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The Ugly Side of Fly Fishing
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photo: Denver Bryan
Flyfishing. It's a graceful sport...for the most part. But just because someone can whip a 5-weight rod and raise a trout in a pool 50 yards away doesn't mean he can do it every time. It doesn't mean his fancy felt-soled wading boots won't lose traction in 20-degree water. It doesn't mean his custom rod won't snap. So we decided to take a look at the uglier side of fly fishing with a little photo support from Denver Bryan.
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Comment on This Article

At 2:34 PM, 2008-11-14, sdh said:
Man i've been there... Mark comment offensive

At 11:01 AM, 2008-10-26, Blackdog said:
Truely enjoyable photos. Just think for every expensive rod broken,every fly lost, every piece of gear ruined. It just gives us another excuse to tell the wife why we spend so much time buying more cool stuff at the local fly shop. tight lines Mark comment offensive

At 12:38 PM, 2008-10-18, Bob Little said:
Savage River tail waters in Garrett County is a great place to camp and fish. Many people were reporting catching a lot of fish. This was my second time to trout fish. Wading the river bottom was a huge challenge for me. It has to be an art. I am now finding myself looking for Web sites to get tips on how to wade a rocky, mossy river bottom without killing yourself. Mark comment offensive

At 12:21 PM, 2008-10-18, Bob Little said:
Just got back from the Savage River in Garrett County Md. Went fishing in the tail waters below the dam. Had my waders on. Found if very difficult to walk up the river. The moss is so slippery and the rocks were unbearable to get around. Now I am sweating, back almost pulled, bloody elbow, busted chin, soaked, and very cold. Caught a fish, but it wasn't a trout. Mark comment offensive

At 1:20 PM, 2008-10-07, Robert Courtney said:
I got hooked qoute unqoute in colorado 12 pound rainbow been swiming falling through ice popping flys off etc. ever since. Now chasing white bass in Arizona,water is a little more forgiving you all have fun!!!!! Mark comment offensive

At 7:37 AM, 2008-10-02, asdf said:
sdfsadf asdfsadf sdafsadfas dasdfasdfa Mark comment offensive

At 7:37 AM, 2008-10-02, asd said:
asdfsad asdffsd asdfsadf Mark comment offensive

At 7:46 PM, 2008-09-16, morgan pendley said:
If you take up flyfishing,ALL of these things are going to happen,but thats what makes it fun.....unless its one of those times you break your new $300 orvis or run over your favorite phluger....that stuff sucks.......Anniston AL Mark comment offensive

At 8:56 AM, 2008-09-03, garyvandervest said:
i lost tons of baits in one tree and i have one bait left. Mark comment offensive

At 1:02 PM, 2008-09-01, Dennis E. said:
A friend told me that a good day steelhead fly fishing is not getting hypothermia. Now I understand why he keeps a dry bag with an extra set of waders and layering on his pontoon boat. Dennis E. (Granite Bay, California) Mark comment offensive

At 6:56 PM, 2008-08-15, south isalnd trout stalkers said:
There is so much more to fly fishing than just catching fish.Sometimes it is frustrating and sometimes it seems to good to be true.You have to take the good with the bad and normally the good out ways the bad. Mark comment offensive

At 12:27 PM, 2008-08-15, craig in wisconsin said:
i prefer fishing with a bobber versus fly. Fly fishing is a mess full of tangled lines, dangerous falls and missing jigs for first time fly fishers, im 32 years old, and ive never had a good time Mark comment offensive

At 10:44 PM, 2008-08-07, anonymous said:
thanks for the heads up, this year will be my first attempt @ fly fishing Mark comment offensive

At 2:41 AM, 2008-08-02, adam creed said:
of we all do, if you live in utah its like that every where on the weber Mark comment offensive

At 6:32 PM, 2008-08-01, Dennis Dowling, Cedar Springs, MI said:
Let's see, so far this summer I lost my best head lamp trying to unhook my last Hex from a tree, floated downstream for 50 yards after stepping off into a sand trap, driving to the river nearly ran into what appeared to be an escaped inmate complete in blaze orange jail jumpsuit,black stenciled lettering on the back, hands cuffed behind his back (called 911, Sheriff Deps. came, turned out to be a teenage kid pulling a "Jackass" stunt)and of course my yearly forget-the-rod-on-the-roof-rack only to see it slide off behind me on the drive home. Mark comment offensive

At 4:11 PM, 2008-07-31, raia said:
My fly fishing buddies have devised a rating system for falls. 1-10. 1 being minimal and 10 being completely submerged in the water. I've only seen one 10 in my short time fly fishing, but it was quality. Everything settled and was as it was before... I almost jumped in after him before he came up gasping for air. He was on the bottom searching for his rod. He said that if he knew I was about to jump in after him he would have stayed under a few more seconds! Mark comment offensive

At 8:09 PM, 2008-07-27, Gordon said:
Our club recently held a fishing tournament in Utah. It was my first time in a float tube and I'm a lousy fly fisherman but somehow I won. No one explained to me the correct way to get out of a tube on the way to the bank. I fell over backwards and got soaked. My friends said I was probably the only member who would win two prizes for an event, the second prize being the FUBAR Award. Mark comment offensive

At 11:37 AM, 2008-07-27, Chad Crookshanks said:
I have been flyfishing for the past 14 years and I am now teaching my 2 sons. I sun, rain, or snow there is nothing like being on a stream and seeing your fly get hammered or sipped. I have never bought a pair of expensive boots or waders. I bought a $200 rod from a larger outdoor retailer (CB)with a 25 year warranty and they have replaced twice. What a bargain! I have fished east to west and north to south for large Montana browns to West Virginia native brookies. Nothing compares to flyfishing!!!! Mark comment offensive

At 3:09 PM, 2008-07-25, sneaky pete said:
I fly fished extensively for over 30 years before I took the plunge into cold water - and discovered that trout stink. Literally. I don't fish for them anymore. Mark comment offensive

At 11:31 AM, 2008-07-25, Kyle M. - Louisiana said:
My son learned this "ulginess" at the age of ten when I was casting for trout on the White River and heard, "Daddy, I'm going behind... auuuggghhh". And yes... removing a #10 barbless wooly bugger from the scalp of a 10 year old can be rather difficult! Mark comment offensive

At 9:59 PM, 2008-07-24, Chris Mahatadse said:
I was enjoying myself one morning standing by a lake wearing waders in Mammoth Lakes CA with my fly rod in hand. I walked to the end of this mini boat dock. I was amazed at the awesome beauty and clarity of the water. I noticed that it was only a couple feet deep. I decided to step off into the water to get closer to where the fish were. Not realizing that what I thought was the bottom was really only a thick mixture of mud and moss. As soon as I stepped off I sank so far that my head went under water and my waders started to fill up. I got out of there so freakn fast and froze my but off on the way home. Mark comment offensive

At 5:50 PM, 2008-07-24, Nathan Barnes said:
I am twenty five now but when I was a young child my dad hooked a bull in the nose at our neighbors pond, we too are fine but our car that day however is not. We made it to the car but the bull still had the last laugh Mark comment offensive

At 10:31 AM, 2008-07-24, Brent Postal said:
In Wyoming I was told a story I won't soon forget. Fishing in Yellowstone, my friend hooked a bison on his backcast! Yes, a bison. Interestingly, my friend is still alive. Mark comment offensive

At 9:37 PM, 2008-07-23, Smitty said:
awesome mini series...i can relate to ALL Mark comment offensive

At 9:35 PM, 2008-07-23, fishallday said:
Ya, but half the fun is gettin the boat in the water! Mark comment offensive

At 8:04 PM, 2008-07-23, Geezrr said:
After 50 + years of fishing, most fly fishing, I became hooked on it... I can relate to ALL the pictures! So many fly scars that I finally got a tatoo... Yup, a fly hooked through the skin on my forearm. Mark comment offensive

At 7:26 PM, 2008-07-23, airborne jerry said:
My wife sucked 6" of the rod tip of my Fenwick fly rod up the vacume cleaner. We were newly married so I held my tounge. Mark comment offensive

At 6:40 PM, 2008-07-23, Owen Mannin - OK said:
At 54 I've experienced all in this article while fly-fishing, and even while bass fishing and hunting has very similar "adventures". One rule I have developed - I don't wade where I can't see my feet. Mark comment offensive

At 4:46 PM, 2008-07-23, Steve C said:
I personally know of a tree in Cental Florida where, if I had a chain saw and a moonless night, I'd like to cut it down and take back a lot of tackle that it stole from me(#9). Thieving branches!!! Mark comment offensive

At 3:14 PM, 2008-07-23, Bob D said:
You better quit following me around with that camera.... Mark comment offensive

At 2:35 PM, 2008-07-23, forensiccns said:
I see nothing funny in these pix. They just show the course of a normal fishing day for me! Mark comment offensive

At 2:27 PM, 2008-07-23, Gary Elliott NJ said:
this is almost about me, after 30 years of flyfishing I remember doing all of that. But I keep doing it, now that I'm old, most of my flyfishing is out of a canoe. Mark comment offensive

At 2:15 PM, 2008-07-23, anonymous said:
I show my students at school a video tape of a fly angler who slipped in between two rocks and he had no option but to cut his leg off at the knee to prevent from dying in stream during the night. The angler actually survived. That's a bad day of fly fishing. Argyle (TX( Mark comment offensive

At 4:10 PM, 2008-07-22, Brian T. said:
Photo #4 instantly brought back memories of November steelheading. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Mark comment offensive

At 10:42 PM, 2008-07-21, mr. king said:
Im teaching my wife to flyfish..as she is riding the current down river , she stands and screams, " Im not having any @#$%^$^& fun... but she still tries.... True story...... Cache Valley, Utah Mark comment offensive

At 7:38 PM, 2008-07-21, Ross Man said:
I once had a guid tell me becarefull the rocks are coverd with moss, I gave him a smirk. The next time he gave me a look I had water running off the end of my nose... Mark comment offensive


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Flyfishing is a graceful sport...sometimes. Just because someone can get to a remote mountain gorge doesn't mean it's going to be a good day. It doesn't mean wading boots don't lose traction in 30-degree water. So here's a look at fly fishing's ugly side, complete with pain, wetness, and breakage.

If you've got a shot of a fishing mishap, email it to the webmaster. We'll see how many spill, chill, and devastated gear photos we get. You may see your aching, wet, or angry self in a future gallery.

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