Just because you love fly fishing doesn’t mean it always comes easily. Various and sundry circumstances can lead the angler to a period where there is less productivity on the water. That is normal, primarily because the fish aren’t obligated to play along. Weather, seasonality, and the aforementioned finnicky fish will keep hands clean and nets empty.

What can also happen  is that fly fishers struggle to fish just because. Maybe it is a string of unproductive days on the water. Maybe it is tedious routine. Maybe it is other parts of life  impacting drive, engagement, or enjoyment. Perhaps all of this comes across as overblown psychoanalysis, but it is realistic to assume even the most avid angler will experience a slump.

Sometimes just going fishing fixes everything. Nature has a way of making things right. Simply being out there is reorienting. Add in a couple of healthy or hard-earned fish, and that may very well set the world as it should be.

But that isn’t always the case. Just like an author or artist needs to break out of a routine in order to come up with new ideas or to spur on creativity, the fly fisher can truly benefit from inspiration or incentive. Here are four ways to bust out of the doldrums and give your fishing a shot in the arm:

• Read The shared experiences of countless fly fishers have been motivating people to head out to the water for centuries. An ounce of preparation can be worth a pound of just doing it. The goal isn’t to replicate what Walton, Gierach, or your favorite blogger has experienced. The goal is for you to latch on to those shared interests and take the next step yourself.
• Create Fly fishing is a creative activity. Presentation includes some rote mechanics, but there is still a lot of flexibility in the what, why, and how you fish. Why not find another outlet? Write a short story. Sketch a favorite fly. Whittle a trout out of a stick from your backyard. Make something that engages the fly fishing part of your brain, albeit in a different way.
• Prepare Cast, tie, reorganize, and generally prepare for fishing. Practice and preparation can help you establish goals and opportunities to execute. Plus, they aren’t fruitless activities. They get your head into what is coming next, and they actually are accomplishing something for you.
• Sunfish Take it back to basics. Not to disparage bluegill, but the entry point into catching a mess of these fish is a little different than matching the hatch or pinpoint accuracy. Recapture the essence of why you enjoy fishing. Grab whichever rod works, a handful of poppers, and head out to the closest body of water that sustains life. That, in itself, is sustaining.

Among other things, fly fishing is about recreation, and reinvigoration. That doesn’t mean you’re not going to have periods where it doesn’t click. Crack the block by fishing, or by taking other steps to get your head and heart back into what you love.