Is Fly Fishing on a Serious Decline?

[deedoe]

I sell fishing equipment at a flea mrkt and fly gear is the smallest part of what I sell. I sell inexpensive rod and reels from southbend,crystal river martin,and superfly. Most of my fly customers are beginners or occasional fly fishers. My buddy tried to put some custom rods in my store and they just didn't sell. I think the economy is a big factor in that when a guy has a set amount to spend the safe bet is the spinning rod vs flyrod.

[Uncle Jesse]

My neighbor Deedoe make a good point. Living on the edge of metro Atlanta I frequently run into people on the Hooch who are new to fishing. They heard there were trout in the river and decided to go catch some. They always have a new spinning outfit, usually one suitable for light salt water. I have never run across a novice fisherman with a new out of the box fly outfit. Of course, where I fish most of the time most of the time they are using illegal bait also. I have a neighbor who decided he wanted to learn to fly fish because he had hit 50 and did not really have any hobbies. He had concluded fly fisher were the people really passionate about their sport. I hope he can learn without me causing him too much harm.