Conservation

FFI

A code of angling ethics, and what it asks of us.

A code of angling ethics

Fly Fishers International — for many years the Federation of Fly Fishers — is a non-profit organisation based in Livingston, Montana, working for the betterment of fly fishing through conservation, restoration and education. Among other things, it publishes a code of angling ethics.

The code is theirs, and the full text belongs on their site rather than mine. What follows is my own summary of what it asks of us. If it reads as close to the principles I fish by, that is not an accident.

What it asks

• Know the rules and keep them. Regulation is the floor of good conduct, not the ceiling — and how one angler behaves reflects on all of us.
• Treat access as a privilege. Ask before crossing or fishing private ground. Learn the local custom of a place. Share the water with everyone using it, whether they are fishing or not.
• Leave the fishery better than you found it. Don’t degrade banks, water or watershed. Clean and dry your gear so you are not the reason an invasive species reaches the next place you fish.
• Limit your catch. Release fish properly and with as little harm as you can manage. Favour barbless hooks and the harder method where it keeps a fishery healthy.
• Don’t judge how others fish. Share what you know instead, and help people see how fly fishing and sound conservation fit together.
• Give other anglers room. Move in behind someone, never in front. Wait a decent while before asking to fish through, and offer others the same courtesy through your own water.
• Fish quietly. Mind your shadow on the water, your wake, your anchor and your oars. Cause as little disturbance as the fishing allows.
• Pass it on. Commend other anglers, and promote the code to them — whatever they happen to be fishing with.