> > How many of you still do some C&W? Awww, comon - fess up! > > -- > Jimmy D. Moore, "BIGTROUTMAN" I FISH BECAUSE I MUST!
Hi Jimmy, As a kid in the 50's, fishing for me was defined as spinners, plugs and hellgrammites, looking for smallmouth in Penn's Creek and the Susquehanna River. There's still a thrill in spin fishing for me, even though it's now maybe only 10% of time spent. My dad is now 77 and he continues to insist that turning over rocks to collect hellgrammites is his greatest pleasure in the water. It has always seemed to me that choice of rod and reel ought to depend mostly on what you're throwing into the water. Fly lines are well suited to putting a weightless fly out there. If the 'fly' is weighted with 30 turns of lead wire, it seems a little weird to me when I'm chuckin' 'n duckin' to avoid injury. I guess that it's possible for some individuals to be snooty about anything they want, so they can think themselves better than the next guy. Luckily, most fly folks seem to be better tuned-in than that, and seem committed to the value of the outdoors and the wildlife. Still, there's plenty of 'competition mentality' at work, which distracts from what matters most, at least for me. Although my preference now lies most with fly fishing, I usually tell people that I'm an 'equal-opportunity' fisherman, and that I can have a fabulous time catching eight pound silver carp on my one pound test spin rig. Nonetheless, this summer I'll try to trick them with some hare's ears on my two-weight fly rod. It's really a great privilege to be able to fish, luckily the rewards tend to rise above debates about how to do it. Mark Klemick __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com
