Got the fly-fishing yips? Here are 4 ways to get your day back on track

#3  SHORTEN YOUR CASTS

If you have a decent grasp of fly-casting fundamentals, but your casting is going to pieces, you can often get back on track by making shorter casts. First, forget about actually fishing for a few minutes. Reel up all but 25 feet of line, then start casting, landing and picking up the shorter line. Watch your backcast, wait until you feel the tug of the line as it straightens behind you, then accelerate forward. Feel the rhythm and reacquaint yourself with the fundamentals. Remember that casting is fun, and it feels good. When you’re ready to fish again, stick with the shorter line. That may mean repositioning or moving, but there’s also a lot of water close to us we tend to overlook. Focus on your short game, and save the Hail Mary casts for later.

#4  SMELL THE ROSES

There are things I’d rather do than fly fishing, but it’s a very, very short list—mostly it involves holding an oversized novelty cheque in the provincial lottery office. So ultimately, the one thing that always makes a rough day of fishing better is to simply appreciate what I’m doing, and where I’m doing it. That includes the sights and sounds of the water and wildlife, embracing the solitude or the companionship, and recognizing the extremely good fortune that lets me spend time outdoors in such a place. The day that doesn’t fix what’s ailing me, is the day I’ll hang up my waders for good—or be buried in them.