Fly Fishing in Print (Or, the Clueless Writing About the Should-Be-Committed)
By Tom Chandler on May 17, 2007 in Opinion
When you surf as many fly fishing-related news items as I do, you start to recognize certain trends.
Let’s make that “certain distressing trends.”
I see a lot of “mainstream media” fly fishing stories every day. Sadly, they often fall into one of three categories, which I’ve neatly packaged for you right here (which is another symptom of media involvement):
- The Clueless “Never-Been-Fishing-But-Trying-to-be-Hip” Writer
- The Shouldn’t-be-Clueless Outdoor Writer (but is)
- The Clueless Writer as Schill
Clearly, the biggest abusers of fly fishing are the reporters who have never fly fished before.
They smother us with pointless observation and wide-of-the-mark “insight” in an attempt to prove they “got it,” which of course they didn’t.
Worst case scenario? Their inexperience offers the them license to go all “gonzo” on fly fishing. The results are almost always unpretty; witness this little gem from the Casper Star-Tribune.
When I found out I’d be going to Saratoga, I decided it was time I learn how to fly fish. So I asked Mike “Hack” Patterson, of Hack’s Tackle and Outfitters in Saratoga, to teach me. He did, and I think he did a good job — but I’ll save my bragging for later. Besides, I learned a lot more about fly fishing than how to boast.
Fishing is a technical, number driven sport. I see this when I step into a tackle shop full of different kinds of flies, different sizes of leaders, different poles in different weights.
Numbers guide fishermen’s choices: Are fish biting the larger number 14 Royal Wulff or the smaller number 18 Para Adams?
What is a Wulff, I wonder, as I poke around in the fly bins.
Numbers quantify fishermen’s success: Look at my 22-inch brown trout. It’s a beauty. To me, it looks bloody.
But I discovered, in fishing, numbers are bragging rights and technical knowledge is power.
“Technical knowledge is power??”
Fishing is a “number driven sport??”
It gets worse. Later, she refers to trout of breeding size as “brew trout,” and… the list goes on, but I grow bored just typing this.
It’s possible these articles serve a useful purpose by recruiting new fishing into the sport, but it’s akin to recruiting teenagers into the army by promising them an all-expenses-paid vacation to a warm location.
False pretenses are bad, no matter what the situation.
What’s Worse.
Worse are the stories from those who should know better, but don’t seem to.
Today’s example comes courtesy the Sacramento Bee — a “fly fishing is peaceful” story written by a freelancer who is supposed to be an editor of Western Outdoor News.
You’d think an editor would know that “Richard Allen” isn’t the editor of California Fly Fisher (Richard Anderson edits and publishes the regional magazine that employs many of the best writers in the business).
Then there are the countless stories — many of them found in mainstream fly fishing magazines — where an “expert” tosses off a “fact” that makes at least a few of us wince.
Wincing is bad, and it’s probably the result of a writer moving too far outside their “zone of competence.”
For example, paying good money to read an article I wrote about indicator nymphing places you among the elite group referenced by the infamous ”there’s one born every minute” quote.
Worse Than That.
Worse even are the stories written about fly fishing where neither the writer nor the people involved seem to know what the hell they’re talking about.
Often, fly fishing serves only as a backdrop or “trend” in these articles instead of a passion, and result in stories like this earlier-referenced abomination from the Toronto Star:
Exchanging a business suit for a pair of hip waders may seem like a stretch, but corporate executives are falling for fly-fishing – hook, line and sinker.
For Scott Wilson and his colleagues, it was a different sort of team-building exercise that focused on learning new skills and building camaraderie.
“No one had been fly-fishing before so it was something different for all of us. And nobody mastered it in one day, but we had a good time and we learned from each other.”
Ahh, fly fishing as corporate team-building trend.
It turns out the story was nothing more than advertising for an outfitter (disguised as actual editorial content — worth a whole post of its own), but then, there’s no shortage of that in the mainstream and fly fishing media too.
In the end, you read the words and take your chances. Any Underground examples of media-fuelled atrocities committed upon fly fishing as a whole?
Technorati Tags: fly fishing, fishing, writing, fly fishing magazines, mainstream media
Patrick | May 17, 2007 | Reply
Personally, it disturbs me that the ideas that “numbers are bragging rights and technical knowledge is power” and that fly fishing is “…a different sort of team-building exercise…” seem to preclude any hint of fun. Have I taken up fly fishing for the wrong reasons?
Don | May 17, 2007 | Reply
I don’t know Tom. Nothing like celebrating with a brew at the end of the day, especially after releasing a big trout. Think I’ll start calling them “brew” trout from now on!
Tom Chandler | May 17, 2007 | Reply
Patrick: If you value the experience of fly fishing more than the gear; if you fall in love with the places you fish for trout, then yes, you’re clearly doing it for the wrong reasons…
Don: So is the last trout of the day the Brew Trout, or are they all “brew” trout if you drink after every fish? I’m just trying to get the process right…
kbarton10 | May 17, 2007 | Reply
Flyfishing died many decades ago, and there is no reason to dwell on its passing.
Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a cyclist wearing blue jeans. Now you must have the complete ensemble of Gitane’ body hugging, moisture wicking, Italian bike wear, complete with advertising.
We did it to ourselves, lads. There is no one else to blame.
Once the gear to participate effectively crosses the thousand-dollar-barrier, it is no longer a leisure activity, now it is a “calling.”
Sports can be dabbled in, but a “calling” requires utmost seriousness, dedication, and commitment. It also requires that we keep the membership restricted.
Want proof? Just grab your favorite fishing magazine and count the number of anglers thrusting some dripping monstrosity at the lens… Now count how many are smiling.
On Monday morning, when the water cooler conversation is the measure of weekend success - it is common to find that a mere 48hours saw the speaker climbing Everest, swimming the English Channel, and lifting a Cadillac off of a schoolchild.
Who else would spend one-thousand-five-hundred dollars on a fishing rod that you can purchase for 12 bucks at KMArt?
Only driven and successful professional sportsmen do that…and guys that need to master a sport in a weekend, because merely holding that tackle gives the owner the aura they crave.
It is a numbers game. Like dogs, we circle about the parking lot sniffing each other’s hinquarters, reciting tales of valor - hoping we are the Alpha male.
Angling authors have always fostered this in their readership. ” I catch more fish then you, because I have a Caddis SERIES - you only fish a nymph and a dry.”
Now every new fly hawked by these pandering sycophants, must bear their name…Harrop-This, or Andy’s-That - because only leaving a legacy counts.
It used to be a freckle faced kid, with an alder branch, a bobby pin, and Pork rind - wearing a smile as big as all outdoors….but them days is dead. Mourn them, but dont dwell long.
It is a numbers game - the last 9 ounces of fish I caught cost me $11,233.44 cents - please God, dont tell the Wife that!
murdock | May 17, 2007 | Reply
I can’t wait to hook into one of those 12 oz. brew trout! That has to be one of the best ones yet. Makes me long for the days of the Koontzisms. Whatever happend to him?
ijsouth | May 17, 2007 | Reply
I have to say, our local outdoors writers have largely spared us such drivel - it must be reserved for areas with too much money and time on their hands.
Kent | May 17, 2007 | Reply
Great comments about these “jounalists”. I can’t tell you how many articles I have read in the last year that fit all your comments like my favorite pair of well-worn shoes comfort these tired feet.
Mike | May 18, 2007 | Reply
“It is a numbers game. Like dogs, we circle about the parking lot sniffing each other’s hinquarters, reciting tales of valor - hoping we are the Alpha male.”
That’s why you won’t find me at the parking lot, unless I’m spending the night in my car on the way to the campsite the next morning.
For me it’s all about the experience. Nice gear is cool to have but like most everything it only works well in moderation. More important than anything is finding the time to fish your favorite rivers, and to enjoy the outdoors with those you care about. Everything else is a lie.
Tom Chandler | May 18, 2007 | Reply
kbarton10 | May 18, 2007 | Reply
I was a math major - does that count?
Bastard Mike | May 18, 2007 | Reply
Ummm…sugar sprinkled pasteries…ummmm
I digress…
A fishing writers keyboard should look something like this…
Of course I’m a slob and the computer is in the shop. And I’m NOT an outdoors writer.
But, you REALLY only use a few of these buttons at best.
Sometimes vomit, slobber, drool, and whatnot, get slabbored on your keyboard. It’s pointless to try and clean it. It’ll just happen again.
Though the picture of the keyboard this author puts up (along with FINE damn fish!) looks pristine, one can tell that some of those little buttons are slightly different in color than the rest.
I’ll leave it to you all (ya’ll with slawdogs in hand,) to determine the real cause. In any event it makes little difference…
Put me down as a clueless outdoor writer who clearly is…
Bastard (durnken) Mike
Tom Chandler | May 18, 2007 | Reply
OFFICIAL UNDERGROUND POLICY ANNOUNCEMENT: All packages received by the Underground will be x-rayed before opening. That is all.
Don | May 18, 2007 | Reply
“Don: So is the last trout of the day the Brew Trout, or are they all “brew” trout if you drink after every fish?”
My head hurts! You have any easy questions?
ijsouth | May 18, 2007 | Reply
Yeah…that’s pretty bad, but thankfully I can’t claim him; I live in le grande republique du Bananas au Louisiane. It’s hard to get too romantic about our typical 95F days in the summer with 100% humidity, when 5 minutes outside leaves you wringing wet.
jim jones | Oct 23, 2007 | Reply
Waay overdue, but I just stumbled on to Tom’s website.
First, yes, I am the author of the Pleasant Streams article that appeared in the Sacramento Bee last spring.
Second, that was a really, really stupid mistake on my part to get Richard’s last name wrong. I do know better. It was especially stupid since I know Richard personally (a really great guy, and really great publication he puts out), and I am a subscriber. If I wasn’t I would have looked it up rather than typing what popped into my head at 2 a.m. trying to make deadline. It would have been soooo easy to just look at the masthead since I save all the issues. I did at least provide the correct contact info.
However, without sounding too defensive, I hope, did anyone, including Tom, actually read the article? Because, the comments I received were 1. “Hey dummy you got Richard’s last name wrong,” but 2. It was a great article otherwise.”
The whole objective was to demystify fly fishing–that it is fun, connects you to your environment in ways not possible with other forms of fishing, and is not all that hard, or necessarily expensive. Things that are seldom written about. Perhaps partly because advertisers in fly fishing publications want the reader to go out and buy the latest and greatest (and more expensive) toy. Or maybe it’s that so many of us are tired of seeing newbie fly fishers taking over “our” waters.
Yes, I have some of those toys, more than a rational person needs, but I still have my first Heddon fly rod I bought as a kid from paper route money, and the original fiberglass Fenwick Feralite rods that revolutionized how fly rods are made. Also, my Pflueger Medalists which held up on some really hard charging steelhead, chum, and sockeye salmon.
Oh, and Tom, a bit sloppy on your part, as well, not to check (easy to do) to see if I am, indeed, listed on the masthead of WON as an editor. But to find out that I am, rather than “supposed to be,” or to actually read my article, wouldn’t have served the objective of yours, would it? My mistake was an honest, albeit, sloppy and really dumb mistake. Yours was deliberately intended to mislead and discredit. Which is worse?
Jim
Tom Chandler | Oct 24, 2007 | Reply
Don | Oct 24, 2007 | Reply
y’ouch!
Question: I’m far from upper-crust, but do you think I can pull off that elitest snob act? I’m willing to work on it.
Izaak Walton | Oct 24, 2007 | Reply
Damn,
Jim got owned.
jim jones | Oct 24, 2007 | Reply
Uh, oh,
The Isaac Walton “quote” I used is widely attributed to him, Didn’t make it up. There are plenty of other writings I could have used that also reference the “complexity” of fly fishing. You’ve referenced the “numbers” game yourself. But, heck, tha’s one of the beauties of fly fishing. You can make it as simple or as complex as you want. As expensive or as cheap. And, yes, the finely machined Abels and Baur are things of beauty.
The problem is that some, like the political far left or far right, are unwilling to acknowledge the legitimacy of any other than the direction they’ve taken.
Hence the bobber, er, indicator fishing vs. swinging or tight line debate, or keeping a brookie or two for dinner vs. never, ever keeping a fish.
Sure, there’s lots of stuff written, and on tape, and on DVD about fly fishing, but most is found through specialized fly fishing publications or sources, so people have to be wanting to learn in the first place. Altready at the trough, so to speak.
I was hoping to get readers, some anyway, to approach the trough. And, although fly fishing is my first love, I cover it all, and do much of it (haven’t figured out yet how to get a sturgeon to take a fly). Maybe you don’t spend much time communicating with the “unwashed”–the bait or lure folks, but I do, and I assure you that there are lots of people who love to fish but are put off by their perceptions of fly fishing. Sadly, the tone of your article, plus response to my post, does little to dispel the myth.
That’s unfortunate, since there’s something else about fly fishers. They’re the most organized, focused, and influential in fighting for access to waters and protecting fisheries. There are lots of exploiters that wish we, and the fish we love, would disappear so they can have their way. And, if we can get past our little dustup, I’d be happy to give you some examples I’ve been deeply involved in.
As for “fawning,” I did some of that over Richard, too, in the article (again really embarrassed). Perhaps I should hit him up for a free subscription–hoping, of course, he’s forgiven my screwup.
Bill Kiene is a great guy, and his shop and staff are great, too. But, as it was, the article had to be shortened. Isn’t it reaching more than a bit to list as one of my supposed sins not to quote Bill, or the folks at Fly Fishing Specialties for that matter (I guess listing their contact info plus info on the local fly clubs wasn’t enough for you). Then there are the folks who teach fly fishing. Better not leave any out. Gosh, that would set me up for free casting lessons for life. Or Fly Rod and Reel, or American Angler magazines, or…
I guess you would have accused me of the same thing if I had quoted Bill and not Gary. Realy reaching, and not sloppy, but malicious.
I originally wrote to publically appologize for my stupid mistake, and, yes, to defend myself against your personal attack. I take what I do seriously, I’m good at it, ethical, honest, but okay, not perfect. Based on your maliciousness, it’s tough, so far, to conclude the same of you.
Really, Tom, you ought to get out and fish more (I’ve got a great recommendation for tigerfishing in Africa–just got back). Maybe you’d then be better able to shift your focus to the big issues, the forest, rather than Issac Walton “quote” twigs, and be bit happier in the process. Of course, if your schtick is ala Michael Savage, which, so far, it seems so, then that’s another story. Pity.
And, for others reading this, is it really about scoring points and being “owned?” Hope not. If so, that’s an even bigger pity. sad.
Cheers,
Jim
Izaak Walton | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Why must it be “malicious” is someone disagrees with you? As a member of the angling press you should be used to that by now, no?
Part of the collective distaste with the angling rags is “tigerfishing” in Africa, and how it seems that exotic locales, and obscenely priced 4 star accomodations are the new measure of angling success.
Perhaps you should visit your roots, lad. It doesn’t sound like chucking a salmon egg into the local farm pond is part of your skill set.
It’s ok for someone to take exception to your likes and dislikes if you express them in a public forum. No need to react like it’s a personal attack, and no need to impugn the comment or the author that made it.
It does strike me that the elitest card appears quickly from thine quiver, it settles nothing. It does cheapen the commentary, however.
Hugh Koontz, IV | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
He’s still around and Kickin. My dad still fishes. Here’s a new Koontzism. “With the rain, the temperatues dipped like they had fallen over a waterfall like a tourist without a brain.” I live in the tourist town of Virginia Beach.
Murdock | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Hugh IV,
Great to hear that your Dad is doing well. I actually ran across a blog of his at one point. I miss seeing his articles in the Star. He writes a great story and the Koontzisms were always a bonus.
jim jones | Oct 25, 2007 | Reply
Issac,
To argue which is better: swinging a Skunk or dead drifting a copper John under an indicator for steelhead on the Trinity River is a disagreement. So is claiming I am wrong when I state that there are quite a few non-fly fishermen who are put off by the perception that fly fishing is an elitist sport.
(Funny, I had a discussion with an avid, but non-fly fisherman at a dive club meeting last night. Couldn’t figure out why I’d rather fly fish, in his opinion, it’s easier with bait or lures. I think he got it.
And, getting Richard’s name wrong was, indeed, a sloppy mistake.
But Tom didn’t stop there.
First he used me as his poster boy for
“The Shouldn’t-be-Clueless Outdoor Writer (but is)”
And this:
“And one couldn’t help but notice you invested the last half-dozen paragraphs of your article in a free ad for American Fly Fishing disguised as editorial content.
Sure, they’re a fine outfit, but one of only several in the area. Why not Kiene’s?
Sloppy, or was there something else in it for you?
Oh wait — that’s a deliberate attempt to discredit and mislead. Sloppy, indeed.”
That’s not disagreeing, that’s malicious.
And yeah, I could have used another example beside tigerfishing in Africa. But dang, that was exciting. Closer to home, there are some steelies in the American River. This warm weather means that trout fishing is still good in foothill and Sierra streams. And, paddling around a local pond to scratch up a few bluegill is fun too.
But, heck, it’s nice to dream of fishing in faraway, exotic places, especially so, when you spent much of your life with those dreams unrealized and seemingly out of reach.
Cheers,
Jim