Solo fishing

[riverdog]

I have a wife and 20 year old son. None of us sweat the little things. We don’t worry or call every time someone goes somewhere or takes a flight. When I fly fish streams I’m doing it alone 90 percent of the time. I don’t routinely tell anyone the exact details where I’m going but certainly will give them a 10 mile radius where I’ll probably be if asked. 95% of the time I encounter no one while fishing because away from the crowds is usually the fastest fishing. The key is to be prepared mentally and physically. Use good judgement especially when scouting new routes off trail. Never go down a ledge you can’t go back up if it leads to a cliff unexpectedly. Now I actually look at this differently than most. I feel safer when out on the middle of nowhere. I run into more mountain lions and black bears than I do humans. But statistically I’m pretty sure I’m less likely to be hurt or killed by those animals than being in a city full of people. Give people cell phones and cars and the risk is substantially higher in the city I’m sure. Humans do drug, get drunk and have mental illness on top of that. If you have sound judgement, pay attention to the weather and don’t take any chances with lightning Imreally doubt fishing alone is more dangerous than being back in town or the city. My dogs have generally watched over me fishing anyways. I’m down to a single 13 year old dog but she hasn’t slowed much. She still chases off every coyote for fun just like she started doing at 9 months. Her favorite activity on earth is to chase off black bears. And she has no problems letting mountain lions know that they aren’t to mess with us. She’s even put one on the run when my wife happened to stop 10 yards from one while mountain biking the foothills above SLC. She’s my guardian angel.
Now I don’t usually fish alone in Grizzly country of Montana or Alaska. That’s where I draw the line most of the time. However once in a while I push the boundary there just a bit if the fishing is really good[].
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