Discovery or Intimacy....What Drives you?

There's a run on my favorite river that I look forward to fishing more than any place in the world.  The subsurface structure coupled with correct flows usually end with a tight line.  It's a run I dream of when I have been away from the river for a long time.  There is comfort in knowing where to cast to, when to mend, even when to set the hook.  To say I know it intimately would be an understatement. 

At the same time, there is a drive of discovery.  The run around the bend and a river unfished will always hold the biggest fish of our minds.  From small brooks to imposing rivers, wonderlust gets us all. 



I think often of this when laying out an upcoming trip.  Do we return to the stage of former glory, or do we go on a trip  to new found lands and rivers on accord of a trip we overheard at the fly shop?

The place you know well means you know what fly to cast.  The place you dont know...you dont know where to cast in the first place.  Of course you know what productive water looks like but you lack the experience to know where it should all come together.

So it comes down to what drives you.  The thrill of a new spot, or the feeling of an old baseball glove on your hand of an old haunt.

For me, its a little bit of both depending on my mood and how long it's been since I've connected and felt a fish on the other end of the line.   If I am jonesing, it's a good bet I find my way to somewhere where I know what the game is about.  Other times, it's time to go down the road less traveled.

But what's it like for you.  What gets you excited on a Monday for a Saturday trip afield?