As most of you know by now, I'm one of those long haired, bearded, ex-bike
riding, non conformist types of people who isn't afraid to speak his piece.
Now this practice sometimes gets me into trouble with some people, (my wife
will vouch for that statement!) but I just find it hard to believe anyone can
actually want be called a "purist" when it comes to fly fishing. A good
example was a guy who stopped in to the chat room a while back while we were
talking about pan fishing and the use of poppers, sliders, and streamers,
along with tying with single hooks, treble hooks and trailing hooks. He
quickly announced that he was a "purist" (the traditional "upstream and dry")
fly fisherman and all we were doing was using our fly rods to "fling
imitations of frogs and minnows" and "bass lures instead of a bait caster just
so (we) can call it fly fishing"......I couldn't agree with him more!
After watching his comments come up on the screen, I backed away from the
keyboard for a few moments to collect my thoughts (and lower my blood
pressure) and I figured, "what the hey,...I'll take that as a challenge, maybe
make a convert... or at least see outside his little box..." I asked him what
was wrong with that? He quickly (and obviously) wanted us to know that what we
were doing was catamount to a sacrilege of the sport of flyfishing. After
watching the screen for a few moments and shifting uneasily in the chair, I
asked my standard question... "so if I'm using a fly rod and cast a popper
that is green with yellow spots, and mend the line in small short jerks, which
imitate a frog, to lure a bass to bite, why isn't a Blue Winged Olive "fly",
(dry, of course) that is presented with the same fly rod, and imitating an
insect landing on the surface of the water, considered a "bait" or "lure" for
a trout?"
I think he was caught a little off guard by the question (at least
there wasn't an instantaneous response). Then he came back with something to
do with "the spirit of fly fishing" and "traditions" and started in a tangent
about morals and ethics, and then tried to change the subject by bringing up
our present "moral dilemma in Washington". Did he actually believe that if
all the politicians were "purist" fly anglers we wouldn't have the problems
we're dealing with right now??? Needless to say, others in the room weren't
going to let him continue believing that very long! Unfortunately, he left
about midway through the barrage.
So once again, we're left with a "moral dilemma".
Are we (non-purist of heart) ruining the sport of fly fishing
by using nymphs, streamers, poppers, sliders, and all the
other classifications of "flies" outside of the circle of
dry flies?
I don't think so.... I have a tendency to believe that early fly
fishers were just trying to catch fish for supper. That they weren't stupid,
backward, unobservant people who didn't happen to notice what certain kinds of
fish ate, when they ate, or how they ate. After all, I think the people on
this earth have been catching and eating fish for more than a few years and
that after noticing it was easier to lure a fish to the surface by using a
feather or piece of fur that resembled something they were eating and grabbing
it with their hands was easier than trying to stomp down the creek bed,
flailing away with a wooden club.
I also think, as time went on, that they found ways to get the
lure down to the fish's level, on a string or line of some sort
(or woven horse tail hair), and entice the fish to bite a "hook" and
pull the fish up (after all, history is full of these stories!) Lastly, I'm at
least sure, that not all of these lures were "dry and upstream" or strictly
used for trout or salmon species or that they didn't notice that an oak branch
didn't make a good fishing rod or that they didn't tell others what techniques
caught more fish or certain kinds of fish or, or, or (the list could go on as
long as the controversy!) I figure that if this kind of person really wants
to "hold on to the original tradition of fishing" that he better go find a
wooden club to fish with and leave his neoprene's at home.
~ Randy Fratzke
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