"With trout that stupid, it's no wonder people decide to make trout fishing more challenging by using a weighted line which is clumsy and difficult to cast".
Obviously Stuart you have very little experience of trout, or even grayling or dace for that matter.
First of all, casting a fly line with a fine leader and artificial on the end is NOT clumsy at all. And I don't find it difficult. In fact casting a fly line comes as second nature to me, just as walking, riding a bike or driving a car does.
And so it does for thousands of other fly fishers.
Trout, if not scared, are the most inquisitive of fish. It times they can be amongst most easy fish to catch. That's why they rose to the pencil sharpenings. I have also caught trout on fag ends. I have also caught carp on bits of foam, standing in full view of them.
You will probably find that the trout was first at the shavings because they have far better eyesight than both dace or grayling. Trout will be the first fish to take flight by the way if by seeing you, you might seem to be a threat.
I fished a reservoir some years ago that was an all method trout water. Because of this, many anglers decended on the water with maggots and worms. Of course for the first few days they caught lots of trout on these baits.
Then all of a sudden the trout would turn off.
The trout suddenly equated maggots and worms with danger. I have seen trout swimming away in terror when a handful of maggots hit the water.
On one occasion, armed with my fly tackle of course I stopped to chat to a couple ao these anglers. They had had nothing all morning. I saw a couple of head/tail rises and asked them if I could have a chuck.
"Help yourself" said one of the anglers. I cast out and in 10 minutes landed 4 trout.
They were amazed. I wasn't. I could tell from the rise forms that the trout were feeding on midge pupa and that a well directed cast with the right imitation would catch lots of fish. The last thing they wanted was maggots or worms.
The reasons why fly fishing only is allowed on many waters are interesting, and worthy of comment or even debate. There is no doubt that once an angler becomes proficient as a fly fisher, he or she will find it the most enjoyable and interesting way of catching trout.
Not only that, a degree of expertise can be reached by the fly fisher where the method can be the most deadly of all.
But it is not the easiest method for the beginner to learn.
Many fly fishers who have found that fly fishing is the most enjoyable method are only too keen that others should learn to fly fish.
As regards worm or maggot fishing, well certainly I do not pity the worm or maggot caught trout, but I just might pity the angler who uses such methods. He is closing his mind to probably the most enjoyable form of angling ever invented.
When one studies the history of fly fishing one soon discovers that it wasn't invented to make things harder or more "sporting". The early fly fishers were only interested in putting trout, and other fish for that matter on the bank.