A purist - what is one?
Recently I was called "that dry fly purist" - I
was not sure if it was meant as a compliment or an insult or whether it actually
was one. This came about because I had commented about a fisherman on the
opposite bank who walked straight past my clients who had been stalking some
rising fish very patiently. Just walking past would have been one thing -
annoying if he spooked the fish. But in this case he fished through with a brass
headed nymph casting to every likely spot without even waiting to see if any
fish were rising. This was in the end of May when the fish were coming up to
Mayflies.
Maybe I am a purist but during the Mayfly period when fish are rising there is
no need to use a nymph.
When you are fishing and you are approaching someone on the opposite bank
it is common courtesy to step back from the water so as not to disturb the fish.
If they are not fishing then you can approach cautiously, bid them good day and
ask if they would mind if you fished through.
I feel that the etiquette of the sport is being lost. Or is it that manners are being lost everywhere.