Wrong Conclusions In Fly Fishing and the Spiritual Life: What Do You Conclude When the Fish Are Not Biting?

Sometimes while guiding a beginner, and he has been fishing for 20 minutes with out catching fish, he will then conclude. “The fish are just not biting.”  He might even come across as a bit smug in his conclusion feeling that he accurately accessed the situation.  

Often nothing could be farther from the truth. I have heard these words spoken while I have clearly observed numerous fish feeding below the surface on nymphs or almost imperceptibly on the surface.  The reasons the fish are not biting on his fly can be numerous ranging from bad presentation to not being able to cast the fly in the right spot to countless other variables.  Or, sometimes the fish actually are biting on his fly, but he is simply unaware and misses the opportunities.

Sometimes we can also make wrong conclusions in regard to the spiritual life. I might conclude, “God is not responding”; or, “God is not here”, and once again, nothing could be farther from the truth.  Maybe,  I just can’t see or hear as I ought or maybe God might be speaking to me with the experience of his absence and silence.

Beginners often make these kinds of wrong conclusions. And so do I.

Making such hasty inaccurate conclusions in fly fishing is really not a big deal and done rather innocently. I think what is way worse though is when I as the guide,  out of my own need to not look bad simply go along with this distortion. Going along relieves me of my responsibility to instruct and guide. It is quite easy to agree, “You are right, the fish are just not biting”.

And, perhaps still even worse, is when others make inaccurate conclusions about the Divine and we just go along with whatever everyone else is saying.  It is always dangerous, especially in spiritual matters, to deny the facts that are right in front of us and that we know to be true.

Few things distort truth faster than merely going along