The men in my family were fishermen. That’s what they did when they weren’t working. So when I was born, I was born a fisherman. In those days of the late 40’s and early 50’s, we didn’t differentiate when it came to how we were fishing, or for that matter even what we were fishing for. It was all just fishing.
We used whatever tackle was available and matched the occasion, so it didn’t matter if it was baitcasting, spin tackle (when it finally came around), or fly fishing. I grew up with all of it and by the age of 6 had taken to the fly rod with a vengeance and was tying my first flies. I thought I invented the Brassie and caught a lot of bream on it in those early days. An elitist view of fly fishing didn’t exist where I grew up, a river hadn’t “Run Through It” yet, so it was all just fun for me.
That love of fishing has persisted throughout my life, so much so that it is now how I make my livelihood and has been for over 25 years.
I didn’t invent the Spinfly Line because I needed to find a way to cast flies. I have been casting flies on a fly rod since the first grade. That’s was a long time ago.
No, I invented the Spinfly Line because I saw an opportunity to do things with a fly that had not, and could not be done with conventional fly fishing gear. Without my years spent in traditional fly fishing as a guide and owner of the White River School of Fly Fishing, I doubt I could have imagined this. That it was most easily (though not exclusively) achieved with spin gear was not a problem. I love spin gear as much as I love fly gear and baitcasting rigs. I have helped design and manufacture reels for each of these sports.
The important thing I am trying to get across here is that the kind of equipment you are using to cast flies is not as important as the fact that you are doing things that need to be done to catch fish on a fly. And the new Spinfly Line is just that. It lets you do some very unique things with your fly casting that can’t be done any other way.
Of course, the other advantage that exists is that if you are not accustomed to fishing flies on a fly rod, a Spinfly Line enables you to become as efficient as an experienced fly caster very quickly. Nothing in that seems a downside to me. Before the introduction of the Spinfly Line, an angler wishing to throw a fly with spinning gear had to use a casting bubble to get a fly to the water. This marginal method will get a fly out there but limits the fisherman severely in his ability to enticingly present the fly. It is also very frustrating in that it will frequently end in a tangle of line around the fly and the bubble. It also does not let a spin fisherman fish a dry fly effectively, or use other presentations and techniques that have long been the domain of traditional fly fishermen.
And lastly, but not the least, I am a businessman. If I owned a fly shop, this would be a no-brainer. Here is an opportunity to bring new, excited fishermen into the sport of casting flies. That means new customers who will buy flies, leaders, shot, tippets, and a broad assortment of other accessories. This looks to me like a win-win situation. I hope you will give it a try. I think you will agree.
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