So people ask what is so technical about fly fishing? Usually an expert fly fisherman will go into a long list of skills and techniques used to make the perfect cast, presentation and hook set. So we are going to get a little technical in our blog this time about what we try to teach on the streams of Northeast Iowa. Well about as technical as we want to. Ok, all kidding aside, we teach a ton of technical approaches to fly fishing that will prepare or enlighten your next fishing experience here in home waters or far off rivers, but, more so then anything, we believe that the "driftless experience" has 2 core memories that we want to engage you with. So to be technical, the first is procedural and the second is episodic. Since brain matter is not exactly conversations we have on the river, we will take a stab at getting technical for fun! So here we go...
Procedural Memory ("knowing how") is he unconscious memory of skills and how to do things particularly the use of objects or movements of the body. This is true in such things as casting a fly rod, double haul casting, single haul casting, roll casting or tying a surgeons knot while double rigging your fly rod. These memories are acquired through repetition and practice, and are composed of automatic sensorimotor behaviors that are embedded in us, that we no longer have to think about when performing them. Once these skills are learned, the "muscle memories" allows us to carry out ordinary motor actions more or less automatically. Procedural memory is what we as fly fishing enthusiast want to teach, learn and perfect. We can not simply do this once and have it as a fine skill, it must be practiced over and over, but once it is embedded in our memory we will automatically perform the skill. We will defiantly give you the skills to practice over and over again.
Episodic Memory ("knowing how it was") represents our memory of experience and specific events in time, held in our minds from which we can reconstruct the actual events that took place in our lives and fishing trips. It is the memory of autobiographical events. It's the sights smells and emotions you felt during that experience or event at each and every fly fishing outing. You can remember the sound of the cast, the feel of the slight strike of a particular catch or the day your Dad took you fishing for the first time. Individuals tend to see themselves as actors in this part of their memory, not just the facts of the event itself. You are engaged in the full memory of the experience and you want to relive it, once again.
We want to encourage, teach and engage with you in building both these memories. Procedural, so that you can fish for a lifetime. Episodic Memory so that you can remember it for a lifetime. Ain't that what it's all about?!!
"Clear Eyes, Full Hearts and Tight Lines"
