I have always wondered why Washington bans attaching weight to leaders in
flyfishing only areas. I used to think it was to reduce the risk of snagging
or to discourage intentional snagging. However, large weighted flies seem to
be the illegal snaggers preferred M.O. and that rig is legal.
The problem is when you need to get a tiny fly down quickly. You
can't add weight directly to the fly without severely impairing it's action.
Most states do not have this restriction on their flyfishing only waters, I'd
be very interested in comments on this subject. My suspicion is this is a
carryover from a time when even weighted flies were illegal. A little like
the noon opener for pheasant season. One day someone asked why do we have
this rule? No one could figure out why so they dropped the regulation.
Terry Whitworth
