Thus Sayeth...Me

I am an opinionated old goat and I admit it. At this stage of my life I have gotten beyond caring what people think of me and so I figure that gives me the ability to say and offer opinions on anything I want.
Don't like it? Sorry but it is what it is.
My close friends know my heart and they know that my beliefs, especially about fly fishing and fishing in general, are born out of experience.
Call me irascible or call me an asshole because it really does not matter much.
So with that disclaimer in mind I shall proceed with the "Fly fishing gospel according to Shane"
Many of these you have read before on other blog entries but some are new and remember it usually takes me a day or two to go back through and correct typos.

Strike Indicators - Not fly fishing and never will be! It's a gadget to shorten the learning curve and catch fish.

Internet fishing forums - I think these have been the bane of civilized fishing. Greedy and opportunistic Pacific northwest fishing website owners making a buck on our fishing resource and giving nothing back except for crowded rivers and rude people.

Wild fish - The life blood of our sport and we should do anything and everything to protect them. If it means not fishing at all for the good of a population of wild salmonids then so be it. I can live without playing catch and release on certain depressed wild fish populations! Can you?

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife - A top heavy agencies full of arrogant save asses who do not care about protecting our wild salmonids...just that simple!

Bait - The gear fishing equivalent to fly fishers using indicators. Show me a spinner or spoon angler or a good drift fisherman and I will show you a skilled angler. Any idiot can use bait and catch fish. To put a bait scent on your fly is as beyond contempt as using your bamboo fly rod to dunk worms.

Side drifting - Same as a bait angler...no skills necessary

Armchair or bar stool fishery biologists - Anyone can cut and paste to try to look smart and well read. You sit on your ass all day in front of a computer offering your unsolicited opinion then you are not a well person.

Hatchery steelhead - A necessary evil to satisfy the harvest mentality. Properly managed hatchery steelhead can have minimal impact on wild populations but they are not properly managed.

Steelhead broodstock programs - Evil and could spell the doom of wild steelhead as we know them. This is little more than a welfare program for bait guides.

Bamboo - If anything is pure and sacred in fly fishing it is this. At the risk of sounding elitist many are not worthy or skilled enough to have one of these rods.

Single Malt Scotch - The nectar of the gods.

Photos of wild trout - If it's not a unique, large or first fish then we don't really care. The time you had that 12 inch redside out of the water for your glory shot might well have spelled it's doom. If it's a hatchery pellet head then who cares! Kill it and grill it!

Bass - To quote Henning Hale-Orviston "The largemouth bass (or smallmouth bass) is an outlander, a devouring pestilence, a freakish invader to the salubrious waters to the north and northwest"
Unfortunately these "outlanders" are thriving here in the Pacific northwest and there is little that can be done.

Carp - While they might be great sport they are still ..ahem..CARP for crying out loud! They eat feces for crying out loud and any fly fisherman using quality tackle while angling for these "rough" fish should be doomed to an eternity of watching videos of Jimmy Houston fish for bass with George Bush.

The Metolius river - If there is a heaven then the rivers in heaven will look like this.

The Deschutes River - It's like that wild girlfriend you dreamt about as a teen. Cannot be controlled so it should be enjoyed and revered.

Fly fishing traditions - They may seem silly to some but if our sport is to be considered anything more than just fishing then at least a nodding respect to fly fishing traditions should be considered don't' you think?
You don't have to use bamboo rods or gut leaders to respect tradition...it is what sets this type of angling apart and why some of us find it so alluring.

So there you have it friends! If at anytime while reading this latest diatribe from me you were offended or felt I was singling you out then tough shit! I probably was.
Feel free to send comments if you like but don't be surprised if I nuke them and they do not see the light of day.