The Quiet Pool Reflection

In reflecting back on five years of doing this blog I am wondering if I have stayed true to what I wanted to accomplish with the Quiet Pool. I've made a few friends here over the years and a few more enemies too unfortunately. As I've grown older I guess I've become something of a cynic when it comes to human nature and have come to the determination that we humans are a failed and selfish species by in large. I have railed against ODFW, apathetic sports anglers, bait chuckers and even other fly fishermen and I firmly believe in the importance of wild fish and clean rivers. Those that have been the target of such wrath by me deserved it in my opinion and I remain unapologetic. Protecting wild salmon and steelhead along with banning bait cures and reforming hatchery practices are two things I believe in and always will.
I do feel, however, that I've gotten away from some of the beauty I've written about. When I wrote "The Soul of Fly Fishing" it was an examination of my own soul as it relates to this endeavour I've chosen to pursue.
I know there are many who know what it was I was trying to say but I fear most of it was lost on many people who read it.
I'm not about catching a mess of fish. If I was I would have stuck with conventional gear and bait! There are many people out there who catch  a lot more fish than me....big deal. Maybe it's silly to romanticize fly fishing the way some of us do but really it comes down to doing what makes you feel good and what you enjoy.Stress should never be a part of fly fishing. Enjoying what you are doing is! That is what it is all about for me and with the joy comes a deep and abiding reverence for the rivers and the wild trout and salmon that inhabit them.
Really that is the only agenda that I have ever had on this blog. The Quiet Pool is about fly fishing, conservation and life and to me that is what I am about in my angling experience. Too many times we tend to trivialize the importance of those things in our angling life that should be taken more serious. To marginalize wild fish is unpardonable if you call yourself a sportsman. We fly fishermen certainly do not have a monopoly on angling ethics but it seems like those groups that do the most good for the resource are mainly fly fishermen? Why is that?
So I am unsure how far I will take this blog but as long as I have something to say then I will say it.

Oh and one more thing.Using pegged trout beads and indicator causes blindness....cheers