Crossing the Line

While you are fishing there are always experiences that make you question whether they are crossing the line or not. The line is different for everyone but there is always an uneasy feeling. Similar to when a friend shows you the answers they somehow acquired for an upcoming test. This happened to me on my last fishing trip. I was having a good day cruising along catching fish consistently. I ran into another fisherman who was having the same success. When we compared flies I couldn’t help but almost blurt out, “you’re cheating!” My fly was a bead head pheasant tail nymph and this gentleman’s fly looked like pink chenille with a trout worm on the end. It basically looked like a jig you’d use to catch crappie. Whenever I see stuff like this I always think why bother even using a fly rod? I talked it over with a friend after wards and said that fly would be my last resort. Which when I reflect back on everything that probably is false. Later I understood that the reason I was so upset about the fly was because I didn’t fish that way. So in my head I had the judgment that if you’re not following my set of rules for fly fishing you’re doing it wrong. Then I tried to go over why I thought it was so wrong. First I went over the fact that there was a rubber worm type thing tied into the fly. But then I thought about the rubber legs I use or have used on bass flies. They resemble or try to resemble the actual anatomy of something life like but are they really better than the worm fly? In reality what the person was doing was totally legal and he followed the fishing regulations. I realized I have no control of the actual situation and that I need to really get over those types of things. In all honesty if I had been getting skunked that day and he offered me that fly to fish with I’m sure I would have used it. I guess it was pride that first turned my nose up at the use of a fly like that. I guess everyone has that line they feel you shouldn’t cross because you’re breaking the rules. Whether it’s using two flies, fish scent, egg patterns, or bait. Everyone has their thing.