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Pictures of gear caught fish?

16K views 212 replies 66 participants last post by  Jim Speaker 
#1 ·
I was wondering why more and more gear caught fish pictures are being posted in the gallery?:mad: I visit this site because I dont want to see gear caught fish and I thought the name WFF ment that I found a place where I would see no more gear caught fish pictures. I thought that was for the gear forums?:confused: Chris, Just an idea but could we maybe have a section for gear fishing since there are a few members on here that do, so that I dont get mad every time I see them.:beathead: Could we give them their own little world on here even though there are many websites out there for gear guys so we dont make them feel left out?

Just my thoughts.


Clint
 
#35 ·
I would venture to guess that Clint is olde school guys. Lay off him (not that I agree with him about all that).

Part of what he says was true 10 years ago. Nowadays it seems the fly fishing logic has been derailed and now fly fishermen are more like gear fishermen than gear fishermen are.

Oh fuck what have I typed. Oh well. *reaches for enter key*
 
#46 ·
I don't look at the gallery much, but I don't recall seeing many gear-caught fish on it. Those who post their gear catches on this site are probably fly anglers as well, so I'd say their pics have a place here. Those fish may not have been caught on a fly, but they were caught by a member of this forum.
The majority of the info shared here isn't specific to one type of fishing. General locations, boats, waders, reading water, fish biology, conservation, fishing politics, trucks...none of that is limited to flyfishing.
Anyway, I have a long day of throwing spoons tomorrow. I'll be looking for one of these...
 
#49 ·
Well shit, I'll have a drink for both of you guys. There are some really good posts on both sides of things. I agree with both opinions for the most part...(as someone that has switched from the darkside to see the light). I don't feel the need to bash or call out someone that posts a gear caught rish...but this site was meant for the fly fishermen of the state of washington.

With this being said, I agree with Chris S. for the most part. Hardly anyone posts pictures of gear caught fish on here and for the short period of time that they are up I can deal with them.

Lets not all bitch about this forever bc I know we could...but lets respect each other and acknowlege eachother's talents whether it be with a fly or gear. Hope everyone see's this as a friendly debate instead of getting butthurt.

SA's
 
#50 ·
I started out as a worm fisherman. Went to gear and now to flies. I don't give a rats ass how anybody fishes. Just as long as they don't leave their garbage laying around for others to pick up. As for pictures, I don't care as they are just pictures. You can't eat them or play with them.

Jim
 
#56 ·
I come here to hang out with and talk flyfishing. I used to catch steelhead on nightcrawlers when I was a boy in the Green. By the way, for all of you newbs that think steelhead are so technical to catch, they aren't and never have been. There just aren't any of the damn things left. I progessed to flyfishing soon after and have never fished gear again. I don't give a shit about gear caught steelhead pics, and I don't even let spinning rods into my boats. Never have, never will. I have nothing against gear, and my boys who are 12 and 3 toss spinning rods, but that's about it. Somenhow in the last decade, partially due to their endangered status, partially to good marketing and somewhat to population growth, all of a sudden it became really important to land a steelhead in your life. (That is about the same time the bobbers were busted out in earnest with beads and flyrods and other shit and spey rods became a must have piece of gear). Before that, we veterans used to go days without seeing anybody out there gear or fly in winter. We would run into each other, but that's about it. We were fucking crazy they said, and what's the big deal about steelhead? If they are in the river they aren't hard to hook, shit they're just rainbow trout. Nowadays, they are much more important to young fly anglers and I understand why as I stated above. There just aren't alot of them left, and for pete's sake, they are the greatest gamefish that swims. Keep fishing hard boys, whether it be swing, gear or bobbers and flyrods. Alot of the gear pics I see these days are guys yelling, "Look at me! I landed a steelhead!" I think that's great, I really do and am happy for them and look foward to seeing those pics of gear landed steelhead............ ON A FUCKING GEAR SITE. KEEP WFF FLY! Tight lines and go get em! The Coach
 
#59 ·
Well personally I know I enjoyed looking @ a nicely C&R 29 lb. Hoh buck hooked on....OMG!!!!!! bobber-dogged eggs.


Over a spey pride fly caught +30 lb. dead as a doornail Hoh buck hoisted sky high thru the gills.

But hey that's me, I'm just weird that way.


c/22
 
#60 ·
You guys still don't get it.

This isn't about a problem with gear.

It is about a problem with gear caught fish on a fly fishing site.

I have a mountain of gear rods, but I would never post a pic on this site of a fish I caught with them.

I fish with gear fishermen all the time, most of the time, I have no problem with their setups, and they post their pics on a gear fishing site, not here.

If you guys really think that fly fishing is elitist, and have a problem with that, why are you here?

I think some of us want to keep fly fishing, fly fishing, I don't see why that is elitist.
 
#61 ·
I get it.

Just happen think a nicely composed fish pic is enjoyable to look @, if you can't see the gear rod in the background or the bait/hardware hanging out the mouth then post em.

If you can see the gear, then post it @ your own purple peril.


c/22
 
#62 ·
I get it.

Just happen think a nicely composed fish pic is enjoyable to look @, if you can't see the gear rod in the background or the bait/hardware hanging out the mouth then post em.

If you can see the gear, then post it @ your own purple peril.

c/22
It still isn't a fly caught fish!

What I am getting at is why the fuck does anybody fly fish if they really think a gear caught fish is the same?

It isn't about what is in the fish's mouth, or the gear hidden from the eye of the camera, it is about the self imposed challenge of fly fishing.

I know in my heart that when I catch a steelhead on a swung fly on the Skagit that I have struck gold. It is an amazing feeling and it can't be captured by a camera. That is why I fly fish steelhead. That is why many guys do it, many of which admit that they used to catch tons of steelhead on gear.

Check my gallery, see how many pics I have there? The point isn't fish porn, it is to catch a steelhead using fly angling methods. That is why fly fishing is called fly fishing.
 
#65 ·
This place is called Washington Fly Fishing. I don't understand the mentality of anyone posted a picture of a fish they caught on anything other than a fly. That is contrary to logic. I would no more post a picture of a steelhead I caught on bait or lure than I would post a picture of a steelhead I caught in a gillnet, not that I have any photos of either type.

There's a place for everything, and everything in its place.

Jason (HBW) is young and therefor has a short memory, but he sees the clear distinction between fly fishing and bait and lure fishing for steelhead. It's the difference in being satisfied with a lower catch rate in order to achieve that satisfaction under the self-imposed handicap of fly fishing for them. This of course is limited to fishing unweighted flies without bobbers or indicators, since these modifications attain much of the significant advantage of gear fishing.

Anyone who needs to catch a steelhead doesn't go about it by fly fishing unless their need is all about catching it on a fly, rather than by whatever method is likely to be most effective. I know a lot of bait and gear steelhead fishermen, including Stam who is referred to in posts above. Every last one of them "needs" to catch fish. Because they need to, they use gear and techniques and their own highly developed skill to catch a lot of steelhead.

If I "needed" to catch a steelhead, I'd do exactly what they do. Instead it's more important, and more satisfying, to me to catch whatever steelhead I do catch, and it ain't been many lately, by fly fishing. This begets the question of what makes fly fishing for steelhead more satisfying. There are two parts for me. One is that the act of fly fishing is more art-like than the mechanical approach of spin fishing, so I enjoy the time I spend fly casting and fishing. The second part flows from the first. I've used spinning and bait casting gear to angle for steelhead, and it's a lot of fun - - as long as I'm hooking up every 20 minutes or so. But gear fishing all day and getting skunked or having very little action is very dis-satisfying to me. Since most of a steelheading day, regardless of method, is spent "not catching steelhead," but searching and hunting for them, I'd rather spend all that time that is "not catching steelhead" by fly fishing for them.

Getting back to the photo gallery, I think I have exactly zero steelhead photos posted. I used to take photos of the steelhead I caught, but they were mostly dead fish. And the photos are ugly. It rarely occurred to me to take pictures of live fish being released, especially since it's a pain in the ass when fishing alone. Until digital, I didn't often have a camera with me when I fished. Even then I usually release fish without taking any photos. Count me among those who remain unimpressed with what the afficianados call "grip n grin" shots, but I've long known them as "hero shots." I never saw anything heroic in hoisting a fish out of the water for a picture that silently says, "look at me and what I caught!" Yet, some of the gear guys on that other forum have a saying that, "pics, or it didn't happen." To that claim I have only one logical answer, "who's problem is that? Not mine."

Sg
 
#67 ·
Chrome/22,

You can say that, but you'd be wrong. Under the specific conditions you describe, yes, HBW would have an excellent chance of hooking up, and you'd have a somewhat better chance because lead makes a significant difference in presentation. Otherwise, there wouldn't be any point in having you bat clean-up, would there?

Sg
 
#71 ·
Salmo, on a long featureless 2-3' deep bar there is no dead drifting, all you have @ the end of your swing is the dangle, & a bug can dangle.

HBW, your talking jig/float rod over a fly/strike indicator rig ? Yep, my buds & I have had this same discussion at nauseum. I agree on all the same points as you stated above.

c/22
 
#74 ·
I think everyone needs to go have a big poop and then come back and see if their attitude has changed. Really now, you have a 3 year old holding a fish out of the water on another thread. Why don't we all go rant about that for a while and let this one soak for a bit before making a decision.
 
#79 ·
If this site starts becoming peppered with steelhead caught with gear shots, and 75% of us disappear and go somewhere else, ask Scoones how unimportant or insignificant this post is............. :hmmm: Coach

Like I said, fish however you want legally, when ever you want, but don't expect a flyfisherman to give two shits about your gear caught steelhead. I personally don't believe in bobber fishing with a flyrod, but that is how I fish, it is no indictment of anyone who does. If it's legal and fun, go get em I say. And no, fishing a slinky and a swung sink tip are not the fucking same. How complex is this? The slinky can be literally stopped in one place with proper maniuplation of the thumb on a baitcaster, while the tip must swing all the way through completion. If the tip stops the fly rises in the water column, if the slinky stops the bait can be kept in the strike zone. This ability to stop and start the drift of the slinky or with a noodle rod the dink float and the jig or bait below it, gives the gear fisherman a decided advantage in keeping the bait in the zone. The fly must be presented with vision on where the swing should begin and with the execution of mends, how deep. Too many mends can kill the fly, too little can leave a winter flyrodder swinging in water far above the fish. Some water just swings the fly like we need it to with the proper tip and that is the money water. A gear fisherman does not spend weeks looking for that water as his/her gear gets deep faster and can be mainipulated immediately. They can step in to various pieces of water and with the right slinky, or tubed weight system get at fish in any water from shallow tailouts to deep "King Holes". This is an obvious advantage to the gear fisherman. The gear fisherman gets "bottom" immediately and with reel manipulation keeps it longer in the zone than the fly. Add the use of various scents, on jigs or in the scented use of borax cured eggs (we used to like anise oils) and the milk they bleed off you have another huge advantage and to try to compare the swung fly vs dink floating or drifting is way the fuck off. Not everybody on this site is ignorant to the methods of the "Dark Side". We have nothing against that type of fishing, have done it in the past or still dabble nowadays (like Jason B) but do not want pictures of that bullshit or the fish landed with it on this site. What's so bad about that? So land one on the swing and post it. It feels better anyways. Coach
 
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