With Difficulty

Posted by Brenda Layman Oct 13, 2009

"And if the angler catches the fish with difficulty, then there is no man merrier than he is in his spirits." - Treatise of Fishing with an Angle, circa 1410

"But, why can't you shoot it on the ground?" This question came from one of my non-hunting, non-fishing writer friends.

"Because," I insisted, "it wouldn't be sporting. You can only shoot the bird in the air. You know, to shoot them on the ground would be like shooting ducks in a barrel. Not sporting." To my friend's way of thinking, a bird full of pellets was a bird full of pellets. As, I suppose, she would think a trout in a net is a trout in a net, and so on. But this just isn't so. Upland bird hunting isn't just about procuring a bird to eat. That can be done at the local supermarket, at far less trouble and expense. Indeed, I can order a fine meal of restaurant trout, sparing me the effort of driving to the stream, putting on my waders, and spending hours trying to fool a fish into biting a bit of fur and feathers on a hook, when I'm going to release the fish anyway. No, the difficulty is important, because therein lies the sport. Way back in the fifteenth century, and probably even before that, sportsmen recognized that it is important to hunt and fish by certain rules. Among these are shooting birds on the wing and catching fish "with difficulty."

On a recent evening, Mark and I had spent a few hours casting for smallmouth, with nothing to show for our trouble but a couple of puny bluegill. A strapping fellow showed up about twenty minutes before dark, and waded out into the river. Although we had just fished over that very area, he immediately began catching fish. After pulling in six fish in about eight casts, he started for shore with his loaded stringer. I hurried after him, determined to find out his secret. He wasn't real happy to see me, but I smiled sweetly and wheedled it out of him. He had taken four bass and two little catfish on a pheremone-impregnated plastic bait. He was about a head taller and a hundred pounds heavier than I am, so I wasn't inclined to criticize, but neither was I envious. He had caught his fish, but I had had my sport.

Shooting ducks in a barrel will never compare to shooting grouse on the wing, and catching fish on a pheremone-impregnated plastic bait will never satisfy me like taking a fish on a hand-made fly. Some things just need to be done "with difficulty."