Recreation, Avocation, Occupation ?

HOW DO YOU FISH ?

How Do You Vote ?

education determines

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.. Not to make too fine of a point of it BUT, the American trend in education is making colleges into trade schools.
.. Colleges have learned that by touting their curriculum as 'focused' toward entry level professional job success they attract students willing to pay for focused education, (and the job they want?)

WHY SUNDER THE CHOICE  ?

.. Fly fishers become sucked into the same sort of false security in their fishing education.
.. They become cast masters, bug masters, gear masters, fly masters, and all manner of other masters.

SOME STILL IN USE

.. Fly fishers are generally ignorant of the life cycle of rivers and streams.
.. They are usually vague in their perceptions of aquatic ecology.
.. They seldom talk about the social or environmental implications of keeping favored haunts secret.
.. In oh so many ways our American political morass is the direct analog of our fishing communities.
.. Bass fishing: not for us! Spin fishing: horror of horrors. Worm fishing: a pure travesty. Fly fishing: elitist rich folks. Only a couple of rods: not near enough.
.. Tunnel vision leads to restricted enjoyment and, furthers failure in many instances that confront the contemporary fly fisher.
.. It's really a simple matter of approach and education. If our fishing is purely recreational there is one set of fishing perceptions.
.. Avocational fishers have a different set of approaches and educational perspectives. So too, the occupational fisher; even if only part time.

A FALSE PERCEPTION !

.. In this great land of ours there is becoming an attitude that undermines our creative selves and our ability to succeed.
.. There seems to be the false impression that education means more intelligent folks. That is hardly true.
.. The familiarity with a broad spectrum of subjects just takes a small bit of inquiry.  Presto change-o, anyone can be "smart" with just a little investigation.
.. Our society has increasingly become a series of generations that have accepted the "SANDBOX DROPOUT SYNDROME."  Both in the fishing world and the political world.
.. Starting early in life we have our interests focused by a myriad of pressures: family, friends, neighbors, newspapers, television, etc. We know that, don't we?
.. What is not clear is how we have come to accept the premise that less is more.
.. Shakespeare said it first, (maybe!) Since that time it has been applied to everything from style to design to education and politics. It's a cute phrase but not necessarily true.
.. Less general education is more financially rewarding? Fewer fishing techniques are more socially acceptable? Very narrow  education is the road to success?
.. The case has been made for what is called a liberal education, a broad education, a liberal arts education, etc.
.. Of course Conservatives immediately reject anything with the word 'liberal' in it. And Liberals avoid anything that smacks of 'traditional' or 'conservative.' This tyranny of words is certainly part of the problem.

NEVER THE TWAIN . . .

.. In fact, the most productive fishing experiences combine progressive styles and techniques with traditional methods and approaches.
.. But, you certainly need to know both to enhance your productivity and enjoyment.
.. Such is not only the sate of our fishing but also, our political morass in the nation today.
.. With a failure to admit of the broad traditions of both liberal and conservative perspectives, we have become polarized to the point of: "BASS vs. TROUT."
.. Argue the merits all you want: the simple truth is that education, (in it's broadest sense,) is the determinant factor in rounding out a person and their fulfilling experiences, (in fishing, politics, life, love, etc.)
.. A classic example is, sadly, playing itself out on our national stage.
.. We can, right now, this minute, without any hesitation, give a grade of "F" to four schools: Kew Forest School, New York Military Academy, Fordham University, Wharton School. These schools have tightly focused curriculum's.
.. Successively their focus is: test taking for college entrance, martial discipline and obedience, Catholic independent research, private business education.
.. This is the educational background of Donald J. Trump.

CONSTITUTIONAL LAW

.. With these agendas the four schools have ignored: Political Geography, Ethnic Value Structures, Constitutional Law, United States Government Dynamics, English, American Literature, World Literature, World Religions, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology, Ecology, Geology, Drama, Theater, Debate, Philosophy, Classics, and other core curricula of the traditional liberal arts education.
.. This has, (inevitably and detrimentally,) hogtied the current President of the United States.
.. It's not his fault that: " . . .who knew a national health care system could be so difficult."
.. It's not his fault that he ". . . never knew that the job of president would be so hard."

THE FOCUSED TRUMP UNIVERSITY

.. It's not his fault that he entered the office thinking that executive orders were the same as legislation.
.. It's not his fault that he believes that Federal Court rulings are "dumb."
.. It's not his fault that he thinks a university is a place where the delights of dogma constitute an education.
.. It's not his fault that he thinks that business ethics are the universal standard for the world.
.. This is what he was taught by his father, his friends, his schools, and his business experience.
.. Our fellow citizens of this great country who think that his previous education and experience will somehow be quickly moderated by his current position are trotting down the wrong road.
.. At age 70, there is not a lot of learning that he can master within his current tenure at his current job.
.. We'll see how quickly he can figure it out. After all being a team player, with team members having diverse interests and ideologies is far different from being a rich kid autocrat with no checks and balances. It's not his fault!

WORK IT BABY

.. Of course the same is true for fly fishers. If you have grown up fishing the gentle and picturesque streams of the Northeast United States your predilection for dainty flies, stealth, and precise casting will be challenged when you climb in a drift boat on a rowdy western river.
.. If you've never fished for small mouth bass by precisely drifting a worm through shady shallows then your fly fishing nymph techniques are probably missing some subtlety.
.. Should you choose to follow a single dogma, (it's your choice of course,) you may miss out on some more diverse pleasures, greater catch rate, or deeper satisfaction in your: ( pick one - Recreation, Avocation, Occupation.)
.. We would argue for diversity, lifelong learning, experimentation, and cross fertilization. None of this "DRY FLY OR DIE" dogma for us.

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.. Well the sun came out and there are caddis to be had way down in the lowland environs of the Madison River. We've just enough time for a quick lunch and a drive over the hill. We may fish a double in some backwater eddies = float one and sink one together.

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WALLPAPER:   FRIJOLES BORRACHOS