Submitted by Elizabeth.Trenary
“The absolute WORST thing you can call a fly fisherman is a bait fisherman. If you want to turn it into fighting words, add on that she is baiting with corn. Then start running.”
I will fully admit that I am competitive when I fly fish with my Dad. Early on, we started a competition between the two of us. It is a three point competition: one point for the first fish, one point for the biggest fish, and one point for the most fish caught. The winner gets a great (tacky) little trout trophy. It gets passed back in forth between us. Actually, that’s a lie. The trout trophy has been firmly in my possession for quite a while.
When we are gearing up for a big showdown on the river, the trash talk flies. I’ll ask my dad if he remembered to pack a can of corn. (Trout LOVE corn and it makes for easy fly fishing but it is considered “cheating” on the river.) He’ll tell me that if I’m scared, I can back out of the competition any time. The trash talk doesn’t stop until I inevitably have the trout trophy safely in my possession (again).
There is a time, a place, and a way to appropriately trash talk. Dad and I always keep it lighthearted. It is never mean-spirited. I may tease him if he gets caught in a tree, but I’ll always help him get it down too.