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We’re here for our fifth annual Airing of Grievances episode. We do this every June, at the end of the spring seasons of the podcast. We do it to have some fun, and we do it because it’s helpful to call out the bad things and try to make them better.
We also do this because Frank Costanza from Seinfeld once said . . . “I gotta lotta problems with you people, and now . . . you’re gonna here about it.”
So we’re here to complain about things, to clear the air and to get things off our chests about the fly fishing industry. And that means just about everyone involved, from the big fly fishing companies and brands, to the start ups. From the fly shops to the guides that work for them. From the independent, part-time guide, to the die-hard angler, to the weekend warrior and to the fisherman who has become fly-fishing-curious in the last few months. Everyone. No exceptions. And that starts with our own self-grievances.
After a few years of doing this and getting so many replies from other anglers with their own gripes, we decided to open up the grievances episode to YOU, the listeners. We did that for the first time last year, and this year we have more submissions than ever. So we’ve compiled a list of the most common grievances with the fly fishing industry. And no one is safe.
Joining me are Austin Dando, Bill Dell, Trevor Smith and Matt Grobe.
Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances — One
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances — Two
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances — Three
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances — Four
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Season 19 concludes next week. So look for that in your Troutbitten podcast feed.
Fish hard, friends.
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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
Interesting discussion. I have fly fishing long enough to have a perspective of pre “That Movie” and post. The biggest positive with growth of people fly fishing is the innovation that came with that growth. Neoprene waders to breathable, fly lines, and all the other gear we use. The negative with so many people out there it the waters receive so much pressure. It’s harder and harder to find a solitude, quiet day on the water. Along with the crowds I feel more can be done to extend regulations to guard the resource.
Grievance- well one thing that comes to mind is why barbless hooks are not encourage more. Never understood why they are more expensive and don’t occupy the most space on the store racks.
Good stuff. From my perspective, barbless hooks are very common now. Funny, I’m sure it’s just my frame of reference.
As usual, I enjoyed your ‘grievance’ session. Agree with most of the discussion, especially over-crowding and rude behavior. However, I do take issue with the comments that implied we’ve lost “culture of conservation.” Certainly there are folks today who are clueless — or downright criminal — about how to treat our resources. But let’s be clear that the reason we have harvest limits on almost all game (fish, birds, deer, etc) is the over-harvesting that used to be the norm. We’ve all seen the pictures of 50-100 trout on a stringer or 10 deer hanging from trees. That was the norm until the populations of these species declined so dramatically from over-harvesting that regulations were implemented. And also let’s give credit to the Clean Air & Water Acts that has protected our streams & rivers from pollution that decimated many streams (remember acid rain?).
I enjoy listening to your podcasts. Not only for the enormous amount of great information but the manner in which you present it. It’s akin to the hunting and fishing outings where guys from different generations get together at the end of the day to share what they saw, learned, and possibly harvested. The key point is the sharing of experiences and accumulated knowledge. Unfortunately I feel that latter aspect frequently is lacking, particularly with some new to the sport.
While social media does disseminate a lot of good information, it also makes it easy for individuals and the industry to flood the platform with unvetted, minimally thought out info. Individuals with limited experience will have a hard time distinguishing between solid advice and click bait.
One concept that may not have been touched on in this episode is that part of the issue sits with the audience. Many are not interested in learning the intricacies of fly fishing. Curiosity in the ebbs and flows of the day, the hatches, the fish behavior is lacking . And etiquette frequently is the last thing on there minds, if at all. They simply want to catch big fish to be able to post or brag about to others. It’s all about them and has little to do with the resource. Seems they haven’t yet learned that a trophy you haven’t earned isn’t really a trophy at all.
As you all said on the podcast, it’s not everyone that is so self-centered. But it only takes one on the stream to spoil the experience for dozens of others. So I’ll go out of my way to help someone who appears to be struggling if they want my help. With such an influx of newbies, hopefully the more people that we can help truly engage the spirit of the sport will completely overshadow those who choose to remain uninformed.