Down with Fluff Chuckers?! (An Underground Opinion)
By Tom Chandler on Nov 12, 2006 in Opinion
Fly fishing’s an odd sport, one riddled with contradiction and burdened with a lot of expectation.
Plus it’s practiced by human beings, so it’s subject to all the irritating human behavior you also see on the freeway, in the workplace or in the checkout line.
Which is why this Auburn Journal article (via MidCurrent) so richly irritated me.
It’s a stunningly circular opinion piece where the un-bylined guide/author makes the usual generic noises lamenting the sport’s elitist image, says “most” fly fishers are nice folks, and then proceeds to skewer everyone who doesn’t think, act, and feel exactly like he does.
Basically, anyone who isn’t a guide. Bravo.
Some choice commentary:
I’m not sure where the “all fly guys have attitudes,” feelings originated, but my guess is it started with some of the fly shops.
I’ve walked into more than a few fly fishing stores over the years and had the ultra-snobby employees make me feel like I was nothing more than an ignorant pile of steaming cow dung.
He then moves on to beat up on dry fly fishers because they look down on everybody else (uhh, some of us just like to fish dries), fly fishing writers, and a few others.
First, anyone with an “all fly guys have attitudes” ideology is likely the one with the attitude problem. And while it’s tempting to counter his article with something like “Guides and are mostly nice people, but I’ve had a lot of encounters with guides who have treated me like a steaming pile of cow dung.”
But - whenever I read sentences like that - I develop a lurking suspicion that it’s not the target group causing problems so much as the writer. You probably should too.
So when our opinion writer finds himself suffering at the hands of fly shop employees, might it be because he acts like the steaming pile of dung he’s mistaken for? I mean, has anyone ever seen a customer do that?
The Ugly Truth
We encounter assholes everyday, and while I’ve stumbled across a couple of asshole fly shops, asshole guides and asshole fly fishing writers, they probably act that way because they’re assholes in every other part of their life too.
The point to all this? Don’t buy into the Auburn article crap. It’s trite, it’s ridiculous on its face, and while the piece was ostensibly written to bring more people to the sport, it’s actually a revelation of the writer’s own attitudes towards others.
Which really aren’t that pretty.
Next time you run into an asshole on the water, remember. He’s not a guide, a fly shop employee, dry fly snob or spin fisher.
He’s just an asshole.
Technorati Tags: fly fishing, guide, fly shops, assholes
hawgdaddy | Nov 12, 2006 | Reply
I agree, although the article didn’t elicit quite the same level of reaction from me. It might have though if I were a dry fly purist and actually considered myself to be a rather nice guy with good reasons of my own for only casting dries. If the client wanted to cast dries or streamers, shouldn’t the guide have tried to accomodate him as opposed to angrily thumping fish on the egg pattern as a form of rebellion against the client’s preferences? Is it so bad if the client just didn’t want to cast egg patterns? There are jerks in any sport or hobby. Everyone has been treated like crap before, and I bet it wasn’t always in a fly shop. On a personal note, I must confess that I’m beginning to stereotype fast food workers in my area as jerks. We all need to stay vigilant against these kinds of attitudes, including myself. Take care,
hawgdaddy
Will | Nov 12, 2006 | Reply
We would be wise to remember MLK’s words: “Assholes are victims too.” OK, that’s probably not an exact quote…
Are there things particular to fly fishing itself that give it an elitist image?
Well, I suppose the amount of money spent and learning involved in fly fishing compared to worm fishing makes fly anglers seem eager to bear an unnecessary burden. “Why would they do such a thing?” non-fly anglers ask. They answer themselves: “It must be the prestige.” Friendly responses from fly anglers like “It’s the only way to go” or “once you catch a fish on a fly, you’ll never go back” only encourage the initial feeling.
All this makes me wonder why I like fly fishing in particular. Being a fly tyer (or is it ‘tier’?) is one factor. Also, my father taught me fly fishing, so it conjures good memories. And as far as dry fly fishing goes - there is something about watching the fish take your fly that is unlike any other feeling. Plus, I enjoy the challenge (is that an elitist sentiment?).
Tight lines, regardless of the preferred instrument,
Will
Tom Chandler | Nov 12, 2006 | Reply
I don’t think the “elitist” label is strictly an expense thing. Bass fishing is decidedly non-elitist, and I’d guess that most fly fishers have invested 1/10 the cash in fly fishing compared to a modern bass fisher.
Honestly, the class war stuff plays out across the spectrum; NASCAR vs. F1, etc.
I think many fly fishers have come to the sport without a background in other blood sports, so the trout have become more a religious artifact than a resource.
From that perspective, the attitude often taken towards bait fishers is easier to understand. To many, they’re not fishers, they’re murderers.
Wrong, but understandable.
pseudososa | Nov 12, 2006 | Reply
Ahh…”fluff-chuckers”???? Sounds like nymph-fishermen with indicators! How did dry fly fishing come up?
Will | Nov 12, 2006 | Reply
Really, 1/10? Is it all in the brawny motor boat with the fish finder, GPS, etc.? Maybe it was just me who chucked worms on a shoe-string budget.
I wonder if the elitist thing isn’t really a masculinity thing…? It seems to me the most un-elitist type of fishing would involve explosives and a long bill from the taxidermist - the kind of taxidermist that gets really busy during “bald eagle season”. It’s also harder to drink a lot of beer and wade with a fly rod simultaneously - or at least its difficult for me (maybe I have a masculinity problem…)
Bamboo Addict | Nov 13, 2006 | Reply
I are not a elitist, I ARE an Asshole, but I do fish with Bamboo and Silk lines because I can. I fish dry flys because I want to, I have my clients us indicators because I am old and can see them coming and get my head down. When I am floating on the river I visit with the bait guys and see how they are doing, (more that one are now fly fishers). Just have fun outthere and if you run into the other kind of fishers just leave them to there own misery and have fun fishing your own way.
David
Tom Chandler | Nov 13, 2006 | Reply
Will: Yeah, those boats (and a truck big enough to tow them) are pricey things. Plus a “tourney style” bass fisher has more rods and reels than you can shake a stick at, and let’s not get started on the electronics, the lures, etc. It’s pretty expensive.
Bamboo Addict: Well said!
hawgdaddy | Nov 13, 2006 | Reply
Serious modern bass fishing is incredibly expensive. I know. I used to do it. I’m now broke, so I fly fish. Well not really, but not far from the truth. There’s a lot about bass fishing these days that played a big part in me embracing fly fishing. I live near Guntersville and Wheeler Lakes in North Alabama. Most tournament fishermen around here are putting $30K or better into their boats (just boat, not counting truck). That’d buy a lot of fly rods, tying material, waders, etc. plus a trip to Chile or somewhere else exotic. Bass rods used to be dirt cheap compared to decent fly rods, but not any more. Most bass fishermen are spending $100-200 per rod, and they carry 10 with them on every trip. Bass lures are ridiculously priced now as well. Those Lucky Craft lures are running $15-20 each. You can spend as much fly fishing as you would bass fishing, but it’d take some effort.
Back to the topic, “elitist” sentiments are beginning to take hold in bass fishing now as well with the classes being determined by how expensive and/or fast your boat is. There’s a war currently raging over how big a motor you can mount on the back of your boat. I’ve heard many locals complain about the pompous (I use pompous in place of the strong language actually used) attitudes of supposedly wealthier bass anglers from up around Nashville. Fly fishermen shouldn’t feel alone in the angling community as we aren’t the only ones automatically labeled as arrogant jerks. Certain individuals are always going to automatically fear/dislike/condemn others who are different from themselves, no matter what you’re talking about (sports, hobbies, race, nationality, etc.).
hawgdaddy