Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

What is WFF.com?

NFR 
2K views 47 replies 26 participants last post by  David Dalan 
#1 ·
Do you remember the Seinfeld episode where they were pitching their idea about making a TV show about nothing? i.e. the TV show was about them and the "situation" of the sit-com was "nothing"?

I think that WFF.com forum is not about Washington fly fishing or even fly fishing in general, it is about "WashingtonFlyFishing.com"; i.e. it's a forum about WFF.com members chat more than about WFF or FF. really, it's a mix.

I went thru the first 10 pages of FF Forum (early 2001) and I did not find one title that suggested the thread was SFR or NFR (and I checked some that were potentially SFR or NFR -- and they were FR). Nowadays even FR threads tend to curve and veer off deep into (humorous) NFR territory. The subject often becomes about WFF members more than WFF or FF. i.e. the forum has become what it wants to be.

THAT SAID, I'm having more fun on this forum than I ever have -- it started as a pure FF forum board and has become something unique, even chummy. So in true (WFF brother) Swimmy fashion, I ask the following:

Do you like what the forum has become - a mix of FF and random/humorous stuff - or do you wish for the good old days of more pure FF?

Me: I always see both sides, go for the "all of the above" option - as long as this site remains such a great resource for FF info and discussion, I really enjoy the monkeying around.

You?
 
See less See more
#4 ·
Broader the better. I can skip over the forums, threads, or NFR items that i dont have an interest in.
We have the occasional talk about gear and bait, its part of some guys backgrounds( mine included)and how we have developed. I wouldn't want a sight full of KNOW-IT-ALLS. I fish often and post most reports. To make this site a little bit better( imo) it needs more guys fishing and filing reports/pics.
 
#9 ·
So true Chris. The other forums do provide relief for those who are interested in a particular topic and don't want to wade thru SFR, NFR posts to find FR topics of interest. That said, many FR threads do veer off into weird land ... which I'm sure irritates some ... on the main forum that is. obviously, i'm not judging ... i'm the black kettle so to speak.
 
#6 ·
I'm going out tonight ... so i thought i'd roll this grenade (stink bomb?) into the room and then run.

It's going to be a great, long night ... this thread may be a total surprise to me tomorrow.

I'll add to my response of "all of the above" (FR and monkeying around), that I'm really just here for the "likes".
 
  • Like
Reactions: Irafly
#7 ·
Peyton00, is correct. If you're not interested in going to church, don't walk in. If you're not interested in a thread, don't open it.

Most likely no one is holding a gun to your head to open threads... and again, if you only hang out on the main forum, you're missing much of what this site has to offer.
 
#8 ·
I dont tie flies. I have spent hours and hours going thru the fly threads. I will look up and notice i spent half the night looking at flies. Its the best of times. I can wander around on this site and come across new stuff daily. This is the best fly site on the web. Luckily i am local and get to use the intel provided by others and hopefully others take my info and utilize it as well. The humor alone is worth the price of admission.
 
#29 ·
On a more serious note, I've been lurking and posting for some years now. It gives me the opportunity to check out the most current information on some locations, techniques, and materials/tying stuff. It has also afforded several social opportunities through fly swaps and gatherings like the Pinkfest I hosted a couple of times and a spey casting day. I've met up and fished with many members over the years, including Mumbles;) and my late friend Bob Jones:(. I've also gotten some pretty smokin' deals on equipment through the classified forum. I look at the sub-forums that interest me and skip those that don't. And it gives me something to do in the early mornings when I can't sleep any longer. All in all, I'd say there are different rewards for all of us that surf the site. Thanks for the opportunity Chris and all of the mods.;)
 
#30 ·
I've been around the Internet when the first flyfishing site wasn't a site at all but an e-mail notes group called FF@. A couple of the members at FF@ were computer geeks and created the very first flyfishing website and called it The Virtual Fly Shop. I met some lifelong virtual friends, including Hans, at FF@.

For many years, those anywhere in the world with computers and interested in flyfishing ended up on VFS... afterall, it was the first one.

Then, the original guys sold their site to the company that owned Fly Fisherman. They made changes and along the way, the changes somehow slowed down the site something terrible.

By this time, other flyfishing websites had gone online so, due to the slow speed of VFS, almost everyone bailed out and went to one of the new sites.

The speed problem was finally corrected at VFS but by this time, another company bought out the company that owned Fly Fisherman and they made further changes to the website. They changed the name.

It was too late. The original members of VFS had spread out to new flyfishing sites. I've checked out all those sites and spent years at one in particular... Trapper, Rob, Bakerite, and others know which one because they were there.

Then I found this one. It reminded me of the original VFS with a membership from around the world and with damned funny posts. When I think of all the different flyfishing sites that have come and gone or are still up and running, this one is the best.

I like the guys and gals here. I like the flyfishing knowledge you can gain from some of the best fly anglers and fly tiers in the world.

I don't mind the NFR threads in the least because they are sometimes the funniest.

If the NFR threads bother you, I encourage you to try some of the other flyfishing sites. If this place depresses you, for god sake! go somewhere else!

I'm now an ol' far but started surfing flyfishing computer communications when I was a youngin'. I've watched the Internet grow and the flyfishing sites with that growth.

In my opinion, this site is the best and if you don't believe me, there are plenty of other flyfishing websites out there you can visit. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable in one of those sites. But chances are, you'll be back.
 
#31 ·
I've been around the Internet when the first flyfishing site wasn't a site at all but an e-mail notes group called FF@. A couple of the members at FF@ were computer geeks and created the very first flyfishing website and called it The Virtual Fly Shop. I met some lifelong virtual friends, including Hans, at FF@.

For many years, those anywhere in the world with computers and interested in flyfishing ended up on VFS... afterall, it was the first one.

Then, the original guys sold their site to the company that owned Fly Fisherman. They made changes and along the way, the changes somehow slowed down the site something terrible.

By this time, other flyfishing websites had gone online so, due to the slow speed of VFS, almost everyone bailed out and went to one of the new sites.

The speed problem was finally corrected at VFS but by this time, another company bought out the company that owned Fly Fisherman and they made further changes to the website. They changed the name.

It was too late. The original members of VFS had spread out to new flyfishing sites. I've checked out all those sites and spent years at one in particular... Trapper, Rob, Bakerite, and others know which one because they were there.

Then I found this one. It reminded me of the original VFS with a membership from around the world and with damned funny posts. When I think of all the different flyfishing sites that have come and gone or are still up and running, this one is the best.

I like the guys and gals here. I like the flyfishing knowledge you can gain from some of the best fly anglers and fly tiers in the world.

I don't mind the NFR threads in the least because they are sometimes the funniest.

If the NFR threads bother you, I encourage you to try some of the other flyfishing sites. If this place depresses you, for god sake! go somewhere else!

I'm now an ol' far but started surfing flyfishing computer communications when I was a youngin'. I've watched the Internet grow and the flyfishing sites with that growth.

In my opinion, this site is the best and if you don't believe me, there are plenty of other flyfishing websites out there you can visit. Maybe you'd feel more comfortable in one of those sites. But chances are, you'll be back.
yeah, i remember vfs. also i remember when westfly.com got a lot more traffic than it does now. this is the best FF website and i agree that NFR posts provide some variety and are often the funniest. and this ... this thread ...

this thread is clearly one of the greatest WFF treads of all time ... an instant classic ... IMO.

popcorn popping. this is going to be epic. like.
 
#33 ·
I spent some time at VFS. Also used to visit Westfly. FAOL was another board I spent considerable time at. After Jim Burkholm (sp) the owner died FAOL seemed to morph into a place for certain people to display their superior knowledge and if you questioned their superiority you got slammed down. I haven't been on there for a few years now. I have been around here about 15 years. Chris does a great job.
 
#34 ·
I lurked this site for at least two years before logging in. In that time many things have changed. Not all for the better. The online calling someone out for a perceived wrong being the worst. I'm guilty of that. I try to remember to "take a breath" and if it is still bothering me, send a PM.
I like the jokes, even though I don't get half of them anymore. The serious conversations about fishing, the environment and policies have inspired me to learn more.
This site is more than half of my internet time. Who needs Facebook when you have WFF!
 
#35 ·
i've learned a lot of things that are NFR or SFR from this site because of the banter. for example, i was at a major soccer tournament today (at 60 Acres Park) ... a couple of the guys (i.e. dad's) i passed i thought looked kinda ridiculous. if it weren't for this site, i would have said in my head "that guy looks ridiculous ... and i don't know why". but with the knowledge from this site "that guy looks ridiculous ... because he's a flat biller" (a 40somthing flat biller at that). and a flat bill that actually goes down over the ears! Lulz (or should that be LOL?)

what was this site like before Swimmy?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Irafly
#38 ·
WFF is still a great place to learn about all topics fly fishing. More importantly it connects the misanthropes who enjoy this sport so they can make new friends, improve their skills, and share their favorite fisheries. I personally spend less and less time in the main forum to avoid the politics, climate talk, endless NFRs, and the over sharers. The sub forums are getting more interesting every year and I love to browse the photo gallery. The classifieds section is really a great resource that I have been using a lot more the past year. In the future I hope to contribute to the fly tying forum as time allows. I trolled the site for 4 years before contributing and hopefully have added a little to its value. I'm still too scared to post in the Steelhead sub forum though, and the Spey clave is off limits. Those folks stopped posting reports years ago anyway.
 
#39 ·
What's not to like? Banter and chit-chat, plenty of fishing tips, swaps and ScottP, old breed and young guns, Rob and Salmo, passion and science, cat-piss and puffy jackets, bobbers and swinging, and all the rest. Just not much talk of fishing itself, but I'm sure that will come as the site evolves....
 
#41 ·
What do you new people want. You want to be told what rock to stand on is such and such river. Well that isn't going to happen. You have to put in your dues so to speak. Nothing comes out of here for free. Most members won't tell where they fish, because they put in all the hard work finding it for their selves. Why stick it out there for all to see with all the lurkers out there just waiting for some nice little tidbit to pounce on.

I used to tell where I fish at but I've gone quiet on that now. I've spent oodles of time and money finding these places. I kind of don't want to give things out anymore. You have to get out a map and go look for all those Blue squiggly lines. Then you have to go explore it for yourself. You would be surprised as to what you can find by doing a little exploring. So go waste a little gas and time exploring the skinny water.
 
#45 ·
What do you new people want. You want to be told what rock to stand on is such and such river. Well that isn't going to happen. You have to put in your dues so to speak. Nothing comes out of here for free.
Speaking as a newbie…. the exact "here and there" of specific places has nothing to do with becoming a new member at all….. we all have secret beaches we love and no one should place that info on the Internet…. agreed…. but a well-written trip report (of which there are many on this site and applaud each one) gives us a chance to get psyched about a day's fishing by learning what certain fish are eating certain things and at what time of year… which is more about a FF brotherhood in my opinion and less about not trying to pay ones dues…. learning new things (via involved forum discussions) isn't asking for a handout…. in my opinion…. but hey I am a newbie…. attack accordingly…. proceed….
 
#42 ·
I primarily fish fisheries that are not exactly secret so I have no problem mentioning those places in my fishing reports. I don't post fishing reports on the Main Forum because most of where I fish are stillwaters so I post the reports there... or in the warm water forum.

Considering the number of sub forums, I'm not exactly sure what you are supposed to post on the Main Forum... is guess it's primarily to ask what is the best rod for this or that :)
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top