Why Fly Fish?

A group of Bucknell students created this video as part of a Fall 2016 term project in environmental science. Before the interview, one of the students (Conor) read “Trout Downstream” by Dickerson and O’Hara.

Since David O’Hara earned his Ph.D. at Penn State not too far from the location of the interview, it probably would been more appropriate to have him featured in the interview rather than me (Matthew). But I was the one in town.

The video explores the cost of “recreation” and the tension between catch-and-release fly fishing and the reality of it being a “blood sport”.  Though the actual mortality rates of released fish when fly fishing are quite a bit lower–probably much less than 3%, especially when using barbless hooks and wet hands, a good net, and not fishing in water water–that doesn’t change the basic point.

Posted by Matthew Dickerson.  December 24, 2016.