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For the past few weeks I have been looking forward to the
Southern Conclave of the FFF [Federation of Fly Fishers].
It is an opportunity to see and talk to friends that I see only
once or twice per year, and a wonderful chance to make
new friends.
Regrettably, this year I did neither. Upon my arrival at the door of
the FFF I was told that it was mandatory that I register and part
with the sum of $25.00 for the privilege of entering. I was on the
verge of paying this rather exorbitant fee when it struck me. I
asked the gentleman at the door, "If a teenager wanting to learn
about fly fishing comes to this door, are you going to require him/her
to pay a $25.00 fee to get in?"
"Yes", he said, "they also have to pay for any classes they want to take."
I considered his reply for only a few seconds before telling him that I had better places to
spend my money.
The point of all this is that it set me to wondering just where
flyfishing is truly headed. I have quit frequenting one of the
better known chat rooms on the web because I felt they were
becoming too elitist, and it seems to me that one of the better
known fly fishing organizations in the world is heading in the same
direction. Fly fishing isn't about money. It's about enjoyment.
How enjoyable is it to tell a 13 year old that he/she can't come in
and learn because they don't have $25.00? I don't even enjoy
the thought of that happening. Most of us at FAOL have given
time and equipment and knowledge with no thought of repayment
or profit. The real profit comes when my grandchild has a place to
fish, and someone to teach him/her how it should be done. How is
the FFF helping with this? It seems to me that the FFF is helping
the FFF, no one else.
The man at the door told me that this was the only way the FFF
had to raise funds. I don't buy that. I've seen copies of their
newsletter, and if I'm not mistaken they contained ads. They are
also paid a fee from hopeful casting instructors. Memberships are
somewhere in the neighborhood of $20.00 per year. And charging
a $25.00 entry fee to a FFF [regional] convention is their only way of raising
funds? I don't think so.
To all my friends who expected to see me at the Conclave, my
apologies.
This whole experience has reminded me of why I let my FFF
membership expire without renewal a few years ago.
Signed,
~ Ron Griffith
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