Wands of Mass Destruction; The Man Who Saved Brad Pitt (and taught him how to fish!)

The Orvis company makes some nice fly rods, but periodically markets them as heavy weaponry. A while back, they introduced a line of rods under the name Trident. Guess what image appeared in ads for those--yep, a submarine thrusting out of the water like some colossal robotic trout rising to inhale a caddis. Not exactly in line with that idea of fly fishing as a quiet, genteel pursuit steeped in tradition and bordering on a spiritual practice (which they appeal to elsewhere in their catalogue). But apparently the rod was developed from graphite polymers originally created for military applications.

They're at it again. I got a new catalogue from Orvis yesterday which introduced their new Zero Gravity series rods. Where did these originate?

Zero Gravity rods are light, nimble, precise, and powerful but extremely durable. Sound like technology the military would be interested in? In fact, the technology behind the Zero G is military in origin, translated for use in fly rods by specialists in composite technology with high-level United States Defense Department security clearances. It was developed to increase the maneuverability, lifting power, and forward speed of helicopters like the Apache and Blackhawk II, while at the same time increasing blade durability and longevity. It’s safe to say that millions of tax dollars, yours and ours, have already gone into the research and development of this technology. We’re just putting it to different use!

Featured below this text in the hard-copy catalogue is a photo of a Predator drone aircraft in flight.

To me, this is a confusing juxtaposition. I like to go fishing to get away from the stresses and menaces of everyday life. I would never have dreamed that a trip to the river might become a plunge into the heart of the military-industrial complex. These allusions to overwhelming deadly force seem very much at odds with the basic strategy of fly fishing, which is to harmonize with and imitate parts of the fish's environment. It's a stoop-to-conquer proposition, not a matter of imposing terms.

But I suppose some NeoCons fish (Dick Cheney, for instance), and Orvis needs to reach them on their level. Why not go all the way, and emblazon the butts of these rods with some of those bellicose slogans that airmen paint on planes or missles, like "Death From Above!"

I know that most of the fishing gear we buy these days involves complex technologies, and is every bit as much an artifact of global capitalism as the car I drive to the river. There aren't too many villagers in picturesque huts turning out graphite rods and machined aluminum reels. But I think fishing can stand as a counterweight to the values that drive our economic and political life, and even in catalogue ad, it's a bit creepy to see it purposefully conflated with that life.

Last week, the man who was the fly fishing consultant for the film version of A River Runs Through It died in Montana. Judging from his obituary, I'd say his was a life pretty well lived, and least of all because of his brush with celebrity.