Growing Pains: Haunted by GAS

[jeed]

Growing Pains: Haunted by GAS- need satchel advise!

Like every other hobby I've ever had, I'm getting GAS again. You know what I'm talkin' bout: At first its windows shopping, then late night browsing on the Simms site, then before you know it you're frantically browsing ebay on your phone at 3 am on the john praying you don't find anything lest the credit card gets another burn mark.

But I'm a seasoned GAS sufferer, I have some modicum of control; hey, stop laughing! I can funnel it into productivity, and progressively streamline my setups. That said, I've come to two dangerous conclusions that I need some advise on:

1. After quite some time of searching for and identifying the flies in my box, I've come to the conclusion that I'm really starting to dislike commercial flies. I've used the same wooly bugger from orvis maybe twice, now, and it lost all of its hackles after the first cast. the worm I used on my last trip had the dangling rubber ends fall off after 2 casts into the water, also an orvis fly. I've read a lot and expect flys to degenerate quickly, but I wasn't expecting that type of damage right off the bat.

Now the question is: should I save myself further disappointment and just get on with tying my own, or are there better distributers out there?

2. After being and working around musicians and artists my entire life and working in mechanical and electrical trades, I'm big on tailored and streamlined gear setups. when I initially got into fly fishing, I got a lot of stuff off an old friend: tools, a few gear bags etc., I picked what I needed and sold the rest (kind of regret getting rid of that fishpond bighorn kit bag now, could have used it for a fly tying kit...)he turned me onto fishpond and I ended up getting a wildhorse tech pack. I love this thing: a sizeable backpack with a full vest and more pockets, loops, tabs and hooks than I know what to do with and room for a huge water bladder and anything else I can possibly think of needing. shoot, I can backpack with this thing. but as I go for my little half day trips, I find that while the pack is sure utility based, I rarely wear it in the water for its intended purpose. it usually gets thrown onto the log or grass as I go about my business, making the short walk back when I need to change a fly or tippet. to me this seems like a waste of energy and space . now if I was hefting more gear like on a salmon trip or guiding, I could see this being a viable wear-all-the-time deal, but the utility freak in me is crying for further simplicity.

So I ask, how many setups do you have? I was thinking of trying a satchel: since I'm a leathersmith, maybe even making one if I like it. But then again I fall into the conundrum of finding a satchel dirt cheap with the features I'd want to try and see if I liked it or not.

 

[dean_mt]

Gear addiction sufferer?

Get a basic but solid vise, same for the basic tools, a starter combo hackle cape, and small assortment thread, dubbing etc. Search this forum for first vise and tying tools and you'll find a lot advice. If you are not satisfied with commercial flies and are inclined to learning new skills then by all means go for it. Fly tying is easily one of my favorite hobbies.

 

[mridenour]

As for tying your own flies:

If you use wooly buggers by all means get a vise and start tying them. The savings isn't what I like about it. It is having the ability to put a tungsten bead or a brass bead on the head, wrapping in lead for the body and having control of the weight to tie a fly that really works best in the waters I am fishing.

I can try little things that make the fly my own and maybe make it grab more attention among the seasoned fish that have seen many wooly buggers before.

Then there is the satisfaction of having that monstrosity you created hanging out of a big fish's mouth at the end of a fun battle.

I don't tie all my own flies. Getting flies from Jerry (hairwing530) is just too good of a deal and the quality is better than the ones I tie myself.

But I do enjoy tying the patterns I use the most and learning a new pattern from time to time. I just ordered a few more materials to start tying a bunch of egg-sucking leeches. Salmon season is right around the corner!

 

[petee]

If you give into the dark side, you are going to need more than a satchel. It is an addictive hobby and tying flies on your own isn't really any more budget friendly than buy the junk they sell on the market now days##. If you fight the dark side at least get a bottle of super glue or head cement. That way you can apply a dab to the head wraps or any other weak area of the store bought flies

That being said...... go for it. It is a kick in the pants to catch fish on flies you tied. Just know going into it that the inventory of materials will be a ever increasing storage issue.

There are great deals on vises and equipment out there. You will get 1000 different opinions on what the best vise is. Try several until you find one that feels right to you. I would recommend getting a rotary vise. It opens up your options. Most fly fishing clubs offer fly tying classes. I would recommend joining one. Knocks down the learning curve and allows you to try out other tier's equipment.

## Not every store bought fly is junk, there are a couple of good fly retailers out there.

Pete

 

[fredaevans]

I sooooo hear you Jeed. FedEx truck just drove up (and I do mean just) and she hauls out this huge Amazon box. I have NO IDEA what I bought that would take a box that big. Christmas on 1 August.

Actually there's more to the 'buy on line' than just boxes at the door. Most of the 'stuff' I may want can be found 'on line' and I don't have to do any bloody chasing around to find 'it.' 'Click-Click' and 'it' is on its way; including what ever the hells in this huge box.[poke]

Fred

Hint: 99% of the time you get exactly what you expected ... THE EXCEPTION is footware. NEVER-EVER buy a pair of shoes on line.

 

[jeed]

the satchel would be more for the river. I like steamlined setups, but hauling around the wildhorse for it to just be left on shore bothers me, I like to be mobile.

as for flies, tying seems to be an easy advancement for me. I know there's the ct fly fishermans association up north, but I haven't found or know of any organizations in southern ct. we'll see.

 

[petee]

Several of the guys I fish with, including myself keep a small tying kit in the truck with the basics for the conditions we are fishing. It's great for the slow times during the afternoon before the hatch or it cools enough to fish again.

I would recommend a pedstal for whatever vise you get. Then a fence post, tailgate or stump is your friend.

 

[jeed]

So I figure i'll start tying once I have the cash needed for startup, but that still leaves me with number two!

Still torn on what to do. I love the pack but its too much bulk for short trips. I thought about a sling pack, but as a larger guy, the whole sling thing doesn't suit me well for ergonomics. so maybe the satchel? how many packs do you usually keep for certain situations?

 

[chum8888]

I agree with the GAS thing. I spend countless hours searching for "Simms Closeouts" picking up things I don't really need now but justify it by saying that I'll need it later. Do I really need 5 pairs of Waders?

As for flytying, although I'm a beginner to flyfishing, I started tying my own flies early on with some help from my friend who is an expert fly fisher. Found that flies I tied myself worked way better. I also get more satisfaction when I catch fish on my own flies.

 

[fox]

Well you guys let me know when you see any closeout sells on simms convertible waders

 

[chum8888]

For those that want a GAS attack and is either very big or small, some insane prices here:


Wading Sale

 

[cab]

By all means, start tying, it adds to the sport tremendously.

As for streamside, I carry all my stuff (a lot of stuff) in a backpack.

CAB

 

[fredaevans]

Most fly fishermen carry FAR MORE 'STUFF' than they really will ever need. Example: Just how many tippet spools do you really need? Me? Depending up the water conditions just two. That's it.

One (or two small ones) fly box and a bit of other junk and it all goes into a 'Fanny Pack' that goes around your middle. Need something? Just tug it around front and pull out what you need. These also come with one or two water bottles hangers if designed for fishing.

The Hemostat has a short cord off of one finger ring and onto that goes a nail clipper, hook file and a Police Whistle. Hemo's get clamped to my shirt and just hangs down or tucked into the top of my chest waders.

Vis a vis the water bottle(s) half fill them with water the night before and into the freezer. Next morning top off with tap water. Water will stay cold for hours. Going to be a very long hot day? Fill one 3/4 full, freeze and top off in the morning. That puppy will take hours to fully defrost and you have cold water over the majority of the day.

 

[james w 3 3]

So I figure i'll start tying once I have the cash needed for startup, but that still leaves me with number two!

Still torn on what to do. I love the pack but its too much bulk for short trips. I thought about a sling pack, but as a larger guy, the whole sling thing doesn't suit me well for ergonomics. so maybe the satchel? how many packs do you usually keep for certain situations?

No on the sling pack, I gave mine the heave ho. Lots of features, sure, but clumsy to use and not as stable as you'd think when rock hopping.
There are some great small, stable backpacks available at far better prices than the big fly fishing manufacturers offer. (Sorry guys.) Shop closeouts and sales either online (or better) in person. Last spring I was in REI shopping for something else and got a small Mountain Hardwear day pack for half price. Sweet.

 

[Ard]

My Advise,

Keep it simple. I have tried and to a certain extent have succeeded in following my own advise. Do I have a bunch of rods - reels and fly tying materials? Yes. The important things to focus on are that the collection I have took over 40 years to accumulate. For a large part of that time (about half) I owned 3 rods and reels. The fly tying stuff has taken longer than the tackle to collect. Never go into debt for tackle or tying materials, never. I've not ever seen the tackle or materials which I needed so badly that I couldn't wait until I had the funds to make the acquisition without cutting into my general funds or feeling guilty / buyers remorse about.

Fly casting & tying are the things of a lifelong pursuit, there is no prize for finishing first. However little or much I may know took me my entire adult life and most of my teens to figure it out.

Try not to become obsessed with acquisitions, if you must become obsessed with something become obsessed with learning. Develop your own knowledge base to draw from when a puzzling situation comes up while you are on the water. Spend as much time as you can afford observing everything on and along the streams and not just worrying over catching a fish. There is so much to learn that I know I'll never even scratch the surface of the outdoors and especially what is going on beneath the surface of my local rivers and creeks.

It's been a long time since I have worried about how I was going to carry a slew of gear and tackle along a riverside. Think about what you really need and carry it. if you are really gonna hike 3 miles up a creek and spend a day, any Jansport day pack will get it done. That's right I'm still using a Jansport I got in the early 1980s before a waterproof guide pack was even in the works.

Please don't get me wrong, I like to see the market keeping the sport alive but in just reading posts here I see so many people rushing ahead gathering more items in a couple short years than some of us have done in a lifetime. One of these days even I will be having a rod sale

 

[jeed]

sound advise as always, good sir. Don't get me wrong, I'm not looking to blindly add to my gear collection in an attempt to put bandaids on problems, I just know how I work and move to correct things swiftly. Shoot, I just got rid of a bunch of stuff I didn't need that I picked up off a guy who dropped 4 grand on gear and only used 400; I however, am not so easily torn away from my money lol.

I bought the tech pack because in my mind at the time, it was an even medium to the situations I expected to go through. as always, things change, and I find myself needing to simplify my setup. I have a handful of gear in this huge pack and its just not fit for the need. if I was going to Iceland and felt the need to pack more, then the tech pack would be a prime candidate, but I just need a smaller bag for the little trips I take close ot home, thus the original post.

 

[jgentile]

Gear addiction sufferer

GAS = Gear Acquisition Syndrome

As far as tying... If you are in this for the long haul then yes it is ultimately cheaper as the mats you purchase for one patterns will ultimately be used in another. You start by buying mats for one or two patterns and slowly expand from there. The next thing you know you start subbing a material here or there (tri-tone substitution) and you get a nifty variation of an old standard pattern all with a nice resolution to the tonic.

I will say that the only thing better than catching a fish on a fly is catching a fish on a fly you tied by yourself. I have heard that the only thing better than this is adding a rod that you have built yourself. The last scenario will only increase your GAS suffering.

As far as bags I use a small sling pack taking what I expect what I need. I like to travel light. If I am wearing my wading jacket I won't even take a bag as I have enough storage available. I keep a small water proof bag locked in the trucks storage with many other goodies should I need them. They are only a short hike away.

I too am a musician and have suffered from GAS. What I have learned though is that a new guitar isn't going to make you a better player. To some extent that certain tone a guitarist seeks can be found in their hands, not a new instrument. The same thing with a rod. You don't need a Sage Method to necessarily make that cast or get that drift. You need time on the water, which is the fly fishermans equivalent to the musicians wood shed.

 

[jeed]

well said good sir! And along that line of thinking, you can carry a les paul in a garbage bag and make it up the stairs, but there's no guarantee on it being in one piece when you get to the stage.