What's The Fascination With Fly Fishing?

[Phil Lilley]

Slim Jims... really?!?!

[3wt]

Yup...one of the juvenile delinquients I go fishing with once a year was frustrated and started putting little pieces of the slimjim he was eating on the hook of a maribou jig...This was in fly only area...Anyway, it was alot like fishing in a hatchery pool with trout chow.

[WebFreeman]

slim jims, trout pellets. Probably similar ingredients.

[JobyKSU]

slim jims, trout pellets. Probably similar ingredients.

I'd put just about all of my Christmas money up that the pellets are better for ya

[KRflyfisher]

I have been fishing my whole life and enjoy all aspects of it. I have caught fish on limb lines, hardware, stink bait, live bait, synthetics, and spoons and enjoy doing it all. But put simply, I feel fly fishing connects me more with the fish, the stream, and the outdoors in general. I tie flies using feathers and fur I have collected on my own if possible. I like the feel of wading with water flowing through my legs. And I like the mechanics of casting. For me even if I am not catching fish, I can practice precision casting and retreval, and still have a decent day (although I do love to catch fish!). I also like it because it is slower much of the time.

As a Christian outdoorsman fishing and hunting are almost like devotional times as well. It helps me to feel connected to something bigger than me. For me flyfishing is cleaner and perhaps more intimate than other methods. This is also the reason I prefer to bow hunt. I am no snob, I spent the summer teaching my son and daughter to dunk worms and crawdads for sunfish and smallies and had a blast doing it. But what I love is to catch a fish on a fly tied by my own hands, from my own mind, caught in my fishing hole. This is like a dream come to life. Who was it Thoreau that said "Some men fish thier whole live without reaizing it is not the fish they are after."

[creek wader]

Wow, a lot of different reasons out there. I fish with both. I prefer my spinning rod, only because I'm inexperienced with a fly rod. I embarrass myself when other fly fishers are around. I need a lot of practice and a lot more patience than I have. I use an ultra light, mainly w/4 lb. test and with my home made jigs. I've lost some nice ones by not using heavier test. But, I'm going to release everything, any way. Although, when I caught my fisrt smallie on a fly rod, it was thrill for me. When I use to have time to deer hunt, I only used my muzzel loader and only round balls. All the deer that I shot were within 50 ft. of me. There were many times that the big buck was in high power range but, out of my range. But, it was the thrill of the hunt. Also, I never used a dog to hunt pheasant and quail, but a lot of my friends did, exclusivly. I never thought it was fair to hunt one animal with another, unless you really needed the meat, which I don't. To each their own.

[Guest]

F

[flyfshn]

Well said KRflyfisher!!

[Bill Anderson]

I got started flyfishing when I was about 12 because it seemed like the most challenging way to fish. Now I'm 61, and still at it. I think the attraction is that it's the one fishing style that has so much more tradition associated with it than any other. Flyfishing as we know it is maybe 700 or 800 years old. It's sort of like golf or bow hunting. Both are ancient sports steeped in centuries of tradition and techniques. I will still dunk bait once in a while or throw hardware on a spinning rod, but for me flyfishing is the most challenging and fun way to fish. I guess it's just that simple...to me, it's more fun. I don't have to go down to the store and plunk down tons of money on the latest $5 lures to catch fish. I can tie my own flies and have the satisfaction of catching fish with them. I spend most of my money on fine rods, and reels that don't go obsolete next year or even in 50 years. Flyfishing is the quiet, comtemplative way to fish, totally the opposite of the noisy pro bass tournament where everyone has huge boats with 200 hp motors and dresses like Nascar drivers. Fly fishing is more a way of life and reflects the inner person, rather than just a sport, I think. I am not a competetive person when I fish. I don't care who catches more than I do or what with. There's no prize money or trophy at the end of my day. I would just rather spend my day wading or floating a beautiful wild river or stream, or wading along the mangroves near my home, watching the porpoises, looking out for sting rays and throwing a fly to a tailing redfish. To me, it's just more fun with the long rod.

[fly2fish]

Bill I think you contridicted yourself on the statement "there is no prize money or trophy at the end of the day", because what you describe in your next line is the prize and trophy we enjoy after a day of flyfishing whether it be wading or floating.