I was at Pass Lake near Anacortes one day fishing with a bunch of folks from a Seattle fly shop. I was fishing out of my float tube when I see this young kid, about 3 or 4 years old run down to the waters edge and start casting his Snoopy Rod with only a casting plug, shouting to dad, who was also in a float tube, "Look at that cast, Dad!"

Some old curmugeon shouts "get that F%&$ing kid off this lake with that F&*$ing piece o' ****e gear."

There were immediately five or six of us who approached "Old Yeller" and told him to shut his yap.

This attitude does persist, somewhat within the fly fishing community, but I would guess it is the vocal minority. (You could also say the same for just about any other segment of our society, some folks are just dicks, plain and simple.)

United we stand, divided we fall.