River Ethics

Originally Published May 5, 2017

Fly Fishing. 
This industry has grown fast, remarkably fast. When I first dipped my toes in the water of this sport there were far fewer anglers then there is today. 

I'm selfish with my river time, I admit it. I'm a creative and my soul is filled with hours and days spent on the water. I'm left with words and images that pour out of me and keep me up nights. The solitude of the sport is my favorite thing about it. There's a quiet, peacefulness that resonates within you and you're left with a soul that's filled up. But, it's hard to find solitude on the river now. Some days you go out and are left with all the holes occupied, squeezing in where you can when you meet a gracious angler. You drive for miles to get to your favorite backcountry stream only to be greeted by four other cars sporting the dreaded fly fishing sticker collection stamped on the rear window. 

I keep trying to remind myself that this is actually a good thing. The more people participating in the sport means more people advocating for clean water, public lands, etc... But more often than not, that's not actually the case. 

In the past month, I've witnessed angler neglect that is heartbreaking.
I've caught fish that bore the scathing dry handprint. 
I've found dead trout with barbed squirmy worms hooked down deep in their gill plates.
There've been wads of leader and tippet, paired with wounded flies laying on stream banks. 
I've seen anglers and guides alike purposefully snagging fish, just to say they "caught" something.
Not to mention the ridiculous amount of trash found not only on the banks but floating downstream. 
None of these occurrences have been a one-time thing, in fact, it's become more the rule than the exception. 

I'd like to hope that this is ignorance and not purposeful, but either way, it's harmful. 

After a few weeks of being pent up, I'm ready to spend some quality time on the river. 
hope to walk away full and not heartbroken.