The Fishing Vest
I never realized what a fishing vest can reveal about its owner until this Spring when I started re-fitting my fishing vest for the coming trout season after its annual cleaning (whether it needed it or not)! I automatically began re-filling pockets…and then I asked: “what does all this say about me?” The results of my investigation were quite revealing…and a bit sobering as well!
The first thing I realized was that we anglers are surprisingly well organized (at least as it pertains to our principal passion in life)! All the things pertaining to dry fly fishing were on one side of my vest--dry flies, fly flotant, leader sink, dry fly reels, etc. All those things pertaining to nymphing on the other side of the vest--sinking-tip lines, strike indicators, nymphs, etc. (I frankly doubt that the rest of my life could stand up to such scrutiny!) However, if I was pleased by my seeming penchant for order, I was somewhat dismayed by my subsequent revelations.
After thrusting one item after another, after another into the vest, I became shocked (“horrified” might better describe it) at the shear volume of “stuff” I was meticulously compressing into the numerous pockets of the vest. There were four fly reels, countless fly boxes (I refused to attempt an accurate count), a staggering number of spools of tippet material, three forceps, a pair of needle nose pliers, two flashlights…ad infinitim! I suddenly realized I had become a slave to my oft-repeated slogan--“it is better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.” And my poor back had paid the price over the years. I remembered one of my fishing cronies, upon hefting the “portable Orvis,” exclaiming: “What have you got in this?” To which I blithely responded: “what don’t I have in there?”
Chagrined, I removed everything from the vest, and started outfitting myself again…but only after first asking myself: “do I really need this?” I was surprised at how many of the things I had toted around with me for decades failed to pass that simple test. So now I go forth with only what I conclude are the “essentials of the angling enterprise.” Oh, I’m sure at some point during the coming season, I’ll mutter: “boy, I wish I had my…” but at least my back with be grateful for the noticeably lightened load. And, perhaps even more importantly, I feel better about myself for bringing my angling life into harmony with the counsel of my esteemed mentors who wisely urged “simplicity…simplicity” in all things!
And now, for those who may be interested, I am enclosing my list of pared down “essentials.” One reel and extra spool, two extra hand-tied leaders, four rolls of tippet material (4X-7X), only two light-weight fly boxes (one with dries, the other with nymphs), fly floatant, leader sink, Polaroid sunglasses, a single pair of forceps, a pair of needle nosed pliers, one small flashlight, camera, insect repellant…writing pad, pen, flask of Jack Daniels…as I said only the essentials!