I don't know, that feels like it's really on the margins? Assuming pointless fishing would only be allowed when water temps are safe for fish , then it's hard to imagine getting a fish to rise for a hookless fly would have any measurable impact on the fish or fishery? I think a fly tied on a short plastic tube would reduce the possibility of an 'incidental' hookup to almost zero too. That said, I'm just another guy sitting in an easy chair offering an opinion.
Aren't we all....
. I've gotten quite good at that!
deschutesangler.com
lots of smallies in the main Umpqua ... get 'em before they eat more smolts
This is the direction I've gone in the last dozen years or so. Why? because they're plentiful, can be incredibly difficult, can also be incredibly easy...AND, trouts, capr, faux muskies, & smallies are all so incredibly fun (and some incredibly difficult) in their own way. Personally, for steelhead, I really only get out for winter steelhead a handful of times every year these days...every year that becomes less and less....
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Most people do, it's also the same type of places that other native species live. For me personally, I just get turned off by some of the attitudes present for the species. Life is just too short to get too caught up in some of that BS. Also, for me, I like it more when it's warmer so I can catch those snakes! Then again, winter trout fishing is insanely good (there really is more to it than just the salmonfly hatch--something the vast majority of trout anglers out there fail to understand, so it seems).
