Larry L wrote:


My "negative" attitude about the modern fly fisher has similar elements ....
if it wasn't such a wonderful sport, I wouldn't be interested enough to
point out the weaknesses I do see .... it pays to invest your interest in
the best. FFing is one of the best outdoor activities ..... but, it could
be better. One thing I've discussed with three people publishing "how to"
articles and books is the idea of including more about "ethics" in such
material. Seems to me that we used to learn technique from granddad and dad
and more experienced friends and we ALSO learned how to behave from those
same people. Now, many guys are learning technique from videos and guides
that don't also provide the other types of instruction.


A couple years ago I was fishing a section of river with no one as far
as the eye could see either upstream or down. This young man sees me
fishing, pulls over and after suiting up, wades in the river about
twenty feet upstream of me and starts fishing. I asked him what he was
doing and he commented that he was going to fish the head of the pool. I
was flabbergasted but decided just to find another piece of water,
hoping that he wouldn't be following me.

After I cooled down, I tried to figure out WTF he was doing. There was
no one out and I probably cover close to a mile of river without running
into another angler. I came to the conclusion that he was a new angler
and that he probably learned to fly fish on our heavily fished "Gold
Medal" waters. Many new anglers are learning how to FF on "famous"
waters that are usually crowded. People tend to "gang up" on these
waters and share productive runs. The "manners" you learn on a crowded
river aren't the "manners" to use in other situations or maybe the
"manners" have just changed.

Willi