Fly Fishing Guides

Fly Hackle

Why do fly fisherman seem to dislike spin and bait fishermen?

I’ve just swapped over from spin and bait casting to fly, I’ve found some wonderful people on local fishing board that have been a great help in tips places to fish and what flies to use. However the mention of using a worm etc. seems to raise everyones hackles up so fast I don’t dare ask further. I would love to hear what both sides have to say. ty

This is a good question and has been talked about here before to various extents.

I’m a bit like you — a hybrid fly-spin angler. I mostly fly fish now, but I drowned puh-lenty of worms before I started. As I made the trip from bait fishing to lures-only, and then to fly fishing, I ran into lots of snobs and snide remarks, but it goes both ways. In very general terms, fly anglers sometimes look down on bait anglers, and bait anglers are hostile toward fly anglers.

But you understand this. Your question is, why? I’ve found lots of reasons. There may be many more, but here’s the top three reasons I’ve found:

1. Demographical differences. There is a big price gap between fly angling gear and bait gear. Yes, there are inexpensive fly outfits and there are costly bait combos, but in general fly gear is more expensive. Thanks to Big Retail (Cabela’s, BPS, Walmart), the gap IS closing, but at one time, the difference was vast. This divided fly anglers and bait anglers along socio-economic lines, with well-off anglers gravitating to fly gear and those with lower incomes going for worms and bobbers. For a century or more fly fishing was viewed as a genteel sport, while worm drowning was seen as something for the everyman (even the poor and out-of-work). Again, this division has faded drastically, but the old stigmas and stereotypes remain. So, the snobbiness and hostility is just the same tension that has always existed between rich and poor — bluecollar guy resents the rich snob in his big house, rich dude sniffs at the lower-class schlubs.

2. Technical closed-mindedness. The methods and techniques of fly angling and bait angling are almost as different as can be. Fly angling bears about as much resemblance to worm fishing as it does to spear fishing. There is almost no overlap in terms of equipment or techniques, and yet both hobbies have the same objective: catch fish. So, there’s snobbishness, territorialism, egotism, and hostility. I’ve found this really does go both ways, but I admit the feelings are stronger on the side of fly anglers. In other words, fly anglers think their way is better. As a matter of fact, I think they’re right — fly angling IS a better way to catch fish. However, that is beside the point. Just because you think your way is better, it’s no reason to look down on those who choose some other way.

3. Approach to fishing. This is the big one. Bait fishing requires less skill, education, and time investment, and so it unfortunately attracts people who have not been fully indoctrinated in fishing ethics and conservation. Now, you bait anglers, please understand what I’m saying — SKILLED bait fishing requires as much skill, education, and time as any other kind of angling. In my opinion, the overwhelming majority of bait anglers are very skilled, educated, and ethical. However, even an 8-year-old can place a worm on a hook and catch a fish in a city pond, and so those who are new to fishing usually enter the hobby through the door of bait angling. Sadly, novice anglers are responsible for a great deal of resource abuse and unethical behavior, including poaching, litter, poaching, limit abuse, and so on. Discarded fishing line, red-and-white bobbers, Natty Light cans, errant flip-flops, foam worm cups, Power Bait pots, bronze bait hooks — by and large, these things are left behind by unprincipled bait anglers. This creates a negative stereotype that is unfairly applied to all bait anglers. Now, on the other side, because fly angling requires so much in terms of education and time investment, many fly anglers are drawn into conservationism. I’ve been involved in a some volunteer efforts on local waterways and when I look at the other volunteers, I see three kinds of people — biology college students, nature activists, and fly anglers (no bait anglers). This creates a huge perceived divide between fly anglers and bait anglers. Fly anglers see themselves as saving waterways and fish, while they view bait anglers as abusing waterways and destroying fish. Catch-and-release has a lot to do with this, too. More and more anglers of all kinds are embracing C&R, but the practice was popularized by fly fishing conservationists, and the old (inaccurate) stereotype is that ALL fly anglers righteously release ALL fish unharmed, while the “hook and cook” crowd not only selfishly limits out, but also treats their catch with great cruelty.

So, it basically comes down to stereotypes, which are not accurate or fair. On one side you have rich, self-righteous, tree-hugging fly-fishing fags. On the other side, you have beer-guzzlin’, trailer-trash, bait-n-wait dumbfncks. Both want to catch the most fish, and as we know fishing can be more like a religion than hobby, which makes it even harder to get the different groups to play nice.

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