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| Some famous dude that's been on TV |
Are you the angler who just fishes and has never been to any shows, tying demos or T.U. meetings? Are you the type that bought a new rod when top of the line rods cost $495 and could care less about the new Silica Nano Matrix now being used in rods? You know how to use it and it's not what's being used, but how it's being used. Or.....
Do you just know someone like this? :)
I would definitely fall into the 1st category more so than the 2nd. I am a gear head and just love to have the newest products out there. I hang out in fly shops and find reasons to buy new materials and love to see other people tie flies. I have friends who have the crappiest gear, but know how to use it and could care less about what's happening off the stream. Some of them can't pronounce the names of fly patterns, but can sure catch fish on them. So where do you fall or where does your buddy fall?
I'm the kind that wants to go to all the shows and demos but didn't have any close enough so I started my own!
ReplyDeleteWell I'm a gearhead, but an old gearhead who likes old gear. I love the shows and tying demos and meeting people of like mind. Okay, I do have two new rods...
ReplyDeleteI love the fly tying and fishing expos and demos can't get enough. But I am the kind of fisherman who just likes to get out on the water and hangs out in fly shop because eventually they'll give you a cup of coffee and give you a call when the new order of saddles come in. I have some cheap rods and some expensive rods and they all catch fish.
ReplyDeleteI'm somewhere in the middle. I have some old cheap gear, some old quality gear, some not so old quality gear, and have a strong desire for some of the new goodness... I just don't have much of a budget. I know a lot of the names out there, but I've only been to one show and was only briefly involved in local FFF clubs. I think the reason I know names (both contemporary and historical) is because I read. I'm a fly fishing bibliophile, read a good bit online, and digest a current magazine pretty regularly.
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of Fly Fisherman am I? First and foremost, I’m not a gear head. I’ve learned over the years that equipment is important and that I need good gear, but I chose my wading boots by how they feel on my feet, my waders by how they fit a body that is more legs than torso, my vests by how they ride my shoulders after twelve hours on the water and my rods by the way they fit my hand and my casting style. Reels by their function both when dry and wet and how they balance a particular rod. Equipment for me is all about quality, fit, function and dependability. So I’m not going to put on a fashion show in the parking lot, I don’t need a zipper in my waders so I an conveniently take a leak and at the end of the day if everything I have with me or on me has added to my having a good experience on the water I’m comfortable and happy!
ReplyDeleteHaven’t been to a fly fishing show or sportsman’s exhibition in twenty years and wouldn’t drive across town to attend one. They’re well sponsored and there’s always neat stuff to look at, but they also present a short period of time where most of the fly fisherman, shop owners and guides are off to the show and I can get some time on the water where I don’t have to fight nearly as many fellow anglers. Walking through an oversized exhibition hall rubbing elbows with my fellow anglers won’t make me a better angler so why would I waste the time and if I want to book a trip, I’ll do the research, call and agent and book the trip. I don’t need three hours of chatter and nine pamphlets to pull that off.
As for tying demos, I do go watch another tier on occasion, but it’s usually to say hi to an old friend and have them stop by for coffee at my place once the herd has left the room. I know some of the better tiers today and have known quite a few others that aren’t with us any more. It would require a very special tier to crop up to pull me away from my bench or a day on the river.
I guess I’m the kind of fly fisherman who would much prefer to be in the middle of a trout stream with just myself, the sounds of the river and the trout. I’ve built a life around those wonderful moments, I’m a pretty fair tier and angler and I’ve found my grove. I respect those that love to collect gear or even feel they need the latest rod or raingear to maximize their fishing. I think it’s great that some folks go to the shows browse the booths, take in the lectures and I think it’s great that tiers who want to see a particular pattern or technique can take in a tying demo, but for me….. Fly fishing is the river and my being lost in my thoughts while on its banks.
Well, Anonymous said it quite well. I agree with most of that other than I wish I knew more of the big tiers, their patterns and styles. More than anything, for the power of knowledge.
ReplyDeleteAs for me... "IT" is between me and the fish. What ever man made materialistic things I must beg borrow or steel to do so.. well caddie bar the door!
I'm sure my gear is considered good but I don't care a bit. If I loose a fish because of a piece of gear, I ditch it right then, regardless of cost or the brand.
I respect guys like you, who have managed to make a bit of a name for themselves without smearing snot all over their faces.
Respect is lost when a "big guy" costs someone who is seriously trying... one fish.
Like others have posted, I have old crappy gear that caught lots of fish, and new fabulous gear that catches lots of fish. Nice rods and reels just feel better in my hands, cast better/more accurately, and altogether just plain 'ol perform better.
ReplyDeleteGood waders fit better and don't make my butt look too big... the old neoprene waders made me look like I was harboring a basketball on each cheek. Or worse. Those neoprenes probably frightened more fellow fishers than the cheap boots did... made my feet look gigantic! I dunno! Put them both together and and a behemoth was born!
Guys don't seem to mind sporting huge feet, 'cause you know the percieved correlation between feet and ummm... well, I won't go there. It's not true, anyway. I know because I used to date a circus clown. I'll say no more.
Every day I see people out there with high-end gear slapping the water as if they were out to spank the trout, to teach them a lesson and make them *really* sorry. Also see gear heads catching lots, having a great time, too. I also see people with modest gear catching nice fish. And likewise, see some spanking the water. Great gear doesn't make you a great fisher. Great gear just feels better, even if you're only slapping the water and spanking trout.
So yes, good gear fits and feels better. It's worth the price, in my opinion.
Does this make me a gear head? Probably so. But I'm a gear head without a huge, lumpy derriere and nice feet.
I'm definitely the second guy. I don't understand or really care about the newest gear or lightest rods. I have never attended a fly tying seminar, although I keep saying I'm going to in order to meet new people more than to watch flies being tied. I'm also the guy who can pick a book full of midges and only find a half dozen patterns with a thousand variations and not know the name of a single one. If you have seen any of the flies I come up with they all have names like caddis pupae, small midge, emerger, stonefly or sculpin. I have way more interest in the entomological life cycle than who took claim for the fly design.
ReplyDeleteAs far as equipment and gear goes I definitely don't have what is considered by manufacturers to be the best. I don't believe 2oz of weight and $500 extra makes a better fishing fly rod. Even rods I've cast at fly shops that are enough to make me drool a little from the smoothness and finesse of the rod has no reflection how that rod is going to perform throwing big flies across multiple currents at 15 feet.
I am a fish head not a gear head, but I do strongly support my local shops and spend more time involved on the water than in fishing events.
There's one missing. It's the person who has the most expensive rod but just stands in the fly shop all day talking about how good they are. I'm that guy.
ReplyDeleteIn between. I like shows, but I forget to go to them. I have very nice gear because I spend a lot of time using it, but I've only owned 3 rods in 20 years - a 2 wt, a 5 wt and a 6 wt. Never needed anything else (though I may get a 4 wt. soon, for the wife, of course :)
ReplyDeleteI do love being alone on the water, and away from the crowds, but I also love being on the water with good friends.
My least favorite thing is arrogant fisherman that are all about proving how awesome they are. It makes me sad when I see guys out there turning fly-fishing into an iPod wearing, bro-bra, "extreme" sport ... but then again, to each his own, so I usually try to just look away and keep fishing.
I like the shows and seeing the new gear. But I need to be more like the second fellow. I need to know how to use what I have right now! However, I have attended some very helpful seminars and classes at the shows. Besides, it is the one place I can go besides the river or lake and talk about my favorite sport without the wife being able to raise a protest!
ReplyDeleteI would have to say I am in the norm, meaning I don’t own the most expensive fly equipment, but I do have quality equipment. I don’t tie my own flies, because I don’t have the time to spend trying to learn to turn out a fly that would please me. I may one day try tying but not at this stage in my fishing life. I consider myself quite conservative when it comes to what I spent on fishing. I hardly ever pay more than a buck for a fly and most I purchase for less than buck. The old saying you pay for what you get, well in the case of the flies I used I consider them top quality. I use to think I had to have the very latest gadgets that came out on the market for fishing but as I have aged I realize one can catch just as many fish with the equipment he has if he knows how to use it correctly. I do like to tour the fly shops and tackle shops but I spend more looking than I do buying. My wife really likes that aspect of my fishing.
ReplyDeletesomewhere in the middle. i mostly like to fish and tie but will occasionally stop in a tying demo on a nasty weather saturday when i can't be outside. not much of a gearhead either - i use stuff until it breaks or is worn out. about the only new stuff i regularly buy is tying supplies. so i guess i trend more toward the latter than the former.
ReplyDeleteGuys, this is awesome! I had hoped to get some comments on this. As I was walking downtown Colorado Springs, on my daily lunch walk, I was thinking about the differences between fly fishers. Just back from the Fly Fishing Show in Denver, I wondered why there weren't more people there. I mean there were a lot over three days, but I know there are a heck of a lot of fly fishers out there. I figured most people would love to visit a show like this. Then I got to thinking about the cost just to get in and the potential cost of buying something you just can't live without. I then thought of some people who fish a lot and could care less what was happening off the stream. They could care less about the new tying book just released or the new $100.00 fly line or the new pocket HD camera to catch it all and post on YouTube. I realize there are a lot of in betweens and a lot left and right of center.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate taking the time to leave a comment and to share what type of angler you are. It definitely helps me understand why the fly tying demos are not packed or the tying classes are not full but the streams are. When it all comes down to it, we would all rather be fishing than just standing around talking about it.
I enjoy the shows and the tying demos. I learn many new things by observing, listening, and asking questions. I love to look at the gear, but try to save my money to go fishing. I enjoy meeting and talking to people that have my same passion. Jerry
ReplyDeleteI fish to catch fish and use whatever allows me to do that in the least expensive way. That said, it is always hard for me to pass up a good deal on gear. I know the names of the flies that work for my area, but I don't try to keep up with every new fly that comes out each year in all the catalogs. I fish to fool the fish, because it makes me feel smarter than I really am when I trick one into thinking my fur and feathered hook is a bug.
ReplyDeleteI like shows, but don't do TU, whose agenda is often at odds with my beliefs. I catch less than most of the people I fish with, but it's not a big deal. I probably enjoy each fish more. ( I sometimes yell when I catch one - somthing like " whoooo-hoooooo!" or "oh yeah, baby!" I also didn't mean to write this much about myself. Interesting concept, this entry. Nice work!
I'm the guy who went to a few fly fishing shows here in SoCal and thought they lacking big time. The only thing that was intriguing to me was the fly tying demos, other than that, I thought it was a waste of my hard earned money and a good fly fishing day to boot.
ReplyDeleteNow I just go fly fishing... I'll fish for any fish that will take a fly. I'm the type of fly fisherman who wants to be hooked into fish.
Thanks again to everyone who responded to this post and shared a bit about themselves and what their thoughts are on their style of fishing. It's always an eye opener to see how different people see things, even those things that they are passionate about. Thanks again--Juan
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