Fly Fishing – Waving Feathers In The Air

To me fly fishing has always meant one thing; standing on the edge of the water waving feathers back and forth in the air. My disdain for fly fishing could stem from the fact that my fishing mentor always referred to fly fisherman as 'flea flickers' or it could come from the fact that I live in Montana and people assume that since I love fishing, that has to mean that I fly fish. Oh well, it is what it is, the point of the matter is that fly fishing has been interpreted to be somehow superior to other types of fishing and I don't like that.

Many anglers consider flea flicking to be an art. I take umbrage with this notion. My fishing techniques are every bit the art form that fly fishing professes itself to be. Using ultra light equipment, small hooks, fishing line no heavier than 4 lb. test, all add up to be every bit the art form that flea flicking supposedly is.

I had someone say to me the other day, "I'm going to learn how to fish, my boyfriend is taking me fly fishing!" I replied, "That's too bad", and she had no clue what I was referring to. I was referring to the fact that yet another person was going to be introduced to the spectacle of waving feathers back and forth in the air. I'm sure she won't stick with it, so there's really no harm, but my point is that because I love fishing, she assumed that it was fly fishing that I was into, and that I would care if some jag-off who's trying to get in her pants is going to let her stand next to him while he waves feathers back and forth in the air!

The bottom line is that, to me, fly fishing will always be nothing more than waving feathers back and forth in the air by individuals who take their hobby much too seriously. And if they could stop assuming that just because I love to catch fish, that I love to fly fish, that would be great too, because obviously nothing could be farther from the truth.


By Trevor Kugler

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