What is fly fishing to you?

[Charlie Gonzales]

I have been watching a local youtuber that strictly euro nymphs. He has about a 9 foot leader out his rod tip and straight mono all the way to his reel; the fly line never comes off the real. This technique could easily be accomplished on a spinning outfit.

To me, fly fishing is utilizing a fly line to create energy in a rod to present a fly or flies.

What is your definition?

Not hating on anyone or bashing, just curious.....

[Mark Kranhold]

I feel the same Charlie! It’s so enjoyable to cast, feel the load and watch a nice loop come off the rod tip and get that fly in the right zone, right behind that rock, or on the edge of that seam, being on a dry or a swung fly. I believe most hardcore euro nymphers don’t even use fly line, I’ve seen just mono spooled up on their fly reels.

Flyfishing has slowly morphed in with conventional over the years, that being said, the plastic bobbers to tying materials. Rubber this , plastic that, it’s not just furs and feathers anymore. I guess it’s a numbers game to a lot of people, that’s where the indo rigs and euro nymphing come into play and like you said could be done with a spinning outfit.

Bobbers are way to much work stack mending and stack mending until your arm falls off or get tennis elbow, not to enjoyable and relaxing. To me being on the water making a great cast, listening to the water, birds, dissecting a run, getting away from people is what I enjoy about flyfishing, it feeds the soul...oh and an occasional fish would be nice too!

[tcorfey]

I am with you Charlie and Mark. To me fly fishing means using the weight of the fly line to deliver/present your fly.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

This is my perfect opportunity to piss off thousands.....yahoo.

I will use senility as my excuse.

Well, as soon as you are not casting and forming a loop you are no long fly fishing.

I think we need other categories? new names for these non-fly fishing techniques.

I sold fly fishing equipment for over 50 years so I saw everything that came and went all those years.

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Here is what made me very sad.......

I would get this person in who wants to catch half-pounders down on the American.

I tell them they need a light rod, floating line, 9' leader to 3x and a #12 nymph of your choice.

Then comes the sad question, "Where do I put my indicator?"

I say, "Leave it in your pocket."

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You can blame all this on the "fly fishing" guides.......

Without an indicator they could never get enough action to have repeat customers or get a big tip.

Sorry, this is the sad facts..............not up for discussion.

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I have customers who only fish from a drift boat with a top guides with indicators on the Trinity, Sacramento and Yuba rivers.

Hundreds of these guys have never fished an hour anywhere without a guide and indicator?

You take a top Trinity river indicator Steelhead guide and two of his well trained best customers and they can catch more fish in a day

than a classic fly fisher will catch in a year. I guess it is all about numbers? And these guys think they are "bad ass"?

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While most are promoting the indicator method as the "go to deal" I am still trying to promote classic fly fishing.....

For the past decades for all species all over the world I only fish a floating line, leader and hand tied fly.

This is Peacock Bass, Dorado, Roosterfish, Tarpon, Snook, trout, Steelhead. bass, panfish, etc ......everything.

If I can not cast I don't want to do it.........



Rather than get mad a me why don't you rethink your own idea of fly fishing?

.

[BobVP]

What a great question.

It took me a few decades to figure out that while I may have been "fly fishing" for a long time I had never really been "fly casting" with any real understanding of that part of the sport. So I have, in my head, split the one sport into two...then put them back, over the past 16-18 years, into one and with that I cannot agree more with what Bill wrote above.

For me fly fishing is a myriad of things beyond the fly, fly rod, line, leader (sans indicator), the cast and the innumerable leaves, branches, rocks and the (just once) flying rodent that gets the fly before it hits the water. I need to put myself into a place where wild fish live to feel like I am fly fishing these days. While I have "fished" using a fly rod for a few other fish over the years (rock fish, albacore...) that was not flyfishing, that was fishing using a rod built to cast....not much casting involved. I no longer do that. When I want "meat" I use the path that is easiest.

The cast, be it short or stretching my abilities at distance or even the "Fall River Twitch, becomes an important part of fooling a fish as does choosing the fly, leader and approach. Having had some great instruction (later in life) about the casting changed the feeling for what constituted the entire sport and I am grateful for the change.

Is Tenkara fly fishing...someone asked. Hmm, they use flies but there is no casting. Euro nymphing using all mono line? Again, flies are used for "bait". My feeling is call what you do exactly what you want to call it. I will not say, "That is not fly fishing", but it is not what I do to fly fish.

Add some split shot? Gosh, I am guilty of that as I love to catch those beautiful McCloud trout and they seem to live Under the rocks! So, yes I add split shot there but not so much it interferes with the cast.

Fly fishing to me is the "whole enchilada" of being there (where the fish are...or seem like they should be!); Planning to be there; Tying; Prepping (Change those old leaders); The drive; The walk; The waders...the leaks!; The osprey, bear, otter, beaver, other humans, the presentation, the take, the loss!, the hand net and release.

Difficult to explain...even fifty eight years after that first cast.

As Bill wrote: "This is my perfect opportunity to piss off thousands.....yahoo."

[Woodman]

Based on a lot of the responses, it seems like Kiene's and other places that sell Euro nymph rods, bobbers and tenkara rods should be called a tackle shop rather than a Fly Shop...

[TahoeJoe]

Tight Loop, thin leader
Small drift behind the boulder
Silvery fish takes

[Larry S]

BobVP;
Regarding your comment "Is Tenkara fly fishing...someone asked. Hmm, they use flies but there is no casting,"
I humbly and respectively must disagree. From rod tip to the fly might be 25 feet or so of line and leader.
I am a rank amateur at this, most of my efforts have been in my nephew's swimming pool; but, the cast needs to
be "spot on!"

Best to you,
Larry S
Sun Diego

[Darian]

This subject comes up periodically and tho it never seems to be resolved, its always interesting. To me, fly fishing is using a fly to catch fish or frogs, etc. Fly casting involves using a fly line to cast a fly. In my coastal ventures during winter I've used a fly rod/reel and running line with a pencil sinker, swivel, leader and hook to strip cast egg clusters during periods of off-color water. That didn't even seem like casting a fly. Personally, since I no longer fish for Salmon/Steelhead, I don't worry much about what kind of outfit anyone wants to use (even tho I choose to fish with a fly).

[Jcolin]

For me all fishing is done with a fly reel and rod. Personally wouldn't like just having mono on my reel, but definitely not because of purist reasons.

For bass fishing I love poppers on floating lines, but also fish subsurface with sinking lines when they won't hit topwater. I know the float n fly is a great for folks, but I've also had great luck fishing soft plastics on my fly rod with sinking lines, compared to Clousers etc, at least for largemouth.

Is it fly fishing? Probably not, and I really don't care. Not sure why it matters? When it comes to ethics and harming fish, of course I care, but other than that, really don't care what people think. I fish with a fly rod and reel as its what my dad taught me and don't even know how to fish with a spinning rod if I wanted to. I mean no disrespect, but really could not care less whether I'm a “real” fly fisherman or not when I'm bobber nymphing or swinging flies with sinking tips rather than floating lines etc. I believe when folks began nymphing early on some dry fly purists claimed it wasn't “real fly fishing”?

The irony is that the earliest patterns from what I understand were wet flies that were fished subsurface, probably on the swing!