The Pragmatic Fly Fisherman


Cypress Point Pompano







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Pragmatic: Dealing with events in the light of practical lessons or applications.

With over 40 years of fly fishing experience in various parts of the United States I decided it would be fun to share some of the lessons I have learned along the way.  At the time I started fly fishing I lived in Oklahoma and there were few practitioners of this wonderfully exciting sport and even fewer resources available to teach a twelve year old boy how tie flies or cast them to a fish.  These were the days when Herter's was the King of suppliers for fly tying materials and Ray Bergman's Trout was one of the most authoritative references on fly and spin fishing I could find on the public library bookshelves.  That said, join me as we take a journey through time and geography and see what lessons we can learn along the way.

During this journey we will look at some of the many different species of fish susceptible to the lure of a fly, where to find them, and finally what kind of tackle is appropriate for the species and water being fished.  In addition, we will explore some of the skills required to be successful at finding, hooking, and landing our quarry, be it the humble fresh water Bluegill or the explosive salt water Snook.  Lastly, we will look at tying our own flies, not because it is necessary to fly fishing, but because it adds an extra dimension to the sport in addition to providing a way to pass the time between fishing trips.

Navigation

Feel free to follow the links on these pages according to your interest.  Each section of this site is designed to stand alone.  Also feel free to disagree with me as you go along. I disagree with many of the "experts" on numerous topics,  yet I still find it possible to catch fish.  This reminds me, the pragmatic fly fisherman understands that fly fishing is about catching fish, even if he releases all or most of them.

Disclaimer

For the general case, I use the masculine gender throughout this site.  I am of that gender myself and old enough to remember the days when it was not politically incorrect to use the masculine gender when discussing pursuits that were at the time primarily masculine.  In fact, I am fairly sure the term "politically correct" was not in use while I was growing up.  If this offends you, so be it.  I fully acknowledge that many women are excellent fly fisherpersons, in some cases perhaps better than I.  However, the English language being what it is, it is painful to constantly write in a genderless fashion.  If the foregoing is acceptable to you, read on and (hopefully) enjoy these pages.