Adult Swim: Celeb-Nerdy with Henry Winkler

There was a time when Henry Winkler was the personification of cool, but these days he's all about letting his freak flag fly. Which, of course, makes him even cooler. Today, the Childrens Hospital co-star (new episodes every Thursday at midnight, E/P) has traded in his leather jacket for rubber and Gore-Tex boots, which he wears every year on his secret nerdy trips to go flyfishing. Well, okay, it isn't so secret -- he put a book about it, I've Never Met An Idiot On The River, earlier this year.

Now that the secret's out, we gave Winkler a call to talk about his unexpected hobby, why he doesn't dare eat a trout, and also to get kinda deep and philosophical and stuff. (Don’t worry, we don't talk about jumping sharks.)

Another Lonely Weekend

How did you get started with fly-fishing?

My lawyer took us in about 1992 to Saint Helena, Montana. We went down the Smith River. I caught nothing, except the bug to fish.

If you didn't catch anything, what did you like about the experience so much?

Well, you're in the most beautiful place on the earth. It's serene. You have to concentrate on you and the fish because you're watching your fly. You've got a quarter of a second to make sure that fly sets if a fish strikes. The sound of the rushing water, the feel of the rushing water -- it's like a washing machine for your brain.

“The sound of the rushing water, the feel of the rushing water -- it's like a washing machine for your brain.”

You know what it is? It's like a dichotomy because on the one hand I am more relaxed than I am anywhere in the world. On the other hand, I am still competitive with myself in order to catch a beautiful trout. So I've got these two sides competing against each other, no pun intended.

I could have had it longer in my life, if I hadn't denied [myself]. I played softball for the Happy Days softball team, and I never really played sports before. I was a water skier, I was a camp counselor, and I taught water skiing. I horseback rode. I was pretty good with a bow and arrow, just pretty good. Those were the only things that I did. I never played ball because I knew I didn't have eye-hand coordination. And then I just loved every single game we played. I wake up in the morning, I get dressed at about 6 in the morning, I am rarin' to go, and I can't get to the boat until 8, anyway.

What's the most impressive catch you've made?

Well, last year I caught my largest trout ever, which was about six pounds, 26 inches long.

Do you try to catch trout more than any other fish?

You know what, a lot of fishing is casting and then reeling in. When you fish for trout, you literally have to negotiate with the fish. You must be in tune with the fish. You've got to feel the fish tug and let it go, then you've gotta bring it in. You've got to figure out how to tire the fish out in order to net it. And eventually take a picture.

Do you catch and release?

I do. I don't eat a trout from the river, and I don't eat one in a restaurant.

Fly Fishing Tips

Why is that?

I think they are majestic. I think they are beautiful. If you look at a rainbow trout, there is actually a strip of rainbow running down the center of it. If you look at a brown trout, it is speckled with these beautiful red and black and golden-brown spots that shimmer in the sun. If you look at a cutthroat, its gills are bright orange. They are beautiful, beautiful fish.

Are you a vegetarian, then?

No, no, no, I eat fish in general. Just not trout. I never turn down a fabulous cheeseburger. You know what? That's just the truth.

When did your respect for trout start? Because I can't imagine you gave up eating trout as soon as you started fishing.

I gave it up when I caught my first trout. I looked at it and I looked at the picture afterwards, yes. I went from zero to 60 in one catch.

Henry On “The Talk”

When you catch them now, do you feel like you've gotten better at negotiating with them?

You know what? Last year, since 1992, I moved up a notch in my fishing skill. Being learning challenged, which I am, what happens is that you live with that mantle and it pervades everything. It literally dictates the choices that you make in your life. It's a constant battle to overcome. One of the things that I learned on the river is that the anticipatory fear is worse than the actual doing of whatever it is. One stops yourself so many times from doing something because you literally think you can't do it, you can't conquer it, it's beyond you, and you don't know the power you have inside you unless you put one foot in front of the other. Or in my case, one wader in front of the other. [Laughs.]

“...you don't know the power you have inside you unless you put one foot in front of the other.”

That's true of many things in life, and usually it turns out that people have built it up to be much harder than it actually was. It's far easier than you think.

And it's far more enjoyable! I mourn the time that I kept putting it off. That I denied myself the sheer joy of being in or on the river. You have to throw caution to the wind.

Right. You shouldn't worry about looking like an idiot.

You know what? That is the key. You fall down, you stand up, you dust yourself off. You haven't lost any height. You still know what you know, and you keep moving forward. That is one of the major keys to living life. Do not worry so much. I spent so much time worrying when I was younger about being perfect. There is no perfection, there's just being. You're very young to know that, that's a big life lesson. You are wise beyond your years.

Well, thank you. Getting back to what you were saying before, in what ways were you denying yourself before?

"It's too complicated for me, I'll never figure it out." Until I did it. It took my lawyer, who took us on our first trip, where I finally said, "You know what, I'm just going to try it, and I might suck at it but it's just five days so I'll give it a try." I don't know that I would have done it on my own.

My wife and I go every August and we go to the same lodge in West Yellowstone, Montana. I eat time until I get there. Everything else is fodder for getting to the river.

Is the first day you're back home as excruciating as the day before you leave for the river?

The next day is the 363rd day until I get there again.