The definition of Fly Fishing is relevant to fishermen only when it is incorporated in public policy; for example, when certain waters are set aside as Fly Fishing Only (FFO). Sundry definitions of this sport have been asserted by different states and provinces. Some have been legally correct but largely ignored, such as clear prohibitions against attaching dropper flies to the hook bend of a fly; others have been so vague as to be useless. However, with the exception of some of the Canadian Maritime Provinces, all the FFO definitions since approximately 1992 have permitted the use of weight on line and/or leader and/or fly.
What should be mentioned is that the pre-1992 definition of "fly
fishing" which proscribed the use of weight on leader or line had an
important conservation role. As the famous outdoor writer Lee Wulff
noted, the use of unweighted flies, leader, and floating line provided
the trout with a sanctuary in the fast and/or deep water. This
principle of sanctuary was lost when states redefined "Fly
Fishing" to permit the use of weight. Once this occurred, designation
of fishing areas as "Fly Fishing Only" became unnecessary even absurd,
as the use of ultra-light spinning tackle would cast the weighted
flies, or weighted leader, more safely and effectively than a fly rod
and line. Having lost all conservation benefits, "Fly Fishing Only"
(FFO) sections would do well to be redesignated "Artificial Lure Only"
(ALO) providing more inclusive access to the fish with no incremental
harm to the fishery.
An additional benefit of the older, unweighted Fly Fishing was the
greater challenge it provided the fisherman. Fishing is, after all, a
sport, and like all outdoor sports, the level of difficulty in catching
the prey increases the sense of fulfillment for the angler. Making
things easier, necessarily diminishes the earned satisfaction. Geo.
LaBranche, a wonderful angling writer of the 1910-1920 period, recorded
an instance of having to make twenty-five careful casts to the same
brown trout before he could lure him up through four feet of water to
take a fly. That is a fisherman fishing.
Comments
Mon, 17.11.2008 13:50
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Mon, 17.11.2008 13:10
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Fri, 14.11.2008 10:26
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Thu, 13.11.2008 13:56
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Tue, 28.10.2008 00:30
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