1. Trophy Shots
You know the ones I’m talking about. The angler is extending their arms, holding the fish as close as possible to the camera to make it look twice as big as it really is. It’s even worse when combined with a fish-eye lens. Flyfishing is not an extreme sport. If you need to distort the reality of your catch for the sake of your ego, you don’t really get flyfishing.
2. Hanging your fly rod on the back of your neck
Why? WHY? You think that makes you look cool? You just look like a poser.
3. Dramatic music in videos
The tagline of a popular flyfishing magazine is “the quiet sport”. Really? You could have fooled me. With all the glam videos on Youtube that make a day of flyfishing seem more like a rock concert than a retreat to nature you’d think it’s more worthy of Bassmasters than reverie. I go to a stream to get away from all of the drama of modern society and crappy heavy metal and rap music. Don’t force it on me when I can’t get out and have the small luxury of watching a video from someone who did. You’ll see what I mean starting at 00:52. Flyfishing should be humble. Don’t muck it up with your bad taste in superficial, loud music.
4. Wearing your Buff like a Bandit
Seriously, are you fishing or robbing a bank? Just put some damn sunscreen on! You look stupid and pretentious.
5. The San Ron Worm
This “fly” is a monstrosity. It’s ugly, uncouth, and is a dis to people who tie real flies. People might counter, “yeah, but it catches fish”. Well so does bait. So why not use a live worm if you’re so willing to rebel against the dignity of catching a fish with a real fly? The San Ron Worm is not a fly. It’s akin to Berkley Powerbait and if I ever tie one, just shoot me.
OK, I’ll bite.
I feel you on all of them except the Buff.
I was of a similar opinion until I moved to Florida last year.
I cover up head to toe now, Buff, long sleeve tees, the whole deal.
You can choose sunscreen, but I’ll choose to look stupid and pretentious.
The sun’s no joke.
Oh, and save the wild puffer ball. San Ron Worms must be stopped NOW.
Thanks Mike, remember, this post was filed under “humor” so take it with a grain of the saltwater you’ve now got in FL. 🙂
The number one and only thing I (think) that needs to stop is leading people around like sheep.
Amen. I’d add holding the rod in teeth while posing for fishy glamour shot. And as an outlaw I’d say the buff is okay. 🙂
so if it is humor, no hard feelings i will wear my trout camo buff like a bandit while i fish the san ron worm next time we get out?
Hey Karel, you can fish whatever you want. As long as you don’t put me to shame like last time. LOL.
The 2nd photo the lady is from British Columbia and her name is April Vokey and she is TV fishing host in Canada and WFN TV networks and famous spey fly fishing specialist. Here in British Columbia one of the best conservation laws in the world. Most wild fishes in the river either catch and release or no fishing at all. Here trout and salmon fishing must have barbless hook and only allow in some river hatchery fishes to keep, but limited to one to 4 max. That pic for her TV show photo and I think she know very well about the catch and release . here is she http://www.flydreamers.com/en/news/show/news-86/title/interview-with-april-vokey
Hey Baz, yeah, I know who April is and I respect her as an angler. Just making a joke about the trend I see in magazines, etc. of balancing the rod on the back of your neck. Not making fun of her.
Just wondering where is the rod supposed to go then? 😀
How about holding your tenkara rod in your teeth!! Talk about posing!! 😉
Todd – Can’t hold a tenkara rod in your teeth…where would the cigarette go?
I couldn’t possibly bring myself to agree with #2. April is looking pretty damn good with that rod behind her 😉
As someone who works in the sun, the buff thing should be an enforced rule on the river. The first time the dermatologist says that he needs to biopsy something you got fishing, you will regret your ignorance of fashion.
Ten colors of tekara? My color is the San Ron worm. 😛
Funny stuff Jason! made my day. Thanks.
If I did not know you are joking, I’d think you were turning into a grumpy old man of the worst kind: a Grumpy Purist Old Man. But you are too young and have too keen a sense of whimsy for that.
At 69 years old and chunk of my ear gone because of skin cancer, I will cover up any and all of my body I deem fit! I am long beyond worried about looking ridiculous!
I agree with #3 wholeheartedly!! As a matter of fact, I think that any fishing video that wants to have music playing in it MUST be required to play the following fisherman’s classic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3RrIIwtjl4 !!
LOL Pedro. I haven’t heard that song since I was a kid!
1. Take natural shots to show off the real fish.
2. Pretty much anything looks good if April Volky is also
is in the picture.
3.My hearing is not real good and I hate music during
dialogs in movies and videos when they get too loud.
I have no idea what the purpose of it is.
4.You must never have had melanoma, Jason. Not a joke
on this one. Surgery and treatment is not fun. The
sun is deadly.
5.I have had one of those titty balls for over a year.
Sorry Jason, but it’s time to give it a tie.
I agree with you on all counts,basically. However,I think music,if properly matched to the video in question,can make for a powerful combination,and as such is important.I really get browned off seeing kids wearing buffs covering most of their face, not in tropical regions where they can be a practical alternative to sunsreen’s,( though personally I prefer the latter )but I cringe when I see young kid’s here in Italy wearing them in all weather,it’s just “moda” I have no personal experience of having to resort to the worm ‘fly’,and the rod balanced on the neck is in the same catagory as the winter buff.The super wide angle lenses and close up shot’s really fool nobody except people who don’t know their fish,it’s impossible to make a relatively small fish like a bass look a hundred pounds without offending the intellect of serious anglers. Although it’s hard, we have to accept that fashion, trends, and posers are now firmly entrenched in our sport and are not going to disappear.
When the river is running high and washing red worms out of the bank, yes I will fish the San Juan Worm. I’ll be catching and you will be skunked…been there and done that. Thanks for the humor in this one especially the dramatic music in the video…great production…
Gotta say, the “polar” buff saved my face last weekend at Pyramid Lake (it was snowing in the mountains, hailed on us, and had wind gusts up to 40 mph). Sunscreen won’t keep you warm or protect you from wind burn.
Buffs are so Western homogenized ! Shemaghs all the way !
I’m a fan of the buff.
Damn you San Ron…damn you!!!
Somebody drank their haterade
Good stuff Jason! HOMERUN!
Trivia Time.
Interestingly, the aquatic worm, “Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri”, which is an “oligochaete, although distantly related to the common earthworm, is in fact a total fresh water dweller. And being one of the most common animals found in the shallow areas of streams, rivers, ponds and lakes, is as much a part of the ecosystem as the mayfly. It grows up to 2 inches long and is an important food source for all other aquatic animals, especially fish. In fact, some of the health of a stream can be attributed to this useful creature, as it proceeds to break down pollutants on the stream bottom. Although the San Juan worm is probably meant to imitate the aquatic worm, the real animal looks quite different, in that it coils up when uprooted from it’s home in the mud. Therefore, a better pattern would imitate this curled up attitude, which presents an image that trout are certainly familiar with (photos).
The nerd hath spoken 🙂
Handling fish carelessly, for extended periods, for photo-ops of fish destined to be released. Just let ’em go! Or do like I do sometimes; if it’s on the appropriate water with wild fish, and the fish deserves to be photographed, then kill it, photograph it, then EAT IT!!! Wild trout is yummy and healthy; don’t feel bad about cooking a few!!!
So nice that Tenkara pushes us to get out of the rat race of such expensive gear and trophy fish and back into nature.
Thankfully I live on a planet where people can choose as they please and we are all different. Maybe Jason the transplant wants us all to be the same, as him, wow, what a boring place that would be…
Rod in mouth. Stupidest thing I’ve ever seen. No humor intended.
Luckily we have a very diverse sport and fairly liberal laws to enjoy it. Limit your flies, tackle and techniques (dry flies only for example etc.) to challenge yourself or leave yourself open to many imitations or attractor patterns of all fish foods and any legal techniques to use them. To each their own!
Do I dare bring up the thing a ma bobber debat. I put them in the San Ron Worm boat.
I agree with you about silly poses, but at 69, and lucky to be still fit enough to clamber up and down steep brushy and/or rocky embankments (very carefully) to get to the fish, I am not as agile as I used to be, or as you younger folks. When I need four points of contact, the rod sometimes goes in my teeth. And just to end on a little smartass note regarding pictures; why compromise the health and survivability of a beautiful fish by lifting it in the air with your hands. Unhook it in the water and keep the memories in your mind’s eye.