Tools of the Trade

As friends and family well know, I am prone to contrarian thinking. That is certainly true when it comes to fly fishing gear. Catalogs and fly shops tantalize the sport each spring with new models, designs, and construction materials. Some anglers have a dozen or more fly rods, and many reels. Not me.

My inventory of fly rods ends at just two. My everyday rod/reel is ten years old. Still works just fine. When the big trout start running up the Madison River out of Hebgen Lake in a few weeks, I’ll rig up my bigger rod too. That’s it, two rods.

It isn’t just that I rank poorly as a member of the consumer economy, though I am certainly that. Rather, I regard a few other pieces of equipment as much more important to my own angling satisfaction and success. My approach to fishing equipment is similar to Warren Buffett’s approach to the stock market. You know, invest in railroads instead of biotechs. For fly fishing equipment, a few mundane items are much more valuable to me.



Simms wading staff; collapsible, tethered

At the top of the list is my wading staff, a Simms collapsible, tethered one that I won in a TU chapter raffle some eight years ago. I would not fish the rivers out here without it. I cannot believe how many anglers wade these Western streams without a wading staff. It is a recipe for a cold dunking, or, worse, a hard fall on an unforgiving cobbled streambank.



Wading support is a beautiful thing

Whether it’s wading in a fast current or keeping my balance along a rocky bank, that wading staff provides a whole lot of comfort and security. With it in hand, I am a three-legged stool methodically getting into the right position to work a piece of water. I subscribe to Craig Mathews’s maxim: short casts from the right position. Lefty Kreh can properly present a dry fly forty feet across several different current seams. I know I’ll never cast like that. When this wading staff wears out, I will not hesitate to plunk down the considerable sum to buy a new one.

Next are the wader boots I use. They are high top style with wide, studded soles. There are lighter ones on the market, and there are easier ones to get on and off. But, for wading stability and ankle support, these are unmatched.

Makes landing/releasing a trout a dream 

A good net is third on my list. Two seasons ago, my ten year old mesh net went floating down the Gallatin while helping Paul Meyers net a nice trout. I could not have been happier to see it get away. Enough of the hassles of getting a hook snarled in the net’s mesh after landing a fish and the fish getting wrapped in the mesh.

Next time I was in town, there was a dandy rubber mesh “ghost net” on display in Bob Jacklin’s shop. Oversize too, enough space in the opening to land bigger trout. A good magnet release came with it. I cannot tell you how much more enjoyable netting and releasing a trout is with this rubber mesh net. Easier on me, easier on the trout. Worth every penny of its higher cost, and every ounce of its added weight.

Another valuable part of my fishing equipment is my iPhone. Enclosed in a waterproof case by Lifeproof. Easy, one-handed, worryfree photos on the stream. Easy photo sharing too, via email, streaming and posting to this blog.

Not the easiest place to catch/land a fish

The reward: big, slab-sided Yellowstone cutthroad

I’ve begun to hear a little noise coming from my reel’s bearings. And, rod tips are notoriously fragile things. Wear-and-tear will one day claim rod and reel. Until then, my money is going to these mundane pieces of equipment first.