There are countless hobbies and activities that you can choose to get involved in. Sometimes it’s hard to know what activity will be best for you and which one you’ll get the most out of. I’d like to recommend fly fishing because there are so many ways that it can be useful and enjoyable!

Here are 7 benefits that fly fishing can bring to you:

Time in Nature

Fly fishing is also good for your mental and emotional health. Sometimes life can get overwhelming and it becomes easy to get distracted by our phones, work, and other commitments.

Fishing is a chance for you to escape the stress and everyday concerns. In nature, there’s not nearly as much stimulus to distract you from what you’re doing. It can be very soothing to take some time for yourself in nature and just focus on one thing.

If you choose to go alone, you can take some time away from other people as well. No matter how social you are, it’s important to create some alone time to let your thoughts settle.

The slow, continuous motions involved, such as casting and reeling in the line can also be therapeutic with their rhythm. There’s not much background noise apart from the flow of water, so you can also get the benefit of soothing white noise.

Low Environmental Impact

Although no form of fishing is going to be necessarily good for the fish, fly fishing is one of the least harmful ways to go about it. Since you’re not using edible bait, you avoid the risk of introducing foreign species or processed food into a natural environment.

You can also help keep the environment healthy by keeping the populations of fish in check. If you follow the catch and size limits for each area you visit, the activity of fly fishing can be a good thing for the local wildlife. Responsible fishing can even limit invasive species and prevent rapid population growth.

Wider Access Fishing

As a fly fisherman, you’ll also have access to more fishing territory than those who use edible bait. There are certain areas that prohibit the use of live bait because of the compounding effects it can have on the fish populations and their natural environment.

In areas such as this, fly fishermen won’t be affected! Since fly fishing is one of the lowest impact methods, it’s practice is allowed in almost every location that fishing is permitted.

In addition, fly fishing can sometimes provide greater reach and precision than other techniques. Depending on the length of the rod you’re using and the weight of the line and fly, you can target certain areas of water with great accuracy.

New Techniques

Learning how to fly fish requires a good deal of time, practice, and dedication. But if you put in the effort, this will enable you to learn a new skill that you didn’t know before! Picking up new hobbies and activities have been shown to provide wonderful psychological benefits as you practice and improve.

As you work on developing the techniques that are necessary for fly fishing, you’ll be able to make connections between existing skill areas in your brain, increase your learning speed, and even get better at fighting off boredom!

Coupled with the mental and physical benefits you get from the exercise and tranquil time in nature, learning how to fly fish can be extremely beneficial for your state of mind.

Specialized Lures

As you get more practiced with fly fishing, you’ll begin the recognize the benefits of different types of flies. Artificial lures are separated into two different types: wet flies and dry flies.

Wet flies are patterned after aquatic insects, small fish, and underwater grubs. They’re generally larger and heavier than dry flies and can be used to attract the attention of fish who live in deeper waters.

Dry flies are more lightweight, and most often resemble insects that may land on the surface of the water. These are more light and delicate and can look very convincing to fish who are surface hunters.

As you can more practice with each type of lure, you’ll be able to appreciate the differences between the two. Fly fishing enables you to apply your knowledge of fish’s feeding habits. It gives you an opportunity to practice your skill at choosing and casting different types of bait and knowing which ones will be most effective for the fish you’re targeting.

Tie Flies

This isn’t necessary for everyone who’s interested in fly fishing, but many fishermen enjoy tying their own unique lures. Tying flies creates a chance to learn an applicable new hobby, and possibly even turn it into a marketable skill!

Tying flies isn’t for everyone and it requires a significant amount of time, materials, and skill to get it right. But as with everything, practice makes perfect. The more you do it and the more flies you make, the better you’ll get at it. It might not be cost efficient at the beginning, but once you’ve tied a couple hundred flies, you’ll begin to save money on buying store bought packs.

In addition, many experienced fly fishers have been able to sell their custom designs to other interested fishers or retailers.

But beyond any monetary gain, this is a chance to learn another new skill that you can apply in your life. You can become self-sufficient at crafting bait.

The practice of tying your own flies creates an opportunity for you to make a concrete product that you can perfect and use in your hobby. As is the case with learning how to fly fish, this provides psychological and emotional benefits.

Social Bonding

Fly fishing is an activity that you can do alone or with other people. Many people enjoy the tranquility of fishing alone, but it can also be a great way to spend time with others and grow closer with them.

Fishing with friends and family lets you bond with them in a setting that’s different from your usual social situations. When everyone is out in nature, it’s easier to relax and let down their usual walls. The setting feels less formal and more relaxed.

It’s not always even necessary to talk to each other during these experiences! Sometimes just quietly spending time together can help people grow closer as well. If you go fishing with the same people multiple times, you can all create this positive connection with each other.

If you spend time with people in a comfortable and calming environment, they’ll begin to associate those feelings with your presence. This is one of the reasons why groups of people who go fishing together will often do so frequently and maintain close friendships.

In the event that you catch “the biggest fish anyone’s ever seen” you’ll also have fishing buddies who can back you up! Some experiences are better when they’re shared with others.