Don-
Clear, ratiional and well spoken.
-John
Oregon
--- Don Ordes <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 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
>
>
>
>
=====
The River-
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