Yeah, I hate ’em.
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| Not where chocolate milk comes from. Duh, that’s from chocolate goats. |
Here’s ten for you that revolve around fly fishing. I have more, but a list of ten seems about enough.
Why now? Because I feel like being opinionated for a change.
Starting with…
FASCINATION WITH PBR – Pssst…cool Montana fly fisher guy, you’re drinking the same beer attention-seeking hipsters do. The only acceptable PBR is this PBR.
BAMBOO RODS – Whatever…can I interest you in a rotary phone for $2,300? Wax this ferrule.
“SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL FLY SHOP” – Eh, not if they give crappy service…oh, and constantly whine about how “big boxes” & e-commerce are killing them. Adapt. Evolve. Move on.
CATCH MAGAZINE – It’s a great picture book. Any reason why every blogger, tweeter, & facebooker has to announce its monthly release?
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| A small sampling… |
GOLDEN BONES – I like carp, but enough with the glorification as the future of fly fishing crap already. I get it. They’re big. So is your mom and I don’t write article after article about her.
BRISTOL BAY/PEBBLE MINE – Okay, we heard you for the 14,023rd time. Enough. You’re past the point of being tuned out.
DEREK DEYOUNG – Ultra talented artist, but if I see his stuff on another t-shirt or fly box or toilet paper holder…
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| My art is mesmerizing…no? |
FLY FISHING BLOGS – Yeah, flailing a 5-weight doesn’t mean you automatically should write – and guess what, nobody reads your blog because it’s pretty damn uninteresting, just like mine. I blame the OBN. OK, not really. (Speaking of which, when’s the OBN going to stop giving away fishing gloves and lanterns and put together a meeting or conference or something, so you know, us outdoor bloggers can…ummm…network?)
KIRK DEETER – Total respect for the guy…and he’s originally from Pennsylvania. But writing for 107 publications/organizations/and trade rags may constitute as overexposure. Where are the comic books Deeter?
GO PRO CAMERAS – See fly fishing blogs above. You ain’t Yukon Goes Fishing.
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| Hawgdog55…you’re doing it wrong. |
I’d toss tenkara in there (I love the tool, but not the “simple is superior” complex that often accompanies it) but it already gets made fun of plenty. A graphite cane pole can’t be a sacred cow.
You got any sacred cows you want to pick on? I know you do. Let’s discuss.
C’mon, grow a set and add your own to the comments below…
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I have to disagree, hawtdog55 is doing it right. And if OBN were to do a conference it would be in Montana or somewhere else out west, making it moot for most east coasters. Should do something locally, there's enough SEPArrs to get something going. Maybe even let those from jersey in, if they promise to wash the jersey-crud off first.
I have to disagree about the writing of blogs. I have recently taken up fly fishing and after my extensive research decided to go with a 5 wt. And I flail boy oh boy to I flail.. But I wouldn't mind reading blogs from others beginners to find out how they working to become Fly Fisherman instead of flaiers. I do however have NO intention of starting a blog.. I do enjoy reading yours I must say..
How about over priced gear? No particular company, since everyone seems to like/hate something different. But why do I have to pay $750 dollars for a fly rod and $500 for a fly reel to fish for a 12 inch trout? Also, outdoor blogger networking meeting would be fantastic!
I love this post on many levels. So much more than normal, I question if you are the person who wrote it.Wax this ferrule….an instant classic.
Best T! post I've seen in awhile. I would have to agree with pretty much all of the above.I think “catch & release” is a huge sacred cow. Every time I've seen anything about someone keeping and mounting a trophy fish, the fish of a lifetime, he gets ridiculed by a bunch of holier than thou morons. C&R as a general rule is great, and I rarely ever keep any fish- once or twice a year while camping and the occasional limit of stocker trout. As long as everyone practices C&R most of the time, we'll be fine. That trophy fish is probably old anyway and looks better hanging on a wall, inspiring some young kid to get interested in fishing, than it ever would floating downstream dead.
It's T! Bomb. The whole thing is an instant classic. Fly fishing internet land, the T! has put us on notice. I have often wondered about the cult following of PBR among hipsters and fly fisherman. Are fly fisherman the hipsters of fishing? Hell, High Life is pretty hipster. So, is Hamms and Schmidts (what up Rainbow trout can? http://schmidtbeer.com/media/images/sideImages/ageVerification.png)Life reevaluation commence.
Only Cubs fans like PBR. No one likes Cubs fans.
Brilliant post. I would add this: the “trucker hat/beard/western shirt” combo jumped the shark a couple of years ago.
I like a piss warm pbr, and yes hipsters drink it but so did my grandfather. I hate the cubs. Most bloggers can't put together a coherent sentence, and the people that should be writing them are generally to busy fishing. Support your local fly shop, when was the last time you went in and asked for advice? awesome post.
SEPA conference? I like that. That's probably manageable. You're in charge of nametags.
You have honorable intentions my man. I wish more were like you, including myself.
I agree with you. That said, better spent on a fly rod than golf clubs.
Unfortunately I did write it…I was upset Singlebarbed has left us.
Catch and release was on my original list, I think I took it off for Derek DeYoung. That picture was just too good.
No need for a full re-evaluation. That Phillies hat you wear automatically absolves you of most sin…even though they painful to watch this year.
I'd have to agree with your second sentence. “Oh, we're lovable losers…” No you're not. Your team just sucks.
I like this one.
Great post – enjoyed it! Thank you for verifying that I'm not alone in my disdain of the “golden bones”. Simply not interested in them at all…there are too many other truly gorgeous fish out there to catch on a fly rod. I'll skip the carp.
Those are some classics. Golden bones. Ha ha. Maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like the total “list” of fishing and hunting blogs has kind of topped out into an ebb-and-flow. Don't know about Kirk Deeter – I think it's a little weird to call a writer “overexposed” especially when 99.999% of living humans, 90-95% of Americans, and probably 50-70% of anglers have ever even heard the man's name come up in conversation. I think he's a fine writer, and I aspire to that, but yes, like you, I do wonder how many writing and editing tasks a man can take on at one time, without visibly suffering in quality and/or quantity output.
And I'm happy to have posted both on how the Bristol Bay hysteria misses the mark, and how, with a Bass Pro 30 minutes from home, 2 Gander Mtns' 2 hours from home, and the PA Cabelas just 2.5 hours north of home, local gear shops (open 10-4, M-F, y'all!) are generally a waste of my time and money – quite unfortunately.
That picture definitely warranted inclusion in the list.
I like DeYoung but all of his paintings look the damned same.
One’s sacred cow is another’s target. My sometimes target/sacred cow: snobby fly fishing purists of any persuasion. If I want to land fish, don’t criticize me if I use other tactics short of electro shocking. It really doesn’t bother me if your net remains dry while you just “enjoy time on the water.”Now, pardon me while I post on my blog that GoPro video shot while visiting a showing of DeYoung’s art at a local fly shop that offered to anyone donating to the campaign against the Pebble Mine a free PBR and raffle ticket for one’s choice of a bamboo or tenkara rod.
Thanks man. The old heads at my trout club drink Coors Extra Gold. A 30 pack for $17 they tell me. That's where my cheap beer fix is coming from.
I don't mind if people catch them…I might try myself some ridiculously hot day this summer when no other creature on this planet would care to get up out of bed and feed on some goofy looking fly.
Post is great idea and comment generator. Sacred Cow: Reels in pictures with fish. This old dinosaur even remembers fishing without a camera was just as much, if not more fun.
Re: Deeter. I hear you. My point was if you pick up any magazine, read any website, or any of that stuff…there's either an article, commentary, foreward, or editorial job done by K.D. I don't know how the dude does it.
+1
Meh…can't fault a guy for his style. Doesn't mean I want it on a toothbrush.
…just make sure you mention the new issue of Catch Magazine too.
Thanks John. You gotta show off the hardware when you catch that 6″ bluegill.
Michael, you da man. Helps to let it all out once in a while. As for PBR, my dad drank two a day, every day for as long as I can remember. I, on the other hand, are a Coors Light kind of guy. Since all you guys are Phillie fans and hate the Cubs, I have to say Go Giants. After all, they have Buster Posey who manages to get the crap beat out of him every game, but keeps coming back. Mark
THANK YOU! Jeez are all of these were pissing me off. The PBR obsession doesn't make any sense to me, there are better tasting cheap beers out there. Add Czech nymphing to it, I was about to lose it this past winter hearing about it everywhere I looked. I get it, you like heavy nymphs dragging on the bottom of the stream, get over it.
Hey Mark…no you da man. Skimmed my copy of your book. Good stuff. Just trying my best to keep my paws off of it until next week…headed down to Florida. Need something to read on the plane.
No problem. Who knew so many people had such feelings. I thought the dementia was personal.
Only if I can determine what names I give to people. But in all seriousness, that would be something that I would be into.
Being an ol' fart, I have wondered this very thing for many years!
Mike, got to hand it to you. When you jump in, you jump in with both feet. I have to agree with the others. “What a great post and a thought provoker”. Synopsis = Enough Already!
Really? Just because you can't fish doesn't mean you have to be a douche to people who can. Get over yourself. Keep posting photos of you kids and tiny brook trout. Have fun paying your car payment and mortgage you ass.
The more I read the comments the more I see that you are the ego driven problem with fly fishing. Support your fly shop, fight pebble, and give these artists credit. But don't drink PBR. But really…? Never reading your stuff again.
Additional comments from ^^ that guy ^^ to be featured soon on his awesome 10 day old fly fishing blog, I think the title is something like “The Toronto Trout Bum,” or “Where's my 3X?” or “(Hook Size) 25 to Life!”Catch the stories now, before the post, titled “Moving On” publishes in another 7 weeks, saying stuff like, “I don't know what I wanted 'Tex Mex Trout on the Fly' to accomplish – but I know I achieved it – and so much more” and “this blog has taught me to fish harder. To be present. To be the fly line.”
Boy, someone needs to unplug. I guess if you push hard enough, sooner or later someone steps off the cliff. This is the internet people. Does anyone here really take this stuff seriously? Funny post Michael.I don't know about sacred cows, but the grip and grin has got to go. It would be great if we could establish a new standard to photograph the beauty of the creature, rather than the self absorbed glory of proving you were close to one, or worse yet squeezing one to death. Keep the gills in the water.
Carp? As a Hoosier, I know the only true way to get a carp is on a trot-line or gigging. Failing that you can hit them over the head with a tile spade and scoop them out of the water with it – as my father did with two 60 pounder buffalo one March day during a flood on our farm.
Been too busy fishing to think much about it, but, yeah, people can suck
Easy accolades from one of the few who got (well deserved) props in this post. Ha- joking, of course.
Wow, T! bares some fangs. I agree with the sacred cow thing, though not with all your targets- how dare you disparage Mr. DeYoung in this manner, and right after I put up his “Trout Soup” border in my kitchen. I don't believe carp are the future of fly fishing, but I grow tired of them being hissed at by elitists who practice catch and release.Very entertaining once again which, by the way, is the difference between Troutrageous and most fly fishing blogs.
By the way, it's pretty funny to see people who don't know you dishing out some hate. This was worth doing just to read the comments.
Awesome post.#11: Jason Jagger's photos of Rainbow Trout sipping bugs. They're great photos and he's a great guy but does every magazine have to run a half dozen?#12: Articles in fly fishing magazines about fishing for Golden Dorados in South America. Yeah they're pretty and I'm sure they put up a great fight, but who the f%&^ is flying to South America to fish?I'd dish some more but I just heard that the new Catch is out and I like to read it while waxing my ferrules.
Thanks Mel, your opinions are always welcome around here. Even if you do live in Colorado now.
That's a shame. I thoroughly enjoy contrasting opinion, and my ego & I welcome yours anytime.