There is something mesmerizing about watching a fly fisherman gracefully sail a fly through the air and watching it land so subtly that it doesn’t even cause a ripple in the most still of waters. There is an art form to it, undoubtedly. And I can see why some regard fly fishing as a high brow style of angling, while other forms of angling are viewed as, how shall I say, barbaric.
Every now and again I enjoy reading some of the old camping books from the late 1800s to early 1900s. There is just something about the style of writing back then that really stirs my soul.
In his book, “In the Wilderness, ” Charles Dudley Warner writes in chapter III — A Fight with a Trout
“It is well known that no person who regards his reputation will ever kill a trout with anything but a fly. It requires some training on the part of the trout to take to this method. The uncultivated trout in unfrequented waters prefers the bait; and the rural people, whose sole object in going a-fishing appears to be to catch fish, indulge them in their primitive state for the worm. No sportsman, however, will use anything but a fly—except he happens to be alone.”
It never ceases to raise a chuckle out of me. I never quite looked at it that way, but can’t say I disagree. It, too, applies to anglers who use spinning and baitcasting lures. Rather than present to the fish what it natively eats, we attempt to indulge it with artificial morsels that do their best to imitate what the fish would really eat. I guess there’s no sport in tantalizing a fish with its native foods.
I have a genuine desire to cast a fly with a proper fly rod. And although I have done it with tenkara, it’s not the same. “Gee, All this time in Montana, one would’ve thought youda done it already. I guess I’d rather get on the fish than learn to fly fish on my days off.” For the most part, I use light spinning gear and lures. “really? I couldn’t tell with all your fishing posts.” That said, I’m not above using natural baits to entice a fish or two.
“Hmmm! Maybe I’m less of a sportsman and more of an outdoorsman.”
