Over the years on Casting Across I’ve advocated that fly fishers diversify their outdoor experience. The singular focus of catching trout with a dry fly is a stereotype that serves as a punching bag within our little culture. But I’d argue that only fly fishing is less than one standard deviation away from that stuffy caricature.

Hiking, running, camping, conventional angling, hunting, and paddling are all outdoor pursuits that I dabble in to one degree or another. You might find time for cycling, climbing, bird watching, foraging, or any number of other worthwhile activities in nature. Go for it. You and fly fishing didn’t make a monogamous covenant with each other. Your wading boots won’t be jealous if you lace up your hiking boots. Your flies won’t give you the cold shoulder if you take the time to organize your rubber worms. Activities don’t work like that. So don’t act like they do.

Whether you’re completely fine with being an outdoor universalist or if you’re begrudgingly moving in that direction, there is one simple hobby that you can integrate into your fly fishing: observation.

To be fair, what I’m really talking about is observation and identification. But neither has to be incredibly complex. First an foremost, you’re probably already observing. In fact, if you’re not observing well than I’d wager that you’re not fly fishing very well. Reading the water requires taking in the big picture and the details. Observing what is around you is part and parcel of fly fishing. You see currents, bugs, and overhanging limbs. Just take it one step further.

What kind of limbs are overhanging the creek. You see mayflies and caddisflies, but what other species of bugs are flittering in the air? Even if trout aren’t going to eat them; what are they? Are those bugs landing on flowers? How about mushrooms? What kind of salamander is that? What sort of bird makes that call?

I have two primary arguments for asking questions like these:

First, it will help you catch more fish. Nature works like a complex machine. Within certain parameters, flowers bloom right around the same time that bugs emerge. Notice the colorful streamside foliage and you have the inside track on what fly to tie on. There are numerous examples of interconnectedness within an ecosystem, and trout fall into that intricate web.

Second, it can be fun. After you observe, you can identify. Identifying can lead to a few things. You begin to build a catalog in your head of what you’ve seen. You notice how certain things occur here and not there. Two watersheds that might appear identical on the surface now take on characteristics that distinguish them from one another. You also can get the thrill of identifying something rare. A plant might only grow in a narrow ecological margin. A reptile might be endangered. You don’t get anything from identifying but satisfaction. But satisfaction is worth getting.

So look around you. Take a picture. Utilize an app, like Seek to learn more and catalog what you see. Dive into the wide world that transcends the water where the fish swim. You’ll appreciate what you do, and where you do it, a whole lot more.