Ethics
Ethics
The term ethics is not heard often in today's culture.
If we want to continue enjoying the sport of fly fishing and
preserve if for future generations, we must take some
responsibility. Read some of our visitors comments below.
The sport of fly fishing traces its history back to ancient Rome, when fish
outnumbered mankind enough not to worry about what seemed to be an endless supply of the
scaly beasts. Those days are over. Nowadays we do have to keep an eye on and take care of
our natural resources.
As fly fisherman our resources are streams, rivers, lakes, oceans, and the
countryside and shores around them. It has been readily apparent for years now that these
resources are in danger of being overwhelmed by us. Fish populations are down, pollution
levels are up, and mankind is the cause of it all. As the cause, it is our responsibility
to turn around, take a look at what we've done (and let others do), and do something about
the mess. If we don't we will lose it all, and fly fishing (all fishing for that matter)
will be lost forever.
Well, let's not complain about something and not be part of the solution. Following
are some things that you can do NOW, the NEXT time that you fish:
 Catch
and Release
Face it. The best part of fishing is feeling the tug on your line, fighting the good fight
with one of God's wild creatures, and bringing it in. Then what? Eat them all? Once you
have the fish in hand you've already done the most fun... so put it back!
I was raised in a family of farmers, hunters and fishermen. They never put anything back.
Take, take, take. But I've been paying attention over the last 30 years. I've watched fish
and wildlife populations drop everywhere, seriously dampening the enjoyment that I go out
there for. By all means... go fishing. Get out there and have a ball. But wake up, mature
a little.. put the fish back to catch again another day, so they can make baby fish to
continue the family tradition of being caught by wily fishermen.
Take a look at Catch &
Release to see how its done. Get involved with Trout
Unlimited.
I have used barbless hooks for years now, and I have not lost anything for lack of the
nasty little mouth gorging things. Good fishing does not rely on undue pain and suffering
of the opponent to land it. Try barbless fishing, you'll like it!
No
Littering
Don't you just hate all the trash you have to wade through in the "great
outdoors". Come on people, wake up! If you can carry a full container out fishing,
surely you can carry back the empty and toss it in the garbage where it belongs. "Out
there" is where the critters live, it's their home, keep it clean! Or
perhaps you're one of those who do not mind strangers tossing candy wrappers, beer cans or
full garbage bags into your front yard.
No
Trespassing
Check this out: when you see a good looking hole that's got to have some fish in it -- ask
the owner of the land if you can get in there. If he says no -- DON'T GO. More than likely
you will get in, amazingly enough you'll find that most people are
friendly and willing.
One
last thing -- YES, You ARE your brother's keeper! We are going to have
to work together to save what we've got. If you see someone doing it wrong, tell them. Ask
them to fix their blunder. No need to be a jerk about it, but don't let it go for nothin'.
Don't be a rubbernecker watching others hack the planet, get involved!
This ethics thing is BIG deal for us Fly Guys and Gals, if we would all
just think about what we have NOW perhaps more folks would get on the band wagon. We all
need to think of others while on-stream, sometimes the moment fogs our thinking. Respect
people who are fishing either ahead or below you, ask if it would be okay to fish a
riffle/pool when others are around, perhaps they are done or are resting it. I had a good
example of this last year in Idaho, the fall stream flows had the river low and each rock
visible below the clear cold waters. The hatches were good and the fish took up feeding
lies at each riffle and run. I wanted to cover several miles of river this day and elected
to take my drift boat. The fiberglass boat slid effortlessly over the slick rocks
revealing new water at each bend. As I moved around a large boulder I saw a man casting
tight to the opposite bank, he was covering the water well, as I moved closer he glanced
up toward me with a hurried look. I mentioned to my partner in the bow to get ready to
bail out and slow the boat so we could walk around this fellow. We did and as I moved
below him he stopped, turned and extended his hand to thank us for not putting
"his" fish down. As we talked he said three boats had passed him and each one
just cruised on by, putting down the fish in the process.I felt good about our new found
"guest", and thanked him for our little talk which revolved around Ethics and
flyfishing.
Think about it when you are out next time and give em' a break, what
goes around...
submitted by Glenn Wilson weelass@nwrain.com
I am a Michigander who has recently been
transplanted to the tropical city-state of Singapore. A couple of weeks ago I was invited
on a fishing junket by a business friend. I showed up at the jetty decked out in my
saltwater fly gear, much to the amusement of the other guests and to the horror of my
host. Everyone else was prepared for a day of handlining for the various reef fishes
(although few) found in Singapore. About four hours into the trip we had finally anchored
in a spot that could be conducive to fly fishing. To the rest of the people on the boat I
was not much more than a curiosity or madman for not following suit, but then again, once
a fly fisher, almost always so. I was purely dedicated to the problem at hand. I had
brought along my 10wt, a variety of heavily weighted flies and such for the job at hand.
We had just anchored between two islands on an incoming tide when I again made what seemed
to be a fruitless attempt at plying my favored fishing technique. About twenty minutes and
many casts after we had set anchor I received a rather large jolt on my line. Whatever it
was had felt that my 1/0 Seaducer was worth taking. I struck hard several times much to
the chagrin of the yet mysterious fish. Twenty, fifty,one hundred yards gone off the reel.
I began to make headway, or so I thought. Twenty minutes of give and take resulted in a
large figure in our sights. A few more strong retrieves of the line and the victim began
to come clear. A 15 kilo (about 35-40 pound) shark had slid alongside the port side of the
boat. Everyone was ecstatic, probably none more so than the boatman/captain. Now here is
the tricky/interesting part. From out of nowhere the boatman appeared with a large gaff
(big enough to capture an elephant!). Knowing the local culture, I knew that if this
wonderful adversary were to be boated it would wind up being served in someone's sharkfin
soup. This is something that I did not wish to happen. Without much hesitation, I pulled
my scissors to the leader and cut the magical beast free, much to the consternation of all
aboard. Needless to say, I was a virtual outcast for the remainder of the day, but in
myself I knew that I had just lived one of those few rare moments in ones fishing career.
submitted by Christopher Soule wayptsin@singnet.com.sg
Copyright © 1996-2005 administrator@killroys.com All rights
reserved.
Revised: 8/14/2005
"So, don't let your tackle rust, be kind
to our environment, and enjoy our 'gentle sport' to its fullest."
-- Killroy (1961-1999)
"FLY TYING. The
technique of fastening various materials on a hook to suggest real or
fancied flies, or other insects or food objects for the purpose of deceiving
fish."
A. McClane
The Wise Fishermen's Encyclopedia, 1951
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