Fly Fishing Elitists - Enough Already by Troutbitten

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Troutbitten recently offered an honest take on an old issue: fly fishing has suffered under the weight of its own elitism for far too long. That baggage touches nearly every corner of how people approach the water—from tackle choices down to internal debates over flies and tactics.

As Domenick put it:
"How is fly fishing any better than fishing with gear? It's just not... So fish what you like, and if you don't like how somebody else does, I'd say keep it to yourself."

He also pointed out how arbitrary the boundaries become once anglers start picking sides:
"That elitism—that 'I'm better than you because I have a fly rod in my hand' crap—has sadly carried over and infested every microcosm of the sport... It's ridiculous, because we're all just anglers."

I’d take that a step further: species carries the exact same baggage. You see the same tribal camps, some way too passionate for me, that form around warmwater bass and panfish, stocked rainbows, wild browns, or wild brook trout—often with some groups even claiming their pursuit is somehow purer, tougher, or more legitimate than the next. At the end of the day, it's just fishing. Go have fun.

𝗩𝗜𝗦𝗜𝗧 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗪𝗘𝗕𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗘
1500+ articles about fly fishing for wild trout in wild places.
https://troutbitten.com/

𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗧𝗥𝗢𝗨𝗧𝗕𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗘𝗡 𝗣𝗢𝗗𝗖𝗔𝗦𝗧
https://podcast.troutbitten.com

 

There are many aspects of flyfishing that make it "better" for me personally. (Body count is obviously not one of those aspects.)
I can hardly act elite about it when anyone from any economic, ethnic, religious, etc. background can give it a try.

 

Dear Dave,

Honestly, it's all just feeshin'. There are times when I want to fly fish and times when I want to toss TRD's on a spinning rig or spinnerbaits on a baitcasting rig. So that is just what I do. YMMV.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

Well said, Dave.

It's sort of funny that any fly fisherman would feel this way to begin with. As Kelly Galloup regularly points out, professional bass anglers, as a group, are the best fishermen on the planet, and it's not even close.

Years ago I bought a small boat and tried my hand at depth-controlled trolling. Down riggers, diving devices, planer boards, lead core line, lure selection and behavior while moving, boat control, understanding sonar, etc., tax what little fishing skill I have as much as, or more, than fly fishing does.

IMO, any style of fishing can be as simple or complex as you make it. And, making it simultaneously challenging and enjoyable is the most important thing of all, or why even bother?

 

Do other hobbies also have participants that feel the need to regularly remind everyone how not great the activity is? I see a rant about how fly fishing isn't special about every two months, I'd guess.

As said above, fly fishing IS better because I enjoy it better. I don't care if other folks spin fish, just as I don't care if other folks collect stamps or play Dungeons & Dragon. It's just that none of those things have anything to do with the thing I like a whole f.cking lot, which is fly fishing.

 

I feel like this is a made up narrative.

 

What I see that makes fly fishing elitist is how much people brag about what they spend on gear and how exquisite it always performs on their $12,000 trips.

On the NAFF forum all you see in the swap section is $500 reels and $1000+ rods. Trip reports are NOT about the fishing or experience but about how their Stickmam, T&T or Sage rod paired with their Abel or Hardy reel lined with Rio gold Peach floating double taper line gave them a superior drift. You don't see that on PAFF...so thank you.

Keep it about your experience, bugs, wildlife and of course the food and cooking (you all amaze me)! I really don't get that elitest feeling when on this forum. Maybe this should have been posted in the PAFF appreciation thread.

 

I agree with JimNovo. I can't remember ever once thinking that a PAFF member was an elitist snob based on my experience here on the forum or my one time attending the Spring Jam.

However, I have interacted with some folks who contribute to the fly fishing "elitist" moniker. None of them were horrible people. At the risk of engaging in unfair, exaggerated stereotyping, my impression is that the folks who predominantly have this reputation are financially well-heeled (nothing wrong with that - don't we all want to be, and I'm sure they worked hard to achieve that status) and came to outdoors pursuits, specifically fly fishing, much later in life. Sort of like taking up an interesting hobby that impresses their non-fly fishing friends at dinner parties. Travel to ski towns during winter and trout towns during summer. Ted Turner and Tom Brokaw come to mind as famous examples. My guess is that Dom, being a fully-booked guide and noteworthy fly fishing influencer, has personal experience from which he speaks.

My impression, admittedly based on a small sample size, is that many of these folks have rarely fished except from a lodge or at least with a guide. Many do not tie flies, craft leaders, or patch waders. Every fishing story told seems to involve a stay at a lodge or an outing on private water. They wouldn't be caught dead touching a worm, let alone fishing with one. They practice and preach 100% catch and release like it's a religion simply because they can't be bothered gutting, transporting, and cooking an animal they killed.

For example, I ate dinner with a perfectly nice lady fly fisher who wasn't a big eater of red meat, which happened to be what was on the menu that day. She was offered trout as an alternative protein, and she stated emphatically that she would eat trout, but only if it was farm raised and not taken from local waters where she was fishing at the time. I didn't get the vibe that she was worried about protecting the resource but rather that the thought of eating one of her "pet" trout seemed atrocious to her. I could be totally wrong, but that's how it felt at the time - virtue signaling.

In reality, I may just be jealous of this lifestyle, lol. And, this is 'Merica! Nothing wrong with being an elitist, I guess.

Edited to add:
The perfectly nice lady I mentioned above asked my son and me if we were a "couple" at dinner. I honestly don't believe it dawned on her that fishing is a hobby often shared by fathers and sons belonging to the less well-off class, lol.

 

I agree with JimNovo. I can't remember ever once thinking that a PAFF member was an elitist snob based on my experience here on the forum or my one time attending the Spring Jam.

However, I have interacted with some folks who contribute to the fly fishing "elitist" moniker. None of them were horrible people. At the risk of engaging in unfair, exaggerated stereotyping, my impression is that the folks who predominantly have this reputation are financially well-heeled (nothing wrong with that - don't we all want to be, and I'm sure they've worked hard to achieve that status) and came to outdoors pursuits, specifically fly fishing, much later in life. Sort of like an interesting activity that impresses their non-fly fishing friends at dinner parties. Travel to ski towns during winter and trout towns during summer. Ted Turner and Tom Brokaw come to mind as famous examples. My guess is that Dom, being a fully-booked guide and noteworthy fly fishing influencer, has personal experience from which he speaks.

My impression, admittedly based on a small sample size, is that many of these folks have not fished except from a lodge, or at least with a guide. Many do not tie flies, craft leaders, or patch waders. Every fishing story told seems to involve a stay at a lodge or an outing on private water. They wouldn't be caught dead touching a worm, let alone fishing with one. They practice and preach 100% catch and release like it's a religion simply because they can't be bothered gutting, transporting, and cooking an animal they killed.

For example, I ate dinner with a nice lady fly fisher who wasn't a big eater of red meat, which happened to be what was on the menu that day. She was offered trout as an alternative protein, and she stated emphatically that she would eat trout, but only if it was farm raised and not taken from local waters where she was fishing at the time. I didn't get the vibe that she was worried about protecting the resource but rather that the thought of eating one of her "pet" trout seemed atrocious to her. I could be totally wrong, but that's how it felt at the time.

In reality, I may just be jealous of this lifestyle, lol. And, this is 'Merica! Nothing wrong with being an elitist, I guess.

Dear Skook,

You and Jim Novo pretty much summed it up perfectly. Fly fishing by itself is not elitist, it's just a way to fish like the any other. Likewise, owning and buying high end gear is not elitist either.

But the folks who post pictures without floatant crud or fish slime on their waders, vest, or their hat, wearing spotless clothes are elitist posers. If you are truly a fisherman, you tend to look the part. If you are merely a "sport" that's the look you portray too.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

 

Dear Skook,

You and Jim Novo pretty much summed it up perfectly. Fly fishing by itself is not elitist, it's just a way to fish like the any other. Likewise, owning and buying high end gear is not elitist either.

But the folks who post pictures without floatant crud or fish slime on their waders, vest, or their hat, wearing spotless clothes are elitist posers. If you are truly a fisherman, you tend to look the part. If you are merely a "sport" that's the look you portray too.

Regards,

Tim Murphy 🙂

To me, it's more about a person's attitude and how they treat others than it is about whether or not they can afford to use expensive gear.

I'm not sure whether this is a good example, but I'll throw it out there. I knew a person in my non-STEM line of work who graduated from Harvard. He really wasn't all that impressive, but he was sure to let you, and every other person in the room, know he graduated from Harvard at every opportunity.

On the other hand, I had a fantastic doctor who earned a BS degree from Harvard and graduated from Johns Hopkins Medical School. He never once mentioned his credentials to me. I saw the proof hanging discreetly on his office wall during one of our conversations. He treated me as an equal, and when not discussing medical issues, we mostly talked about our kids and our shared interest in the Phillies. His was more of an obsession with the Phillies, lol.

I'm sure the guy in my first example helps to give Harvard grads an elitist reputation among many, but my doctor came across as just a normal dude who isn't overly impressed with himself.

 

How can fly fishing be elitist, when basically we're using a fancy cane pole with an adjustable line? 🤪 In a way, the Japanese prove that with Tenkara.

 

I agree with this.

There is also a parallel to of this same situation in hunting.

Firearm vs Archery

Long vs Compound vs Crossbow

Buck vs Doe

Small buck vs Big buck(APRs.)

Just my 2 cents.

 

I think for me, if I ever was in danger of slipping down this slippery slope, it was when I was a younger man many years ago. But, I came by it honestly back then-hear me out: fly fishing was 'better': the gear to get outfitted cost much more than other other forms of fishing: it was made across the pond in England, or in some story book small town in New England or Montana by artisan craftsmen-and you needed every piece of it. After all, the fish needed the cleanest, purest water after decades of industrial pollution. You also had the 'fly fishing only' stretches of streams. This was the messaging I got, in print, and in person at fly shops (most of which are long gone today) back in 1990. Brad Pitt, who was the heart throb of every girl back then, clarified it further on the big screen. It wasn't til my late 20s, that I grew out of it. Not saying elitism is just a young person's problem there, but for me it was. Times have changed for the better, I think? Nowadays there is coverage of more fly fishing opportunities (carp, panfish, predators), as well as more reasonably priced gear for someone getting started. Seems to me the tent is broader today in 2026, than it was in 1990.

Joe

 

What I see that makes fly fishing elitist is how much people brag about what they spend on gear and how exquisite it always performs on their $12,000 trips.

On the NAFF forum all you see in the swap section is $500 reels and $1000+ rods. Trip reports are NOT about the fishing or experience but about how their Stickmam, T&T or Sage rod paired with their Abel or Hardy reel lined with Rio gold Peach floating double taper line gave them a superior drift. You don't see that on PAFF...so thank you.

Keep it about your experience, bugs, wildlife and of course the food and cooking (you all amaze me)! I really don't get that elitest feeling when on this forum. Maybe this should have been posted in the PAFF appreciation thread.

The gearheads ive fished with usually brought a different “new” rod every outing and proceeded to spend the majority of the day either lining the fish or missing 10 feet short because they’re not used to the action. Makes for good ball busting though.

I do like my Stickman and Abel combo though! Akos’ rods are seriously special, if you’ve never cast one, you should.

 

The gearheads ive fished with usually brought a different “new” rod every outing and proceeded to spend the majority of the day either lining the fish or missing 10 feet short because they’re not used to the action. Makes for good ball busting though.

I do like my Stickman and Abel combo though! Akos’ rods are seriously special, if you’ve never cast one, you should.

What Stickman do you have? I've had my eye on a 10' 4w for a while now.....

 

When I started fly fishing I was so full of myself and the method that I GAVE away almost all of my spinning gear and loudly proclaimed to anyone (who would listen) that I would ONLY fly fish in sweet water or salt for whatever species tickled my fancy...

My first embarrassing revelation was I discovered I HATED fly fishing with heavy line weights and heavy & bulky flies. 🙄

My second revelation was more disheartening than embarrassing... Most of the old fishing buddies of my youth never entered the dark-side of fly fishing. So when I exercised my snobbery and/or a preference for certain types of waters or special regulation stretches...

All of sudden I discovered MY elitism meant I was hardly if EVER fishing with my old pals...

Fortunately a former passion for fishing soft plastics and a desire to become proficient with a casting reel awakened me from my fly fishing funk and I rediscovered the fun I was missing. I was also LUCKY enough to reacquire my old spinning tackle after I got off of my high horse. 👍

Many moons ago I was fly fishing on Mud Run with two pals years after my "awakening." I encountered a couple of spin fishermen and I stopped to talk. We exchanged spin fishing tactics and lure preferences and I showed them how to fish nymphs & streamers on spinning gear and gave them a few flies to try.

As we went our separate ways, one of the guys said, How come you're not an a$$#0le like all the other fly fishermen we meet?"

Right there and then I knew my "de-elitism" transformation was complete.

There days I'll fish any way the mood strikes but most importantly, just last Thursday I was drowning worms for sunfish with one of those old fishin' buddies who never walked on the dark side...