bumble54
Well-known member
It can’t have escaped everyone’s notice that there is more and more concern over synthetics and plastics escaping into our environment and there is even legislation being proposed to greatly reduce their use.
What has this to do with fly fishing?, well we fly fishers seem to have moved more and more towards the use of synthetics in almost every aspect of our sport, even the flies we use rely more and more on synthetics to create the patterns people crave.
One of my favorite dubbing's consists of seals fur and hairs ear but, I have learned through this forum that seals fur is apparently a no no for those in the US.
This seems strange to me if the purpose is to preserve a particular species. By that I mean, if an animal has value it is more likely to be protected from over exploitation. An Elephants tusks or Rhino's horn has an immediate value (thanks to the stupidity of the Chinese and poachers) but then it is gone, those same two animals are worth hundreds, if not thousands of times more to the tourism and safari industry provided they are protected. Imagine, if you will, that humans didn’t eat cattle nor drink milk, how many cows would there be in the world?, my guess would be zero.
Conservationists and vegans might argue otherwise but they would be the first to complain if all their veggies got eaten by the bunnies and Bambi. Add to that the fact that we would all be walking around barefoot in the snow (no synthetics remember) and you can see why cattle are so numerous and Dodo’s aren’t.
This brings me to the main thrust of my ramblings, what percentage of natural materials do you think you use in all your fishing and how would you change things if synthetics were slowly phased out.
PS got a silk line now and I am on the lookout for a cane rod for the near future. Not too sure about a wooden reel
though. :eyebrows:
I do struggle to find silk tying thread that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg mind.(I miss the old days when it was
everywhere and cost pennies)
What has this to do with fly fishing?, well we fly fishers seem to have moved more and more towards the use of synthetics in almost every aspect of our sport, even the flies we use rely more and more on synthetics to create the patterns people crave.
One of my favorite dubbing's consists of seals fur and hairs ear but, I have learned through this forum that seals fur is apparently a no no for those in the US.
This seems strange to me if the purpose is to preserve a particular species. By that I mean, if an animal has value it is more likely to be protected from over exploitation. An Elephants tusks or Rhino's horn has an immediate value (thanks to the stupidity of the Chinese and poachers) but then it is gone, those same two animals are worth hundreds, if not thousands of times more to the tourism and safari industry provided they are protected. Imagine, if you will, that humans didn’t eat cattle nor drink milk, how many cows would there be in the world?, my guess would be zero.
Conservationists and vegans might argue otherwise but they would be the first to complain if all their veggies got eaten by the bunnies and Bambi. Add to that the fact that we would all be walking around barefoot in the snow (no synthetics remember) and you can see why cattle are so numerous and Dodo’s aren’t.
This brings me to the main thrust of my ramblings, what percentage of natural materials do you think you use in all your fishing and how would you change things if synthetics were slowly phased out.
PS got a silk line now and I am on the lookout for a cane rod for the near future. Not too sure about a wooden reel
though. :eyebrows:
I do struggle to find silk tying thread that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg mind.(I miss the old days when it was
everywhere and cost pennies)