Unless you have been living under a rock (and who could blame you?) you have most likely heard of the Miss California debacle.  Miss California was asked by a judge for the Miss USA pageant if every state should legalize same-sex marriage.  Miss California answered:

“Well I think it’s great that Americans are able to choose one way or the other. We live in a land where you can choose same-sex marriage or opposite marriage. You know what, in my country, in my family, I do believe that marriage should be between a man and a woman, no offense to anybody out there. But that’s how I was raised and I believe that it should be between a man and a woman.”

Carrie Prejean

This set off a fire-storm of media coverage, and may have cost her the title.  I’m not sure of that, the winner Miss North Carolina is certainly easy on the eyes.  I am sure of one thing, the guy who asked the question wasn’t looking for an answer, but rather a commercial for his beliefs.  That is my answer to the far more interesting question, the question behind EVERY question.

Why did you ask that?

The way the question was asked it could only have been answered positively or negatively, people who heard the answer could only agree or disagree.  In short, it was a stupid question.  Remember when you teacher said, “The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask.”  She was lying to you.  Stupid people ask stupid questions every day.   

Asking a good question is the hallmark of an intelligent person.  A good question allows you to learn not only the information you asked for, but information you didn’t know you didn’t know.  A profound question allows both the answerer and the asker to learn more than they thought they knew, to learn enough to ask an even better question.

“Mr. Flyosopher, with all the pictures of Miss California on the web, why did you pick the one with Shamu instead of one of the ones from the bikini contest?”

A Flyosophy Disciple

This is a good question.  The answer though simple will provide information as well as an understanding of the person answering.  Here’s the answer: because of the genuine smile. 

A simple answer to a simple question, but it leads to more and deeper questions.  Does the Flyosopher hate phoniness, or does he simply find a bright smile more attractive than the petroleum jellied grimace of most beauty queens?  Is he talking about the girl’s smile, or the Orca’s?

Effective fly fishing is little more than a series of good questions.

Where are the fish holding in this situation?

What are they feeding on?

How are they feeding?

All too often these questions are asked Jeopardy style – with the answer coming before the question.  How often have we sat down to tie flies before a trip, fully planning on what to use before ever seeing the conditions of the water?  I do it all the time.

Just this weekend I paddled out to a productive spring striper spot.  Tied to my tippet was Squidy – a fairly complex fly that I tied during the long lonely winter.  The fly takes about an hour to tie, is roughly a foot long and looks – if I say so myself – exactly like a squid.  So when I get to my spot, I start casting Squidy and catch nothing.  Large stripers are boiling on the surface so I know they are here. I had planned on using Squidy here since February.  The images of my day dreams are not lining up with reality. I know better than to ask where the Mermaid with my cheeseburger is.

Took me longer than I care to admit to finally stop casting and observe the situation.  The stripers were holding in the current and taking silversides (or something it is too dark to see) off the surface.  There were no squid in the area, and, possibly due to the coldness of the water the large fish were not interested in a quickly stripped squid.  They would not move to attack a fly, rather they waited for one to drift by that they could easily intercept.

I switched to a fly of my friend Dave’s design called “Whitey.”  Whitey is such a complex fly that I don’t want to give you the recipe for fear that the frustration of tying such an engineering marvel may drive you insane.  Then again, you read my blog so your mental state is already suspect at best.

Whitey

Hook – Something sharp – size whatever you want

Tail – White Saddle Hackle – the softer the better – as many as you want

Body – Palmered white marabou – tie in by the tip.

Done.

It also works with Clouser style eyes.  The name of that version is under review by the Esteemed Lords of Fly Fishing…some claim it as “The Sluggo Fly” others as “White Death” where I in my finite wisdom call it “The Fly that Always Works.”

This softer fly could be drifted slowly and still appear alive.  I caught my first fish before my first cast as I was working out line. 

However, I then had a question.  Did squidy fail because it was a squid fly, or because I was retrieving it like one?  Was it the fly, or the retreive?   

I don’t know the answer…the fishing was too good to really care that much at the time and I stuck with the working pattern, but had I thought of that question before changing the fly I would have learned more, and it is possible I may have had even better fishing

 See that’s the question behind the question again.  Despite having one of the best fishing experiences of my life that night, I still regret the missed opportunity to learn.   

So the next time your buddy is catching fish and you aren’t, instead of asking, “What are you using?”  Ask, “What are the fish doing?” 

The first question will give you an answer.

The second may grant you a greater understanding.