WHAT’S THE RIGHT THING?

December 28, 2009

We get a number of magazines, about four on fly fishing. One actually isn’t ‘just’ fly fishing, but they always manage to have something...it is the Fishing Tackle Retailer. It just happens to be one of those trade magazines sent to fly shops and media outlets where someone might actually give them a little space. Some are better than others, but the September issue had some really neat stuff.

I do have to comment that the last page of the magazine always has a good and sometimes terrific column by fellow writer and FAOL reader Keith Jackson. (His column is entitled Final Say.) I used one of his columns in the LadyFisher space a little while ago.

At any rate, the neat stuff I mentioned is all kinds and sorts of lures/bait from 5-inch PowerBait Hand Poured Curl Tail Worm, articulated fish swimbait, Pointer 95 Silent Fish for finicky fish in clear, cold water, Evolution Shad a 4-inch long jointed hard bait in (get this) wake, slow-fall, fast-fall and suspending models, along with at least a dozen unbelievable frogs - well actually they are very believable including one with bumps and warts and floats like a real frog. It can be hopped or skipped along with surface. Some are desired to track straight and upright, others dive while still another "swims with a wounded-minnow action." The Live Target lures are the most realistic-looking lures to hit the market. Hard baits including bluegill, pumpkinseed sunfish, baby largemouth bass, smelt, crawfish and blueback herring. If I were a fish, I’d be a gonner for sure. Absolutely beautiful detailed creations.

Any of that sound familiar?

Those lures and baits are just a small example of the new stuff unveiled at the last ICast show in Orlando, Fl. That show is primarily for lure and baits fishing, and draws a very large crowd. I honestly don’t know if it is strictly a "dealer" show or if it is open to the public - but I do know it has grown tremendously in the past couple of years. There was one sort of bad show in Chicago a few years ago, but the since then the ones in Las Vegas and now Orlando have been great.

I don’t know if you watch any of the Bass Master stuff on TV, but if you did you might notice the age group of the folks involved. Youngish. Not a lot of grey haired fellows competing.

I do know there are a few former tournament trail bass anglers that have taken up the long rod who are regulars here on FAOL. One who passed this past year was Harold Hattaway. Cancer finally got Harold, but he was a very vocal advocate of fly fishing and the companions we found in our sport. Those who attended the Florida Fish-In back in 2008 had the pleasure of meeting him in person. Fortunately for us he aimed former fishing friends in our direction. You never quite know who all is reading FAOL do you?

A lot of us look around at the number of grey haired folks fly fishing - and being part of this website. We are grateful - but we’re concerned that we are seemingly not reaching larger numbers of the younger generation. Yes, I know there are all sorts of other distractions to take up their time and interest - most of which however will not serve them nearly as well over a lifetime as will fly fishing.

In a previous article I talked about a conversation with Tom Travis’ on the drive to Yellowstone National Park to fish the Lamar and Slough Creek. One of Tom’s very good points is we just aren’t educating the kids to be fly fisher...and probably not fishers at all. We all remembered that Sage at one time had very good classes for very little if any charge at fly shops across the country. I thought they weren’t doing that any more, but to be sure I called our friend Marc Bale at Sage. His answer is disturbing. Sage stopped doing it because the fly shops decided they could do it themselves. Charge whatever they wanted and here was a pile of free money to be made. Well almost. You had to have rods for the students to use and you just couldn’t pull a dozen or so out of your stock (ya right) and someone had to teach the class. Trust me, just because you can cast doesn’t make you a teacher. Castwell may have had his problems, but he sure could teach or fix a casting problem. Just ask the thousands of people he taught over the years. Fly shops weren’t that lucky. Of yes, someone has to provide fly lines, reels, leaders you know the stuff it takes to cast? Hmmmm, that gets expensive too. And little by little the fly shops stopped teaching. Some will still do a class for an individual, but real classes with a program like Sage did, and what JC, Jim Sisson and I did are pretty rare, (we taught you to double haul before lunch, FFF was charging $125 for a class at Conclave on just how to double haul). The FFF is still doing Casting Instructor Certification, but most of the folks taking the class are doing so to adjunct their guiding qualifications and kick up their fees.

FAOL has been providing excellent information for the beginner, intermediate and advanced fly fisher for thirteen years. FREE information. So where is the Sponsor support?

The bottom line isn’t how much money we can make. Yes we have to have the bucks to just get by and that’s not what I’m talking about. I heard a comment the other day which really stuck in my mind - and my craw too. "I’m finally making enough money that I can do the right thing."
If we want fly fishing to survive, we all have to do the right thing, and we have to do it now.

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