Moving On?

[Lotech]

After 50 years of waving the wand, (about 10 of the last years exclusively fly fishing) I find myself feeling the tug to go back to my roots. I think I'm migrating toward the spinning rod and casting for spiny rays. I love fishing for rainbows, but I find them fewer and farther between. I've had some snobbish experiences with fly fishing "Pro-Shops" and they've resulted in urging me away from the fly rod. It saddens me. I'm not sure if my advancing age or lack of wading ability has anything to do with it, but the "boat" beckons with a stronger allure than ever. Maybe it has something to do with the high cost of quality fly gear compared to the utilitarian cost of traditional gear. Maybe it has something to do with the lack of economic growth in America and my inability to keep up with inflation. Maybe, just maybe, it has something to do with my hankering for a simpler time. A time when I spent enjoyable hours fishing traditionally with my dad and grandfather. I still remember the excitement of gathering night crawlers in the evening cool with my dad, and then spending a sleepless night waiting for morning so dad and I could go fishing together. At any rate, I find myself leaning away from Sage, St.Croix, Loomis & TFO, and moving toward Quantum, Trilene, Berkley & Pflueger. What's going on here? Maybe I'll just sit back and enjoy the ride.
Anybody else feel the same tug?

[Ron Eagle Elk]

Nope, not me. Just bdon't forget that your Sage, Loomis, TFO, etc will work just fine from a boat fishing for spiney rays. While I will always love fishing moving water for trouts or various kinds, I also love the battle of a LMB, SMB, Crappie or Gill. Different tactics, a few different flies, but it's still fly fishing.

REE

[Tyro]

Enjoy the feeling, however you get it. Respect the environment/ecosystem. To me it is the enjoyment we get when we are fishing, whatever method you chose.

In my humblest of opinions, and it is my very humble opinion, it seems you are trapped in what you see in advertisements.... Do you need the most advanced graphite to fish well and enjoy the experience? I don't. I like fishing in lower "tech" gear. Slower rods, fiberglass, I don't really see a need for the mega-tech graphite conical reel. Many folks can catch a nice fish on subprime gear. Who cares what rod or reel that you use to catch the fish and enjoy the experience? I would say that if someone says the experience is lessened by the cost of the gear then they have some issues to address.

Gathering nightcrawlers, tying a simple pheasant tail, I consider both to be equivalent. Which do you enjoy more? Follow your path, enjoy the time and the moment whatever method you chose to fish with!

[Bluegill222]

Go where your heart bids you to go, and fishing is at its best an affair of the heart, no matter what the gear. It's ironic I suppose, but the road that lead me to the fly and the long rod from the spinning gear was also a quest to simplify.

[Mike Thomas]

Hi Lotech, I don't think I will ever get tired of fly fishing, but I have never given up bait fishing from a boat, or spinning from the shore in the salt water. I think it pays to vary my fishing and keep things fresh. It is of course easy to do here in NZ, if I want to fly fish for trout it is a minimum 2 hours in the car, but if I want to fish soft plastics or cut baits for Snapper, Kingfish and Kahwai it is right on my doorstep and my mate has a boat so we go as often as possible. When you add in the surfcasting it is a great place to be. So much fishing and so little time!
I hope you enjoy the fishing whatever style you choose.
All the best.
Mike.

[ducksterman]

Well if you feel the tug go with it.....

But some of what you said I very definitely relate too....

"I'm not sure if my advancing age or lack of wading ability has anything to do with it, but the "boat" beckons with a stronger allure than ever."

For me I still fly fish but it is now relegated to stillwaters.....I do cotton to float tubes and toons.....but I think the main thing is that I can still use flies that I tie.

I have moved on ....but I do indeed miss the Deschutes

[DaveP63]

I have had the long rod out exactly one time this year, so far. The rest of the time (and I've fished more this year than the last 5), I've used casting and spinning tackle. Last two weeks, I've bought tubes of crickets to fish for bluegills...So, you could say that I've felt the same urge.

[James Smith]

I'm pretty sure that it does not have to be all or none. Why not enjoy whatever type of fishing you feel like at the time you get to go fishing. Like many folks here, I grew up fishing with a spinning rod. I never gave that up; I just fly fish more than any other kind of fishing now because that's what I enjoy most. That being said, when the bass get way back into the brush during the summer evenings, I switch back to a spinning rod to reach back in there to get them. You might look at it differently. Instead of giving up fly fishing for the old spinning rod, just broaden your horizon by adding spin fishing back into your repertoire. Whatever you do, take the time to go fishing enjoy yourself.

Jim Smith

[Bamboozle]

I discovered a long time ago that fly fishing wasn't the end-all and be-all many make it seem. The attitudes and nose-in-the-air personna also turned me off once I changed my own attitudes and came down to Earth. I find myself now avoiding fly fishermen and seeking the less haughty world of the "other" guys fishing.

But what I also came to realize is despite 20+ years of flyfishing, some exclusively; my sweetest memories of fishing in general WEREN'T fly fishing memories. They were memories of those sunny days, sitting under a tree, watching a bobber while the world passed me by. No worries about hatches, tippets, or whether I had the right fly. All that mattered was if I had enough bait, enough beer and enough time to soak it all in. The magic of just sitting there waiting for that bobber to do its dance still gets me as excited as it did the first time and I make a point to do that kind of fishing when ever the mood strikes me, which is often. To me, having some "worm dirt" packed under my finger nails is as honorable as having a Mucilin stain on a vest.

These days I only fly-fish for trout. All of my bass and other fishing is done with casting or spinning gear and I enjoy it 1000 times more than long rod fishing. The mix of company, strategy and technique has made me a better, more rounded fisherman who feels at home in a bait shop or a fly shop although I won't tell you my preference.

But the boat and bank beckon me as well despite HOPEFULLY many years ahead fishing as I please...

...although I figure I have amassed enough fly tackle to finance a REALLY nice bass boat that I can enjoy if I decide to move-on myself.

[anglerdave]

Joe

I find your thread interesting, because my buddy and I were having a similar discussion the last time we were chasing trout together. If for some reason I found that I could no longer cast a fly rod (for whatever the reason), I would not hesitate to fish for trout or smallmouth, bluegills, whatever, with a spinning rod. I still will use conventional tackle from time to time, although less frequently. If the wind is howling and fly fishing becomes impractical and I want to chase bluegills or bass, I am not that much of a purist that prohibits me from grabbing my spinning gear. I love fishing too much to limit myself to one particular method.

Good luck, but don't be a stanger here.

Dave