New Popularity of FFing

It goes in cycles. Covid likely instigated this one
 
Nice short piece. It says a good bit in only 5 minutes.

It must be wonderful to be able to cast like Joan W. does. After 50 years I fall far short.

Thanks for posting this.
 
I've been FFing since I was a kid, more than 50 years.

I'm not sure what you guys think, even with the Covid year aside, IMO there are a lot more flyfishers today than there were back-in-the-day.

I see way more FFers on the streams, especially the small wild trout streams. These were places I fished and almost never saw another angler.

Also it was quite unusual to see FFers fishing for bass....not now.

Muskie FFing....unheard of not long ago.

And there are a ton more FFers fishing saltwater now.
 
Afish's posts #4 is right on.
 
Fly fishing has always had ups and downs over the decades. Here's a brief--and personal-- interpretation of fishing's ebbs and flows over the past 50 years.

I started flyfishing in the 70s... very few were doing it back then. Fishing spots and techniques were well-guarded by old-timers and you had to put in time and pay your dues to learn the sport.

Then it picked up in the 80s, magazines like Fly Fisherman and Field and Stream catered more to the feather tossers. Easier to learn but still shrouded in the reputation as being difficult.

Then "the movie" hit in the 90s. The fad ignited. Fly fishing was a very cool thing to do and it seemed like the streams were full of well-dressed anglers with lots of disposable income from the boom in technology and investment careers. Many of the posers didn't really know what they were doing, which was fine, but many also bailed out after a couple of years.

Through the early 2000's the core of fly anglers grew. So did their communication. The Internet and social media changed everything. The knowledge you needed to get going in fly-fishing, the techniques, the vast choice of equipment, and the places to go were in front of anyone who wanted to take up the sport. Personally, I've noticed the difference on the stream: Guys, and gals, were better anglers from the start. And there were many more of them.

Now COVID hits and everyone needs to get outdoors to escape. So of course fly fishing is growing by leaps and bounds, so is biking (I can't even get a bike I need right now), hiking, camping, etc.
Once COVID subsides, and it will, I suspect many will go back to sporting events, concerts and travel. Some will continue in the sport which is a good thing.

One great thing that can come of this surge is more people caring and getting involved in making our waters, cleaner, cooler, and better for fish. And thankfully most are practicing catch and release ... or we'd all be screwed.
 
I'll second Afish's post and a resounding "couldn't agree more" to greenghost's post as well.

These views echo my own views and experience over the last 40+ years of FFing.
 
Yo Tom - do you think not just ffishing, but all fishing, has jumped up in popularity? It's easy to believe outdoor activities in general have spiked, too. Witness the shortage of bicycles. (Doesn't explain the toilet paper shortage, though).

Along those lines (no puns), do you think ffishing has increased more than general angling? I don't know if reported license sales fully reflect this boom.
 
Like said above have been fly fishing since the late 60's and a lot more fisherman today. I grew up near a Trophy Trout area on the Neshanock and could fish all day and not see another fisherman.
 
lestrout wrote:
Yo Tom - do you think not just ffishing, but all fishing, has jumped up in popularity? It's easy to believe outdoor activities in general have spiked, too. Witness the shortage of bicycles. (Doesn't explain the toilet paper shortage, though).

Along those lines (no puns), do you think ffishing has increased more than general angling? I don't know if reported license sales fully reflect this boom.
Click to expand...

Fishing license sales have increased quite a bit according to sources, but no official tally has been published, at least that I have seen.

In my post above, my comments were referring to a general increase in FFing popularity, increased numbers from Covid circumstances of the past few months aside.




 
According to "Pa Outdoor News" license sales were up 21% this year.
 
Troutmeister wrote:
According to "Pa Outdoor News" license sales were up 21% this year.
Click to expand...

That's a big increase. I haven't really noticed an increase in flyfishers on the streams in my area, so I'm surprised.

But it might not be because of Covid. It could be because of people reading Maxima's posts on here. ;-)

I have seen a big increase in hikers and walkers this year.

 
Take a chance, Grab someone, bring them along! You will be satisfied you did. Satisfaction, Guaranteed! "Ride, Captain, Ride".

Another Blue Day in a Grey World! I like Blue and so do most of the people in the world!

Testify, to it, brothers and sisters!

Maxima12
 
Just curious Troutbert, what part of Pa. do you fish? Everywhere I've been this year, eastern Pa. to the northcentral counties has been over run with anglers, fly fisherman and spin fishers since early March.
 
afishinado wrote:

Fishing license sales have increased quite a bit according to sources, but no official tally has been published, at least that I have seen.
Click to expand...

I think the license sales are definitely a result of the pandemic, but I expect these to fall off pretty quickly once events return and people feel safe gathering in large groups.

As for increasing numbers of FF's, there may be some folks who took it up as something to do while riding out COVID-19, but I suspect most of the license sales where just casual anglers who bought licenses on the notion that they could kill a few days at the lake watching a bobber rather staying home.

I do think that FF'ing has been increasingly more popular for some time now. Over all license sales may have been in a long downward slide until now, but the number of Fly anglers seems healthy and the number of "die hards" seems to be as strong as ever, if not more in the last decade or so.

However, there may be an element of confirmation bias to it for me. I have local special regs, I have a local fly shop. I travel to many areas popular with FF'ers, etc. I guess I should expect to encounter a lot of fly anglers.
 
The fall, is 2 months away, however the fall you describe is down the steps! No fall here, to pure pleasure! Spread the news, BABY! Pleasure Pa. Pleasure!

Get some, get the most you can. Now! While eligible! Time is right.

Now, i seem to say eligible. Maybe you will not be here tomorrow! Take today by the collar, put your boots on, YOU CAN DO IT! One at a time, like the rest of us! Not like me, I have them propped up and jump from a ladder. Both at once. Have a hard time bending over now, Seems i have been bent over by time! Bending has been excluded now!

I bend for no man! A bent rod is another story!

Maxima12
 
Troutmeister wrote:
Just curious Troutbert, what part of Pa. do you fish? Everywhere I've been this year, eastern Pa. to the northcentral counties has been over run with anglers, fly fisherman and spin fishers since early March.
Click to expand...

I'm basing this mostly on Spring Creek, which I live near. It's been a busy stream for years, but I haven't noticed that it was busier than usual this year.

Fishing Creek also has seemed about the same as in past years.

On my mountain stream fishing, I hardly have seen anyone this year, but that's the same as other years.

The number of walkers in Spring Creek canyon and in the adjacent public lands has been way up this year.

And at parking area at a trailhead north of here, I saw about 15 cars on a Saturday. Where I was hiking and fishing on a nearby state gamelands, though, there was no vehicles in the parking area and I walked and fished several miles and saw not another human the whole time.

Hiking must be a lot like fishing. People crowd the "famous" places.
 
maxima12 wrote:
The fall, is 2 months away, however the fall you describe is down the steps! No fall here, to pure pleasure! Spread the news, BABY! Pleasure Pa. Pleasure!

Get some, get the most you can. Now! While eligible! Time is right.

Now, i seem to say eligible. Maybe you will not be here tomorrow! Take today by the collar, put your boots on, YOU CAN DO IT! One at a time, like the rest of us! Not like me, I have them propped up and jump from a ladder. Both at once. Have a hard time bending over now, Seems i have been bent over by time! Bending has been excluded now!

I bend for no man! A bent rod is another story!

Maxima12
Click to expand...

I think my generation missed out on the really good drugs.
 
I can't comment on more fly fishermen on the water as it"s been about two years since I waved a long rod and was knee deep in cold water. Frankly, it's caused an itch that I can't scratch. I'll probably reach a point where I point the truck north and find a crick in Georgia that I can refresh and restore myself. Good Lord willin. GG
 
JOAN SALVATO WULFF IS THE BEST!!!
 
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