Looking Back over the last 125 years what has been the biggest advancement in Fly Fishing and why. This can be a improvement in equiptment, a new fly, casting tech, conservation, or anything else you may think of. Also what do you see changing the most in the next 125 years?
Mine is the modern fly line because of the increase casting distance, life of the line, the different types of line (weight forward, double tappered, sinking, tip sinking, intermediate sinking, bass taper, rocket taper, ect ect ect…)
Changing the most will be conservation I think it will get worse and we will loose a lot more prime fishing areas but then things will improve and the ones that are left will be prized by all that are left.
Interesting question. Giving thought, I’m not sure we can say we have advanced. We have changed equipment, and materials, but it seems there is a move to try to recapture “the way it used to be”.
Maybe it’s just another way of looking at it, and certainly just my opinion.
Thanks for the post. It got me out of the down and outs.
I think the move to more safety oriented equipment ranks at least in the top 10 if not the top 5.
In the good old days you were a sissy, nay a coward if you waded around a stream or paddled a lake with a life jacket on. Now the emphasis is on wading staffs, cleated felt soles,* Sospender type life vests. barbless hooks and Cell phones for emergencies etc.
Even back in my Youth ( yes I had a youth ). back the when the earth was cooling most people in Canoes didn’t take floatation with them. It wasn’t just the availability of equipment it was also an attitude.
A bit of hypocracy here as I was wearing regular boots which cause me to slip, fall and break my arm last year.
My first thought, like Justice, was fly lines. But I think I would lump monofilament in the same category with fly lines.
I was looking at a 1979 Orvis catalog a couple months ago. I don’t remember the specific numbers, but you would be amazed at how much the lb. test has increased for a given x-rating of mono. It has nearly doubled since 1979.
Well, the ‘catch for numbers’, and the ‘tanning’ factories basically wiped out the Brook Trout. The ‘acid factories’ and the ‘catch for numbers’ almost did the same with the Brown Trout. So I’d say the elimination of two (Tanning and Acid) because they ran out of materials and the input from the state with laws on the third (unrestricted fishing) saved the trout fishing.
You could also say that the biggest advancement was the introduction of Brown and Rainbow Trout. Without those introductions, here in the east you’d be fishing for bass, panfish and carp!
I agree tlerm. FAOL and more generally, the internet has done more to document and expand knowledge of fly fishing, than anything I can think of. But PVC flylines are right up there. I think most of you know that our own JC was right on the ground floor with that subject in his days at SA.
The biggest advancement in fly fishing ever was the split cane rod.
The flexibility of the rod allows casting as we know it.
Beforehand a fly could only be swung into place. The wind and the length of the rod controlled the distance of the cast.
Casting up stream was near impossible
With the advent of the cane rod, a fly fisher was able to shoot line. And cast in any direction he pleased.
A huge advancement.
My top two are: Monofiliment, specifically the stuff we use for leaders
and breathable, waterproof fabric for lightweight, waterproof and relatively comfortable wading in warm weather. Also great in wading jackets. Much, much better than the old canvas and rubber chest waders we use to use.
In the next 125 years I foresee vast improvements in cold weather outdoor clothing for the flyfisherman.
I, agree, with Deezel.
Had we NOT gotten the better and upper hand, on game management, all the fancy 'Boo’s and glass and plastic fly lines, breathable gear, (which, I also agree, is fantastic), wouldn’t have probably been invented at least to the extent that it has.
What would be the use, if there was nothing to use it for?
And, if we DON’T keep a decent diligence on our finny buddies, in the next 125 years, there still, may not be.
A really big one would be your conveyance to your favorite stream. 125 years ago, your options would be pretty much limited by your mode of transportation.
The next few years should bring rods with heated guides, for ice-free winter fishing. (Good market niche there for you entrepreneurs)
We should all thank Al. This was my first thought as well. This has not only allowed for the free exchange of ideas among complete strangers the world round, but has also made obtaining anything (all of the materials listed here and anything else you can think of) possible. Add in the free (sometimes) exchange of information and you’ve really got the winner. I can honestly say that without Google earth or Google maps, I could never have found some of the water I fish, unless I was lucky enough to coincidentally run into someone nice enough to share it with me.
Praise be to Al’a. No, wait…that is supposed to just read AL.
