I was watching a flyfishing show, On the Rise/Episode 4, this past weekend..the Barrett production, the one where the guy pulls the trailer with the trout spots on the sides (On The Rise w/Frank Smethurst) and he is spey fishing for steelhead on the Deschutes R. last summer. Smethurst struggles casting and swinging a fly and has all manner of excuses why the odds are against him. Later in the show, he uses someones level wind and is using a blue size 4 spinner and gets a five pound steelhead. I was shocked at the insertion of hardware into a flyfishing show. This week (episode 5) on the Metolius R. Smethurst stayed with fly gear (regs required) and caught nice Bull Trout. He redeemed himself.
Well, as I thought about it I thought, hell I fish hardware now and then and the question occured to me that with that occasional deviation (using hardware) why do I fish with flies 90+ % of the time? I just love the whole process and there is no elitist overtones about it. I even started steelhead fishing with drift gear, a slinky and flies and was very successful. I am not a great spey caster or single handed caster, yet I stick with flyfishing and all that goes with it. No elitism. No exclusivity. Just overwhelming enjoyment. I think I was disappointed in Smethurst because he gave up so easily and looked sheepish at the conclusion of the show…but I can’t be too hypocritical. Of course, I don’t host a glossy, flyfishing show either.
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