Fly Fishing In Yellowstone National Park: Is It Really A Secret ??

NEIGHBORS UP IN ARMS

Local Secret Revealed

We Apologize

Apology Not Accepted

.. Being ostracized by the neighborhood is a terrible thing. We have been, and it smarts. It's just that we didn't know that the "Gob O' Worms" was a deeply held secret. It seems that it works so well that the neighbors have kept it secret for decades.

.. Many fisher folk hereabouts use real live worms for fishing. They work well and catch large fish. Some time ago a local fly fisher, (if Ennis can be considered local,) decided to emulate the slimy critters and get in on the action - goose/gander sort of thing. Several variations of the Gob O' Worms fly exist, and they can be found on sites around the World Wide Web with a little bit of creative searching - We'll reveal no more about that now, except to say, try: JUST GOOD FLIES.
.. The damn fly always engenders heated discussions about its use and whether it's really "fly fishing" when it's being used. Those that favor the fly maintain that if it's O.K. to imitate a grasshopper, it's O.K. to imitate a gob of worms. After all, the San Juan Worm is just a step away from this rendition.
.. Is it fly fishing when ants, or beetles, or mice, or bees, or other critters are casted with a fly rod? Is it fly fishing when nylon, antron, zelon, and other synthetics are used instead of fur and feathers and rafia and other "natural" materials. 'Tis an interesting debate.
.. Anyhow, this is our public apology to the offended neighbors, and our promise not to publish an image of the fly. The secret is out, but it won't matter much - no one will believe that the damn thing catches fish anyway!
.. Below are other worm renditions that are more or less acceptable to fly fishers. The philosophical questions about aesthetics, ethics, and propriety, are left for others to untangle.