by Chris Scalley 
It seems that fly fishermen go through three phases in their lifetime on the trout rivers and streams the world over. When you begin, it’s all about quantity, and with this high number of fish caught, it usually translates to lots of action throughout your time on the water, not to mention substantial bragging rights.
After some time, the practice of catching lots of average sized fish gets a bit monotonous. This is the next phase where quality becomes more important, and trophy huge sized fish is now the fascination. This challenge to catch “the big one” or “the smarter fish” goes back to bragging rights again, but bigger is better for many anglers midway through their fishing career.
The third phase is what we call the “full circle”, whereas the seasoned angler has likely caught his lifelong best monster trophy fish which satisfied his or her ego, and you are back to happily catching numbers once again. This full circle is fitting, as usually at this later phase of fishing you’re hopefully mentoring the next generation who is new to the sport and happily catching numbers with your friends or family members.