Early August saw my son in law David and two grandsons Josh and Gavin and me heading to the Sierras for some stream trout fishing. We use the classic Sierra stream rig: a limber fly rod with an automatic fly reel and 4 lb. monofilament with nightcrawlers, or grasshoppers—when we can catch them. That set up allows us to reach all of a stream, with brush and trees at the water’s edge, without spooking the wild trout.
The key is a soft underhand flip cast, holding the rod in your right hand and controlling the line with your left. You use the rod tip to move the bait into an arc, then at its farthest reach you gently release the line with your left hand and let the bait fly. Gently.
Josh is a fine fisherman and David is experienced, but Gavin was a newbie, with just one ocean trip. So we gave him some basic instructions on the setup and where and how to fish, and he watched us for the first hour or so. Then, rod in hand, he approached the stream and the fun began. His casts fell short of his target. Far short. Rather than keeping his right-hand stable on the rod butt as he released the line, he pushed the butt toward the target. Seems to make sense. But pushing the butt raises the tip, messing up the arc and the cast. A mere issue of physics. 😉
I suggested he let the rod do its part and rely on its grace more than his power, and keep his hand stable. His casts kept improving, and he landed the first wild trout of his life. Just a bit of a grin broke out.
That reminded me of a passage from Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It, “man by nature was a mess and had fallen from…grace. Until a man is redeemed he…always overswings…and loses his power…it is natural for man to try to attain power without recovering grace.”
Paul said the same, “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), with the salvation coming by grace (also in the fly rod), but being worked out in practice as we develop spiritual maturity (the cast). Good casting and good following both require that marriage.
Try to do it just with our own power and we lose power. Try to do it just with grace and we don’t grow. So, grow like Gavin. Grace and power.
Kick Starting the Application
Have you tried to power through following Jesus on your own? Or do you rely too much on forgiveness and ignore sins? How has that worked for you? What specific arenas of following Jesus right now do you not balance? What are some practical steps you can take this week to improve your casting?
