Not just a pretty face

But what I want to write about today is another comment that “the fish are ugly and I should go to back to trout” :)))) In jest I’m sure. This did make me think however.

Firstly, no trout I have ever caught has the beauty of Giant Snakehead. I know my mate Stu Tripney has some trout dots on his truck, but it’s nowhere near as sexy as the Snakehead vinyl wrap on mine!!

But that’s not why I fish for them. True, the invasive Snakehead species in the US *are* really ugly. And I probably wouldn’t spend a decade on those. So maybe beauty is actually a part of the equation, in some subtle way that I don’t understand. In the same way that while I’ve caught a few eels on fly, I try not to!

Anyway I’ll tell you the story of how I ended up here in the Malaysian jungle. I grew up fly fishing for stillwater trout in the UK and when I turned 21 I started travelling. I went to NZ for six months. NZ was fantastic. Particularly back then in 1992. I then spent the next two decades fly fishing in NZ for 6 months/year.

The other six months varied. A few were in UK, most were in Australia, and then in my early 30s, first US and then Canada. And then, finally, Eastern Europe by way of Hungary, but always fishing the New Zealand summers.

I know it sounds romantic but I’ve slept under bridges, next to railway lines, in the back of dozens of cars, had every short-time job you can imagine, not eaten one week out of four. I couldn’t have done it otherwise. It didn’t matter because I was in my 20 and 30s and I was fishing all the time. Mostly I just was camped out and living in some of the most beautiful places on Earth, with the ground as my bed, the stars as my roof, and waking up to some of the most extraordinary views imaginable.

I spent over 3000 days fly fishing in New Zealand. I’ve spent about one and a half times that fishing for Stillwater trout. And a bunch of trout fishing on chalk streams, freestone rivers, estuaries etc.  I’ve probably spent around 8 or 9000 days fly fishing for trout. I don’t know the exact number and it doesn’t matter. It’s a lot. What actually happened however, was at some point I thought to myself “I’ve fished NZ!” and while still learning (we learn each day that we fish)  I really felt that I had learned most of what NZ trout had to offer (apart from the gradual changes that were occurring — fish do learn too!) and that my learning curve had flattened. For me, I realised, it’s the learning that drives me.

In fact, I would argue that this is the greatest feature of fly fishing, sure it takes us to beautiful places, we make great friends, it gives meaning to life and all the other reasons that people may fish. We can be a true “expert” on one species and in one location.  We may never fully master it, but we can get pretty damned good! Change species, or even location (river type/lake/salt) and we are beginners again. I cannot think of anything  else quite like this. Skiing and curling maybe? Piano and violin? So maybe it does exist but it’s not as obvious to me as it is with fly fishing. And there are a hell of a lot more species and locations in flyfishing than we can ever master in one lifetime. So it becomes a choice of how to structure/arrange our life of learning to fish for the species (plural!) that we want.

Once I had had this realisation in NZ (I believe I was camped out on the Waiau River in Fiordland, having a campfire on my own at the time), I just couldn’t shake it. I’ve had this massive experience  of fly fishing for Stillwater trout around the world, had significant time now fishing in NZ, mostly backcountry, and now, it was time to find something new and become a beginner again.

Tropical SW fly fishing is what I ultimately want to do. How to do that? I will need a sailing boat. How do I get a sailing boat? I’ll have to start a fly rod company. What do I do in the meantime? Absolutely no fucking idea!!

So I looked around and built a log cabin in Hungary. They have warm-water freshwater fishes, such as Asp, Bass and Carp. Close-by is Croatio, the Balkans etc. So there is also trout locally. But they also have winters and boy do I hate those! And even living in a log cabin on a hill, with a stunning view, felt tame compared to 20 years of travelling, camping and living the free-life outdoors. And the fishing just felt — and often was — “manicured.” It’s not possible to go from 20 years of travelling and living outdoors in backcountry NZ, the Rockies and Australia, to being a house-maker. Well maybe it is, but it felt like “The End” to me.

Fuck that!!!

Most pressing however, was the cold winter and literal cabin fever that I was feeling. So I took my road bike and flew to Australia. Starting in Brisbane, I cycled and fished my way around to Perth. I know… completely crazy and by the time I reached Perth I had realised this fact for myself too. So I went fly fishing in Exmouth for 6 weeks, which was spectacular. And while there I was asked to fly over to Malaysia in order to examine flycasting instructors for the FFF.

After those exams I was introduced to fly fishing for Giant Snakehead and I was immediately hooked – as they say. I came back again for a “Flyfishing Conclave” and some more jungle fly fishing. And then twice more I returned for four month visits on my own. Not very successful and I thought “do I really want to spend the next ten years catching not-very-much here?”  So I decided that I would buy a boat and live in the jungle for a year, to see how the fishing was over the full 12 months, and then make the decision as to whether my next/current major block of fly fishing days should be here or somewhere else. That was ten years ago and I’m still here. So it’s pretty obvious what happened! Yes incredible fishing moments and I got addicted.

It has been great fun. Working out how to sight fish for Snakehead (particularly free-risers), really getting to understand this species, and also “pioneering” for all purposes a new fly fishing species: the Giant Gourami. That has and continues to be remarkable. It’s been a huge learning curve and it’s given me an ability to take shots that surprises even me sometimes!!

But just like back around that campfire in NZ, I now feel my time is coming to a close here too. Two years and we really plan to be out of here and on our next adventure.

There has been and will be great continuity to it. From living outdoors in a truck and camping in the woods, for twenty years, to living outdoors in a boat, camping in the jungle for over a decade. Malaysia has also been great in not having to up-stick and change hemispheres every 6 months to follow the summers! But the most important thing I think, is that it’s given me a form of incredibly difficult fly fishing, that very few people will experience and only a small handful may actually find mastery. It’s difficult to describe how challenging it truly is here. For most fly fishing you don’t need to be an outstanding fly caster. Here I am still constantly developing my fly casting and fishing skills, because often the shots fall short.

So I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. Met my wife here too of course. And there is almost no one else here. I really like people but I only want to see them once/week and preferably less. This week I’ve seen and waved to two other boats. I very much like people nowadays but I also prefer my own company. Always have and I think many fly fishers feel the same way too. You are free with your own thoughts when you are on your own. Probably for the same reason that I enjoy long distance running, campfires on my own, and of course fishing on my own.

Never say never, but I really don’t think I’ll ever go back to fly fishing for trout — maybe South America and the Falklands. But what I really love is sight fishing. Taking shots at moving fish, particularly difficult-to-catch moving fish, this challenge really inspires me. But most important of all, is to be learning at a fast rate, avoiding crowds (or anyone else) and living an independent free life. I’m sure the real freedom will come in my next species/life block, when I’m an ocean-going flyfishing pirate.

There are some other things I’d like to do and the recent death of my good friend is going to move this forwards. In two or three years we will start the Sexyloops fish conservation project. I think Sexyloops can make a difference here. Talking of which I must get up Sungai Tiang soon and make a video.

Less than 24 weeks to Ironman Malaysia. I’m joining a coaching plan/squad today, that involves 20 hrs of training/week. Serious stuff. I’m going to give it a really good go this year!

Have a great week!

Cheers, Paul