Am I a flyfisherman?

[Steven McGarthwaite]

I am a Fly Angler, since 1995!

I have been a member of FAOL, since October 1997!

Just what does it take, or mean, to be considered a Fly Angler?

Fly Angling (Fishing) is comprised of many different topics. How each of us build-up on our knowledge pertaing to fly fishing, is a individual's private quest into previously unlearned knowledge.

So many topics and path ways to follow down, never knowing where what you have learned and experience, will next lead you.

The knowledge you have gained, and the experiences that you have had, the people you have meet, are some of what you have added to all of the previous contribution of other fly angler who have taken up the long rod...

I currently am limited by my health, and financial status to take part in fishing expeditions (Fish-Ins), but I still participate in Fly Angling with articles for FAOL, and hosting "Beginner's Only Fly Swaps" (in memory of Al Campbell!

If you are reading FAOL, you are a Fly Angler....where every Fly Angler counts.....

~Parnelli
Chartered Member of "Friends of FAOL"

[billhouk]

Lew:
I, too, appreciated your thread as I have been impacted by things this year like no time before in my life. And, yes, it doesn't take long to find out your life is better when compared to the next person. We are still fly fishers and we still wear the hat. Like so many have said, it is a state of mind more than a trip to a river.
Thank you, again.
Bill

[Fly Goddess]

If you fish with the fly, no matter how often, then you are a fly fisherman.

Just ME talking but there is a difference in "Fishing a Fly" and "a Fly Fisher". You can put a fly on a spinning outfit, in that case, you are fishing a fly, or a lure.
Fly Fishing is using a rod with different guides, a reel that is backing and fly line, to which leader/tippet/fly, using the LINE to get the fly out on the water. Just like using the rod/reel/line/leader/HOOK and a Worm, you are bait fishing.

[jszymczyk]

I wrote this thread during a moment of melancholy in the wee hours, and now in the light of day, I'm abashed at what appears to be a "poor me" wail..

I didn't take it that way at all. I apologize if my reply made it seem as if I did... Everyone will experience a day when they must confront reality. And I don't mean reality like "oh no, my internet connection is slow" or "my cel phone battery is dead"...

I bitch and whine constantly about not having time to devote to fishing and hunting--- and then after a while I remember I've always had a roof over my head, I've never been truly hungry, I've never been truly alone, Mom and Dad and God and Uncle Sam instilled values in me which I try to live up to every day, my son is a really good kid, my wife makes really good chili(most of the time...), and I've made a positive influence in a few people's lives... so I feel better.

[Dave E]

Being a Fly Fisher is not defined by ones activity level, it's a state of mind. Which partly explains why we're all head cases to some extent.

Seriously,
During my years in the shops, etc, I've met literally thousands of anglers. Most of them identified themselves by their participation in years. " I've been fly fishing for so many years ".
Rarely have I spoken to an angler who identified their participation by days or sessions on the water. While many admitted to not having fly fished in some years, they all still identified themselves as fly fishers.
One of the most talented American commercial tiers I've ever known hadn't actually fly fished in sixteen years when I met him and he didn't fish for another half dozen years after that. Yet, he was a walking encyclopedia of fly fishing and tying knowledge and still identified with being a fly fisher. Truth is, for all the anglers I've met in my life, most fly fished rarely.
　
So Lew, you're still a fly fisher, you just haven't been on your next fly fishing trip - yet.

See you on the water, Dave

[Lew]

I'm heartened by all your replies, and promise not to whine any more. Forgive me for being a bit envious of you who can still get to those places where I'd truly love to go. I'd dearly love to explore both sides of the Sierra. I only fished there once (East side) back in 1964, and circumstances have kept me from returning. I climbed Mt. Whitney that same year and had a look at both sides. It's truly some of the most beautiful country on the planet, and I'm not easily impressed. I guess it's the same for everybody. There's always going to be some creek or river or lake that you'd love to fish.

[Mojo]

Lewie, you are and will always be a fly fisher and so tagged a fly fisher.

[rizeye]

fly fidhing, as said, is a state of mind. when i fish,it is not always flyfishing but i usaully ask yself would it not be great if i could catch these fish with a flyrod. sometimes the bite is not right for a flyrod, like weth the smallies are 30ft down on a rocky ledge. but i usually associate myself as a flyfisher.

[Marco]

Several years ago I posted an "are you a fly fisherman ( or whatever as to gender?) or do you merely fly fish?" post herein. Answering my own question I stated that I merely fly fish. A fly fisherman , in MY opinion based on observation of many years, is a bit of a nutcase to whom fly fishing is the alpha and omega of things to do. He has waaayyyy more fly fishing stuff than he needs. His friends are almost all of the same persuasion. He travels MILES to fly fishing shows and spend more than a day there ( I spend about an hour). Ties his own flys. Builds his own rods. Is member of several fly fishing clubs and associations ( I'm a member of TU. Pay my dues but seldom attend meetings). FAOL is the only fly fishing website I take time to visit. I have been to several Fish-Ins and drank my share ( I hear, they're really meant for fishing).

Needless to restate, I, with noted exceptions, don't practice or do any of those things that would make a fly fisherman of me. I enjoy fly fishing VERY much BUT, that's where it ends, I fish (fly) Wyoming once a year and have done that for about 40 years on and off since school at UW, own only ONE Orvis ( gifted- a green one) rod and a TFO 4pc that I won here on FAOL. Vacations, unless Wyoming, never include a flyrod ( or golf clubs. Much for the same logic)
In view of the above, I do not consider myself a fly fisherman.


Mark

[Fly Goddess]

Several years ago I posted an "are you a fly fisherman ( or whatever as to gender?) or do you merely fly fish?" post herein. Answering my own question I stated that I merely fly fish. A fly fisherman , in MY opinion based on observation of many years, is a bit of a nutcase to whom fly fishing is the alpha and omega of things to do. He has waaayyyy more fly fishing stuff than he needs. His friends are almost all of the same persuasion. He travels MILES to fly fishing shows and spend more than a day there ( I spend about an hour). Ties his own flys. Builds his own rods. Is member of several fly fishing clubs and associations ( I'm a member of TU. Pay my dues but seldom attend meetings). FAOL is the only fly fishing website I take time to visit. I have been to several Fish-Ins and drank my share ( I hear, they're really meant for fishing).

Needless to restate, I, with noted exceptions, don't practice or do any of those things that would make a fly fisherman of me. I enjoy fly fishing VERY much BUT, that's where it ends, I fish (fly) Wyoming once a year and have done that for about 40 years on and off since school at UW, own only ONE Orvis ( gifted- a green one) rod and a TFO 4pc that I won here on FAOL. Vacations, unless Wyoming, never include a flyrod ( or golf clubs. Much for the same logic)
In view of the above, I do not consider myself a fly fisherman.


Mark

I am definitely a Fly Fisher