The Sportsman's Corner

I have been fly-fishing for trout for a little more than 50 years. After I had graduated from high school, I thought I would try to become a serious trout fisherman.

When I saw Ralph Haney and his son Randy fly-fishing one evening, I thought that fly-fishing might be a good way for me to learn to catch trout. My dad had dabbled in fly-fishing at one time and had a box of flies that I used to start out. In addition, Dad knew some of the basic materials I needed to have, and he advised me to pick these up.

It didn't take too long for me to catch a few trout on flies, and I was hooked. I knew that I couldn't afford to keep buying replacement flies; I needed to learn to tie flies. Ralph Haney told me what I needed to buy to start; and after these supplies finally arrived from Herter's the next winter, he showed me the basics. "You're on your own now," he smiled.

Fly-fishermen of the World War II generation believed younger sportsmen should pay their dues. Expecting younger fishermen to learn where to fish on their own, they did not divulge hot spots randomly. When a few older trout fishermen, both fly-fishermen and live-bait fishermen, realized that I was serious, they occasionally revealed in hushed tones a place or two that I should try. The best big-trout fisherman of that era was "Pike" DiBartolome, and he told me of several secret spots where I might catch larger-than-average trout. This information was a gift, and I knew it. I am one who still thinks there ought to be secret spots, and I am reluctant to talk about such places.

Many of today's fly-fishermen think much differently. I have been publicly chastised for my reluctance to sell out sections of streams by some of these modern fly-fishermen who seem to believe they ought to receive information about vulnerable, obscure sections of streams without paying their dues. Perhaps this is a result of their receiving entitlements in other aspects of their lives.

I also find that some of them have little respect for the fish themselves, even if they practice catch-and-release fishing. In magazines and on internet sites, I often see them refer to catching beautiful trout as "ripping lips" or even "crushing them."

As one of the last local fly-fishermen of my age bracket, I find that I do not really fit in with many of today's fly-fishermen. I guess I am a relic of the past.