The Art of Having a Goal

I love to fish. More specifically, I love to fly fish from a float tube in high desert lakes. Some of the most monstrous, gorgeous fish slide around in these lakes keeping a bulbous eye out for my fly, and the cool mountain air I breathe as I wait for them to discover it – well, it causes a grown man to reflect to the point of enlightenment.

And like other things worth attaining in my life, I have a goal for my fishing: to hook one of the most handsome creations in God’s blue waters. Salmo trutta, the Brown Trout. In order to catch one of these majestic creatures, one must have a plan and execute. Nobody attains fishing success by just drifting around the lake aimlessly, letting the wind take the float tube where it pleases, especially when pursuing the elusive brown trout. If I throw out my line and just expect this king of the clear waters to latch on, I will end most days on the water empty-handed.

Since my rules for fishing success mirror my rules for success in the rest of my life, I want to share the key points with you today.

Do your homework. When I arrive at the lake, I come prepared. Oh, not just the pole and the tube and the vest and waders. I come knowing the brown trout habitat – the restaurants, the hotels, the bars they frequent. I’ve probably checked out their restaurant menus – what type of fly populates the area that time of year, and what the trout have actually been biting. The best-laid plans often fail because we didn’t properly carry this step. Careful study of our goal and what it entails ensures that our goal is realistic, not pie-in-the- sky, vague, or merely hopeful. I know I won’t be catching northern pike in an Arizona desert lake; but is it even realistic to assume I can catch a 16-inch brown trout in this lake, if the only trout caught there are 6-12 inch rainbow?

Get experienced input. I’ll ask other fishermen who started on the lake before me. I especially like to ask the grizzled, sunburnt ones with grubby, well-loved equipment. I don’t ask the well-soused guys with fancy reels and a shiny bass boat. They may even have a full cooler of bass, but they probably don’t know anything worth telling about trout. They might not even know a trout from a perch.

Execute. Just making a plan isn’t enough. You actually have to follow it. I don’t know why we have such a hard time with this one, but we do. If I’ve carefully followed steps 1 and 2 above, however, this step should be an easy one. I pack my equipment the night before, get up in pre-dawn darkness, hit the lake with the sunrise, point my tube in the direction of a brown-trout friendly area of the water, and start paddling.

Be flexible. The best-laid plans also fail if our expectations have rock-solid consistency. Plans have to flex with reality too, as you step into them. Bring raingear for the 40% chance of rain. Have a variety of flies tacked to your fishing vest. Bring the floppy fishing hat or sunblock for the long hours waiting for those brown trout to decide they like the look of that fly. And be prepared to try a different strategy if the one you laid isn’t working! Life requires that we be prepared. With great planning and a little fortune, the brown trouts of life can be caught and enjoyed.