What's The Fascination With Fly Fishing?

[Trout God]

I'm 31 years old. I've been fishing since I was LITTLE kid. I got my first cane pole when I was 4 years old. I love the sport. I love landing that huge largemouth that's so big you can fit your whole fist in it.

But I've never understood the fascination with fly fishing. I've tried it. I'm not knocking it by any means. But it just seems like an awful lot of work with very little payoff. Generally speaking, when I fish lakes and streams where fly anglers are present, I find that I outfish them by a ratio of no less than 2:1, and all by flicking a spoon or something around.

Look, I know it takes patience and skill. But so does fishing with a standard rig.

Again, I'm not knocking it. It just seems like a lot of work with not much to show for it.

Any comments?

[zander]

I'm just a year or so older than you and have fished up until a couple of months ago strictly non-fly. I have gotten addicted to it and here is why for me. I lived a lot of my life in Louisiana where you couldn't see anything in the water, much less had the chance to wade fish in areas without having to worry about big snappers and gators. I was never bothered by them, but when you happen across one fifteen yards away from you in messes with your mind a little:) I like seeing fast moving water, once again not very much of that in the state of Louisiana. My father grew up in Kansas and loved Louisiana for all of the trees in had. Me, I like driving through the wide open prairies of Kansas while my dad hates it. As far as outfishing them two to one, maybe at times, but I have seen a lot of people catch dozens of trout in an afternoon and some people fish the lower lake all day with hardly a nibble. Luck moves around the lakes and skill has its hand as well. I never thought I'd like it because I thought I'd be cold and wet the whole time. I had that preconception from freezing my tail off in a duck blind all winter. But you move around more fly fishing and stay warmer that way. My two cents worth.

[Thom]

TG:

The great thing about fishing is it is like a cafeteria. You select what you like and go for it.

Personally I get as much thrill putting time into trying to outsmart the fish with the flies that I tie. I just came from my fly bench tyeing some flys for my Pastor who is going to Taney over the holidays. They are the flies that worked for me last week and I hope they are still good for him. I really enjoy fly fishing with a fly rod even though I am just a novice compared to some. I enjoy it but I also enjoy fishing for bluegill and crappie.

Sometimes I wonder if it is all worth the effort and then I meet up with fellow anglers like I did last week and fellowship, swap stories, exchange flys and methods. My question is answered quickly.....YES IT IS WORTH IT.

Lots of fun, great people, great outdoors on and on. Actually you get to be a kid again and can just enjoy the recreation that you enjoy.

BTW, I have been fishing for over 60 years and still get a great thrill out of it. My uncle started me out when I was about 8 years old and I have been in love with it every since.

[Trout God]

I just noticed all the Lilley's Landing sponsorship. Is this site operated by Lilleys? I stay at the Lilley Pad every January for my yearly guy's trip.

Sorry for the subject change.

[Phil Lilley]

I like to play golf although most people think it's a stupid game- waste of time and money. But I'm pretty good at it.

I've loved fishing since I was 2. Started casting a fly rod at 10. I'm 49 now. My least favorite is bass fishing, surprisingly. Least favorite technique is trolling and jerking a spoon.

I bounce between fly fishing and spin fishing. I do what the conditions dictate and/or what I feel like doing at the time.

I think it all depends on personality and experience. At 31 you may like to bass fish. At 49 you may love to fly fish. Who knows. But it's all good.

[trout fanatic]

I have been fly fishing off and on (mostly off) since I was 12. I am now 59 and fly fishing comprises about 80 per cent of my fishin time. I usually fish the crappie spawn with spinning rods and reels (but still manage to catch some on the fly). I have my days when the fish love me and its great. Other times I don't do as well and its still great. Could I catch more fish than I do with other tackle? Maybe, but I doubt if I would enjoy it nearly as much as I do. Standing knee deep in a pristine pool fooling trout on a fly that you tied.............priceless

[Danoinark]

An interesting topic and question posed by trout fanatic and not one easily answered. First I think I have to say that fly fishing targets specific species of fish more so than what can be offered by spin fishing or bait casting. The trout for instance can be presented their normal diet of Chironomides (midges) scuds, sowbugs and other tiny critters in various sections of the water column. It would be almost impossible to use these bits of feather and fur with conventional fishing methods. The same can probably be said of fishing for bluegill. Flys probably provide more hits for fish of the perch species than conventional tackle. I think I have to quantify this by saying that a lot depends on the depth of the water too. I don't do well with flys during high water, so conventional tackle and its ability to toss weighted lures to greater depths would outshine flys for me in that situation. Albeit there are those who use sinking lines, and heavily weighted flys and are experienced in catching trout in those situations too.

The biggest largemouth bass I have ever caught was on a fly rod while walking the shore line of a local lake during a fall early evening. It took the popping bug just as it landed on the water. But I have always said that fish was a fluke. I had been at the right place during the right time. I have never been able to duplicate that since, so I still feel that you need casting equipment to target bass in lakes and other large bodies of water where cover and depth are important. What this all breaks down to is what is ones general preference, what one is comfortable with and what pleasant experiences one has had fishing those methods.

Dano

[Crippled Caddis]

It has been said by seasoned anglers with a lot of experience under their belt and uncounted seasons behind them that an angler passes through a few distinct stages in his fishing life if he pursues it diligently and long enough. Initially he just wants to catch fish-----lots of fish. Many never progress beyond this point. From there he enters the stage where he wants to catch BIG fish. Still fewer stray from this stage. After that urge is satisfied if he's still in the game he then seeks the challenge of catching the difficult fish. The fish that no one else is able to tempt. But frankly I think there's yet a 4th stage---some then want to fish only with the tackle and tactics he finds most satisfying to his sensibilities in order to revive the excitement of new challenges. Often that is flyfishing.

Some start with the long rod and find the pursuit so endlessly fascinating and enduringly challenging that they never have need of looking further. Some become so enamored of the enormous body of great literature on the subject that it almost supplants the fishing itself. Many start tying flies 'to save money' and find it an artistic endeavor that is fascinating and satisfying to some inner urge that they never even suspected they possessed. Some build a rod or two and discover that they enjoy doing that nearly as much as the fishing. Some become so immersed in the study of the aquatic species that form the bulk of the diet of the Salmonid family that they become quite knowlegdeable invertibrate biologists regarding aquatic insects. In short flyfishing is so much more than mere fishing that it represents a lifetime challenge. You can't learn it all---there's just too many aspects to it. And therein, I think, lies the explanation for the endless fascination of the sport that you wonder about---there's always more to learn.

I too started out with a cane pole---many years ago. I next took up baitcasting for bass and when my years were yet numbered in single digits an uncle gave me an old flyfishing rig. I learned to cast it----after a fashion, and then spinning came along and took the fishing world by storm, me along with the rest. But I never quite quit flyfishing. I always kept a flyfishing outfit on hand and took it out on occasion to recapture a bit of my youth along with a few bream and bass. And one day I realized that I was simply enjoying fishing more with the long rod. I was having more child-like, innocent fun----and I haven't looked back. Oh I'll still break out an ultralight spinning rig on occasion and wade a creek, but the last few times I did I found that I'd rather be doing it with a flyrod.

So keep on fishing what you enjoy most at the time. Just be aware that you too may someday find yourself trying to recapture some of the excitement that's gone missing somewhere as age and maturity knock some of the rough edges off of youthful competitiveness. And when you do break out that long rod, stick a handful of little poppers and rubber spiders in your pocket and find a little creek or pond ignored by others and go see if the bream are willing to come out to play.

[Kansas Fly Fisher]

Eloquently put CC!

John

[LostMyWife]

Trout God

I do it because I enjoy standing butt deep in icy water.

Plus, I did not have to go out and spend 30K for a bass boat!!!!!!!!!!

OK, Just kidding. I too have fished since I was 5, now 51. During that time I have fished for just about everything that can be caught in fresh water in the midwest. I have used lures, flies, live bait, a bow, a gig, a snag hook and traps. I have not tried dynamite, but there were times on Taney I considered it.

I enjoy fishing. I enjoy learning new ways to fish. Fly fishing, (and a certain incident on her birthday about a year ago), got my wife into fishing. Now we fish 2 to 3 times a week. Bottom line, I love it, I miss not being able to do it and I can't wait to get back in Taneys icy water.

LMW