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

If we are talking about skill, I know for a fact right now, it takes more skill to land a dry acrost the creek than it does to pitch a rooster tail or lure on a spinning setup. That being said I believe there are fisherman that have the skill set to be just as deadly with a fly rod or spin rod, just based on the fact they are highly skilled.

 
dryflyguy wrote:
I - and I'll bet most other members of this forum - used to be a spin fishermen. And I've never looked down my nose at them now. We're just both fishing the way we want to - and I have no problem with that.

I agree. And I still spin fish from time to time. Last fall I posted a report with me catching 6 trout at Yellow Breeches on UL spin with Gulp Alive 1" minnows and NanoFil 2lb line (Maurice didn't like it too much, LOL but the FishIdiot came to my rescue..... he showed Mo that it's legal there) I usually see more spin guys at the Breeches than I see fly guys.

I think that "elitist" is a poor word for the guys that are serious. I've met so many guys with top shelf equipment and who take a serious approach to fly fishing, but they are so nice to talk to. Usually, they are just very educated? nothing wrong with that? I love to chat with smart people.

I love the time I spend fly fishing. It is the most enjoyable thing in my life!
 
The guy who got me into fly fishing makes fun of people who spin fish. Personally, I don't hate on those guys. I do dislike the guys who go out with 3 treble hooks, and kill fish they will never eat. When I spin fish (haven't since I picked up the fly rod), I don't use minnows, worms, or anything of the sort. I use single hook spinners, rubber worms, rapalas that have been rehooked with single hooks on the front and back, ect.
 
Patrick wrote:
And, while I consider fly fishing to require many skills, it requires no more intricate skills than other types of fishing, so we would be hard pressed to say fly fishermen are more skilled than other types of fisherman.

Please see...

Starvinmarvin wrote:
If we are talking about skill, I know for a fact right now, it takes more skill to land a dry acrost the creek than it does to pitch a rooster tail or lure on a spinning setup. That being said I believe there are fisherman that have the skill set to be just as deadly with a fly rod or spin rod, just based on the fact they are highly skilled.

Spin fishing became way too mechanical for me to enjoy it anymore. Atleast not near as much. Nothing got in my way. Every cast it seemed, was the perfect cast.

Elitism? I probably have some of that in me in some form. All you have to do is walk around the open water and look down at the ground, and then walk around a FFO and look down. Thats just for starters. But that was once me as well and I do my darndest not to forget that.
So I try to educate, I pick up their litter, and have released thousands of trout in a row. And every once in awhile I bring a new flyfisherman to the waters.
 
If'n ya'll wanna see eliti$t, go down to OC or the Outer Banks and check out the sport fishers in the marinas. Us with our little bendy sticks ain't got nothing on that crowd.
 
One thing I do not enjoy is encountering an angler who is the know it all. One who has 10,000 flies on him and looks like he jumped right out of a Orvis ad. And when conversating in a parking lot, he doesn't listen to you, as if he is the king of FF. This I dislike.

What I do like, is giving a new guy advice stream side, giving him flies, and sometimes guiding them. It feels really good to pay it forward. To show someone what was freely given to me by my FF mentor. That's what an elitist should do!

I also like meeting great anglers that are willing to explain their success when I arrive at a stream. A simple 10-15 conversation can save a lot of time trying to figure out fish feed behavoir. These are Elitist's in my book.

An Elitist practices humility in all his affairs, attraction is the greatest promoter of successful, right thinking individuels. Possitive vibes maaaaaan!
 
tomitrout wrote:
If'n ya'll wanna see eliti$t, go down to OC or the Outer Banks and check out the sport fishers in the marinas. Us with our little bendy sticks ain't got nothing on that crowd.

No doubt about it.
When it comes to "status" and social elite......this fishing world is indeed in a league of it's own. Little people like me can walk the docks......but will only ever be on the outside looking in.
 
pcray1231 wrote:
T.A.P would be for special regulation catch and release AT.

Mike, that's good to hear and heartens me. But I would seriously consider changing the website to clarify this. It expouses opposition to C&R, Trophy Trout, and the like, which are not equated by many to exclude bait. I think it probably makes you more enemies than you deserve.

I'm not sure what is meant by "would be" for that type of regulation. That type of regulation exists now, and has for some years.

Has TAP supported it? Have they sent a letter to the PFBC stating their support for that regulation?

If TAP really does support that type of regulation, they ought to make that clear, by sending a letter to the PFBC, and stating it clearly on their website. And including some suggestions of new stretches of stream they would like to see with this regulation.
 
To my fellow flyfishers. There is quite a bit of elitism, i.e. quite a few flyfishers who give baitfishers the evil eye and cold shoulder when out on the stream.

I recommend not doing that, for a few reasons. One is that if you talk to these guys, you can often learn a lot about the stream, the trout, the history, land ownership. And you'll often hear some fun, interesting memorable stories.

Another reason is that many of these guys are friends or relatives of the landowners. It's very important to keep up good relations with the landowners because that can mean the difference between open or closed access. If you are civil and friendly with the local fishermen, that helps maintain good relations with the landowners.

If the flyfishers and spinfishers and landowners can all "just get along" it allows for compromises, such as the one reached on the Penns Creek regulations, and hopefully with allow for access in the future. If you get the landowners mad, the game is over. And one way of getting them mad is disrespecting their friends and relatives.
 
Gee, wonder why all those special reg areas have and keep more fish.
Ahhhh, maybe it's because of the special regs???????
I'm sorry, but except for the fly only areas, anyone is welcome to fish the special reg areas, just not with bait. Is this such a hardship? really?
Did they ever add up the total miles of creeks in this state, and then the total number of miles of special reg waters? it's such a tiny portion of the available water that's open for anyone to fish.
BUT, hey, those special reg areas have more fish, and once again, gee, wonder why?
actually, I do need to edit this. On some of the spec reg streams I know of, yes, the spec reg sections hold more STOCKED trout, but the wild trout fishing is actually much better elsewhere in the stream.
 
Troutbert, and Pcray,

Thanks for the advise on revising the website. I will propose this at the next meeting. Often it is good to get feed back from the outside on what the site is saying to them. If you have 7 guys all with the same opinion it may not appear misleading.

The main issue that T.A.P. has is not keeping the fish. It is being able to fish.

This is getting off topic.

To add to what attackone has said about fly fisherman:

When I have fished a private club, or FFO sections of water I have noticed that If a guy is catching fish and realizes there is a guy coming into his area, Or if the person stops to chat and talk about the stream that person may extend an invitation to fish in the area. He may be willing to say hey buddy "fish here, I am having a blast." I have never had this happen to me on ATW.

I have given up my spot to many people before, especially if they had kids. I have been fishing for a 21" Golden and had a father and son come walking up the trail. The dad did not want to come in on me, so I yelled over and told the guy to bring his boy over try this spot out. The kids eyes lit up and the father and son had this big boy to themselves. I cam back up the stream later and 3 guys were there along with the kid. 1 guy on the same side of the stream. Two guys were spinner guys the other was stringing minnows.

The main issue it seems that we all have are with the extremes on both ends of the spectrum. The slobs that litter, keep more than the legal limit, drag live fish around on stringers, all ot that junk. And on the other end, guys who judge others for using streamers and nymphs, guys reluctant to even talk about what they are using, guys that look down on less experienced fisherman.
 
Squaretail thats one of the reasons I stopped spin fishing as well, I felt like an #censor# everytime I went fishing. No one would even talk to me? I would just get vulgar looks like hasn't this kid caught enough. So I just stick to mainly special regs waters for now and fish maybe 3 creeks that are ATW.
 
The C&R all tackle or trophy all tackle or slot limit all tackle options would be a good bet for these two stretches:

Kish Creek, from Reedsville on down.

Bald Eagle Creek, from Spring Creek at Milesburg down to the lake.

Both of these stretches have great potential, because of they are limestone spring influence, and good habitat. Both have wild brown trout populations, but those populations are far below their potential, because they are under "regular" management.
 
In the relationship department, my daughter-in-law grew up along a famous trout stream where the adjacent properties for quite a stretch were (and still mostly are) owned by her grandmother and aunts and uncles. Fly fishermen would ask her to stop playing with her dog in her back yard as to not disturb the fishing. One day her grandmother got really angry when some fly fisherman lit into her grand-daughter and almost closed her property - and would have probably convinced some of the extended family to do the same. Poor behavior by a fly fisherman who didn't realize who was the guest almost closed a nice piece of water.

And my worm dunker story: About 40 years ago I was fishing on Opening Day with an outstanding fly fisherman who was just killing the fish when everybody was having a slow day (he was one of those guys). A nearby worm fisherman asked what he was using and he replied with more than a little condescension " a caddis larva." Then the worm guy pinched the end of a worm, threaded it on his hook to look like a larva and started hammering the fish tightlining the the bait. The worm dunker said thanks, but the fly guy was absolutely shocked that a lowly bait fisherman would figure it out. But I had a laugh because I know well how deadly those old time bait guys were.
 
The term "elitist" does not have a negative connotation to me. I think of it as a group with specialized training or experience, especially in a military sense, the elite 101st, etc.

There are many fly fishermen on here with with experience and training in casting, tying flies, fish and insect biology, etc. I consider them elite but I don't have the sense that they look down on a novice such as myself. There may be snobs among the group but snobs can be found everywhere in all types of social/professional groups.

I don't automatically consider an elitist to be a snob, especially in this forum.
 
mike_richardson wrote:
Troutbert, and Pcray,

Thanks for the advise on revising the website. I will propose this at the next meeting. Often it is good to get feed back from the outside on what the site is saying to them. If you have 7 guys all with the same opinion it may not appear misleading.

The main issue that T.A.P. has is not keeping the fish. It is being able to fish.

This is getting off topic.

To add to what attackone has said about fly fisherman:

When I have fished a private club, or FFO sections of water I have noticed that If a guy is catching fish and realizes there is a guy coming into his area, Or if the person stops to chat and talk about the stream that person may extend an invitation to fish in the area. He may be willing to say hey buddy "fish here, I am having a blast." I have never had this happen to me on ATW.

I have given up my spot to many people before, especially if they had kids. I have been fishing for a 21" Golden and had a father and son come walking up the trail. The dad did not want to come in on me, so I yelled over and told the guy to bring his boy over try this spot out. The kids eyes lit up and the father and son had this big boy to themselves. I cam back up the stream later and 3 guys were there along with the kid. 1 guy on the same side of the stream. Two guys were spinner guys the other was stringing minnows.

The main issue it seems that we all have are with the extremes on both ends of the spectrum. The slobs that litter, keep more than the legal limit, drag live fish around on stringers, all ot that junk. And on the other end, guys who judge others for using streamers and nymphs, guys reluctant to even talk about what they are using, guys that look down on less experienced fisherman.
so what your saying is there is more "elite" bait/spin fishermen out there then fly fishermen
 
funny story, last year we were fishing out east and came on a nice stretch of water, there was a man sitting on a cooler with his pole in a Y stick with a worm sitting in the beggining of a hole maybe in 8-12" of water, we asked him how he was doing he said he hadnt had a bite all day we said you mind if we fish below you he said no good luck theres none in here. Well first drift my friend caught two, one on his egg pattern and one on his nymph, when someone went walking by and said "hey he has two on" the man with the cooler picked up his chair threw it in the creek kicked his cooler and stormed off in a hissy fit. needless to say I dont think we've ever laughed so hard on a stream.
 
I will say this. When it comes to my own personal fishing, I'm a snob. If I can't catch it on a fly rod, I don't want to catch it. I'm 100% FFing only.

Now, that's for me. I enjoy it. I don't enjoy spin fishing. Simple as that. Bait has no appeal either. I'll fish with anyone anywhere, they can use whatever tackle they want, I got no issues with that (Swattie can testify, as this past weekend we fished w/ one of his spin buddies) AT ALL. For myself though, its FF or nothin'.
 
im sure there are a few but how many spin fisherman decided to get together and do a stream clean up or have been involved in a stream clean up
 
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