Recent comments

Ernesto,

you wrote"This show an ideological and political position translated into a South American fly fishing tradition." and I can understand what you mean, but for me I can't bring an "an ideological and political position" together with my beloved fly fishing. I know about the long freedom fighting history of Latin America - but it's 'only' fly fishing. There are a lot of mystifications to find in the fly fishing world and mostly I am wondering about them and now I learned about a specific Latin American way.....By the way, from where came all the salmons and sea trouts to southern America?
I really don't want to offend you, but after your explanation, your fear of Eurocentric influences in your fly fishing world seems still odd to me. There are surely more important problems, aren't there?

Jan

Submitted by ernesto guevara on

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Jan, the idea of having an ideology in fly fishing and a South American tradition is not so hard to think. It is a political stance in defense of their own national icons of fly fishing, in professing a form of fish, in defense of a policy of open water throughout the Latin American territory and against the appropriation of some lodges and fishing operators who use the territory on behalf of foreign clients.
Here in Latin America have a different style of fishing to the European or the U.S. that has developed over the years, and many of us cherish this style. We fish with single hand rod, fish without dropper, with flies developed by our fly tiers and other details difficult to enumerate. This show an ideological and political position translated into a South American fly fishing tradition. So also say that foreign icons like Anderson, Mel Kriger, Lefty Kreh and others mean nothing to us because they do not know our surroundings and not part of our tradition of fly fishing.
Likewise Scandinavian, French, Americans also have their style, a singular ideology and tradition, just look to get a sense of it.
I hope to have explained this idea
Ernesto

J,

A fly-fishing book from 1997...? I'd be plenty surprised! Your best bet is Amazon with its Kindle format, I think, and they only have used physical copies. I don't think Frank Amato, the publisher, does e-books at all. They are reprinting the physical book, which is due out in July 2012.

Martin

Hi Ernesto,

you wrote "For the fishermen with ideology and knowledge of South American tradition of our surroundings" - please, be so kind and explain this for me.

Cheers

Jan

Flytyer,

I honestly don't think that the difference between saltwater and freshwater lines lie anywhere else than in the taper - the line profile. The materials used are the same as far as I know, and I don't think any line labeled freshwater will suffer any harm by being fished in the salt.

I have never looked at the fresh/salt labels wen buying lines, but always selected the taper I want, which in most cases has been lines meant for freshwater.

There are of course special cases, like the extra stiff lines for tropical saltwater, but they will work equally well in warm freshwater.

So basically I'd choose my line based on taper and performance, and if you rinse it now and then, it will work fine for years.

Martin

Alan, a fabulous job as usual. I just wanted to commend you on the head. All the streamers here are beautiful, but very few of the tyers have bothered to finish the heads nicely. Yours is an example to others of how it should look. Thanks for the great job!

Chris, as always, a beautiful job! Especially the head! Last thing i look at on a fly is the head. Often times it is neglected by the tyer, and ruins what would otherwise be a great fly. Yours are always neat & compact. Sign of an exceptional tyer?

Submitted by ernesto guevara on

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Dear friend Martin: thank you for the answer that is without a doubt very relevant, but from a different position from mine. In fact we are in different places and dealing with different things, while the surroundings and cultures.
I have no aversion to Europeans nor the Americans, but hate to Eurocentric and colonialist positions as it has many yankis and some Europeans. I hate and position myself completely against the corporations, particularly that coming from Europe and the United States of America, and when it comes to fly fishing appear Loop, Orvis and others, that while not characterized as corporations (they are small for this!) think and act as if they were, conquering some jerks in South America who think that joining with these companies are capable to gain best hierarchy and social positions.
About spey and underhand, I like that you understand that I not discuss them as fishing techniques themselves, but as ideological aspects, that constituting a different image to those developed in South American flyfishing, and that from other latitudes try invade our lands to conquest the local fisherman as another pervasive cultural element. I admit that I also use the underhand as a fly cast tool, but rather technical and not ideological.
About the qualities of Anderson I don't argue, only to watch that him serve as the figures for these small corporations try to convince us that the better world going to the strange, when the reality is the better world is in our rivers, in our trout, which are new, vigorous and targeted greed by European and North American, how other resources available here.
I emphasize that our positions are completely different, you understood my criticism by the technique side, because your European tadition, but has nothing of this, as South American I'm calling attention to a cultural process to which no one notices what is happening for many years in fly fishing in Latin America, trying transform our taste and our form of being favoring a marketing proposal.
Greetings, Ernesto

Submitted by Gene Mahn on

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Hi Rudi
These are available here at Home Depot stores. The three I made three years ago I'm still using. If you're still in the market let me know how many you want and I'll make arrangements.

Flytyer,

I am not sure about the point in your post but I try to write some thoughts......
As far as know, is the taper of saltwater lines more for bigger flies and windy conditions, so I wouldn't use it in freshwater, when I want a delicate presentaion of the fly. The other way round, freshwater line in saltwater can work, If you're able to manage bigger flies and windy conditions with it - why not?
Do you fear that the saltwater is to agressiv for a freshwater line? If yes, rinse it with freshwater after fishing, that should work. But I don't have experience with it, because there is much less salt in "my" Baltic Sea than in the Atlantic Ocean where you seem to live.
I hope my thoughts are answering something in your questions.

Cheers

Jan

My dear Ernesto,

I know that you have a grudge against anything European or North American when it comes to fishing in South America, and I know that Loop (and most other outside operators for that matter) has activities in your region that you might not approve of, but to take that out on Goran Andersson is shooting the messenger!
Goran Andersson might have been a representative for Loop for many years, but he most likely has no part in their business strategy, and to scold him and his casting because Loop's operators do not behave as you think they should is simply unfair!

"This modality of spey cast has become a invasive phenomenon proposed" - I guess the translator went a bit berserk there, but again: to call the underhand casting an invasive phenomenon is like calling roll casts a fashion fad!
It's simply a practical way of fishing! And that it has become widespread is probably not because Goran Andersson has preached it worldwide or because Loop has forced us to use it. It's simply because it works.

Last but not least this it NOT a variation of the Spey cast! Look at Goran Andersson casting in this video and compare that to the Spey and Skagit styles of casting. Elegance and grace and very little movement compared to overly exaggerated and very energetic and splashy line handling. Comparing the two is unfair if you ask me. Comparing Spey and underhand casts like that just shows a lack of knowledge of both. Yes they are both two hand techniques, and yes they both work with the line on the water and in front of and next to the angler, but that's about where the likeness stops.

Please notice that I am neither an Andersson nor a Loop proselyte, but just another angler that has used and been very pleased with the underhand cast for more than two decades.

Martin

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