| I've been an avid angler for more than twenty | | | | totally ludicrous. |
| years, and for most of that time my favorite | | | | The bottom line is this. I trout fish with ultra light |
| type of fishing has been wading in the current of | | | | gear and four pound test monofilament line and |
| a river or stream, attempting to catch the | | | | live bait. I use some techniques that many anglers |
| beautiful trout. Because of the fact that my | | | | don't, and have always caught a lot of trout. I |
| passion is fishing for trout, I constantly get asked | | | | practice catch and release fishing, and rarely keep |
| the question of whether or not I fly fish. This | | | | any trout that I catch. I enjoy the fact that I can |
| problem became even more prevalent when I | | | | catch a fish and release it to fight another day. |
| moved to the mountains of Montana 6 years ago. | | | | My point is that the techniques that I use and the |
| In the west, every time you utter the words "I | | | | manner in which I fish are every bit the "art |
| love to fish", almost immediately someone pipes | | | | form" that fly fishing has ever proclaimed itself to |
| up with, "Yea, I like to fly fish too." In my opinion | | | | be. How does flailing a stick back and forth with |
| this is all because of the marketing fly fishing has | | | | feathers that you put together yourself |
| received over the past couple of decades making | | | | constitute an art? |
| it out to be some sort of art form. So now it | | | | I think true artists, that is individuals who create |
| seems that many of the lemmings who claim to | | | | things out of their own imagination, would have to |
| be "fisherman" think that they're cool if they fly | | | | frown at the fact that the word "art" is attached |
| fish. And even worse, people who don't even fish, | | | | to the term "fishing", no matter what type of |
| think fly fishing is the cool way to go. | | | | fishing that might be. Although, as you can tell, I |
| To me it doesn't matter if fly fishing is an art or | | | | don't fly fish A River Runs Through It is still my |
| not, what's important is that we all enjoy fishing. | | | | favorite movie. In that movie the reverend |
| What I could do without is the elitist attitude that | | | | McLain states, "Anyone who does not know how |
| many fly fishermen seem to take on. Fly fishing | | | | to catch a fish should not be able to disgrace that |
| doesn't make you any more of less of a | | | | fish by catching it". I couldn't possibly agree more |
| fisherman than any other type of angling. The | | | | with that statement, no matter what type of |
| goal is the same, no matter what type of fishing | | | | fishing is employed. The bottom line is that we |
| you engage in. To catch a fish. The entire concept | | | | just want to catch a fish for God's sake. |
| of one method being better than the next is | | | | |