HERE ! HERE ! DONO HAS SPOKEN.
JIMMY (BIGTROUTMAN) ************************************ Don Ordes wrote: >OK, My turn- An epistle on rules, ethics, and manners in flyfishing. > >We have a 'saying' down in Baja: >"The only thing worse that trolling flies is not catching any fish." And it >sometimes goes beyond that. Read on. > >I guess if you are a purist or a record-hunter, you'll wait and wait, ready >to cast, for your chance to 'fly-cast' at a raised sailfish (or whatever)- >if that ever comes, on a trip. If you are a rich or avid purist and >record-hunter (per IGFA rules), then you will get lots of chances on lots of >trips. > >On the other hand, if you are a sport-fly-fisher and have spent your >precious 2-week vacation and $5000 to be in that spot at that time and the >sails (or whatever) aren't coming up to the teasers (which could be for many >reasons- fishing pressure being one), and the guide says to troll your >biggest flies to help raise the fish up, you have a choice. What you decide >is totally up to you. But if you do decide to troll flies to get a rise, >don't feel like you're a bum. Guess what- even the pros troll their flies! >And guess what else- even record IGFA billfish are caught by LEGALLY >trolling flies! HOW? you say. The rules state that the fly must be cast >from a boat with the motor in neutral and the the hook-up must come with the >boat motor in neutral. This doesn't say that the boat has to be stationary. >So what they do is raise the billfish, get it all fired up on trolled >teasers, and at the moment before the cast is made, shift the boat to >neutral. The boat takes quite a few feet to come to a stop, and during this >time the cast fly is skittering across the surface, enticing a strike that >may not have come on the fastest stripped retrieve alone. What does that >mean? That many fish in the fly-fishing record books were caught on TROLLED >flies. > >So what does this mean for the 'occasional' fisherman? If you want to make >a fine distinction between 'flyfishing' in the purest form and 'caught on a >fly rod', then go right ahead. Probably nine-tenths of all fly-caught fish >would qualify in the second catagory, then. If you are in a float tube and >are moving by finning or by the wind, and the fly -dry or wet-has extra >movement because the tube is moving (even by the wind), you are trolling. >But are you also not flyfishing? > >My opinion, if it's worth anything... > >There are many 'aspects' to flyfishing (and the list doesn't cover >everything): >1. Some tie their own flies, some build their own rods. Some even build >their own reels. This is different from the 'other' kinds of >fishing, unless you're one of the very few that build lures. >2. Then there is the art of casting the fly. This definitely sets the >flyfisher apart from the rest. >3. Then there is the 'fishing' of the fly, after you get it to the water- >the presentation-be it movement or dead-drift. >4. Then after the take, there is the playing of the fish, the landing, the >release. > >So how many rules are you going to make as to what qualifies as flyfishing? >Where will you place the most emphasis- #1, 2, 3, or 4? Do you have to see >the fish at all? Do you have to cast at your particular quarry? What if a >second fish grabs your fly before the intended fish can take it? Does it >not count as flyfishing now? Are the rules now getting in the way of >enjoyment? A trout fisherman may make a 100 60' casts over 4 hours to catch >one fish. A bill fisherman makes maybe one 20' cast, hooks a fish, and >takes 4 hours to land it. Two different types of 'flyfishing' altogether, >wouldn't you say? So casting for the saltwater billfisherman fades to >insignifigance compared with playing the fish. Ever felt a 14wt fly rod? >It's a STICK. Casting was not meant to be its forte. Fighting and wearing >down sea-monsters is what it's made for. But for bonefish, it's totally the >opposite. > >How many rules do you need to have fun catching fish on a fly rod with >flies? If you can't enjoy it without rules, make up as many as you need to >qualify it as flyfishing in your mind. Someone will disagree with at least >one of them. But if you can enjoy yourself without gazilliions of >self-imposed rules, good for you, too. C&R, barbless hooks, heavy tippets >for faster landing/releasing (less fish stress)- these are all fishing >manners and ethics, not rules (unless you are in C&R only waters). > >My 'rule' is pretty simple. Did you legally catch the fish on a fly rod and >tied fly? If you did, then you obviously were flyfishing as opposed to any >other form. And dry-fly fishermen/purists, when you were wind-dabbling or >skating a dry caddisfly downwind on the surface and took a fish? You were >flyfishing too, were you not? But you used the wind to help you catch a >fish that you did not see. Is that not equivalent to trolling? > >I've fished saltwater all kinds of ways, including flycasting and >fly-trolling. Trolling flies can be MUCH more difficult and physically >challenging than casting to raised fish. If you want to know why, let me >know. I MUCH prefer casting to fish and get the most satisfaction that way. >But I've also seen flyfisherman get so frustrated at fish not hitting flies >that they stuck a live chum sardine on the fly hook just to catch fish. >OH-oh! Baitfishing! But wait! It was still caught on a flyrod! What >mutant form of fishing are we dealing with now? Back to rule one for >some...not catching anything is worse than anything else, including breaking >'rules'. They'll say at least they didn't put the fly rod down and pick up >the bait rod. > >To each his own. Who's style of fishing would pass the scrutiny of an avid >rulemaker, anyway? Not even his own. > >My 1 cent worth. > >DonO > > > > > -- Jimmy D. Moore, "BIGTROUTMAN" I FISH BECAUSE I MUST! More importantly, I fish because my Dad taught me! Author,Outdoor Writer,TOWA, GRTU Owner/Webmaster - Worldwide Flyfishing Info. http://www.BIGTROUTMAN.homestead.com/MainPage.html
