I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions, because I feel like I shouldn’t need to wait until the new year to make changes or set goals. Over the past month, though, I’ve spent a lot of time reflecting on how fishing went in 2025, and I’ve come to one conclusion: I fish way too fast.
I’ve always been impatient, which is why fly fishing in rivers suits me so well. When one hole is too frustrating, or a particular fish refuses my flies constantly, I can just move on and find something else. That’s probably why I love floating rivers so much. Constantly being on the move, casting to new water, ensuring that each drift is great because you only have a few chances at each run—it’s fun and engaging.
That attitude has permeated my walk-and-wade fishing too much, though, and to my detriment. Here’s an example: a few weeks ago, on a tailwater that’s known for large trout, I was working the back end of a run where I’ve hooked and landed multiple 22-inch rainbow trout.
I fished the run hard, focusing on a drift where my flies tumbled off a slight shelf and into the slower water close to the far bank. I hung up on the bottom every few casts, so I knew I was deep enough. My rig of an egg and midge emerger felt perfect for a late December day.
I spent maybe 10 or 15 minutes working that run, and ended with nothing to show for it. I decided to walk back to shore to thaw out my feet and switch flies, and my buddy moved in to fish while I decided my next plan of attack.
On his second drift through the run, he hooked and landed a nice brown trout. Not to be outdone, I quickly finished rigging, claimed back my spot, and started drifting my flies again. My buddy moved upstream, where he caught another brown about five minutes later.
I finally landed a 10-inch whitefish that ate my zebra midge on a small swing, but I didn’t stick a trout the rest of the day. My buddy had caught both his fish in water I’d already covered, with a rig almost exactly like mine. The difference?
He was letting his flies drift downstream and swing just a bit before making his next cast. Or, in other words, he was fishing the entire drift effectively. I got so caught up in my next cast, in placing my flies just so on the seam, that I skipped part of the drift entirely.
It’s not surprising to anyone who knows me that I’m not the most patient angler, but it’s frustrating because I didn’t used to be this way. I used to have more energy to work the water, and took it personally when fish didn’t cooperate. Now, I’m not sure what’s changed, but I know for 2026, I better slow down and fish hard.
Otherwise, I’ll end up watching my buddies catch all the fish—again.