Quote Originally Posted by sagefisher View Post
CM,

The law was not put in place as a way to leave out Tenkara style fishing.
I am sure you are correct, and I do not for a minute think the regulations in any state are specifically anti-tenkara.

I do think that many of them are unnecessarily exclusive. It seems to me that regulations are necessary to preserve the fishery but they are not necessary to preserve fly fishing. Like many people who are now fly fishermen, as a kid I started out with a spinning rod, a casting bubble and a fly. I am sure that I was less of a risk to the fishery than my father, who fished his three wet flies and caught many more fish than I did. I cannot for the life of me understand why any state would not allow a kid with a casting bubble and a fly to fish any waters in the state. The only thing that affects the fish or the fishery is what is on the end of the line. If there is a fly on the end on the line I cannot understand why the delivery mechanism matters at all.

Washington requires 25' of fly line. Pennsylvania requires the leader to be less than 18'. Several states require a fly reel. Why? None of those things have any bearing on the health of the fishery.

I can understand prohibiting the use of bait in waters where a population of wild fish has to be carefully managed. Studies show that bait fishing does increase mortality in released fish. I can even understand prohibiting treble hooks, as studies show they also increase mortality in released fish. So, ban bait if you must. Ban treble hooks if you must. Define fly fishing as fishing with a fly - period. The impact on released fish is the same whether the fly is cast by a fly rod or a spinning rod, or whether the fly rod has 25' of conventional fly line. It isn't the responsibility of the state to preserve "fly fishing." How will a warden know if a guy with a spinning rod has a fly or a worm? The same way he knows if a guy with a fly rod has a fly or a worm! It's not something he can tell from his car!

I do not live in Washington, and the people of Washington (and Pennsylvania and Connecticut and New Hampshire, etc. etc. etc.) have a right to regulate fishing any way they want. I'm just glad my own state doesn't have such regulations (except for less than one mile on only one stream).