The Elitist Fly Fisherman....Reality or Myth?

[SBecker]

The_Sasquatch wrote:
Oh man. I sense Becks starting to get pissed.

RRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!

This is the first thing that popped in my head.

 

[SBecker]

mike_richardson wrote:
I just wish I was as great at the sport, and had the vast knowledge that you do. I mean its a wonder you gained all this knowledge in your 3 years or so of fly fishing.

your smart remarks about people who use other methods of fly fishing, as well as remarks about people who fish for stocked trout, or jabs at members for other reasons are great examples of how you are not an elitist, or how you don't judge other fisherman who do not fish the same way that you do. I stand corrected.

Please send me a signed copy of your book or video when you come out with it. I know that by cruising an internet forum all day, and having a blog are great credentials of how great and how vast your knowledge of fly fishing is.

Correct thank you. :: insert winky face with tounge out::

Not to toot my own horn, but I am one of the nicest guys to fish with and give a lot of time to helping whoever I can. I am sorry you can not take my sense of humor and soft jabbs of busting balls. You should just stick with TAP, possibly your own kind? Snobby enough for you?

 

[mike_richardson]

first step to recovery is admiting your problem 😉

 

[JeffK]

I think it is reality - although most fly guys are decent folks. I try a lot of techniques from jig fishing with spinning/bait caster tackle to center pinning. I also have a soft spot for the fly rod lures old-timers used when I was a kid. And do I ever get nasty comments when I'm not 100% traditional. I even like to experiment with my fly fishing. The biggest argument I got into on stream was a few years back when I made a fly rod with single footed guides to check out if the claims for single footed guides were valid. Went to the FFO area a few blocks from my home for a few first casts. The local fly fishermen claimed it wasn't a fly rod unless it had snake guides and it turned real ugly real fast. Ended up with a call to the CO, who fortunately sided with me. Some of the traditional wet fly and Catskill style dry fly tiers go crazy with who is authentic and who is not. I know a few of the old tiers recognized as the masters of the trade and they find some of this purist stuff funny - they were just trying to tie flies that caught fish with the stuff they had.

Yes there is elitism in fly fishing, but most fishermen are fine.

 

[pcray1231]

Sas,

Coming from a bait family and world, that's true, there's definitely different groups among spin/bait fishermen. And there are some good ones and bad ones everywhere. But a lot of it is highly regional, I think.

I grew up fishing mostly NW PA. And in most places, it's still hard to even find a fly fisherman unless you go to the more famous special reg areas, like Oil Creek or Caldwell. The stereotype was reversed! Fly fishermen only fish crowded shoulder to shoulder spots. You'll rarely see them on an unstocked stream, unless there are posters up saying it's special reg. And you'll almost never see them stray far from access points. They're rude and they tend to crowd you. They wade out in the middle where the fish are and spook them all because they can't cast far enough. They tend to fish when the water is too warm; fish tend to take those small flies deep; and they overplay fish, so mortality is higher.

And it was true. Because in that area, experienced fishermen tended to stick with spinning gear and bait. Fly fishermen were mostly beginners who didn't know what they were doing.

Boy, what a culture shock when I moved across the state. Pretty much the opposite was true.

 

[McSneek]

I still think SBecker has the most elite avatar on this forum.

 

[mike_richardson]

Pcray,

I find myself in the middle ground. My family is "ultra baitfishing" if you will. They are more on the equal access side however. They don't care what your fishing with. To them fishing is fishing. They don't stereotype flyfisherman.

I have been in meetings and heard stories of the early days from meetings where the room would be packed with elitists, far greater than those i had mentioned earlier. Maybe purist is the better word. The purists would even denounce the other flyfisherman present at the meetings who would use beads or splitshot.

I think that the extremes on both ends are where the "myths" are generated.

 

[FarmerDave]

SBecker wrote:

mike_richardson wrote:
I just wish I was as great at the sport, and had the vast knowledge that you do. I mean its a wonder you gained all this knowledge in your 3 years or so of fly fishing.

your smart remarks about people who use other methods of fly fishing, as well as remarks about people who fish for stocked trout, or jabs at members for other reasons are great examples of how you are not an elitist, or how you don't judge other fisherman who do not fish the same way that you do. I stand corrected.

Please send me a signed copy of your book or video when you come out with it. I know that by cruising an internet forum all day, and having a blog are great credentials of how great and how vast your knowledge of fly fishing is.

Correct thank you. :: insert winky face with tounge out::

Not to toot my own horn, but I am one of the nicest guys to fish with and give a lot of time to helping whoever I can. I am sorry you can not take my sense of humor and soft jabbs of busting balls. You should just stick with TAP, possibly your own kind? Snobby enough for you?

I am one of the nicest guys I know, too. 😛

 

[mike_richardson]

Mc Sneek

that avatar got me slapped from my wife. She didn't believe me when i said i was on a fly fishing forum. 😉



You should just stick with TAP, possibly your own kind? Snobby enough for you?

So now we see the root of your anger, TAP is the thing that bothers you the most. At least we are getting somewhere 😉

 

[FarmerDave]

pcray1231 wrote:
Sas,

Coming from a bait family and world, that's true, there's definitely different groups among spin/bait fishermen. And there are some good ones and bad ones everywhere. But a lot of it is highly regional, I think.

I grew up fishing mostly NW PA. And in most places, it's still hard to even find a fly fisherman unless you go to the more famous special reg areas, like Oil Creek or Caldwell. The stereotype was reversed! Fly fishermen only fish crowded shoulder to shoulder spots. You'll rarely see them on an unstocked stream, unless there are posters up saying it's special reg. And you'll almost never see them stray far from access points. They're rude and they tend to crowd you. They wade out in the middle where the fish are and spook them all because they can't cast far enough. They tend to fish when the water is too warm; fish tend to take those small flies deep; and they overplay fish, so mortality is higher.

And it was true. Because in that area, experienced fishermen tended to stick with spinning gear and bait. Fly fishermen were mostly beginners who didn't know what they were doing.

Boy, what a culture shock when I moved across the state. Pretty much the opposite was true. I've witnessed the opening days with bait fishermen lined up on banks shoulder to shoulder, with rods laying on forked sticks and power bait on the bottom. I'd never witnessed anything like that, it was foreign to me. And when I started going up the little brookie streams deep in the woods and occasionally crossed paths with a fly fisherman, it was quite a surprise!

Ah, yer full of shart, like most mupears.

Don't be dissing the locals unless you is one!

;-)

 

[JeffK]

I think it was the same in the Eastern part of the state 50 years ago. There were some amazing bait fishermen (mostly local experts). Everybody - fly or bait - always kept there limit. A lot of the fly fishermen were visiting "dudes" who didn't have a clue. At the FFO nearest me as a kid the big trout would always hold under the banks and the decked out fly guys would wade right over them to fish in the middle of the stream - arrrghhhh. No 10-year local would spook the fish so. Anybody who was a real fishermen would also prefer a cast iron skillet full of "natives" for breakfast over a colorless, tasteless stockie any day.

Things sure have changed.

 

[The_Sasquatch]

Okay. What is "TAP"?

 

[mike_richardson]

Okay. What is "TAP"?


Not wise to go there on this board i learned that one SAS 😉

 

[FarmerDave]

Tarded Anglers of PA.

A bunch of guys who chase the white trucks and only use bait.

 

[mike_richardson]

Dave we don't have to chase the truck we are the truck 😉

 

[FarmerDave]

Seriously though...

TAP, "about us."

 

[FarmerDave]

mike_richardson wrote:
Dave we don't have to chase the truck we are the truck 😉

I wanted to work that in there, but it would have taken me too long.;-)

 

[mike_richardson]

and.....

 

[FarmerDave]

What?

 

[pcray1231]

Us message board heroes see this whole thing as bait/spin vs. fly. And it's predicated on our experiences, though those experiences are different for all of us, and sometimes depend on where you grew up.

But it's not ultimately about tackle choice. It's really avid angler vs. beginner. And I don't mean "beginner" by how long you've been fishing, I mean it by how serious you are about it. "Avidity" means caring to learn about the sport, the ethics, the fish and their ecosystems. And it is not ultimately related to tackle choice. It may be correlated, but those correlations vary by location.

FWIW, while I do not agree totally with TAP, but I do find areas of agreement. For instance, I don't think any special regs should be implemented unless necessary. I do think, for more popular destination type streams, C&R is necessary to extend fishing opportunities. But even then, I much prefer AT C&R to ALO or FFO. Those latter 2 should be downright rare and used only after AT C&R has proven to be insufficient for that water. AT C&R excludes nobody, it merely excludes harvest.

And I can understand a bait fisherman feeling excluded by FFO regs, as they may not own fly equipment and it would take years to become proficient with it. I cannot understand them feeling excluded by harvest restrictions.