"Tim J." wrote in message
...
Tom Nakashima typed:

Okay. . . I'm with you so far . . .
Some even have cigars dangling from their mouths as they forcefully wade
through the water to get to their spot only to blind cast.

Nope. . . I lost you on this one. Do the cigars have something to do with
the sloppiness of the approach?

I don't do cigars because I believe it was our 42nd President who said;
"Cigars are for pussys!"
On a serious note, it's not so much the downwind smoke, but tying your
fly to the tippet after touching the stogie. Fish have a keen sense of
smell.
It was Dave Whitlock who taught me to pick up a rock from the river
and rub the fly in the moss to kill the scent from your hands before making
a presentation to the fish. What this does is actually pick up a natural
scent from the river. Dave does this everytime he fishes. Even hand tied
flies have an odor to them from just the materials used as he put it.
fwiw,
-tom