01-08-2009, 11:43 PM
Dryrod, I think you’re misinterpreting much of what I said.
Let’s start with this forum.
“So what is the problem with this forum? I view it as the old general store’s pot belly stove where fishermen sat around and discussed various aspects of their fishing/hunting experience. I am a member of TU, CalTrout, FFF and the OC Fly Fishing Club. So does that make me a snob?
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]There is nothing wrong with this forum. And I certainly don’t think the members are snobs---far from it. My point is that, as a group, we do not represent the bulk of flyfishers. We are more aware of issues affecting the fisheries, we tend to be more concerned with our equipment choices, we see flyfishing not as a destination but as a journey, etc. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]We are serious about our flyfishing. When we can’t actually do it, we want to read about it, or watch videos about it, or discuss it with like-minded other anglers. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]This has nothing to do with our individual level of experience, or with the gear we do own. It reflects a mind set that is shared with raw novices and grizzled veterans alike, with fishermen using box-store rods & reels as well as those with $3,000 custom rods. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]Of course, you find this syndrome in any outdoor sport. If anything, a larger proportion of flyfishers share this mind set than in other sports. But the fact is, those of us who do are still a distinct minority compared to the population of flyfishers as a whole. We are out on the edge of the bell curve, not in the middle of it. [/#800000][/font]
>Now "catch & release" is used as a public relations banner by people who's idea of releasing a fish, particularly an undersized one, is to rip it off the hook and toss it as far from the boat as they can.
“Can you provide an example of this scenario?” <
Ever been to a bass fishing tournament and seen how they release fish when the cameras aren’t pointed at them? B.A.S.S. developed a catch & release ethic only when it came under fire for its negative impact on the fishery. And still uses it as a slogan. But it does not represent a true concern with the resource as anything more than something to be exploited.
>“Unfortunately many organizations/groups have a political agenda in one form of another so are you advocating dropping out and just let the world go by?<
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I’m not advocating anything. Just making an observation.[/#800000][/font]
>If you were the president & co-founder of your chapter instead of dropping out why didn’t you stay & fight the system?” <
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I offered those comments merely to demonstrate that I wasn’t some outsider taking shots at TU, but as somebody who had spent many years as a member; as somebody who supported conservation efforts as well as being a fisherman.[/#800000][/font]
I had moved away from the area of that chapter long before I quit TU. And was a member down here for a progressively frustrating time. The precipitous cause was a geographic reorganization that put a real cold-water problem so far on the back burner that it may as well have not existed, while corporate pursued more politically charged issues. I decided that if the native trout of Appalachia weren’t important enough for TU, it could pursue its goals without my money.
I haven’t been to NZ, Patagonia, Canada, Belize or any other exotic places to fly fish.
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I really don’t understand how this enters the discussion. With the exception of Canada I haven’t been to any of those places either. Nor would it matter one way or another whether you or I had been to them.[/#800000][/font]
>A local river will do me just fine, although I might have travel a few hours to find one.<
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I reckon that describes just about anybody on this forum. We fish locally, and maybe dream globally. And if the opportunity presents itself, we jump at the chance to fish a famed river. [/#800000][/font]
Do I love fishing Montana? You betcha. But I certainly don’t sneer at local waters because I know about others that might be better---or at least more storied.
Have you read John Gierach’s story, “I’d Fish Anyone’s St. Vrain?” That describes me perfectly. And I suspect you, too. And if not all of us here at the BFT flyfishing forum, certainly the majority of us.
“I think not.”
Which is what makes a horserace. But there’s no sense arguing the point. Soon enough we will know.
“One final point is that I have made numerous friends here at the BFT. Some just on-line and others getting out to fish together. Like the Mods on this forum are great people & I value the experience of knowing them.”
Maybe I’m being oversensitive. But this implies that I took some kind of shots at the people here, which is most assuredly not the case. When I first started posting here I was immediately comfortable. “These are my kind of people,” I felt. And nothing has happened to change that.
Well, maybe the fact that McFly hasn’t sent my Patagonia vouchers yet. But that’s a different issue. [
]
Brook
[url "http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com"]http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com[/url]
[signature]
Let’s start with this forum.
“So what is the problem with this forum? I view it as the old general store’s pot belly stove where fishermen sat around and discussed various aspects of their fishing/hunting experience. I am a member of TU, CalTrout, FFF and the OC Fly Fishing Club. So does that make me a snob?
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]There is nothing wrong with this forum. And I certainly don’t think the members are snobs---far from it. My point is that, as a group, we do not represent the bulk of flyfishers. We are more aware of issues affecting the fisheries, we tend to be more concerned with our equipment choices, we see flyfishing not as a destination but as a journey, etc. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]We are serious about our flyfishing. When we can’t actually do it, we want to read about it, or watch videos about it, or discuss it with like-minded other anglers. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]This has nothing to do with our individual level of experience, or with the gear we do own. It reflects a mind set that is shared with raw novices and grizzled veterans alike, with fishermen using box-store rods & reels as well as those with $3,000 custom rods. [/#800000][/font]
[#800000][font "Tahoma"] [/font][/#800000]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]Of course, you find this syndrome in any outdoor sport. If anything, a larger proportion of flyfishers share this mind set than in other sports. But the fact is, those of us who do are still a distinct minority compared to the population of flyfishers as a whole. We are out on the edge of the bell curve, not in the middle of it. [/#800000][/font]
>Now "catch & release" is used as a public relations banner by people who's idea of releasing a fish, particularly an undersized one, is to rip it off the hook and toss it as far from the boat as they can.
“Can you provide an example of this scenario?” <
Ever been to a bass fishing tournament and seen how they release fish when the cameras aren’t pointed at them? B.A.S.S. developed a catch & release ethic only when it came under fire for its negative impact on the fishery. And still uses it as a slogan. But it does not represent a true concern with the resource as anything more than something to be exploited.
>“Unfortunately many organizations/groups have a political agenda in one form of another so are you advocating dropping out and just let the world go by?<
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I’m not advocating anything. Just making an observation.[/#800000][/font]
>If you were the president & co-founder of your chapter instead of dropping out why didn’t you stay & fight the system?” <
[font "Times New Roman"] [/font]
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I offered those comments merely to demonstrate that I wasn’t some outsider taking shots at TU, but as somebody who had spent many years as a member; as somebody who supported conservation efforts as well as being a fisherman.[/#800000][/font]
I had moved away from the area of that chapter long before I quit TU. And was a member down here for a progressively frustrating time. The precipitous cause was a geographic reorganization that put a real cold-water problem so far on the back burner that it may as well have not existed, while corporate pursued more politically charged issues. I decided that if the native trout of Appalachia weren’t important enough for TU, it could pursue its goals without my money.
I haven’t been to NZ, Patagonia, Canada, Belize or any other exotic places to fly fish.
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I really don’t understand how this enters the discussion. With the exception of Canada I haven’t been to any of those places either. Nor would it matter one way or another whether you or I had been to them.[/#800000][/font]
>A local river will do me just fine, although I might have travel a few hours to find one.<
[font "Tahoma"][#800000]I reckon that describes just about anybody on this forum. We fish locally, and maybe dream globally. And if the opportunity presents itself, we jump at the chance to fish a famed river. [/#800000][/font]
Do I love fishing Montana? You betcha. But I certainly don’t sneer at local waters because I know about others that might be better---or at least more storied.
Have you read John Gierach’s story, “I’d Fish Anyone’s St. Vrain?” That describes me perfectly. And I suspect you, too. And if not all of us here at the BFT flyfishing forum, certainly the majority of us.
“I think not.”
Which is what makes a horserace. But there’s no sense arguing the point. Soon enough we will know.
“One final point is that I have made numerous friends here at the BFT. Some just on-line and others getting out to fish together. Like the Mods on this forum are great people & I value the experience of knowing them.”
Maybe I’m being oversensitive. But this implies that I took some kind of shots at the people here, which is most assuredly not the case. When I first started posting here I was immediately comfortable. “These are my kind of people,” I felt. And nothing has happened to change that.
Well, maybe the fact that McFly hasn’t sent my Patagonia vouchers yet. But that’s a different issue. [
]Brook
[url "http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com"]http://www.the-outdoor-sports-advisor.com[/url]
[signature]