So You Want To Start Fly Fishing
Over the weekend I was thinking about the blog and what I was going to write this week. I realized I totally forgot to chronicle my trip to the fly shop where I bought all my equipment for the first time. And then also realized that this was the beauty of blogs, unlike books they don't necessarily have to go in order.
So this reflection dates back to my days in Lancaster, PA where I had finished my senior year in college. I had just received a few graduation checks, most notable from my grandma who generously gave me $500, in total I had received about $750. So in my mind the only thing to do was buy fly fishing stuff. I had been fly fishing for about two years at this point and had really gotten into it but I had neither a rod&reel, wader, boots or even flies! So I cashed my checks and headed to the local fly shop.
When I arrived the good ol' boys there heard the magic words..."Outfit Me Please". To any fly shop owner those are like asking a drunk if wants to go to an open bar. These guys were no different, their eyes lite up and they started to wait on me hand and foot, but that is not always a good thing for a greenhorn like I was at the time. These guys were shamelessly trying to sell me everything in the store. I quickly realized this and said something that I am still thinking about whether or not it was the right ting to say, "Guys I only need the essentials." I said that because they were telling me I needed to gloves to protect my hands from the sun, I needed to get this, that and everything thing which was not necessary. I was planning on buying boots, waders and vest. It was my hope they would just give me everything else, but I guess when people know they have an easy sell sometimes they get greedy.
When I left the shop I had most of the essentials but not all of them. I think my not buying all the crap they were selling, they purposely left out some of the most important little things. I walked out with waders, boots, vest, fly box, flies, pliers, wading stick, and net, but I was missing one important thing. They failed to mention a very vital component of dry fly fishing, dry fly goo/powder. These guys sold me nothing but dry flies but never told me I needed some kind of floatant, and that's why I believe they were playing some kind of inside joke on me. So below I have done all you newbies a favor and listed everything you need to start fly fishing.
Essential Check List
Rod/Reel/Line
Wader&Boots or Choacos
Polarized Sunglasses
Vest or Hip Pack
Split Shots
Tippet
Fly Box w/ Flies
Dry Fly Floatant
Strike Indicators
Net
Forceps or Scissor Pliers
Over the weekend I was thinking about the blog and what I was going to write this week. I realized I totally forgot to chronicle my trip to the fly shop where I bought all my equipment for the first time. And then also realized that this was the beauty of blogs, unlike books they don't necessarily have to go in order.
So this reflection dates back to my days in Lancaster, PA where I had finished my senior year in college. I had just received a few graduation checks, most notable from my grandma who generously gave me $500, in total I had received about $750. So in my mind the only thing to do was buy fly fishing stuff. I had been fly fishing for about two years at this point and had really gotten into it but I had neither a rod&reel, wader, boots or even flies! So I cashed my checks and headed to the local fly shop.
When I arrived the good ol' boys there heard the magic words..."Outfit Me Please". To any fly shop owner those are like asking a drunk if wants to go to an open bar. These guys were no different, their eyes lite up and they started to wait on me hand and foot, but that is not always a good thing for a greenhorn like I was at the time. These guys were shamelessly trying to sell me everything in the store. I quickly realized this and said something that I am still thinking about whether or not it was the right ting to say, "Guys I only need the essentials." I said that because they were telling me I needed to gloves to protect my hands from the sun, I needed to get this, that and everything thing which was not necessary. I was planning on buying boots, waders and vest. It was my hope they would just give me everything else, but I guess when people know they have an easy sell sometimes they get greedy.
When I left the shop I had most of the essentials but not all of them. I think my not buying all the crap they were selling, they purposely left out some of the most important little things. I walked out with waders, boots, vest, fly box, flies, pliers, wading stick, and net, but I was missing one important thing. They failed to mention a very vital component of dry fly fishing, dry fly goo/powder. These guys sold me nothing but dry flies but never told me I needed some kind of floatant, and that's why I believe they were playing some kind of inside joke on me. So below I have done all you newbies a favor and listed everything you need to start fly fishing.
Essential Check List
Rod/Reel/Line
Wader&Boots or Choacos
Polarized Sunglasses
Vest or Hip Pack
Split Shots
Tippet
Fly Box w/ Flies
Dry Fly Floatant
Strike Indicators
Net
Forceps or Scissor Pliers
1 comment:
Nice post!
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