Our Buddy Charlie Reading

[BilletHead]

    Ran upon this in Chi Wulff ,

      

          BilletHead

[trythisonemv]

Charlie is a nice man. Used to get him a pint of black walnut o ce cream at the shop I worked at in high school in Lebanon. Creature of habit and very quiet.

[fishinwrench]

Charlie, unlike most of us, has gotten nicer with age.   

[BilletHead]

3 minutes ago, fishinwrench said:

Charlie, unlike most of us, has gotten nicer with age.   

             Yes some of you have turned to vinegar instead of mellowing out . 

BilletHead

[Foghorn]

Got a thumbs up from the Mrs. on the video- thanks for sharing.👍

[Al Agnew]

I agree with almost everything he said.  The only thing that I don't quite agree with is that while you CAN use a fly rod for just about any fish that swims anywhere, there are a lot of situations where it's a little like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.  I love fly fishing for the things it does best, but have little interest in trying to make it work for things where other forms of angling work far better.  I wouldn't care for open ocean fly fishing for giant fish like sailfish or marlin.  I don't even think about using it for fishing deep water reservoir bass.  Or, for that matter, winter fishing for Ozark stream smallmouth, and I don't use fly tackle for my summer Ozark smallmouth fishing from a canoe because it becomes more of a pain than a pleasure when drifting downriver by myself in the canoe.

On the other hand, it's just perfect for most stream trout fishing, or for catching panfish and small bass out of a pond or wading size stream.  I can't imagine using anything else to catch big bluegill out of my pond, or to fish the Yellowstone River outside my house in Montana.

It's funny that most fly fishing literature has always been somewhat philosophical and lyrical, while most literature on conventional fishing, like bass fishing, is strictly nuts and bolts how to stuff.  What is it about fly fishing that brings out navel gazing and mysticism?  Why are there no John Geirachs and Thomas McGuanes in bass fishing?

I see mysticism in all kinds of angling that I do, and especially in river and stream fishing, no matter what tackle I'm using.  Yep, fly fishing is fun, and puts you close to your prey and the ecosystems in which it lives.  But so do other forms of angling.  There is great satisfaction in achieving some kind of mastery in an activity that is at least mildly challenging and that has plenty of nuances and arcane knowledge.  But there's a lot of that in other forms of angling, as well.  

I think we all get great satisfaction from doing things well, especially things that aren't easy to do well.  Fly fishing is one of those things.  So is topwater smallmouth fishing with casting tackle.  So is handling a solo canoe, or a raft or driftboat, in fast water.  And if those things have the reputation, the mystique, of being difficult to master, so much the better--it makes us feel better about ourselves and makes us think we look better in the eyes of others.

But in the end, it's not rocket science to get reasonably proficient at it, while at the same time you can spend a lifetime working out all the things you CAN learn from it.  

[fishinwrench]

It's a different dimension.  The ones that don't understand what make it special, and argue that it shouldn't be, are not "fly fishermen".  

I like motorcycles, and I can ride good, but that doesn't make me a "biker".  I rode from Chattanooga to Daytona and back on a AMF bike and I can't fathom what would make anyone wanna do that (and more) repeatedly (talk about SQUARE PEG!).  When plans were being made for the trip to Sturgis....I sold my ride so I would have a reason not to go instead of an excuse.   Kinda like Al leaving his flyrods in Montana 😉

I love all kinds of fishing, but if I could only own one rod it would be a square peg 9 for 7.

[trythisonemv]

Fly fishing to me has been one where you grow and learn continually. I think people tend to associate Conventional tackle with bait dunking and rednecks. They tie it to learning at entry level not bass master status . Some of those guys are just as awe striking as the great fly masters. 

[Flysmallie]

11 hours ago, fishinwrench said:

It's a different dimension.  The ones that don't understand what make it special, and argue that it shouldn't be, are not "fly fishermen".  

 

Bingo! 

One of my favorite places to fly fish is one that you would think would suck for fly fishing, walking the beach. I guarantee you that I can catch way more fish with gear on the beach. I prove that just about every summer. But those 20-30 spin fishing mornings aren't nearly as memorable as those 5 fly fish mornings. For some it's an efficiency, numbers, size game. For others it's like Wrench says, a whole different dimension. I used to be the efficiency, numbers, size guy, so I understand the draw to that. And it's honorable. But for me, I'm glad I found the other dimension. 

[snagged in outlet 3]

I grew up in the other dimension.  Love it!