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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Oh well…guess satire doesn't go over well with some. I was actually expecting more feedback like yours. Thanks for keeping us all honest.
^^that guy^^ has a right to his opinion. I just like the fact that he thinks my blog is overrated…meaning it has some sort of rating in the first place. Heck, his blog would probably end up in my blogroll…pretty much all of them do.
I agree with the grip & grin. I'm guilty of the floating hand. There's got to be a better way…like photography on a dinner plate…oops…
Gigging. That word always make me laugh. I enjoy your perspectives on this topic.
Now that's what I'm talking about.
“Trout Soup” border…does that come in full wallpaper?Hate is good. Keeps me in line.
I'd like to fly to South America to fish, but I have a car payment & mortgage to pay.Enjoy the latest issue Catch. In all seriousness, it's really good.
i would be remiss if I didn't give a shout-out to busch light and hamms for getting me this far. Any beer with the word Extra and Gold in it, sounds like something I could get down with.
I would love to do it a different way than the floating hand. But I usually fish alone and have only two arms.And a baby arm, not helpful for photography.Too much?
Sorry…It took 24 hours to read all 59 comments! Lol. Where do I start? Oh, btw…I don't want to grow a set, first of all. Moving on… “Yeah, flailing a 5-weight doesn't mean you automatically should write…” Mmmm…you didn't have to remind me. But, my last Sunday Tippets was pretty funny…(Linked to some Sasquatch blog) “When's the OBN going to stop giving away fishing gloves and lanterns and put together a meeting or conference or something…” I decided not to wait and put together the RMNP Frenzy in Co…and we didn't even have to put out nametags. = ) Go for it. A great post… Now off to find that “Trout Soup” border…
Blog posts that take 10 minutes to write and and an hour to read… That crap chaps my tail. And, as a fan of golden bones, GoPro cameras and, um, cows, this one stung a little. I will run the Bristol Bay thing up the flagpole… In the meantime, tell the EPA to put a stop to that Pebble Mine nonsense, would ya?
Definite mad props to you for the Frenzy. Sounds like a cool event…especially with so many of “us” in the same place. And yes, I totally enjoyed the references in that last Tippets, wonder if our friend the Squatch gets his wading boots…
I take offense to such comments, it took no more than 6 minutes to write…I'll see what I can do about the EPA (as I think you know, I'm not down with the mine project at all) but I don't think they read this blog…believe they prefer Owl Jones or something.
Wish I'd come up with this post. Way back when (OK, maybe 15 years), I read a piece about PBR's rebranding, where they wanted to remake the brand, aiming it at a younger, working class audience by giving it a slightly rebellious image. So all the guys who drink it because it signifies their excessive coolness are actually just working for the man.
Buffs dude. Buffs.
PBR… it's rare that I drink that stuff on purpose… I'm starting my own campaign to rebrand Hamm's as the next cool, hipster swill. I tried Lone Star… too provincial. Do they still make Schlitz?
I've never used one so I can't comment on that. The do seem to be everywhere though…I just remember 10 years ago when they doubled as a tube top on Survivor.
Thanks for popping in TC, I appreciate a nice ironic twist (re: PBR). I wish you had thought of this too, would have been curious about your ten.
waterproof camera, a 5″ micro tripod and time release setting goes a long what for Cheap.
Mike, you're my new hero and I'll have to admit this is a brilliant post. Not bad for a guy from PA!
That was just an avalanche of comments. WOW!I am with you on a few of those… PBR being way up there on the list. Others, I disagree with, but, that was likely the point.Overall, there is more stuff I love than stuff I hate, but that's kind of my personality too.
Yeah, us East Coast guys aren't all that bad.
Hey Bjorn – thanks for commenting, and actually, I'm glad you did. Gives me an opportunity to throw some context out there for this post.While I do dislike “sacred cows” (in anything) I really don't hate all of the above. Hate is a strong word and I really don't run my life that way. Anyone who knows me knows that. What the list above really is a compilation of: 1) personal opinion 2) things I've read and absorbed in discussions with other anglers3) an attempt to start discussion & dialog
Oh, and to cap it off…I guess it worked…
Glo bugs should have made your list. One of the few times I have hired a guide in my life was on the Mighty Mo near Wolf Creek. It was spring and the bows were heavy on the spawn. I started to tie on one of MY glo bug patterns that is particularly lethal on bows and was promptly shunned. He gave me that look, you know the one reserved for the guy that gets caught peeing in the pool. I was told proper trout fishermen do not use eggs and that he would tie on his bright bushy #14 pink “scud” with red bead head….hmmmm
Nice post. I'd add one more to the growing list: fly-fishing videos with the seemingly obligatory heavy metal/hard rock soundtrack. Fly-fishing is not an extreme sport, no matter how many guitars you lay over the top, how big the guy in the film's beard is, or how weird his clothes are. Time and a place, people.
You inspired my own post about sacred cows.http://bonefishonthebrain.com/2012/06/12/sacred-cows-that-really-should-be-sacred/
You said “graphite cane pole.” 🙂 See? this is why I love you man.
hahahahahaha! This is great!
Yeah, I get the Catch blowback. But how could you forget on-line flyfishing magazines in general.
Hamm's is the best. It's all over my instagram pictures. But then I'm no fly fishing guide (another sacred cow for consideration).Plus, being cheap and basically non-marketed, it's way more ironic than PBR, which is so ubiquitous in the FF world now that it's no longer ironic. Which is… ironic. Hmm.
Ok, I posted this comment on the Bonefish on the Brain blog first, but should probably put it here too since this site is the genesis of the discussion:Fly fishing is a declining sport. Like whitewater kayaking, monoskiing, and rollerblading, the sport reached a peak many years ago (1996 in fly fishing’s case) and has been declining consistently ever since. My sacred-cows-of-fly-fishing-that-should-be-butchered are those things that anglers revere but that in my opinion have contributed to the declining number of anglers taking part in the sport : 1 – Fly Tying – Yes, it feels great to pry a fly you tied from the lip of a big fish and yes it can, theoretically, save you money (but, who really saves money tying their own), and yes it can be a relaxing and creative way to pass the dark days between fishing outings. But get over it. With the plethora of good, cheap, fly distributers out there in internet land these days, and the high cost of materials because of the hackle-hair craze, the opportunity cost of tying your own flies has never been greater. Put down the vise, sell the obscure and rare hackle, order 100 flies for 50 cents/per online, and spend the time and money you saved actually FISHING. 2 – “Secret locations” or “Stream X” – I love scouring maps and google earth for those little blue lines that may or may not be my next new favorite secret fishing spot. I love being the only guy on the river and feeling like I’m the first person to discover and fish that lovely stretch chock full of big wild fish. But more than all that I love getting home and telling every single person I know about it, where it is, and where to find the fish. Anglers should be celebrating those places where we can still go out and catch fish. All of them. Period. Fishing is about the places, not about the fish. If it was about the fish, then we’d all be content dragging gill nets through swimming pools packed gill to gill with large fish). These places are our marketing department and the people that learn to love them often become defenders of those places (and those fish) when they are threatened. Some will say that advertising these “secret” places will bring the crowds and thus destroy the fishery. Hogwash. Sure, their may be an uptick in usage immediately after the “secret” spot is “discovered” and depending on how big a “secret” we’re talking about (for example a small cutthroat stream 20 miles down the trail vs a large northwest river where steelhead have been rediscovered) that uptick may be the new normal for that stretch of water. But so what? Those anglers have diverted themselves from some other stretch of water, and now that water has fewer anglers and less pressure and that secret spot now has that many more folks that can stand up at meetings, write letters, volunteer to build a better access trail, and support that sacred cow of a little fly shop in the town on the way to put-in.
3 – Fishing the Salt – I know, I know. Wrong blog to denigrate the god that is tarbonemitcudasnook, but I’m going to do it anyway. Not denigrate the actual fun that is fishing the salt, but denigrate our sport’s (and our media’s) fascination with fishing the salt. Fishing the salt is for old, rich, white guys. There. It is the definition of expensive and inaccessible. Nobody (used loosely) learns to fly fish, and learns to love fly fishing, by chasing bones or permit in Belize or the Bahamas. Our focus on this small aspect of fly fishing is helping to kill our sport. I am a skier. I ski about as much as I fish (about 50-70 days a year). And skiing has a similar problem (or has had a similar problem) with helicopter skiing. Helicopter skiing and fishing the salt are much the same. You can do them on the (relatively) cheap, but for the most part they are the domain of the professional guide, the rich white guy, the sponsored athlete, or the endowed “film” maker or writer. Sure regular folks get in there too, but that is the exception, not the rule. Fly fishing would do itself a lot of good to get back to what made it popular in the first place. Fun fishing, close to home. Keep it simple, stupid. The arcane obscurities of fly tying, shit, of flies in general (do you really need 25 variants of a zebra midge? 101 different variants of a wooly bugger?), our current fascination with $1500/day excursions in the salt, the need to keep “secret” all the spots that still have a healthy abundance of fish–all these things are sacred cows that should be sent to the closest slaughterhouse. And maybe then will we begin to see young and new people begin to love fishing again…
I hate buffs….but now wear one after having a huge carcinoma carved out of my neck last summmer….right above where a collared shirt ends. Skin cancer sucks.
Very interesting. I can easily relate to most of the cows mentioned, but as a very un-hip European I had to google long and hard to find what the acronym PBR means.
Solid Gold…….period
OK I admit I didn't read all the freaking posts here… however, I think I have something to add.. The reason that PBR is cool, and was ever cool, is because of Dennis Hopper and a film called Blue Velvet that most of you are probably to young to have heard about… Well there is a classic line in the film when Hopper's character – Frank Booth – a drugged out psycho wacko – is in a bar and th following ensues: Frank Booth: What kind of beer do you like?Jeffrey Beaumont: Heineken.Frank Booth: [shouting] Heineken? Fuck that shit! Pabst Blue Ribbon! THen he hoists the blue and red can and says 'F***in PBR, baby!;'.. and everyone else looks at him like he's nuts but then sorta goes along with him… yeah, hey, great beer.. because they are too scared of offending him.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snhiofL2Rh4 going anon just cuz it takes too long any other way..
You knocked this one out of the park, good sir. (And coming from a Pittsburgher, that's high praise, considering we see precious little of that at PNC Park from our Pirates)While I don't feel quite as strongly about DeYoung & Deeter, you made up for it in droves by including Bristol Bay (what about fracking?!) and “Support your local fly shop” that one REALLY burns me, especially when I hear people effectively say that they are allowed to treat you like crap because business if tough for them. What a load of bull.I'd have instantly added this tenkara nonsense to the list, right alongside the glorification of average-to-small warmwater fare (panfish & LMB), and the 'boutique gear' from 'independent manufacturers' that is of similar quality and price to the stuff from the big names.An odd point of oblique (dis)agreement is PBR. While I don't claim to be any sort of beer expert, I am definitely a “beer nerd” who knows the difference and significance of brettanomyces and isohumulones, and who gets paid to taste beer.That being said, while I'd never choose PBR over a good craft IPA, in some of the backwoods areas I fish, the bars serve ONLY Budmilloors and PBR, and compared to most other light american lagers, it's really fairly decent.Thanks.Oh! And despite what you said about us slacker bloggers, you may have just inspired me to get back into it. So you have only yourself to blame for that one. 😉
Word.
I too have gotten tired of the glorification of carp. Fun to fish for, can be challenging, ect, but whenever I hear “golden bones” I think you could just as easily have called them golden trash and enough with the hype.And fly shops… in my experience, most of them are staffed by arrogant jerks. I don't know how many times I have heard them trash their customers, mainly the poor noobs, as soon as the door shuts.
Oh, by the way, I think you need to set up an OBN-clave. Maybe call it the Pennsylvania Assembly of Bloggers by Sir Troutrageous!…ya know…PABST! for short…
Gary – Funny, I have both, yet lack the initiative, or better yet the cool with a landed fish in hand, to use them in tandem.
RM – a respectable point of view.
Love it Bjorn!
Not sure if that would fit in sacred cow territory, but I understand the conflict you outlined. Heck, there's too many “divisions” in fly fishing if you ask me, tie on those glo bugs and pee in the pool…just warn me first before doing the latter.
I've noticed an increasing trend towards punk…not ready to persecute yet, but I see where you're coming from.
Everybody knows I love tenkara. I also find some humor in the “controversy” that surrounds it. Moses Harrison would be proud.
Thanks WYOTA.
My beef isn't with the magazines, it's more so the bloggers, tweeters, etc…that feel the need to announce their monthly arrival. I only think I read three regularly anyway. Catch is one of them.
Thanks for the extended comment. In line with a lot with what you said. While I didn't include #1, I totally agree and it was on my original short list. Wanted to keep it to ten. I tie about 1/4 of the flies I use, mainly nymphs…and honestly don't feel any less of a fly fisher for doing such.