. There can be a greater potential for getting snagged on rocks in the bottom of the river. There is also the deep water itself which can make things confusing as it is difficult to see what is going on down there in the darker waters. And sometimes there are all these swirling undercurrents and that makes the presentation of the fly somewhat unpredictable as you try to discern where your fly is located. Finally, trying to spot the fish down deep in the darker water can be tough as you wonder; “Is that a giant rainbow or a log or a rock? I think I saw it move”.
This strategy of going deeper while fly fishing reminds me of the more important need for us to also go deeper spiritually from the surface of things in our personal lives. We are often not comfortable looking down to the inner depths of our souls. We tend to stay away from these deeper waters.
At the same time, unfortunately, we live in a shallow culture that does not encourage depth of soul. If anything the culture is mostly geared toward the young, immature, and the superficial. Shallowness sells. And sadly, often the Christian church conforms to the shallow culture with simplistic thinking, lack of depth of feeling, superficial living, and parroting worn out cliches’.
It seems that in our fast paced culture generally we have an inability to deeply ponder much of anything. And of course we know men in general are not very good at expressing their deeper feelings. Ask a man what he feels and often you will get that dumbfounded stare.
But fly fishing can be good for men. It is on the river where sometimes we have the hope of moving below the surface. While fly fishing we are participating. We are playing. We are thinking. We are feeling and perhaps moving out from numbness. We are artists, creating, problem solving and hoping for a tug from below the surface.
And as we fish deeper who knows what will come up from the depths. There are some huge rainbows lying deep down and ancient feelings mysteriously from another realm that continue to stir in the depths of our hearts.
I like it, Surage!
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