Hoo-ah!  I know I'll raise some hackles with this one...

But here you go:  I think scents, on flies, in a flyfishing context, is a low-down, dirty, stinky trick.  I've heard all the angles... Alaska guides dipping flesh flies in a bucket of roe or fresh-cut fillets... dipping those glo-bugs in goo... I even heard about a guy who crumpled his nymph flies in a ground-up bag of Cheetos.  "Well, it masks that human scent..."

Bull...corn. We're fly fishers, aren't we?  And by fly I mean artificial... fakes... facsimiles... scent goes far beyond the substitute.  This is the world of the visual dupe... the piscitorial head-fake... that's the fun.

Oh, sure, fish have olfactory motives, and a little scent might just do the trick in dirty water.  But I'm not going there.  To me, using scents makes no logical sense... and you're welcome to call me out on that opinion... as if I had any doubts that you would.

I have to admit, I was pretty stunned by the fly angler turnout at the International Sportsmen's Exposition in Denver this past weekend.  And I have it on good authority that the Fly Fishing Show in Somerset, New Jersey, was hopping over the past few days as well.

Word from the floor was that some big ticket items like rods and reels weren't selling like hotcakes, but the flies, and lines, and even waders, were.  You know what was probably in highest demand?  Information.  The seminars and presentations were packed at ISE, more than I had ever seen.  Which made sense... after all, information is free.

I know some of you hit the shows (thanks for taking time to introduce yourselves).  Did you get the same feeling?  I'm not saying that shops aren't feeling the pinch, and this happy weekend blip is a sign of an imprending fly boom.  But I know people are still amped on flyfishing, and they're going to be on the water this summer, big time.  

In fact, I have on record from some of my hard-core angler fiends that in rough economic times, the last three things they plan to sacrifice, if forced to, are beer, nicotine, and flyfishing, in that order.  What say you?

Oh, I've heard them all... Of course, "I broke it on a fish" is most common.  No doubt, that's most the most "worthy" excuse.

I might be the king of fly rod breakage... I've lost count.  I've busted tips in the automatic windows of my truck.  I've stepped on them.  I've walked them into trees. Even had a dog eat one.

My best story comes from the banks of the Madison River in Montana:  I made the perfect cast...a fat brown inhaled the fly... I set the hook... bam... instant shatter.  My wife later admitted that she "might have stood" on the rod tip as I was tying on my rig. 

"Sorry," she said.  "No problem," I responded, as the blood drained back down through my face.

For the best broken rod story I'll send a new St. Croix Imperial #5 weight.   Good luck!

Deeter

I'm wondering how many of you have ever carried a sidearm while flyfishing.

In roughly 25 years, I never have.  Never carried pepper spray, or anything else, for that matter.  And I have fished a lot, from Alaska with the bears, down to South America.  (Okay, on that Bolivia story, we had pistols, but we didn't actually wear them while fishing.)  Not that I have a problem with carrying sidearms.  I enjoy shooting them.

But have you ever, really, felt the need to carry when you fish? 

I remember a classic story:  It involves the Alaska guide who shows up with a .22 pistol.  The client says:  "A .22?  That won't stop a charging bear..." and the guide answers, "No it won't, but it will blow your kneecap off when it's time to run."  Okay, that's not funny...

This summer, I'm heading up to bear country on a self-guided fishing trip, and I'm thinking that a stainless-steel insurance policy might be in order.  Anyone have any advice for me in this regard?

Deeter