Fishing Humor

There have been many attempts at creating a compendium of technical terms for fly fisherfolk; some are quite useful, but none capture the nuances of a language - flyfisherspeak - which is inherently context-sensitive. Parsing our fishing vocabulary is more physically critical than declining Latin (unless you are a declining Latin) for an error in translation may be severely injurious to one's health. For example, if you are strolling behind a line of salmon fishermen on the Salmon River in Pulaski and your companion says "Watch out for that slinky...", it is best not to casually look around for an attractive thirty-year-old blonde in a low-cut dress. These are fishermen whose cast can put you in one.

Flyfisherspeak is so subtle that communication between any two fly fisher persons meeting for the first time is an exercise in applied diplomacy [Diplomacy: "The art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock.” - Will Rogers]. So, as a diplomatic service to the fly fishing community, I wish to present the first Fly Fishing De-Glossary...