Who says fly fishers are elitist?

I wonder if the 11 year old kid in this story will take up fly fishing anytime soon?

I should have waded the 30 or so feet to the bank, put my hand gently on the lad's noggin and explained that proper fishermen do not encroach on pools occupied by other fishermen. And they certainly never cast across another's line.

Had he asked if I minded him fishing the pool, I'd have invited him to come upstream so we both could fish without threat of fouled lines or fouled tempers.
I should have explained that courtesy makes just as much sense on a stream as it does in school, church or his dining room.

I should have warned him that not all fisher folk he'll meet in life will be as understanding as I and that some may be more apt to inflict pain than instruct in etiquette.
I didn't. I surmised that he would dismiss me as a meddling geezer and the day was too nice to ruin with that thought. I had also noticed several people on the river with more tattoos than teeth and figured that any one of them could be the boy's parent.

I doubt it. This reminds me of a time when I was fishing a tail water and this youngster eased in front of me and started casting into my honey hole. I was just getting ticked off when he spoke to me and handed me a streamer that I had broken off in the hole earlier and considered lost. He said," "Here's your fly mister", I saw you lose it and thought I could snag it for you." I felt pretty small and let him have the fly and offered to show him how to cast it. He told me he was doing just fine with his spinning rod.

Kids will grow up to buy fishing gear, vote on environmentalmental laws, and will have an impact of the future of our sport.