I am a recently-new fly fisher. I have fished most of my life but never fly fished until about 4 months ago. I now have about 5 fishing trips under my belt and am in the "dangerous knowledge" area( ) if you know what I mean.
I am also an avid dirt bike rider. Wooooo........... "holy worlds colliding Bat Man".
Not really. Many dirt bike riders are outdoor enthusuiasts in general. Many hunt, fish, hike, camp, etc.
The reason for my comment is this. I had heard from some fly fisherman in the past that they "didn't like us" trail riders because we caused too much silt to be deposited in streams.
This is where reality surfaces. I have noticed that while I fish I stir up a bunch of silt, sand, dirt, gravel, plant life, etc. When fishing I can do this for HOURS while I slosh around in the stream. I thought about this for a while and concluded that fly fishermen stir up much more junk in streams than any dirt biker could. When riding I cross a stream and am in it(at most) for 10 seconds. We purposely try NOT to spin our rear tire because it only makes it more possible for us to get stuck........or worse.... drop our bike in the stream, possibly ruining an expensive engine.
So the next time you are fishing and see "the enemy on wheels" as many "environmental" types view them, think about what I just wrote.
The above does NOT intend to "right" the practice of some 4-wheelers(whom we get lumped in with) that spin donuts in streams. That is irresponsible and should not be allowed.
Just an observation here. Not trying "to start something".