Today I was fly fishing on the Los Pinos River in Colorado. Two days ago I caught nine rainbow trout. Today, I caught none.

There was a moment in which I was overcome with beauty of God’s creation. I looked at the mountains. It was drizzling but the sun was out. I watched my fly line curling over my head back and forth. I prayed, “Thank you God for all this.” As I prepared to lay down my fly on the water, I snagged it on a bush behind me. My deep spiritual moment ended with an abrupt reminder that I’m not yet in true paradise.

Fly Fishing as Water Wisdom

Fly fishing changes a man. I don’t understand it. I was sitting next to a young man on the airplane the other day who was coming home from a fly fishing trip. He was a Catholic convert. We began to talk about how fishing seems to evoke something in us.

I think I may now why. Fish are in another level of nature. Fish are underwater. When we engage in fly fishing we are trying to capture something below by copying nature. The fish are down there and we don’t understand that world.

Heaven and Earth

It’s no accident that Christ chose fishermen. The connection between the realm of the fishes and the realm of humans is an analogy of separation between earth and heaven. Christ comes down into our world. We open our mouths to eat Him. God pulls us upward.

[reminder]Have you had similar experiences while fly fishing?[/reminder]