“What a drag it is getting old,” sang Mick Jagger, when he was a mere 23 years of age. Well, yeah, maybe it is a drag, but the aging process is inexorable, and we would be better off enjoying the time that remains, rather than griping about its loss. (To his credit, Jagger, now 78, seems to be doing exactly this.) Age brings with it certain satisfactions, such as wisdom and perhaps equanimity, and both usually come through the long accumulation of experience. Intriguingly, as the years pass, I find myself growing more curious about the world around me and more delighted by it. “Ah, but I was so much older then, I’m younger than that now,” sang Jagger’s peer, Bob Dylan. Yep, rings true to me.
But what’s also true is that growing older means having to come to terms with the fact that our bodies no longer perform as well as they once did. This, of course, can affect our ability to fish. We can slow our physical degradation through diet and exercise. We can also circumvent it somewhat with tools, especially tools that help us to see and to wade. Here are three “augmentations” that I’ve found particularly useful.
Clip-on magnifiers. My usual tack when encountering a fish that refuses my fly is to replace it with a smaller pattern, sometimes down to size 22 or even 24. When I was in my 20s and 30s, tying flies of these sizes to my tippet wasn’t much of a hassle, because I could see the hook’s eye well enough to do the job. Several decades later, though, and even with expensive bifocals, there’s no way I can thread a small fly onto a tippet unaided. My eyes simply need additional help. And now I’ve gotten it, with magnifying lenses that clip onto my fishing cap. They flip up and down, so you can move them out of the way once you’ve finished your task, and because they’re attached to your hat, you don’t have to fumble around with a pair of reading glasses every time you need to tie a knot or clear excess cement from the eye of a fly. Clip-on flip-up magnifiers are easily the most useful purchase I’ve made to counteract the effects of aging. On a recent fishing trip, five of my six companions were wearing them.
Wading staffs. Your sense of balance is another physical quality that declines with age. Although you can perform exercises to help retain balance, if you have any concerns at all regarding your ability to stay upright in flowing water, then you need to use a wading staff. A variety of wading staffs are available through retailers. Mine, though, is an old ski pole, minus the basket, a little less than chest high, that I’ve been using for around 40 years. It won’t bend or collapse if I happen to lean heavily on it or twist it in some weird way. It also doubles as a hiking staff. A downside is that unlike a foldable staff that can be stored out of the way on your belt, mine is always at my side, and it will sometimes get entangled with line that I strip off the reel when casting or strip in while fishing. Irrespective of model, though, if you’re becoming uncomfortable wading streams, get a staff, if you don’t already have one.
Studs and Cleats. Felt-soled boots are wonderful for keeping you from slipping on wet rocks, but as you’ve probably learned by now, they are not 100 percent effective. The wading boots I wear these days have studs built into their soles, which definitely improves the boots’ ability to maintain their grip. Another option is to buy cleats that slip over your boots, which lets you leave your boot soles unencumbered if studs or cleats are overkill for the water you’re fishing that day or when they’ll damage the finish of a boat you’ll be fishing from.
Do you have ideas for tools that can help us fish as we grow older? If yes, please drop a note to calflyfisher@sbcglobal.net.
