It seems that fly fishing has gotten more specialized in the last decade or so. There has never been as many options for fly rods, fly line, and other pieces of equipment. And more and more anglers are "one-trick ponies". They can "Euronymph" but that is pretty much all they do. Or they toss big streamers but lack a finesse "game". And the "dry fly snobs" can be every bit as committed to one method, trust me, I know from first hand experience. The question is always, what happens when that is not working or it does not match the conditions?
I know what some of you are thinking - There are people that only nymph or only know how to throw streamers? I was a bit surprised at this too but increasingly, those are the comments I see online.
I can't prove it, but I started this post before Kelly Galloup came out with this recent video (watch it...). And as I posted to the Wisconsin Fly Fishing Facebook page, about this topic; "To quote The Dude, "He's not wrong, he's just an A-hole". And I pretty much totally agree with him." I have written about this before - if you've not watched the video above, do so because it is interesting - and short - you'll kind of "get it".
Can you really call it the fly fishing world championships if the anglers really just fish in one way? Call it the tight-line nymphing fly fishing world championships and I'm cool with it. Or at least as I am "cool" with competitive fly fishing, which is to say not very. But if that's what others want to do, so be it.
I don't give a shit how you fish - nor does Kelly - or what you call fly fishing, though I reserve the right to make fun of bobbers and "Euro" nymphers. However, if you want to be a "real" fly angler, you need to do more than one or even two things. Of course that is my opinion of what a "real" fly anglers is, and to be honest, you probably should not give a shit about my opinion and should do what makes you happy. However, if you want to be a better fly angler, become a more versatile fly angler.
What I think I most enjoy about fly fishing is that it is so versatile and adaptable. I can throw big-ass streamers, nymph with or without a bobber, throw a size 20 dry fly or a size 6 hopper. I can fish within 20 feet - and I do that a lot in the Driftless Area - or I can boom out a cast to the end of my abilities. I can fish up and across or down and across or most anywhere in-between. I can dredge the bottom with a heavy fly or a sinking line or fish at the surface. And I can cast a tiny dry fly or nymph that makes barely a ripple on the water or I can throw a streamer that is meant to "move water" and grab a fish's attention. I can do it all...or at least I can try.
In my now 30 plus year fly fishing experience, I learned a lot of new techniques. When I first started fly fishing, I mostly nymphed below a bobber (I know, right!). And I got pretty good at it. Hook sets are free and all that good stuff...I caught a lot of trout on nymphs suspended below bobbers. It was a huge part of my introduction to fly fishing and it is what I got comfortable doing. Then I branched out to where I got pretty comfortable fishing a dry fly and matching the hatch. Because I mostly fished the Driftless Area, most of my experience was fishing up and across. Most of our streams are entirely too silty for down and across to be very effective, at least for the wading angler. And I dabbled a bit with Smallmouth Bass. I was a fairly versatile angler, or so I thought.
Then I moved east and felt very comfortable fishing Pennsylvania's spring creeks and matching the hatches on West Virginia's Elk River which is a massive spring creek. However, fishing the mountain streams of the Appalachians was very unfamiliar territory. It took some time to figure out how to effectively fish the pocket water of cascading streams where the pools were quite small and the drifts rather short. Later trips to Northern Wisconsin or Michigan's Upper Peninsula, fishing down and across with a softhackle or wet fly was another new experience. More recently, fishing fairly big streamers on a 6-weight with a sinking leader is another somewhat new challenge a friend has helped take me on.
My point? Try it all - work to become a more versatile angler. Give it all a try - or at least do as much as you can. Give Smallmouth Bass a try - they will test you in different ways. Having a good day of trout fishing, see what else might work that day. Or figure out what doesn't work. Put on a streamer or a wet fly and fish your way back to the car. Move yourself out of your comfort zone, try something new and different. You never know when it might come in handy.
How? First, get out there and try it all. Second, and I think just as importantly, fish with others. I learn more about fly fishing from watching and talking with others than I ever could through books, videos, or someone's blog. There is no substitute for just going fishing. So get out there and go fish.