Fly fishers seem more than ready to close the book on the 2000s. Nick Lyons, Flip Pallot, Tom Rosenbauer, Ted Leeson, Kirk Deeter, Lou Ureneck and others wade into the new decade with thoughts on movies, zippers, and the Balkanization of fly fishing.

Sid Evans, Editor: "Somebody, somewhere will finally make another good flyfishing movie, and we can all let 'A River Runs Through It' rest in peace."

Lou Ureneck, Author: "One of the best things about fishing is its resistance to change. Too much technology, too fast, seems an affront to the soul of the sport. So my hope (and prediction) for the New Year is that fishing will find its equivalent to Europe's slow-food movement — cooking based on local ingredients, prepared slowly and with care for taste and health. A slow-fishing movement would return us to the health of our local streams, fishing deliberately, maybe with a youngster at our side, with cell phone apps and iPod ear plugs safely out of sight. Just a man and a fish, with a rod and a line between."

Ted Leeson, Author: "I'm not one of your far-seeing, prescient types; I tend to grasp only the obvious, and even then not very clearly.  I'm not sure I see any new trends but amplifications of a couple of existing ones.  First, the continued Balkanization, or specialization, or fracturing, or whatever you want to call it, among fly anglers.  The Internet is the ideal medium for the like-minded to find one another, and so I think the various fly-fishing subcultures—tournament bass fishermen, carp anglers, steelheaders, backcountry saltwater fishermen and so on—will continue to define themselves more distinctly and vocally.

Second, aquatic nuisance species will play a more conspicuous role in the lives of ordinary anglers—in fishing regulations, prohibitions, and practices, and, one hopes, simply in heightened consciousness.  Both of these trends will, I think, be reflected in tackle.  Rods, for instance, which are increasingly being marketed for species- and technique-specific angling, will continue in that direction, and I think manufacturers will find ways to specialize other types of gear, as they have already with lines.  Similarly, it would not surprise me to see more R&D put into curbing the spread of Aquatic Nuisance Species (ANS)—wader and boot material, for instance, that is anti-microbial or in some way inhospitable to aquatic hitchhikers."

Tom Rosenbauer, Author: "I predict three fly fishing magazines will go under, 23 fly-fishing e-zines will appear (and demand advertising from every manufacturer in the business), and that trout fishing across the country will be some of the best in years because of good 2009 water conditions almost everywhere in the country."

Rick Hafele, Author: "If I was going to buy stock in a fly fishing business for 2010 it would be in companies that make wading shoes. Given the growing and serious problems we have with those damn invasive species, like the quagga mussel, didymo, and heaven forbid New Zealand mud snails, the time for feltless wading shoes has come (already required by law in New Zealand). This means a lot of anglers will be buying new wading shoes in 2010."

Nick Lyons, Editor and Author: "McGuane finally gets a Nobel for The Longest Silence. And Nick Lyons founds 'Chub Unlimited.'"

Kirk Deeter, Author and Editor: "Business-wise, this will be the year of the soft goods... shirts, jackets, accessories, etc.  In this economy, it's extremely difficult to convince someone to buy a new $700 rod or a $500 reel every year, and the margins aren't there on $150 rods or $100 reels to make them much more viable in terms of volume sales, at least not for most retailers.

I also think 2010 will be a "consortium" year on many levels: small niche product manufacturers banding together with common distributors, and making collective media (ad) buys. On a larger level, we'll see some of the big companies work together to affect more drift toward the crossover/all-fishing market, but a few will want to hold the fort with a traditional/fly-focused identity.

Having said that, I think: we'll see at least one major manufacturer announce that they're launching a direct, web-based sales strategy in 2010; that at least one rod manufacturer makes the rod warranty a consumer option for a set price (not automatically built into the rod price) in 2010; that we'll see further attrition/closure of 10 per cent of specialty retail fly shops, nationwide, in 2010; and that some of the high-end travel business will start to come back, especially in South America.  But I think the "close to home" game will rule in 2010, meaning more warmwater fly fishing in the Midwest, and in the West, the fly shops that are really "fly shops"—meaning they're by a destination river, and they sell a lot of flies to visiting anglers and locals—will do best."

Flip Pallot, TV Host: "My pet peeve for 2010 will be clothing made with pockets that are open when the zipper is pulled down. This fall I had a fly box in my rain jacket pocket as I plowed through some streamside willows. A bough grabbed the zipper and pulled it down... emptying my my pocket. ZIP UP!"

Paul Bruun, Columnist and Guide:

"Trends for trouties: The European proliferation of deadly nymphing techniques will continue to gnaw on Yank rod makers, who after many years of ignoring anything
longer than 8 1/2 ft. and 9 ft. rods for regular fishing are going to convince users
of the versatility found in longer (9 1/2 on up) equipment. This has actually begun. Heavier grained fly lines (adding 1/2 sizes on the labels or just doing it quietly) 
to wring performance out of the super powered graphite and boron rods all the manufacturers are providing.

And for everyone who fly fishes: After many years in obscurity, more fresh and saltwater anglers are discovering the advantages provided by using intermediate tips and full-length intermediate (both clear and colored) fly lines. A sluggish economy will help closer-to-home travel destinations to prosper (fresh and saltwater). And the domestic fly fishing for black bass world will continue to wait for another modern Messiah akin to Dave Whitlock and Ray Scott."

Sandy Moret, Outfitter: "As to predictions, the older I get and the more I see, it seems the less I know! But, I believe there will be increased shopping on line for fly fishing products bringing more consolidation among local pro shops. I think we will see increasing privatization of managed trout waters offering high quality experiences. I see gradual but steady rebound of anglers coming back to guided saltwater fly fishing in the Florida Keys, Bahamas & the Caribbean  after spring of 2009 was off about 40% from previous years. Permit anglers and flies just keep getting better. For spring tarpon time 2010, plan on a rig with a clear floating line and small flies! "

Marshall Cutchin, Publisher:

"This year fly fishers will finally accept that it's just as common to be misinformed by electronic media as it ever was by a magazine or a book. More data and opinion is not equal to more knowledge, louder is not better, being 'Friended' is not all that friendly. New fly fishing media without 'Must Have' stamped all over it can't even think of surviving the proliferation of social content. 'Human filters' with real experience and insight will matter more than ever, and technology will finally provide the tools (helmet cams, insect ID iPhone apps, and espresso machines under $800) to make communicating all that knowledge easier. Unless, of course, they decide to go fishing instead."

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