While I was in college in Colorado, I had the opportunity to take a class called Literature of the River. For 3 weeks I camped out on the river, fly fished, and read stories based around rivers. This was hands down the best class I took during my 8 year stint in college... and no I'm not a doctor.
Part of the class included a 3 day float down the Gunnison River. One of the professors had been a guide so he had some of his friends take us down the river. I'm not sure what brought it up, but the subject of the movie, A Rivers Runs Through It came up. At this point the movie was about 10 years old so it had been around a while. Just the mention of the movie visibly angered one of the older guides.
He said, "Used to be I could take someone fishing who actually knew how to fish, now every asshole out there thinks they're Norman F@#$ing Maclean!"
I was a bit taken back by this. I was fairly green to fly fishing and a was very excited to tell people how much fun I was having at my new found sport. Did this guy not want any more fly fishermen out there? For years I had been participating in fringe sports (climbing, kayaking, and mountain biking) and was always surprised by how few people were participating in them. I figured that the more exposure to this great sport the better.
Now after more than a decade on the river I can start to see what his concerns were. Fly fishermen, more than any other sport I have experienced, has a deep love and respect for the river, the fish, and the ecosystem. Out of this respect, we try to protect it. This guy was worried that the movie made fly fishing "cool" and that people would be coming out of the wood work, people that weren't in it for the love of the sport; but only attracted to the latest thing.
On the plus side, our sport did receive some great exposure which opened the door for the industry to grow. With more people buying equipment, rod companies were able to grow, more fly shops started going up all over the country, and small industries that support fishing were able to expand. And the more fly fishermen there are, the better chances we have at having more of the river designated as fly fishing only.
Those who were in it because it was the trend of the moment will eventually vacate their spot on the river, leaving room for those who truly have a passion for fly fishing. In hind sight a better response was not to get frustrated at these people but instead instruct them how they could mature as fly fishermen and usher in the next protectors of the river.
Richard Templeton
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