Gear Basics

So let's start at the beginning, rod and reel, line and leader and what to haul you stuff around the stream in! Last week I started to think maybe I needed a new vest, not that my old vest was that old, not enough pockets and places for stuff. So I went online and pursued the options, finding nothing that really caught my eye, I took another look at my old gear. A chest pack from the 90's and an old vest from the 80's. I will admit the stuff I had in the 70's I long since discarded but I do have an old photo of me in a vest and a very nice vest at that ...plenty of pockets.

I did like the chest pack, more like a fanny pack with a detachable harness (I wore it as a fanny pack most times) and my old Orvis vest from the 80's still has a lot of character. When the weather gets warm I prefer no vest, just a box of flies in my shirt pocket and my waders turned down at the waist. Simplicity is always the best answer, realizing that you may never be able to carry every fly you own and better selection of what to bring may actually improve your fishing skills.After all it is all about the skill part sometimes, most times its not about the fly but the size and presentation. So all this talk about gear is just talk, sells a lot of product for the people who make the stuff, but does it help you catch fish?