I had to cool off for a couple of days after reading
Irle White’s sanctimonious diatribe praising his father’s attitude
toward fly-fishing and condemning anybody who fishes for sport or
with new and improved equipment (HCN, 6/11/07).
How and when did he get the rights to dictate the moral ethics for
fly-fishing?
I’m 76 years old, refinished bamboo rods
with my father, was brought up wearing rubber hip boots, and
treasure those times. But does that mean that I have to trudge
along wearing heavy wading gear when I can ease the burden on these
old muscles by wearing lightweight waders? Do I have to fumble
underwater with cold fingers to take out a hook when a quick twist
of the wrist with a pair of forceps can do the job quicker and
without even touching the fish with my fingers? Has White looked at
tackle prices these days? Spending megabucks has more to do with
buying adequate equipment, not top-of-the-line gear and snobbery.
If White had taken the time to read the current
literature pertaining to whether or not fish can feel pain
(“torturing” he calls it), he’d learn that a trout’s nervous system
does not have the necessary neurological components to perceive
pain (see Dr. John Nickum’s column in the Summer 2004 issue of
Rocky Mountain Streamside, published by Colorado
Trout Unlimited). Further, many, many studies have shown that
catch-and-release fishing can enhance and preserve fish
populations. Sure, some fish die if mishandled, but this is
incidental to the number lost due to natural mortality and easily
compensated for by the productive capacity of good trout streams.
I admire White’s remembrances of his father; I, too,
fondly recall fishing with my Dad. However, his claims to moral
“theology” are suspect themselves. Accusing those of us who take
advantage of the equipment improvements we can afford of “defiling
his father’s sanctuary” is an unwarranted “holier-than-thou”
attitude. I’ve fly-fished for over 60 years, spent my professional
career studying the ecology of streams, and don’t need a
pretentious egoist telling me that my reverence for trout and
streams is heretical because I use some new equipment and fish for
sport. Damn right, fly-fishing can be both sport and ethical if
done right.
Bert Cushing
Estes Park,
Colorado
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Piscatorial baloney.
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