# 87 A Stick in your Mouth?

While I sit here Doomscrolling on Instagram, I just want to scream when I see a fish photo where the angler has their fly rod in their mouth, or as I call it “a stick in your mouth.”

I thought I would spend a few minutes and open a dialogue with everyone and see what exactly your thoughts are on this topic, “do I look really cool or do I look totally Goofy?”

Let us start with the basics of this trend, and I will start with the first and most important issues.

I know that in the heat of the moment when you have finally hooked and  landed that fish you have been targeting for the last 2 hours, there is a surplus of excitement, a couple moments of shaking and high five’s all around, then comes the moment when you decide to snap that pic, the one that will get plastered all over your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and where ever else your moment of fame needs to be posted, and without a second thought, you hoist up that fish with both hands, and it’s then you realize that your hands are full, so what do I do with my fly rod?

I guess in some people’s mind putting the fly rod in your mouth makes a certain amount of sense for the pic, I’m not sure if putting a fly rod in your mouth is a sort of rite of passage, or a cool photo op, or something else, but let’s take a closer look at what you are really doing by chomping down on a fly rod.

Like I said it would make a certain amount of sense to chomp while holding but there are a few things that you may have overlooked:

Health and Hygiene risks:

• Waterborne Pathogens: when you put that rod in your mouth, as harmless as it may seem you have just opened your self up to a potential can of “whoop ass”. The amount of waterborne pathogen’s that are currently living on the handle of your fly rod is very high, if you or someone you know has ever suffered from Giardia, or Cryptosporidium, (Speaking from experience,) this is not the best way to lose weight.

• Chemical Residues: The cork grip or composite handle may retain residues from insect repellant, sunscreen, line dressings, or general dirt accumulated during your trip, you may have just ingested a handful of DEET and not even known it.

• Dental Damage: during the heat of the fight your adrenaline is high, your emotions are charges, and without even thinking you bite down on your handle hard enough that you could potentially either mess up your teeth or totally damage the cork handle on your fly rod. If you are of a certain age, dentures may be part of this conversation as well, (I’ll not go there).

So, if I’m telling you all the stuff that could happen by bitting your fly rod, what should a person do instead, you ask?

There are a few things that you can do instead. The Fly-Fishing market is a fertile ground for new and innovative products so, let’s look at a few of the mechanical and natural items that can replace your teeth.

• The Armpit Tuck: Slide the rod handle deep under your non-dominant armpit. Point the tip downward and backward behind you. This keeps the line tension steady and prevents the rod from pivoting into the water. This will take a few minutes to get comfortable with, but it is my preferred way to get my fly rod out of my way to free up my hands.

• The Sling Pack or Vest Strap: Tuck the rod into the compression straps, water bottle pocket, or specialized rod-retention loops on your sling pack. Many modern packs include a dedicated elastic loop or Velcro tab designed exactly for this purpose.

• Magnet holders: there is a handful of Vendors now making magnets that can be attached to your vest, and one on the rod to hold a rod hand free while all the time being attached to your vest or pack. I’ve seen a few of these, and I have to say that they are very cool for a hands-free option.

As I wrap this up, I’ll leave you with a picture of the real “stick in the mouth” heroes and look forward to all the blow back I will get from the people who have for years held a flyrod in their mouths for pictures with out incident. I will also hear from those who have had issues as well.

I look forward to your comments, and as always.

Tight lines

Gary