It used to be that the fly fishers I met were "kinda tweedy," As in full of it. do gooder, elitist snob, "I know what's best for you" knuckleheads. Not that I would ever be judgmental!

But now I find that many of the fly guys have spent lots of time behind gear, and the gear heads have more than one fly set up. As somebody said, the delivery system may vary but the water, fish, etc are generally the same.

I have picked up fly fishing because some of my buds fly fish and if I want to be in the play group that's what I do, and gladly. And it's a lot of fun.

And now, I'm getting stuck on learning about these gol durn bugs and where they live and how to tie them. Loads of fun.

Just got back from Eugene (gotta say "Go Ducks" on this one) and read ""Barr Flies" going down and "Bug Water" coming back both via train. Good reads for understanding trout, at least, and the things they eat.

As many here know, I am into helping stay out of the way on what our fishie friends do to survive, and I learned a lot from these books. For example, all these bugs are the transition point between plant matter and fish; they consume plant matter and turn it into the first available source of protein in these systems. I used to think that the health of the fish was the key indicator to a system's health, now I'm starting to think it is the bugs' health.