"A Fly Fisher's Ten Commandments"
By Alan Pratt
From Pardon My Castcast
Published by Frank Amato Publications, Inc.
"I. Thou shalt not adulterate thy fly with bits of rotating metal,
nor juice of egg, nor segment of worm.
II. Thou shalt not covent try neighbors's superbly crafted
bamboo rod, his leak-free waders, or his well-built, fly-tying wife.
III. Thou shalt not cadge a fellow angler's successful and
better-tied flies, without reciprocating with at least a six-pack.
IV. Thou shalt not muscle in on another angler's water,
except where trout are rising opening to his fly.
V. Thou shalt not lie to a fellow fisher when asked, "What
fly pattern are they taking?" without smiling.
VI. Thou shalt not filch from a six-pack cached in the
stream, unless it can ascertained to belong to a worm fisherman.
VII. Thou shalt not snag with your fly passing boatmen,
water skiers, inner tubers or small, rock-throwing urchins, except
by chance.*
VIII. Thou shalt not shut the car door or trunk lid on a
companion's favorite fly rod, unless simultaneously doing so to
your own.
IX. Thou shalt not curse they gear for thy foul luck; thy
rod casteth where thou pointeth, thy leader breaketh at thy
badly tied knot, and thy boot slippeth because thou faileth to
plant it with appropriate caution on the slippery @#$%&! rock.
X. Thou shalt not forsake thy responsibility to family and
community to slake they thirst for fishing without ample reason
(and there are at least 67 cunningly hidden in the following pages).
*YET ANOTHER FOOTNOTE: The odds
for snagging an invading boatman are not bad for the average
caster. Small children take much more practice."
~ Alan Pratt