According to the most recent issue of Angling Trade, warmwater fly fishing maybe “the saving grace” of an ailing industry. Angling Trade, June 2008 issue, www.anglingtrade.com.

Fly fishing for bass, pike, and other warmwater species is nothing new. Just take a gander at a the 1889 publication of Book of the Black Bass Comprising its Complete Scientific and Life History Together with a Pracitcal Treatise on Angling and Fly Fishing by James A. Henshall. There have been countless books and articles written before and since. Just ask any fly fisher south of the Mason-Dixon Line how often he fishes for smallies on a fly rod. I have a sneaking suspicion it’s a shitload.

So why all the fuss? Apparently, the emergence of fly rodding for carp in the States (carp have been a game fish in Europe since the birth of Jesus) is the tonic fly fishing needs – at least according to Angling Trade. Maybe they are right. I know bass and pike on a fly are a blast. But is it new and different? Breakout the Ouija Board and ask Mr. Henshall. Maybe he has the answer.