Being a bug chucker seems sometimes at odds with being a blogger. The point of blogging – insofar as I see it anyway – is to tell a story. While many anglers are natural story-tellers, they are also particularly careful about choosing an audience of listeners. Flyfishermen abhor crowds, and good stories often make for a crowd.

This sort of selectivity is a luxury the blogger does not have. Once one posts some tidbit of information – or misinformation – to the internet, then one must assume it is there forever and for all to see. A blog is not the place for confession or the whispering of secrets. A blog is not the place to give away tickets to the inner sanctum.

This is why bloggers who write of fishing and their fishing exploits, often write in vague ambiguities.

“Today, I fished the river.”

What river? Where?

“Tomorrow, I’m fishing Vermont.”

Vermont, huh? Thanks for pointing me in the right direction.

“I caught them all on emergers.”

Well, that limits me to only a few hundred choices from the Umpqua fly catalogue.

The blogging angler – if he or she is an angler first and a writer second – reveals just enough information to tell the story, and not a shade more.

If you’re reading this, then you likely understand why. Our resources are limited, and while fly flingers are generally cut from the cloth of generosity, they certainly aren’t stupid. They’ve usually sense enough to keep their secrets, and to close their collective mouth. This raises a question.

Why read a bug chucker’s blog, be it The Rusty Spinner or otherwise? The answer – I suppose – is a matter of one’s expectations.

The stories that are told by the blogger of fly fishing may be real or imagined, but ultimately, the reality of each story is of little consequence. It’s the truth of the story that matters, truth the reader should expect, and sometimes that truth might be at odds with reality. To my way of thinking, truth must be felt, and to make a reader feel the truth, authors must sometimes embellish, exaggerate, or lie.

And this is why I maintain this blog. Blogging provides me with an opportunity I might not otherwise have. Here, I may speak of fishing for as long as I like. I can write and spin the truth, and – perhaps more to the point – I am able to share that experience with anyone willing to give me a few moments of his or her time.

Some of my readers have been gifting me their time for about a year now. I started The Rusty Spinner just prior to the April 1st opening of the 2009 trout season. So, to my readers - however few you may be - I offer my most genuine thanks.

You’ve given me at least as much as I’ve given you.