Why Teamwork is critical to success in Fly fishing | Chris Dore
Few relationships embody teamwork more than that of a fly-fishing guide and their client. It’s a partnership built on trust, communication, shared enthusiasm, and the desire to create success. The guide reads the water, the conditions, and the client’s ability — as well as the client themselves — adjusting advice and strategy moment by moment as events unfold. The angler listens (hopefully), trusts the advice given, learns, and responds accordingly and quickly with their fly rod. When that connection clicks, it’s poetry in motion.
These past couple of weeks, I spent guiding Rob, a regular customer of mine and a friend, in some exceptionally tough conditions. Other anglers simply didn’t go out for days on end. However, Rob and I decided that if we worked hard, worked together, and each of us kept up our end of the bargain, then we might just be able to pull the occasional rabbit out of the hat.
Some days we started late to allow the rivers to warm a little. Other days, because I knew I was going to have to push him hard in challenging winds and rain, a shorter, more intense session seemed more likely to succeed than a long day where we’d simply run out of gas.
Some days it was a very early start to reach what might have been the only fishable water in the region. The casting was tough in unavoidable winds, but I pushed Rob to perform well above his pay grade — and likely that of many seasoned anglers I know. Seeing him strive to do this, to follow my rapid-fire, often barked instructions, kept driving me to work harder and get things done myself.
Over 12 days, we managed at least one fish — and often many — each day, in conditions that most locals considered unfishable. To say I’m bloody proud of our team effort is an understatement. Every hook-up becomes a joint achievement — the product of keen observation, patience, and execution.
When you fish as a team, you don’t just catch more fish — you create memories that last a lifetime. The reward isn’t just in the catch, but in the shared satisfaction of a plan coming together — that electric moment when preparation meets opportunity.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Chris Dore is a battle-tested fly fishing guide with over 20 years of professional guiding experience, battling the demanding, ever-changing conditions that our New Zealand rivers throw at us.
In 2006 Chris became one of the first New Zealanders to successfully pass the internationally recognised Federation of Fly Fishers Certified Casting Instructors examination and has since taught many thousands of anglers to up their skillset.
Want to catch one of the fish he is talking about above...then book Chris for a day or three...