Gear

[Tom.S]

So I’m so excited that my day for fly fishing classes is getting closer.

I have listened to people, watched videos of what I need to buy and now I have come to the realization that I simply cannot carry all this stuff

I have bought
Boots
Stockings
Waders
Vest
Hat
Some type of a cross shoulder bag
Wicker basket
Net
First aid kit
Numerous flies and boxes
A hook sharpener ( is this really an issue)
Two poles
Two reels
A two pole carrier
A lunch box
Retractable thingys so I don’t lose things like the hook sharpener
Tippets
Leaders
Pliers
Weight crimpers
Some type of a surgical instrument forceps and a retractable thingy for them
Two sets of magnifying glasses
Line clippers and a retractable thingy
More line
Floating fly line that apparently won’t work if the fly needs to sink hence the second pole
Sun glasses polarized so I can see better?
Velcro straps for my boots to keep the gravel out
Weights
Fly tying knot instruction cards on plastic with retractable thingy

Been told to buy a 12 gauge for bear or bear spray? Just how far does that spray go?

Been told to buy a removable bug net

I think I should have just went to the class first.

Me trying to find a hobby I can continue after I retire to Tennessee in 6 years.

 

[Old406Kid]

So I’m so excited that my day for fly fishing classes is getting closer.

I have listened to people, watched videos of what I need to buy and now I have come to the realization that I simply cannot carry all this stuff

I have bought
Boots
Stockings
Waders
Vest
Hat
Some type of a cross shoulder bag
Wicker basket
Net
First aid kit
Numerous flies and boxes
A hook sharpener ( is this really an issue)
Two poles
Two reels
A two pole carrier
A lunch box
Retractable thingys so I don’t lose things like the hook sharpener
Tippets
Leaders
Pliers
Weight crimpers
Some type of a surgical instrument forceps and a retractable thingy for them
Two sets of magnifying glasses
Line clippers and a retractable thingy
More line
Floating fly line that apparently won’t work if the fly needs to sink hence the second pole
Sun glasses polarized so I can see better?
Velcro straps for my boots to keep the gravel out
Weights
Fly tying knot instruction cards on plastic with retractable thingy

Been told to buy a 12 gauge for bear or bear spray? Just how far does that spray go?

Been told to buy a removable bug net

I think I should have just went to the class first.

Me trying to find a hobby I can continue after I retire to Tennessee in 6 years.

Sounds to me like you're about halfway there.

 

[wanderingrichard]

Wicker basket sounds like an old school creel. Unless you're gonna audition for a recast of Grumpy Old Men, take it back.

Nice to have two rods in case one breaks, but maybe a better set up would have been a 2nd spool for the reel.

What kind of vest ? A Fleece to keep you warm type or a "Fly Fishing " vest?

Don't need the shotgun, the bear spray works on humans too. Spray distance depends on the manufacturer. Some only go 15 feet, some 30.

Yeah , class first, with one rod and reel works best.

 

[Zak]

Re the hook sharpener, I buy line clippers/nippers that have a sharpener glued to one side. The seperate hook sharpeners are heavy and uneccessary, I think (though I have two of them). I'd leave the wicker basket at home as a piece of art hanging on the wall. And, most fly anglers call poles "rods."

 

[headduck]

Wait til you start tying your own...

 

[Tom.S]

Wait til you start tying your own...

I want to learn and I think a boat when I retire would be a good idea

 

[Stonedfish]

Wading belt.
SF

 

[NRC]

A plumbus

 

[Zak]

A plumbus

A what now?

 

[Josh]

Looking at that list, I know I have most all those things (well, not the Wicker basket) and more. I sure wouldn't want to see a typed list of all the stuff in my fishing cabinet.

 

[jasmillo]

You need a rod, a reel, a line, some leader material, some tippet, about 5 fly patterns and a love for fishing to truly get started. Everything else you “need” will become obvious at a later point.

The last thing is the most important one. If you don’t have it, everything else you’ve bought and plan to buy, is a complete waste of money.

12 gauge or bear spray for bear? I have been fishing (fly fishing and conventional) for 40 years in various areas where bears are common. Black and grizzlies. I have never carried either. Not once. Including when I was an 8 year old wandering the woods of New England by myself all summer fishing where black bears are very common.

 

[Old406Kid]

Re the hook sharpener, I buy line clippers/nippers that have a sharpener glued to one side. The seperate hook sharpeners are heavy and uneccessary, I think (though I have two of them). I'd leave the wicker basket at home as a piece of art hanging on the wall. And, most fly anglers call poles "rods."

This is where the wicker basket goes.

 

[cedarslug]

Great list! Though I think you’re missing a few fish whistles

 

[Rob Allen]

Only one comment...


RODS, not poles... telephones have poles.... ummm well, they used to

Anyway proper terminology is Rod

 

[iveofione]

This is where the wicker basket goes.
View attachment 31215

Amen to that! The Wicker creel-now there is some nostalgia. It hearkens back to the days of carrying a spare condenser and set of points in the glove compartment or a guy keeping a 3 year old condom in his wallet hoping to get lucky at some point.

 

[Tom.S]

I’m going to look back on this one day and laugh even harder than now. I hope to find a bud that wants to fish but going solo has it advantages as well.

Catching some fish, taking pics and releasing most will be the adventure for the day in the early years of my retirement.

Tying flies will be a fun quiet thing to do. Learning the hatch cycles, tying the flies and peeping the fly boxes for the next days catch sounds like a good time investment.

 

[Tom.S]

Wicker basket sounds like an old school creel. Unless you're gonna audition for a recast of Grumpy Old Men, take it back.

Nice to have two rods in case one breaks, but maybe a better set up would have been a 2nd spool for the reel.

What kind of vest ? A Fleece to keep you warm type or a "Fly Fishing " vest?

Don't need the shotgun, the bear spray works on humans too. Spray distance depends on the manufacturer. Some only go 15 feet, some 30.

Yeah , class first, with one rod and reel works best.

A bought a fly fishing vest look like something a minimalist would wear one it came in the mail.

 

[TicTokCroc]

A bought a fly fishing vest look like something a minimalist would wear one it came in the mail.

I would rock the creel, my main setup is my rod, and my great grandfather's Kelly Creel with some flies and tippet in the outer pockets.


And poles are for strippers...

 

[headduck]

You're gonna do just fine.

 

[Peyton00]

Throw all that shit away and buy golf clubs.