I sat here this morning drinking my coffee and pondering the insanity that was the SpaceX IPO that happened on June 12th. Then my imagination kicked in and I wondered about the future of humanity in space which naturally lead me to wondering about fly fishing in places not on Earth. Most people would probably respond with: Why would you want to? Anglers understand though. The answer isn’t because there’s fish on the Moon (yet?). The answer is because somebody will eventually try it.
I’ve always been a fan of science fiction and simply assumed by the time I was an adult humanity would be living in space. That hasn’t yet come to fruition but we’re getting closer. Change is a constant and it has been happening largely unnoticed all of our lives. I used to have conversations with my Grandfather about all of the things he saw come into being: railroad infrastructure, automobiles, flight, television and radio…things we simply take for granted today didn’t even exist two or three generations ago. The list of accomplishments is no less incredible during my lifetime: computers, the Internet, GPS, digital photography, cell phones, AI, and private space flight to list only a few. We still continue to dream though.
Once people have solved the hard problems of survival, they inevitably return to the things that make them human. Someone will plant flowers. Someone will brew beer. Someone will write poetry. And eventually someone will think about fishing. Once water production begins on the Moon, someone is going to think about fishing.
Eventually, someone will put a dome over a crater and fill it with water and stock rainbows in it. Fifty years after that, people will argue about whether or not they’re native fish too.
People choose to use a bamboo fly rod because they want to, not because they have no other option. Similarly, if I ever had the opportunity to cast a fly line on the Moon, I most certainly would. One-sixth earth gravity and no air resistance, no atmosphere! I suspect new technique would be required to accurately move the fly line. What does weight-forward even accomplish under these circumstances? Interestingly, fly lines are measured in mass, not really weight though they include the weight on packaging. Mass remains unchanged, even on the Moon while weight decreases. What does change is that because there is no air resistance there is nothing to help control a good loop making it unfurl in the beautifully flowing way it does on Earth. I suspect the fly line becomes a skinny whip-like rope that is impossible to create delicate presentations with. The rod would still load/unload, mostly as expected, but the loop would be super tight, almost kinked, and all the energy would still be present at the end of the cast causing the whip-like snap and the proverbial loss of any attached fly. You could probably find ways to insert a loop of sorts through changing the mechanics of the casting stroke but in the end, the energy remains and the whip-like crack seems unavoidable. So where does this lead?
Future fly lines for low gravity environments would seem to require some sort of nano-tech that can determine the appropriate level of resistance needed to maintain the perfect loop and presentation. They would likely need to be dynamically controlling the line throughout the casting stroke and be able to absorb line energy to prevent the whip at the end of a cast. I can see it already and it makes me laugh. Anglers arguing online:
“The new Graviflex Nanopolymer is far superior to your old Nanoflexium Dude.”
“The Quantum Taper Matrix 5-weight remains the gold standard for crater fishing Bro.”
“You don’t understand the vacuum dynamics Man. You gotta’ ease into the forward cast and use the atmospheric compensation weave to your advantage.”
The truth is I have no idea how far I could cast a fly line on the Moon. Maybe a few hundred feet. Maybe I’d crack the fly off on every cast. Maybe the entire concept is ridiculous.
I can already cast a full fly line when conditions are good for it. On the Moon in the future that may mean several hundred feet though instead of just over a hundred. These are the things that occur to me on some days. I’m OK entertaining the less logical side of my brain on occasion though it creeps in because that’s who I am.
But somewhere in the future, if humanity keeps pushing outward, somebody is going to find out.
And if I’m being honest, I hope it’s a fly angler.
I hope this post makes you laugh or drift off into your own imagination to ponder the what if’s of life and the future. Thanks as always for for the read.
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