I have to laugh sometimes when I look at the old fly fishing outfit I’ve put together over the past couple of years. I just got back from the local TU group’s annual fly fishing expo, and got a look at much of the new, fancy, and super expensive gear. I think a tiny part of even the most down to earth, dirt poor fisherman like myself wishes to get their hands on the ‘good stuff’……..a $900 rod, $300 reel, $70 line…….$200 vest……$300 waders…..you get the picture. With all of the new gadgets and top of the line equipment, it sometimes surprises me that I’ve been able to put together a fishing outfit that’s lasted for years of hard use and caught too many fish to remember.
The Rod
The first fly rod I ever owned was a 4-5 wt St. Croix that I paid $40 for. The thing lasted me through over 6 years of heavy abuse by an inexperienced, slow learning but ambitious fly fisherman. I took it with me when I moved out West, and it finally broke down while I was trout fishing on a small northern Utah stream. To be specific, it snapped in mid-cast. As I thrust the line forward for a long cast, the top half of the rod broke off and shot into the water with the line.
My dad and I picked up a 5 wt Pflueger for $50 at a sporting goods store that evening, and four years later, it remains the rod I use most today.
I finally branched out last year and picked up a bigger rod for streamer fishing….and perhaps a rod to help me expand beyond the horizons of trout fishing. It was kind of an impulse buy. My best friend and I were at the fly shop in a Montana Cabela’s after he’d just flown in for a week of fishing. He was picking up a nice little Sage combo and I decided to get the above-mentioned rod – a 7 wt low-end Cabela’s rod that I paid $50 for and one of their cheaper reels. I still remember the passing remark from one of the guys behind the counter in that shop. “You’re a fish biologist and you’re only buying a Three Forks?”
“Yeah”, I replied with a smile as we left. I might have said something about making less money than a manager at Cabela’s, or stated the obvious – that you don’t catch more fish with a more expensive rod…….but I didn’t.
The Reel
I still use the first fly reel I ever bought, when I started out with that St. Croix 5 wt. It’s an old Daiwa 730 that I paid $15 for at the local sports shop my aunt and uncle owned for a while. I looked at that reel almost every day for about two months until finally buying it. I don’t know why I waited that long, but somehow I remember thinking that $15 was too much for a reel, just like I thought $40 was too much for a rod.
The thing has no drag, just the most annoying clicker that whines every time you pull out more line. I guess it’s time for a better reel, but I find it hard to part with something that’s done the job for so many years on so many fish.
The Vest
My first fly vest was an old one of my dad’s. He didn’t use it much, but I wore it until it began to fall apart. After buying the rod and reel outfit, I splurged and bought this Cortland vest for under $30. It still does the trick today….though some of the newer vests coming out look a lot more attractive.
The Waders
Low end Cabela’s waders and boots work fine. If I get a tear or a hole, they get patched. I go through waders far more often than any of the gear mentioned above, though.
My raggedy old outfit may not look the best or function the best, but I can catch fish with the rest of the guys, and at a much lower cost. I’m sure I’ll be upgrading a little bit at a time, and if some company wants to send me some free high end gear in exchange for advertisement, why I don’t suppose I could say no to that! But for now, this works, and I’m happy with it.
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