Is it just me...

or does it bother you when someone who picks up a fly rod once is lauded as a fly fisher? A recent article at About.com was titled People Who Fly Fish: Ken Griffey Jr. In the article it proclaims:


"One of the last people you'd expect to go fly fishing this time of year, Ken Griffey Jr. reportedly tried his hand at fly fishing earlier in the week with Seattle Mariners manager Don Wakamatsu."
"In fact, seems like the only thing they talked about was fishing, and what hand Griffey should be casting with."


Nothing against Mr. Griffey or the article's writer but shouldn't you have to somehow earn the title? I've thrown the ball around with my kid a few times but I don't fancy myself a baseball player. I'm not even sure I deserve to be called a fly fisher on most days...

Five Totally Random Editorial Comments

I was sitting at the computer tonight and was struck by the urge to express a few opinions (either that or I got hold of some bad Chinese food):

1. The person who coined the phrase or anyone who has ever been a party to a "Bromance" should be drawn and quartered or at least never allowed to go fishing with me.

2. The price of amunition these days is outragous and I dang sure hope all these people buying guns for the first time take a class or something.

3. Facebook is great, but if all my friends show up at the house for dinner at the same time the wife is gonna be ticked off.

4. Unless I need you to bail me or my boat out, I don't want to hear anything else about it.

5. I really should learn to cast better if I want to fish the salt.

This weak economy is going too far!

The Associated Press reports: "Consumers Retrench as Economy Weakens."

The most disturbing fact from the article is one that we, living 1.5 hours from our favorite trout water and driving a big honking truck, know all too well.

"Frank Krystyniak, 65, director of public relations at Sam
Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas, said the uncertain financial
environment and the effect of the upcoming presidential election has him worried
that his savings could take a big hit.

So he recently moved his nest egg out of stock and
bond funds and into a fixed-rate account that should yield about 4.75 percent a
year, he said.

He's also wary of rising gasoline prices, which could
curtail his driving to Colorado to visit family and indulge in his hobby of
trout fishing."

My fellow fly fishers. Go ye forth, do thee patriotic thing, and strike oil or perhaps buy a house or two. The curtailing of fishing is totally and unequivocally unacceptable!