Tournament Techniques - a Destructive Development
My position on fly fishing is well known. For me, fly fishing is clearly linked to using the fly line as a casting weight to deliver the lure —be it a dry fly, a nymph, or a streamer— to the target. I have made this clear time and again. Therefore, I consider techniques like Czech, French, or Spanish Nymphing, and similar techniques from competitive angling that have emerged in recent years, to be nymphing techniques (as is, incidentally, fishing with the centerpin reel, which is very common in Switzerland, fishing with a water-filled float, lead wire, the spin fly or the "Tirolerhölzl", that is meanwhile totally banned in many places), but not fly fishing techniques. All these techniques can also be performed with other equipment, i.e., without a fly rod and fly line. This works only because a fly line, which plays a crucial role in presentation due to its own weight, is not necessary. In all of the aforementioned techniques that are fished with nymphs, unlike fly fishing, casting weights in the form of lead, water-filled floats, or heavy end nymphs, and unfortunately, now also streamers, play a crucial role.
This leads to situations where these casting weights are often far heavier than a fly line is normally capable of handling. Therefore, during tournament nymphing, they are fished in shorter distance, often even directly under the rod tip. When using heavy streamers, these can even pull the fly line, backing, or only monofilament line along with them as seen in the video on the right. This brings us directly to spin fishing with a fly rod. If these techniques are used in waters accessible to spin or bait anglers, there is nothing wrong with their use. However, in waters reserved exclusively for fly fishing, they have no place, in my opinion, for the reasons mentioned above. While these are fair techniques because the fish can be hooked cleanly and easily released, the targeted training to catch smaller or even juvenile fish, because they are quicker to land and thus lead to more points and better placements in the FIPS-Mouche championships, is a worrying development.
Video link: Klick on the picture!
It is due to the current lack of prominent figures in fly fishing and the easy sharing via social media that these techniques have even gained attention and spread through publications in fly fishing magazines. Furthermore, there is money to be made in them, and retailers are reluctant to take a clear stance for fear of missing out on revenue. In the days of Gebetsroither, Ritz, or even Hebeisen and Moser, Prager or Brunner, it would have been impossible for these techniques to have ever gained a foothold in fly fishing in the Alps and beyond Europe. Even the Italian Francesco Palu was once "banished" from the famous Gmundner Traun because he didn't use a fly line, but simply tapped his Palu dry flies on the water with his long rods. "We don't need such nonsense here!" Hansi Aigner, the follower of the Gebetsroither Fly Fishing School once stated. It is understandable that the remaining, but now aging, grandees in the autumn of their lives no longer wish to become embroiled in disputes with the younger generation and prefer to remain silent, with their fists clenched in their pockets.
As one of the leading fly fishing and casting experts of my generation, I see it as my duty to advocate for the preservation of fly fishing and to counteract the brutalization of this unique angling technique. I would like to see other colleagues would also take a clear stance and not just thank me privately for my commitment. Unfortunately, many lack the courage to speak out publicly against these negative developments because they don't want to alienate other fly fishers or customers. But a negative development remains a negative development, and you can't please everyone on this issue. Nonsense is nonsense and cannot be excused! I stand by my position, which I communicate publicly as an international fly fishing instructor and casting coach, not just in the pub or in private.
Keep fly fishing clean and take a stronger public stand against tournament techniques on waters accessible only to fly fishers. Protect this unique technique from any destructive use!