Where Have They Gone?

It's a cliché that some of fly fishing's greatest rewards are immaterial. But the experience leading to those rewards is to a large extent defined by the material items though which we practice the sport, and for some fishermen, these items are almost as interesting as fishing itself. Think of the arguments that rage ad nauseumover bamboo vs. graphite rods, fluoro vs. mono leaders, small vs. large arbor reels, etc. Many of us like to think of fishing as a means of "getting back to nature," but to commence fly fishing (or any specialized pursuit) is to enter a distinctive realm of commerce and manufacturing.

Yet like the realm of nature, it changes and evolves over time. This morning, the owner of a New Hampshire fly shop I've patronized a few times took stock of this fact, prompted by the task of sorting through a few decades worth of old fishing magazines. The ads in them sketched a lost world, one dominated by names that have since disappeared or fallen from favor.

Remember Fenwick rods? Pfleuger Medalist, or Martin reels? Red Ball waders? They were among the most prominently advertised products in a 1980 copy of Fly Fisherman the shop owner perused. All are still with us, but you no longer see many on the stream. Where once these graced the shelves of quality fly shops, they hang on now in discount stores (though they still can do the job--my first pair of Red Ball waders lasted longer than my first Orvis breatheables). In that same issue, he noted, Berkely advertised fly lines. They currently make an excellent and wideley used monofilament line (Trilene), but I didn't know they had ever made fly lines.

I wonder how my Teton, Reddington, or St. Croix gear will be regarded in thirty years. I guess I can ask people, as I'll likely still be using it, if I'm blessed to be living then.

Despite the restlessness of technological innovation and consumer desire, fishermen do hold on to certain simple, venerable items:

We cling to an old fashioned way of fishing and as much as we embrace new technology, we revel in still doing it the hard way. No new-fangled spinning reels for us. Today’s fly reel may be made of space-age metals and have a drag that will stop a freight train, but it better be single action. Lord forbid that one of us is ever found with an electronic fish finder. As much as we love plastic rods, we still love wooden landing nets. The use of motor boats is OK, but a wooden drift boat has a whole lot more romance and that is the way we like it.

Maybe what this means is, we embrace those material items consistent with the pursuit of fly-fishing's legendary immaterial satisfactions.

******************************************************

If I don't get back here over the weekend, Happy New Year to all.