Work has a bad reputation. This is perhaps best illustrated in the modern concept of the weekend. Many see the time from Friday evening until Monday’s alarm as sacred.  The rest of the week is there to be endured. Labor is pitted against rest.

But this isn’t true. And fly fishers should understand this very well.

Consider your time on the water. It is restful, but it also entails complicated variable analysis and a level of physical exertion. Like many leisure activities it requires the honing of skills and focus. And even if the most contemplative  purists don’t want to admit it, one must acquire equipment to participate.

It is a labor, but it is a labor of love. Very few anglers have any expectations or quotas that originate from external sources. The fish offer up a challenge that is nearly always pursued for the sake of the pursuit alone. The early mornings, long hikes, and saved-for expenses are fulfilling  more than they are draining.

You can rest too much, but it might mean that you don’t catch fish… at least not on purpose. You can work too hard, but you run the risk of making it all science and losing the art. In fly fishing, labor and rest function and flow in perfect harmony. One can’t exist without the other. The angler can’t really comprehend the entirety of the enterprise unless he immerses himself in both.

Ultimately, this is because we were created to rest and to work and it was called good. I’m of the conviction that fly fishing is good for many reasons; this labor and leisure dynamic being a significant one. We step into something active while simultaneously taking a step back from the usual. Whether we acknowledge it or not, a large part of the pleasure comes from doing what we’ve been made to do. We labor and we rest, and we’re blessed to do so with a fly rod in hand.

Have a good Labor Day. But, from Casting Across, have a great Tuesday too.