Fly Fishing In Yellowstone National Park: Subtle Tyranny

Thursday, May 03, 2018

Subtle Tyranny

WHAT IS IT ?

Looks Like, Walks Like

it's not a mountain

WALLPAPER: MADISON JUNCTION

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.. From the earliest days of 'discovery' in Yellowstone National Park, place names have been scattered around the landscape like rice at a wedding.


NATIONAL PARK MOUNTAIN

.. One of these names is "National Park Mountain." Ever since the naming, folks visiting the park have used the name.
.. Park employees use the name. Rangers and interpreters use the name. This is a simple example of the subtle tyranny that words slam into our understanding of the world around us.
.. The name applies to a prominence that was left behind when the glaciers left the interior of Yellowstone National Park. It is not a mountain especially when viewed from the Madison Plateau. It can be 'called' a mountain when viewed from Madison Junction.

SURFACE GEOLOGY OF YELLOWSTONE

.. Interestingly; there is no universally accepted definition of a mountain in the English Language.
.. Elevation, volume, relief, steepness, spacing and continuity have been used as criteria for defining a mountain.
.. It's a matter of usage and local conventions.
.. Geologically this prominence is just that. It is a bit of the Madison Plateau that exists because of glacial scouring and, erosion of the rivers adjacent to it.

GLACIATED YELLOWSTONE

.. This glacier scouring has left behind several hanging valleys that did not have the available water to erode them down to the valley level of the master stream.
.. The Madison River Valley as it currently exists is a product of an ice divide that produced shear forces, (down slope,) toward the narrows at Hebgen Dam.
.. The same processes created the celebrated Mount Haynes.
.. This is not as trivial as it may seem. It is, in fact, emblematic of the way we perceive the world and the way we communicate with other folks about that world.
.. Most folks, fly fishers included, believe that the words they use are perfectly well understood by the people with whom they are talking.
.. Be they technical terms or, words from daily vernacular language the assumption of mutual understanding works a tyranny that can lead to gross misunderstanding.

THE ULTIMATE FLY

.. Depending on one's exposure to any one of the fly fishing cults that exist, verbiage can be precise or slipshod.
.. Granted that the day to day vernacular is sufficient for most common interactions, it is seldom accurate when talking about flies like the "common transparently mutated and variegated imitation asphalt cased nymph."
.. This particular fly is widely known by the fishers of Notellum Creek. Another bit of gear used by this particular cult of fishers is the "single handed, switch-spey, noodle-actioned, composite naturalized, artificial fly rod."
.. When the neighbors are armed with a combination of this fly and this rod they take enormous amounts of good fish. My, my, my.

SWITCH OR SPEY NEW OR OLD

.. Politicians, feather merchants, gear manufacturers, industry representatives, guides, and other lucre motivated personages understand this subtle tyranny. They also understand the value of repetitive utterances of their preferred verbiage.
.. Try this: 'no collusion,' 'no collusion,' 'no collusion,' 'no collusion,' - or 'Spey Rod,' 'Spey Rod,' 'Spey Rod,' 'Spey Rod,' - or 'Switch Rod,' 'Switch Rod,' 'Switch Rod,' 'Switch Rod,' - or 'good fish,' 'good fish,' 'good fish,''good fish,' - or 'streamer fly,' 'streamer fly,' 'streamer fly,' 'streamer fly,' 'streamer fly.'
.. Of course the ultimate aim of fly fishers and politicians and feather merchants is obfuscation - not precision. It keeps things interesting and keeps the mystery forefront in the cults.
.. Belief in the tyrannical words we adopt rapidly becomes dogma. From belief to dogma to religion to infallible pronouncements are rising in fly fishing and politics. Such an entertaining time we live in.
.. We do enjoy the conversations of guides, counter help, feather merchants and marketing organizations as they pretend to impart information as they, in fact, are busy proselytizing converts to their religious cults.
.. We know of only a few folks, guides, feather merchants, or organizations that are honest enough to utter such phrases as: "I don't know," "That may be the case," "There are many ways to accomplish that," 'In my humble opinion."
.. However, whether talking about mountains, fly fishing, beer, food or politics, we know many folks that utter these kinds of phrases: "Best ever," "Can't be beat," "Absolute best," "Unquestionably, "The only way," "Everyone says," "I know," etc.

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.. We don't know if the myriad flies we intend to use this afternoon will catch a good fish. In our humble opinion the rod we will use is only probably the right kind for the fly we suggest may entice a trout. We think that we are fishing for trout. Perhaps we are even fly fishing. We won't use a gill net. .