fly fishing, conservation and politics.
“I have found that fly-fishing can be a state of mind still found in quiescent pockets of solitude the moment one has unlocked the secret code of knowing where to look. And for me a bamboo rod will always be the perfect mantra to help find the way. For those who seek, there is a path. “
Jerry Kustich, In Dec. 2021 Sweetgrass newsletter
Could not have said it better.
I’m adding my voice to the increasing loud chorus of fly anglers who are tired of seeing “hero shots” of fish, especially trout. During this summer (or likely future) of high heat and water temps, the price of that ego stroke may very well be a dead fish. Ain’t nobody got time for that shit these days.
Todd and I wrote about this for MoJo awhile back > Fishing’s ‘Hero Pose’: How Do The Fish Feel?
Louis Cahill of Gink and Gasoline fame, wrote with a little more directness in Nobody Wants To See Your Rotting Corpse. Here is a taste that made my grumpy old man heart smile…
You want to prove you’re a better angler than everyone else? Just talk louder. That’s what every other beer swilling asshole at the local bar does! Just go down to the fly shop and blubber for an hour or two about how you only catch grass carp on 7X with dry flies and how everything else is bullshit. The end result will be the same. Everyone will know you’re an asshole and you don’t have to kill a fish and take out a Facebook ad to prove it!
Here’s a suggestion from TU’s Josh Duplechian Take photos of the scenery, not the fish while on the boat. This is why this is such a great suggestion.
Think about those fish photos you have. If you are like me you may have a hard time remembering where you caught it. Sure you may remember the river but what about the place where the fish ate the fly? For me that landscape shot, like the one below gets me thinking “yeah I remember that brookie eating right there…” Yup I’m reliving the moment all over again. The fish picture just won’t do that for me. Let’s ditch the hero shot for the scenery shot.
Respect the resource and lead by example. Keep the fish in the water and enjoy the moment for what it is. Now you’re a hero.
Each week, I have the pleasure of joining Mountain Journal founder Todd Wilkinson in our “The Week That Is,” column where we discuss topical events relating to the nation’s capital city and the public land West.
As Todd wrote in the intro, “some topics are treated either as taboo or approached with the certainty that any discussion about them will erupt on social media into an uncivil exchange of name-calling. Hunting is one of those. We find dualism most unfortunate because it leaves little room to have a reasonable conversation about hunting as a tradition, its role in advancing wildlife conservation and examining such topics as predator control. By fostering a dialog about trophy hunting and hunting ethics, Mountain Journal is not staking out a position as being “anti-hunting,” nor when giving hunters a voice, is it failing to the recognize the valid positions of animal rights and holding reverence for non-human animals as sentient beings.”
The second of the two-part conversation. Read part one by clicking here.
Each week, I have the pleasure of joining Mountain Journal founder Todd Wilkinson in our “The Week That Is,” column where we discuss topical events relating to the nation’s capital city and the public land West.
As Todd writes in the intro this week “some topics are treated either as taboo or approached with the certainty that any discussion about them will erupt on social media into an uncivil exchange of name-calling. Hunting is one of those. We find dualism most unfortunate because it leaves little room to have a reasonable conversation about hunting as a tradition, its role in advancing wildlife conservation and examining such topics as predator control. By fostering a dialog about trophy hunting and hunting ethics, Mountain Journal is not staking out a position as being “anti-hunting,” nor when giving hunters a voice, is it failing to the recognize the valid positions of animal rights and holding reverence for non-human animals as sentient beings.”
This is the first of a two-part conversation.
Each week, I have the pleasure of joining Mountain Journal founder Todd Wilkinson in our “The Week That Is,” column where we discuss topical events relating to the nation’s capital city and the public land West. On Monday’s you can read the previous week’s column here.
In this edition, the conversation turns to the battle over protecting the character of the Upper Madison River in Montana from overuse by anglers and how, more broadly, it raises questions about the real meaning of river conservation.
Backstory: Share the Love. Share the Poster.