There deffinately is a time and a place for all techniques. Bait, gear , fly, all have advantages and disadvantages. As sportfishermen grow they develop their skills and quite often prefer to employ more challenging techniques. Personally I was tiring of catching fish with bait and gear. It was becoming to easy. I was tired of spending days curing roe, pumping shrimp at midnight in February, then going out and catching fish in the exact same spot, with the exact same method. I started experimenting with different techniques. Strictly jigs ( back when people thought jigs were for sun fish ), then spoons exclusively, spinners etc. It was a great way to devlop as a fisherman and better understand water hydraulics and fish behavior. The move to strictly fly fish was a natural progression. It was the only thing left to do. The art of floating a piece of roe or a jig helped with my nymphing techniques. Swinging a spoon is so very similar to swinging flies. ( I've told a few elitist fly fishermen this and they cringe ) Evolving as an angler and moving onto different fisheries and techniques also opens the door for others to enjoy the sport. Standing on the same rock day in and day out does no good for your skills or the fishery. It just congests the river even more. Move on and try different things. The cost of fishing the Vedder 10 times ( food, gas, gear, etc...) adds up. Stay home for a while, pocket your cash and go on a trip and try something new. Let someone else have that rock to hone their skills until they begin to evolve as well.
But the most important thing to remember through the natural progression of becoming a well rounded angler is not forgetting how you got there. Being an elitist tells me one thing. You are not a well rounded angler. There is nothing wrong with bait, gear, or flies. There is something wrong with only fishing one way and never devoping your skills and evolving into a better, more complete angler.
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Topic: Bait Fishing ?? (Read 4970 times)