*****UPDATE THE BILL IS OFF THE TABLE UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE****
I write to you today to inform you all about a proposed bill that is on the table for this calendar year in the state of Connecticut. A very similar bill passed in the state of California recently, and curiosity has been alerted now that it is on the table here where I reside as it has the potential to affect the flyfishing and tying community.
Proposed H.B. 5031 AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR. On face value this does’nt appear to be so alarming, but the limited amount of information pertaining to the proposed bill leaves a tremendous amount of speculation and room for interpretation. The bill reads as follows:
Referred to Committee on Environment
Introduced by:
Rep. Michel, 146th Dist.
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Respresentatives in General Assembly convened:
1 That the general statutes be amended to prohibit the sale, trade and distribution of new
2 animal fur.
Statement of Purpose:
To prohibit the sale and trade of new animal fur products in the state of Connecticut.
Surprisingly enough when I first posted about this bill on Instagram, there were in fact several fellow flyfisher’s and tiers who voiced similar concerns. There have also been a fair amount of naysayers including some rather notable companies in the industry that are for this bill. Some of the naysayers are taking the clear path of least resistance on the topic by simply assuming that this is only in regards to the use of animal furs in clothing because they have gotten “verbal” confirmation from one of the supporting representatives that this is what it is intended for. Well, that’s all well and good, but we all know how things left vague can be opened up for interpretation at a later date. This bill needs some serious clarfication or opposition until it is clearly articulated what it's purpose is intended to be.
I am sure many of you are rolling your eyes at me right now, but listen closely as you might change your mind. Think about what this could potentially mean for the sale of virtually every fur product used in fly tying; every fly that has fur in it’s construction that is sold by tiers and in fly shops. Head spinning yet? Good question I would say that it could be a detrimental blow to the industry if it were that far reaching as a majority of fly patterns utilize fur in their construction. Just sit and think about that for a second; deer hair, rabbit, fox, squirrel, beaver, cow, moose, just to mention a few. Think about all those packages of dubbing you have that are comprised of primarily rabbit, gone. Sick to your stomach yet?
So with a little research I was able to track down with the help of some of my other fellow fly tying friends some more information as to the origin and reasoning behind this bill. A recent online article describes the reasoning behind the bill and focuses entirely on the cruelty to animals that are held in fur farms for the sole purpose of harvesting their pelts. Look, I am certain that many of you including myself are against fur farms and the harsh conditions with which these animals are treated with this as well, but that doesn't mean the ethical utilization of animals via other means should be lumped into this bill.
It is ever so apparent that there needs to be more substance and clarification in this particular bill clearly illustrating that fur farms are the primary focus of this bill for the sale and use in clothing. This is a whole other ball of wax that we could get into at a later date, but just one of the very clear things that needs to be articulated in this proposed bill. You can read this article HERE.
What we all need to do is write the environmental committee for the state of Connecticut requesting that we are in opposition of this bill as it clearly needs more language articulating what this bill is intended for. Plain and simple it needs to be scrapped.
I have drafted a form letter you can all cut and paste and send to the environmental committee. If you are a fly shop, commercial tier or guide you can simply change the language accordingly in a few simple areas.
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE SALE, TRADE OR DISTRIBUTION OF NEW ANIMAL FUR.
Dear Senators of the Environmental Committee,
I am contacting you in regards to the listed proposed bill in regards to the sale, trade or distribution of new animal fur. I am a concerned member of the flyfishing community who fishes with flies that utilize fur in their construction as well as purchases materials that consist of animal fur. I see many issues for the Flyfishing industry on so many levels with this proposed bill as it could potentially impact not only several businesses including fly shops and other commercial tiers.
The industry has used furs from animals in the construction of the flies (lures) that we use to fool fish for hundreds of years. The economic impacts are not only far reaching, but this bill is rather short sighted in that it would have farther reaching negative environmental impacts that would force tiers to substitute all natural fur which is biodegradable and less harmful to the environment to strictly synthetic options which in turn are much more harmful to the environment as they require petroleum based industries to manufacture them.
This is only a small sample of the many questions and concerns that I and many others have about this proposed bill and I strongly oppose this bill for it's lack of clarification and language as it leaves too much grey area and room for interpretation and speculation. The economic and environmental impacts to the flyfishing industry from this proposed bill are short sighted and far reaching. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing back from you.
Regards,
This letter can be sent here:
If you are a resident of Connecticut you can also contact your state representatives and send them the same as it will at least get their attention and let them know you are concerned about the status of said bill.
As always I will keep you informed as things progress on this bill and please, share this with all of your fellow anglers and outdoorsmen.
Best,
-RS-
Write comment (0 Comments)Well hello, Happy belated New Year. I sincerely hope you all got to spend some time with your families over the holidays and are either filling your fly boxes for the 2021 season or are already out there fishing; or quite likely are doing both. Option three is more along the lines of where I am at as the weather has been relatively mild and we've had some water which is always good in my book.
I won't bore you with some outlandish tale and brag about some absurd and highly inflated number of days I spent on the water last year, although I've seen some rather laughable claims by some people both near and far. I will say that if you find yourself in that category of fisherperson who feels the undying need to justify your superior stature by inflating the number of days you allegedly spent on the water thinking that this will show everyone just how much better you are than the rest; I've got one simple answer to that folks, you clearly are making up for the lack of something and probably need to get your head checked. Most of us don't really care quite frankly how many days on the water resume is, even though it may have seemed important at one time in our lives, many recognize that as awesome as that sounds; being on the water all the time, there is this thing called life and responsibilities that are front and center. Although they often seem to get in the way of our fishing plans, when we tend to them regularly and keep a balance in those important things, the things we yield of utmost importance to our well being (fishing) get to happen a little more often.
Days spent on the water or at the vise equate to experience, but by no means is that a guarantee of one's ability, and heck who cares go do your thing. Ok enough of the rant, glad I managed to get that off my chest, butI digress. I write this post today to share yet another tying video and one that I think will resonate with a group of anglers out there. I enjoy fishing with a two handed rod from time to time and have found myself when not floating a stretch of water to resort to this style of fishing as it gives me the feeling that I am alone. Alone in the sense that pretty much everyone it seems these days on any given stretch of my home waters is fishing entirely nothing but a high stick through a very short expanse of water on a tight line with a pair of weighted nymphs. Fun for sure, productive absolutely, but often once you show some level of proficiency in this tactic, well quite frankly the challenge just simply seems to fade.
Whoah, wait a second, I think I just heard sirens go off and an explosion, I better run for the bunker as I know the hate police are coming to turn me in. Now I'm hating on "euro-nymphing" once again, quick call the mob and label me everything under the sun, I clearly must not fish this way so I am insecure about it. Dead wrong, don't be ridiculous. What I am trying to convey here is, if you're one of those people who have built a rather good skill set in that method and wish to challenge yourself a bit and do something that will feel a little more mellow and relaxing, might I suggest swinging streamers? Although one of the more enjoyable aspects of this style is learning to fish with a two handed rod, it really isn't a necessity although it will give your gear junkies an excuse to purchase another rig to add to your ever growing arsenal of rods. And to go hand in hand, it will force you to slow down and pick apart the water column differently as swinging a fly through mixed currents will create a plethora of other challenges you need to overcome.
The Mop Swinger will fit that style of fishing nicely. If you peruse back over a decade ago I did a tying video of a great simple rabbit strip streamer I called the mophead. The mophead although tied on a traditional style streamer hook is not only a great suggestive movement rich representation that works well on the retrieve, but many found it was a very successful fly on the swing as well. In todays video I will demonstrate a variation tied on a shank with a trailer hook, utilizing an updated material list based around the idea of shedding water more readily. So sit back, grab a beverage and enjoy the video. I will however admit, the first ten or so minutes are rant heavy, and oh yeah I do give my 2020 tying tallies in there, but only because I had a few inquiries in the last week. Have a great day and see you on the water
Write comment (0 Comments)
Hope you all had a great Thanksgiving under the current circumstances. We made the most of it over here for sure all things considered. It is rather fitting that I have a new fly addition to the streamer arsenal that is now available in the store, and it has some rather funny dinner related connotations.
The Dumpster Dinner streamer is my own stylistic interpretation of a suggestive attractive streamer utilizing nothing but synthetics. If you recall several years ago the Bushmeat Streamer was built around craft fur, well I took that a step further in this pattern with an entire base material of craft fur with some hidden concepts in the design. First, to maintain some body and give this fly some swim and kick, there is a flex resin spreader hidden behind the minnow brush head which forces this fly to maintain it's shape and not collapse under the weight of water from the anglers retrieve.
That addition gives this simple design a lot of action without having to add a ton of steps, shanks or other time consuming additions to give the fly "action". The materials in this two part fly get it done by themselves. You will quickly notice that this is a highly refined design, meaning there isn't a lot "fluff" in there or added bs to catch the anglers eye. All too often many newer creations we see these days have what seems like everything under the sun thrown on a hook when in all actuality they could and typically are much better with much less.
I will also offer up the single non articulated version in the not so distant future as well. The beauty of this design is it sheds water immediately and is ridiculously light, so light you can cast this fly on lighter rods then most streamers are fished on.
This makes your day much more enjoyable and less like work while also putting some fish in the net, which lately this fly has been doing a good job of that. Get some in the store and stay tuned for a video on how to construct this little gem, you won't be disappointed.
Write comment (0 Comments)