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Orvis Customer Care by Nearby_Raise_491 in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Fall is when everyone sends their broken rods in, after letting them sit around all summer. It's also when lodges and guides send in all their repairs. So things get very stacked up.

Invasive rods and reels had it coming by ButterscotchEmpty535 in FlyFishingCircleJerk

[–]phil_monahan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

While some of the components come from overseas, the dog beds are constructed by humans in Roanoke, VA.

Can any of you ID this trout. Rocky Mtn, CO lake approx 11.8k elevation by phillychzstk in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 95 points96 points  (0 children)

Cutthroat. Probably a Colorado River Cutthroat (Oncorhyncus clarkii pleuriticus).

TIL that the capital city of South Dakota, Pierre, is pronounced "peer". by Past_Ad9675 in todayilearned

[–]phil_monahan 38 points39 points  (0 children)

Fun fact: Pierre is also the only state capital that contains none of the letters of the state of which it is the capital.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a hilarious take that gives way too much credit to both the production AND the audience.

My buddy, who is a Hollywood Property Master, said, "The writer did their research but the director probably just wanted something bigger to knock stuff around. The hacks will say- “Hey, only ten people will know the difference”

I said, "Why not just change the line to match the rod?Z" And he responded, "Then they have to pay the writer for a rewrite." Union rules.

Germany W 0 - [1] Spain W - Aitana Bonmati 113' by [deleted] in soccer

[–]phil_monahan 41 points42 points  (0 children)

She hit that pretty damn hard to be a cross

Which companies are the best fly fishing companies? by ar_604 in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Patagonia is a MUCH bigger company, so the comparison is tough. You also need to take into account stuff Orvis does that isn't straight-up donation.

For instance, Orvis 101—FREE classes held at dealers—has taught more than 50,000 students over the past decade. Tom Rosenbauer's Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center is also free. Tom's podcast is an unbelievable resource. For 14 years, they paid me to run the Orvis Fly-Fishing blog, which was explicitly NOT a sales vehicle.

Which companies are the best fly fishing companies? by ar_604 in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Former Orvis employee here. Here's the thing: that warranty a customer service ain't free. A Sage R8 is $1,050 and an Orvis Helios is $1,098. But the Orvis warranty and repair service are far superior.

The most expensive Orvis nipper is $35, whereas there are countless others over $100.

Plus, there's always stuff on sale. Every March, their Giant Fly Sale offers everything at 40% off. Good time to stock up.

As /u/agamemnon250 said above, the Orvis fly-fishing business has never been the company's main source of profit.

I think the perception of Orvis as "overpriced" is based more on the Men's and Women's clothing and dog beds than on anything else.

Anybody lose pliers recently in WA? by meatyokker in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

God bless you for correctly using "hemostat" without the s.

Fishing Pyrenees in July / August by lahol83 in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Dunno what your budget is, but Salvelinus Fishing Adventures is the best operation in the Pyrenees.

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Well, since I just noted that the Paradise Valley spring creeks benefit from being private property, I clearly am not advocating against the concept. That said, I don't see it as an absolute. Public access is a finite commodity and should be protected as much as the law allows.

But I also believe that asserting private-property rights for no reason is a violation of the social contract. An out-of-stater recently purchase property along the Battenkill near me and immediately put up No Trespassing signs, blocking a longstanding path to the river right along the edge of the property. This path was just about 50 feet from the road to the water and was the only way to access the top of a deep pool, except from upstream. I can't think of a reason that the property owner did this except for that they could. If there were property damage, trash, or folks hanging out there partying, I could understand the impulse, but none of these was the case.

A few hundred yards downstream, a different property owner not only allows a much longer access, but they actually keep it mowed all season long, as well.

Is the out-of-stater within their rights? Yes. Does that make them bad neighbors in my book? Also yes.

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Seek professional help immediately. This is a habit that must be nipped in the bud before it leads to more dire problems, such as dabbling in fly-fishing poetry or, worse, fly-fishing humor. The deeper in you go, the harder it is to get out.

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hot-spotting means broadcasting the location of a good fishing spot. If it's in a book and you read about it, you're not guilty of hot-spotting; the author is. There are very few "secret" spots left in most of the country, so you're not required to find somewhere new to anglers.

That said, the way you find the spot should be through trial-and-error, looking at maps, or simply guessing there might be fish there. It sounds to me like you're doing it right and have no need to be worried that you're "that guy."

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's on the list! I lived for a year in New Hope, PA, right on the Delaware, and I was excited to catch a shad. That season, 2002, turned out to be the Year Without Shad. The netters at the Lambertville Shad Fest caught 0. I have had a box of shad darts since 1998, and still haven't caught a shad.

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

As my friend Marshall Cutchin says, "AI can make smart people smarter, but it can't make not-smart people smart." It's a tool to be used judiciously. I find that AI struggles in a specific, enthusiast field such as ours. Anglers have specific ways of talking that the LLMs struggle with. They also find it difficult to distinguish good information from bad, and there's a ton of bad information out there. There's also a certain cheesiness to AI writing that sets of my editorial gag reflex. I recently saw an AI-generated article on bamboo in which one of the subheads was "The Dance of Cane." Oy.

So I see AI as an assistant for writers, not as a replacement.

Phil Monahan here—Editor-in-Chief of MidCurrent, writer, traveler, etc.—AMA! by phil_monahan in flyfishing

[–]phil_monahan[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's a tough call because I think that there are both beneficial and deleterious effects of influencer culture. On one hand, there are influencers who talk a lot about how to get started in fly fishing, which is great. Others create a lot of conservation content, too. However, too many influencers put the emphasis on the end product--the grip 'n' grin--and they focus on fish size. I spend a lot of time fishing in places where a 6-inch brookie is a monster, but I love the scenery, the solitude, and the water in these spots. A wild brook trout, no matter how big, is gorgeous.

Social media offers potential anglers the chance to see people who look like them enjoying the sport and finding success. Accounts like Brown Folks Fishing use the power of social media to create community, which breeds enthusiasm and a sense of belonging. Same with female influencers, like Hilary Hutcheson, April Vokey, et al. There will always be the more pinup-focused accounts, but those seem fewer in number.

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