What is an elitist?

A lot of talk about the so called elitist on erie tribs, just curious as to what exactly makes someone an elitist?

I think if your group of 4 fishing buddies catches a 100 stekheads in a day combined, you are officially one of the "elite" and can post as such on internet discussion boards. This also gives you the right to look down on anyone who doesn't follow in your foot steps and fish exactly as you do.

slabdaddy

LoganWade03

A lot of talk about the so called elitist on erie tribs, just curious as to what exactly makes someone an elitist?

Elitist - a person having, thought to have, or professing superior intellect or talent, power, wealth, or membership in the upper echelons of society.

On this forum, elitist is used to describe those fly fisherman who look with contempt and disdain upon spin fisherman. One of the defining characteristics of the "elitist fly fisherman" is that he continuously speaks condescendingly about/to fishermen who do not release all of the fish that they catch. This attitude of superiority over those that use spinning outfits (or fly rods with minnows) who keep fish is what marks this kind of person as an elitist. They usually form their own little cliques and the rest of the fishing community doesn't care. These people tend to have more money than brains and display various facets of narcissistic behavior.

HoPEthIsHELpz

 
Keep them all, just don't waste them.
Minnows on a fly rod..you're still illogical
Pointing out cliques, you noticed and made a comment regarding it, so clearly you DO care
Student loans make me poor, thanks college education...
 
Am I an elitist?

All depends on if they are using a spin rod or I fly rod, I think?

The only reason I answered is because you asked. I don't own a fly rod. However, if I had one and the fish weren't hitting my flies, but I had minnows, then I would try minnows. In my neck of the woods they have a saying, "Whatever it takes to get the coon."
 
I'm paying student loans too and still find that fly rods and the associated gear are too expensive for me. Otherwise, I'd give it a try.
 
I don't want to keep them all. I just want to keep my limit whenever I feel like it without people touting rhetoric about the morality of C&R or the need to lower limits. I have never had a steelhead get freezer burned.
 
I don't make fun of other people's fishing styles or habits (as long as they are legal).
 
I don't care about your elitist attitude. I don't agree with it, but I don't really care either. What you do, say, or feel has absolutely no impact on my life. I just don't like to see people being so judgemental, narrowminded, or condescending of others. Like I said before, we are all fishermen. We're there for the same reason. As long as you aren't snagging fish, then your way is just as valid as mine and vice versa.
 
I understand what you are saying about the fly rod and minnows. It's like using a crescent wrench as a hammer. Will it work? Yes. Is it the best tool for the job? No. But sometimes you just have to use what you have. I bet a lot of those folks you see doing this don't have a fly rod AND a noodle rod. So, their fly rod does double duty sometimes. I'd say it's probably easier to throw a minnow on a fly rod than it is to throw a fly on a noodle rod, so if you have to get just one rod that can do both, get a fly rod. IDK. Does it really matter? Nope. To each his own.
 
You are an elitist. I don't think you are a bad guy. You are probably one Helluva fly fisherman. You could probably fish circles around me (for trout) with that fly rod. I'm just pointing out how rude it is to make broad generalizations about things that people are so passionate about. People get worked up. I love catching steelhead and I love the satisfaction of bringing them home, showing my kids, and sitting down to dinner with them and watching them eat what Daddy caught. It's very satisfying. As someone said in another thread, it's a cultural thing. We country boys like to eat what we catch/kill. I'd love to hunt ducks and geese. It looks like a lot of fun. Unfortunately they taste like crap so I don't hunt them.
 
If you feel that C&R is the best way for you to help conserve the resource, then by all means do it. Just keep in mind that others feel that the most responsible thing to do is to take that tired, beat up fish out of the stream and put it to good use on the dinner table. There are at least two sides to every argument and there is not always a right or a wrong answer.

You do realize I have never once said the limit should be lowered or said anything about anyone keeping fish, right? My only gripe is with those who waste the fish. Its not that I give a chit about someone killing a hatchery raised fish, its about having respect for a living being that you are killing for your pleasure. If they raise the limit to 10 a day and you go there everyday and keep your 10, as long as those fish don't go to waste, I have nothing negative to say. Ya follow?

I usually don't participate in many threads like this, but I'm bored so what the heck.
 
To me an "Erie Trib Elitist" is one who has all his fancy gear, regarless if it's fly gear, spin, pin, whatever, thinks he's very good(although he isn't), thinks he owns the creek, and looks down on other methods. 
 
Yes, I have some fancy fly rods, waders, etc.....but do I look down on bait guys? No, and I even fish bait occasonally myself(on spin gear of course).  Do I look down on people keeping fish? No, as long as it's legal. 
 
Now I do look down on snaggers, lifters, liners, and chuckle when I see fish on a stringer, but they're out of the water instead of in the water lol.  And when I see a fish in a puddle instead of a stringer.  Does that make me an etilist?
 
Oh and by the way, there's some decent fly rods that are cheaper than some really good spinning rods...

Haha just thought of this also a lot of elitists strike me as wanna be fly fisherman lol.  They have all their fancy gear and pretend they know it all but never catch a thing.  I love outfishing them. 
 
I also love wearing my orvis waders with a Fishpond chest pack and carrying a minnow bucket lol.  Most of the time I fly fish, but I'm not going to change my apparal when I spin fish haha.
 
 
 

Chartist

If you allow how many fish you catch, how you catch them, and concerns over how others fish come before just plain having fun.
 
You just might be an elitist.
 
This of course coming from a guy, that has spent hours at the dock. Laughing at folks launching & loading their boats. Even though I have twice failed to put the plug in, prior to launching. Had my bow line break, requiring me to ask another boater for help fetcching my boat. Gone for two swims after losing the battle of the "straddle" between boat & dock. And  left my bowmount trolling motor down, while driving the boat onto the trailer.
 
If you can't laugh as much at yourself, as you do at "them".
You just might be an elitiist.

LoganWade03
I get what you're saying, its not so much looking down on someone though. I don't really care what technique you use, it just doesn't seem intelligent to me and I find it comical.

 
Let me give you a little history as to how I came to fish minnows on my fly rod, please explain what isn't intelligent or what is comical about it?
 
Started catching red fin minnows out of a tiny creek at my grandparents farm around the time I began walking.  Been using minnows to catch native bookies on spinning rods up at a cabin in the grand canyon area since I could hold a rod.  This is the way my father taught me, and his father taught him.  After 30 years of spin fishing for trout I became bored with it, it just wasn't challenging at all anymore.  So this is when I decided to buy my first fly rod, a 3wt.  I bought it with the idea that it would be cool and something new to learn how to cast one.  I especially liked being more connected with the fishing process, manually stripping the line in by hand, and incorporating your body more into casting.  So I put the minnow on that I have used all of my life and picked up right where I left off with the spinning rod.  I enjoyed the 3wt so much that I bough an identical 7wt for Steelhead.  When I'm in Erie I always carry both minnows and a box with a wide variety of single egg and streamer flies.  I still try flies, especially when I walk up on a nice hole or run where guys have been throwing minnows all morning long.  I'm just not that good with flies, or very confident in using anything artificial.  Unless water conditions are perfect my catch rate decreases by at least 50% every time I use them, usually closer to a 200% decrease, so I use my minnows most of the time. 
 
When someone can show me how to catch close to as many fish on flies as I do on minnows, then I'll probably start using them more.  Problem is I very rarely ever see a fly fisherman actually using flies who is doing very well catching in Erie. 
 
You mentioned that it's all about image and wanting to "look like a fly fisherman" in another thread. The reality is it's exactly the opposite.  I don't even claim to be a fly fisherman, and am more worried about the kind of image that guys like you give anyone carrying a fly rod.  Sometimes I leave my fly rod at home when I'm with friends, because of the elitist stereotype.
 

One of the defining characteristics of the "elitist fly fisherman" is that he continuously speaks condescendingly about/to fishermen who do not release all of the fish that they catch.

 
I take offense at that comment.
 
I keep 2-3 fish per year and still like to speak condescendingly about lesser anglers.  I don't feel that makes me any less elitist.

Cold

One of the defining characteristics of the "elitist fly fisherman" is that he continuously speaks condescendingly about/to fishermen who do not release all of the fish that they catch.

I take offense at that comment.

I keep 2-3 fish per year and still like to speak condescendingly about lesser anglers.  I don't feel that makes me any less elitist.

Ahh..excellent.  Best post of the day...maybe week.

Caught a big trout, from an Erie tributary, in November?
 
Imagine that.

elitist/extremist = AZZhole
They know who they are...