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Glad I could contribute! - Kevin

I guess the forum administrators will let any old riffraff through the front door.

Call me a "starry eyed novice", but I've already come to the conclusion that fly fishing is not about catching fish - at least not in the beginning. It's about developing a fishing style. Of course, by the time I can shadow cast like Jason (if ever) I'll surely be embarrassed if I can't catch fish too. Right now I have my excuse and I'm sticking to it. I wasn't skunked this morning, I was just developing my style. Haven't developed any groupies yet. Guess I have a ways to go. - Kevin

Joseph, Flyrodder - could you elaborate. I'd love to be able to keep the line in the air like Jason did in the movie. What's wrong with that? - Kevin

Gary Borger has uploaded his fly fishing videos to hook.tv: Gary Borger Fly Fishing Videos They were shot in the 1970s, but well made and, I'm sure they are still relevant. His video on nymphing is great. He collects samples from the river before he starts fishing. The food source of the trout becomes obvious in this video. Until I noticed that the videos were uploaded by Gary Borger enterprises, I was concerned that this might be a copyright violation. Happy viewing! - Kevin

I guess the cost of fly fishing is no more than any other sport. - certainly less than many. As for elitist, I think it can be perceived that way even when it is not intended. There are a lot of mysteries for the uninitiated and when you are on a stream with other anglers, their assumption is probably that you know (or should know) what you are doing. Consequently, it is easy to feel pretty dumb and cop out with it's an elitist thing. Everyone starts somewhere and if you are going to fish in well-known locations, you are going to run into lots of anglers who do know (or believe they know) what they are doing. In my opinion, to a large extent, perceptions are the result of the attitude of the outsider and not that of the insiders. Of course, there are a$$holes in any venue and I've heard stories about them in fly fishing. I may be a little thicker skinned than most, but my attitude (being a novice) is those kinds of people can kiss my behind. That said, I have talked with some fly fishermen that were obviously intending to impress, but found that getting beyond that "front" and asking questions and advice did open them up. The attitude, in my opinion, seemed a bit of a defense mechanism. Once they found out that I was a novice and not challenging, they opened their fly box and started explaining how they were fishing. I think the lesson for me was to be open about myself and my progress in the sport. In my experience, true experts, by and large, seem to be willing and enthusiastic teachers. - Kevin

Joseph, Absolutely not being facetious. I can't imagine a site that better shows proper technique. It's a wonderful site. - Kevin

Hey! Speaking of doing it with style, Jason Borger (of The Movie) is making his book Nature of Fly Casting available for $20 delivered and personalized (guess that means signed). The crazy thing, used copies of this book were being sold on Amazon for $100+ before Jason had more printed. http://www.jasonborger.com/ Oh, also, check this out for a "style guide". Videos showing the proper execution of the required casts for FFF Certified and Master Instructor exam. It doesn't get better than this http://www.virtualflycasting.com/intro.htm - Kevin

Well, of course that is true, but what is happening is incrementally less improvement for greater cost. The really big changes came with major "architectural" changes - like the non-fixed line. I am guessing, but before that innovation, all "sport" fishing was with a "fly rod". Add to that the storage reel, and the division between fly casting and "bait" casting (as my Dad likes to call it) began to take clear form. When I was a kid, you couldn't cast a weighted line much further than you could a fly line. I can't tell you how many times I to untangle a rats nest of line on my old bait casting reel. But, you could drag that sucker 50 yards behind a boat - no problem! Of course, the mother of all changes was the spinning reel - either open or closed face. Back in the '60s I had a Garcia Mitchell 300-something and I was deadly accurate with it. The newer branch of sport fishing is far superior to fly fishing in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. So, where does that leave fly fishing? It cannot any longer be considered "mainstream". It doesn't leave much in terms of "architectural" change. So the components making up the architectural platform are improved to the nth degree. More and more $ for less and less real improvement in performance. In writing these words, the "point" of fly fishing becomes more clear. It is an end in itself. It is fishing with style. How do you develop style? It takes work. Interestingly fly fishing is not all that easy...so it is not what I would call "relaxing" for a novice. As a novice (and I am a novice) it seems the "point" is delivering the lure accurately with grace and, perhaps a bit of style. Man...that is a skill that takes a lot of practice to develop. The mainstream of fishing has branched and real technological innovation will continue along that line. Fly fishing has become an end in itself. A friend of mine was an avid fly fisherman for a couple years. He spent a lot of time in SW WI on the small spring creeks. He finally gave it up because he got tired of his wife catching more fish than him with a little spinning. rod. Well, another weekend is at hand. I'm looking forward to Sunday morning when I will find a spot on the DuPage where I will endeavor to do it with style. Maybe I'll get lucky and catch a fish too

Would a couple strips of silver mylar tied to a Clouser minnow, either at the head or off the hook, have a similar effect? - Kevin

Joseph, I think to answer the original topic question "Is this considered a Fly?" you would have to look back at what is considered a Fly. Is a nymph a "Fly"? Is a streamer a "Fly". It seems a matter of terminology. Convention seems to categorize the things that are cast on a fly rod along lines of what they represent. Nymphs seem to be aquatic insects in some sort of transitory development where they live under water. Streamers seem to be "swimmy" things. Dry flies are clearly insects that fly (or drop on the surface of the water). Wet flies...I don't know what they represent...maybe flying insects that have been submerged. To categorize this thing it seems we need to look at what it represents. Since it is named "Todd's Wiggle Minnow", I would categorize it as a swimmy thing - it's a streamer. If you put wings on it, it would surely resemble a Bunyan Bug. Then, it would be a dry fly. Are all nymphs, streamers, dry/wet flies called "Flies"? Yeah, it seems so. Any artificial thing thrown on a fly rod might be called a "Fly", I guess. Personally, I would be more interested in what variations could be made from this "platform". It sure looks like an easy to "tie" fly for novices (like myself)...and, though it is not very aesthetic, it appears to kick a$$ on the water. Maybe we really don't have to try all that hard to fool fish. Cripes, if a Chernobyl hopper will fool trout, they are dumb. my $.02 - Kevin

Have you noticed how slowly the traditions of fly fishing have changed? It makes me wonder if it has always been about tradition. After all, harvesting fish for dinner could be accomplished so much more efficiently other ways. The number of centuries to go from a relatively short and fixed line to a cast-able line leads me to believe that fly fishing was honored in terms of tradition from the beginning. It was a real challenge to get close enough to a trout to offer it an artificial fly. - Kevin

I really, really like the simplicity of this "bug". And, it looks unsinkable. What it kind of reminds me of is a Bunyan Bug: http://www.bunyanbug.com/ Evidently, it does fish well even today: http://www.bunyanbug.com/John-Beth.html Hey! I think even I could manage to make one of these things. I bet there are all kinds of interesting derivatives one could come up with. - Kevin

You know, the thing that struck me after reading the history of fly fishing is that every time I step in the stream, I am part of a something that stretches back thousands of years....and it was recognizable as fly fishing even then. In a way it is pretty low-tech compared to spin-casting, but I am attracted to the history, tradition and the art-form of casting (and, boy, do I need to work on my skills). There has to be some attraction to it more than the fish, because, there is no way to compete against spin-casting, in terms of fish-count.

Actually, I thought the net profit wasn't too bad - if it is real and if it didn't take much time of the owner. Of course, you have to ask yourself, why would a guy sell an investment that is making him a 20% net profit (full time trained staff...hmmm). You would have to be nuts to let it go. On the other hand, maybe a Cabela's or Bass Pro Shop is being built just a couple miles away.

Joseph - Here's a chance to expand your empire Fly shop for sale

If you want the whole scoop all the way back to the 2nd century A.D. including instructions on how to make your own line and hooks: http://www.flyfishinghistory.com/contents.htm Simply fascinating. There is more history in fly fishing that I ever imagined.