In Fly Fishing there still a lot of elitism as there is in any walk of life. How many times have we heard on the bank side “yer he has caught so many but he’s just pulling fluff”. But is pulling Lures really that bad? We all have a preference of how we would like to fly fish and as many of you know nymphs and dry’s just so happen to be my preferred method. I, as many , started fly fishing pulling a Cats Whisker at a local still water, not really knowing what I was doing but being overjoyed at the fact that I caught my first rainbow with a white and yellow thing! Some never feel the need however to try anything new and stick to a sinking line all year pulling the best part of a chicken. Now lets get one thing straight for the ‘purist’. Traditionally flies where tied to ‘lure’ trout into taking a fly, hence the name, so no matter what we fish the fly is at best a measly imitation of natural insects. So in reality who really is the best fly fisher? The one in the depths of winter who will fish a dry fly all day long for that one rising trout, or the one who uses sinking lines and catches his or her bag limit double quick time. Really there is no difference. I like others will admire the person who has persevered to catch that one trout and if they don’t well that had a good day. I suppose the biggest bug bear for those who are fanatical about their fly fishing is unfortunately the people who must catch their bag limit – no matter the cost – either out of a sense masculine (or feminine) pride or that they feel that the must get their monies worth. These few do tend to pull lures and this is where unfortunately the discrimination begins and those that enjoy lure fishing as a whole pay the price. Why these few feel that they must catch and kill as many as possible, and that includes stock waters, I don’t know. Most of the time these fish that have been caught end up in the freezer for years or go to the cat. Don’t think that the above is typical of certain social sets. I have known many people over the years who are on the proverbial breadline and save their pennies each week to fish once a month and who have been known to have the best attitude. If I catch great - If I don’t – what a day. I have known others at the opposite end of the financial scale who are the worst. When I was working at Treemeadow fishery in
The other misnomer regarding Lure fishing is that there is no skill or basically that any idiot can catch using Lures. This is definitely not so. Have a look at some of the top competition anglers closely. You will see them pulling lures in a truly artistic way once you begin to understand the subtleties of their retrieves etc, really getting the most out of that marabou tail.
Personally I find Lure fishing now a little boring but again that’s just what I think. The biggest problem I had is that I designed a Lure – The old faithful. One day I will let the secret out of the bag but lets say I could catch from any
Tell us what you think and leave a comment on the above. Are dry fly anglers better fly fishers, does it really matter what you fish, are you a monies worth angler and think that I am talking rubbish? Let us know.
Tight Lines
