"Things Getting better..." or "Closing the barn door after..."

Both Ladyfisher and Castwell addressed the question of "progress" this week, all be it, tongue in cheek. But it was not about Breadmakers, and I hope that your local fishing gear shop is still in business. Lately I have been taking stock of my neighborhood stores. The task is very easy. There aren't any within a 10 mile radius. There used to be 4 that I could get to in 10 minutes. If you know the western suburbs of Chicago, they were:

Fly and Field, Glenn Ellyn
Peppers, Glenn Ellyn
Midwest Rod and Reel, Downers Grove
American Angler, Villa Park

Sad as it seens, it is nice to have Gander, Bass Pro, and Dicks to fill the void. (One of the Ace Stores nearby has the creaky floors but no fishing gear.) While you have the luxury, those of you who can visit the little shops should frequent the places. Take the kids and grandkids too so they will have the memory.

BTW the closest place I can buy a fly is Walmart, walking distance. After trimming back their tackle displays they are expanding a bit lately.

Personally, I think the internet will save Fly Fishing. That broader reach is needed for a businessman to reach far flung customers. And the same is true for fly fishermen looking to contact fellow fly fishers.

About 20 years ago, Homer Circle estimated that 10% of bass fishing was done with fly gear. I would like to update that estimate. I suspect that overall less than 5% of the fishing in the US is done with fly gear though there are pockets of heavier use for trout and salmon here and there.

My 2 cents.

Mike

Regarding your fly fishing estimates, I'm not certain what they actually are, but after 8-9 years of fly fishing I still appear to be the anomaly when fishing for bass and panfish on my home waters. All summer long people will come up to me and ask questions about the difficulty and expense of fly fishing vs spin fishing. This gives me an opportunity to 'educate' them that it's pretty simple and as expensive as YOU want it to be. I have given many spin fishers their first casting lesson while on stream, and have brought a few converts into the fold by doing so.

I don't know about the Internet being a saviour, but it certainly has helped level the field on pricing, and provided one of the best educational opportunities we have ever seen. You just need to blow away the chaff.

Joe

During the "trout" season (read right after stocking) I would estimate the ratio of about 15 to 1 spin versus fly fishermen. However after that madnes dies off I have never ever seen anyone else fly fishing. People give me funny looks when the see me rigging fly rods on the boat lunch. I just smile back. Sometimes you can hear the disbileif in their voices: "Are you gonna fly fish?" At the beginning it irked me a bit and many time I was very close to answreing along the lines of: "Noooo I just thing my little boat looks soooooooo much better with few of them fly rods hanging out of it". But somehow I managed to limit myself to "I sure am". And now I got so uset to this if does not bother me one bit. As a matter it gives me an opportunity to possibly seed some strange ideas like fly fishing the frog water in their heads. This works very well at the end of the day. When you can show them livewell full of fish from that day. Oh the sound the the jaws smacking the ground!!!!!!!!! :-) .

Joe you mentioned 8 or 9 years of fly fishing---how about 70. Fly fishing will never go away. I have a spinning rod also. First one on the lake years ago after WWll made in France. Id hate to try to find it in my garage.

Fishbum and I could take you fly fishing and catch big gills on every cast. The neighbor kids go to the pond by the house with spinning gear and worms but change to my fly rods when I show up. I had a conservation officer watching me with field glasses--when he came to my boat I asked if he wanted to see my licence. No he said "I want to see the fly your using and show me how to fly fish." That officer finds my boat every year for a new supply of flies. Just take a child fly fishing-------Bill

When I tell people I flyfish, the first thing they say is, "There aren't many trout around here, why do it that way?" I live in middle TN and there aren't many trout here. They actually release trout in one or two creeks around here, but they get fished out almost as soon as they are put in.

What bothers me about the whole thing is that most people here don't realize that fly fishing isn't just about trout. In this part of the state, there aren't that many flyfishers. I usually just stick to the creek and ponds here around my house, but I plan to get out and go other places this year. Hopefully I can "convert" some "non-believers" also.

That being said, I've caught more fish with fly equipment than I have with anything else. So if I can make it out to some of the local lakes, maybe I can show a few people what it's like.

PeteMC Wrote: "On the other hand you have fly fishing. You actualy do need a lot of stuff to fly fish. You need a lot of skill with a fly rod. You need a lot of discipline to develope that skill. You need a lot of determination and patience to stick with it long enough to get past the learning curve of a whole lot of fishing and no catching".


Hmmmm. Not so sure, I agree with this statement, in its entirety. True, there are "highly technical fish to be had, in highly technical water" and it DOES require,(on rare occasions), some level of skill and experience to get at those fish.
On the other hand, I think of fly fishing, when asked by a non-fly fisherman.........."is it as hard as it looks and as expensive as I've heard, to fly fish?"........ as that answer being; "Nope!
I always get a kick out being asked this question, on those occasions when I'm fishing with my 6 year old Granddaughter, Sam. At 6, she's been fishing about a year and started out with fly gear. She's never used Power Bait or live bait of any kind and has never used any spinning gear.
She's too young to be "technical" and at only 6, and doesn't have the mind capacity yet, thankfully, to "complicate" fly fishing. She can cast, 30' very well and put her fly, or, popper, where she intends it to go. She, does have, a custom made rod I made her, to fit her physical size and current abilities and her fly line was also built by me, to fit her rod's action and her ability to handle it. But, that's where the "high end and technical things about fly fishing begin and end"!

With Sam along, and having a lot of spin and bait fishermen seeing her cast , retrieve and catch fish, I've been approached more often than when I'm on the water alone and questioned about "fly fishing and what's it all about". I suppose, "seeing a little girl, about the size of a decent Brown, handling a fly line in the air and catching fish,when her fly hits the water", may make many people, that have thought about our sport as "too complicated, too technical, too much trouble", re-think their postilions a little bit!??!

Right Pete, patience. I have over half a century of it. I know I do because I still fly fish and still am learning ( a little anyway ). There may be times when I am 'catchingly challenged' but never 'having a grand time challenged'!