Fly Fishing for Mental Health: Finding Peace on the Water

Fly fishing isn't a cure-all for depression and mental health issues, but it can be a step in the right direction. The immersion into nature, and the pursuit of fish with an fly can lift heaviness off the psyche, even if it's just for a day.

The beauty of fly fishing isn't always about the fish. / photo by Ken Baldwin

I'm not going to pretend to be a psychotherapist or a counselor, but you have to be living under a rock if you haven't become aware of the uptick in people suffering from mental health issues, and more disturbingly, the rates of suicide skyrocketing. Maybe mental health concerns seems more prominent, because people have become more comfortable talking about it, and that's a good thing. But what explains the increase in suicides?

The Mental Health Disconnect

In our modern world of constant stimulation without a lot of physical demands, where video football has replaced two hand touch in the streets for kids, and Tik Tok replaces actual face to face connection. Finding ways to physically release stressful energy and clear our heads seems to be lacking compared to 20 years ago. With the advent of computers and cell phones, our heads are down, and fingers are flying, but the rest of the body is pretty much dormant.

It feels like this sometimes. / photo by Ken Baldwin

This Isn’t How Nature Intended It

We can be in a large group of people with no real social connection because everyone is tuned in to their cell phones. There's no downtime to be bored or even hear ourselves think because eye candy, flashing lights, colors, and train wrecks are just a finger tap away. This all-day onslaught of stimulation that feeds our desire for more and more dopamine isn't how nature intended our bodies and brains to function. Our psyches are letting us know this with depression, anxiety, and a feeling of emptiness.

A Physical Life

We are meant to move, work, and physically challenge ourselves outside in the fresh air. Getting outdoors and putting physical demands on ourselves can be exhausting, but it's an exhaustion that feels great and leads to better health.

Gett'n it done. / photo by Ken Baldwin

Fly Fishing as a Hobby

I've loved fly fishing from the get-go. I was a kid when I started, and everything about it attracted me. Wading in the water, turning rocks and logs over to see the creatures that were underneath, the casting, the gear, and especially the catching. I loved the tug, the fight of the fish. It felt like electric currents running through my body.

Fly Fishing as a Refuge

It wasn't till I was older that my fly fishing took on another dimension. It became a needed escape from the daily grind. When there was too much noise going on in my head, and anger was too close to the surface. I was moving too fast, and too erratic. Fly fishing was a refuge where I would go and get lost in the act of trying to catch fish. For that day, it was my whole world: the gear, the flies, the casting, the sounds, the smells, and the pursuit of fish. I was able to leave the world I knew and enter an environment that, instead of sucking the life force out of me, gave back and lifted me. A day on the water, especially if it was moving water, acted as a reset. The focus required to cast a line quieted the noise in my mind, and the canvas was wiped clean.

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The Mental Health Benefits of Fly Fishing

The benefits of fly fishing go deeper than just simple relaxation. Dr. Herbert Benson, a pioneer in mind-body medicine, explains that the repetitive motions of fly fishing can interrupt the cycle of everyday thoughts, inducing a state of calm and clarity. This allows worries and anxieties to fade, replaced by being in the moment, with the intent of catching a fish.

No place I'd rather be. / photo by Ken Baldwin

Putting It Into Practice

The therapeutic benefits of fly fishing have gained traction with organizations like Casting for Recovery and Project Healing Waters, two groups that use fly fishing as a means to help breast cancer survivors and veterans cope with trauma and improve their mental well-being. Dr. Ryan Reese, a licensed professional counselor, incorporates fly fishing into his group therapy program, Fishing for Wellness.

The joy of the cast. / photo by Ken Baldwin

A Cast in the Right Direction

Fly fishing as therapy has even found its way into film with Mending the Line, a popular movie about a war veteran finding solace and healing in fly fishing.

My sufferings are a lot smaller than a war veteran's, but I get it. I've always looked at fly fishing as something bigger than myself, a means to take my focus off of me, and connect to the wonders of the natural world outside of me. And the fight of a big fish does wonders to my psyche as well. KB

It's important that we take mental health seriously. If you or someone you know is depressed, or struggling with mental health issues you can get help by calling The National Mental Health Hotline, at 866-903-3787, and if suicidal please dial 988. 

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“The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover