APRIL 2023 FLASHBACK!
SCOTT OLSON, CONEJO FLY FISHERS’ PRESIDENT
MONTHLY MISSIVE | DUSTING OFF THE GEAR
If your fishing vest is anything like mine it becomes a repository over time of an amalgam of miscellaneous items that needs to be occasionally purged, or at least sorted and organized. I try to take everything out of my vest at least once a year to take stock of what I have and what needs attention.
Take fly boxes for instance. I have organized my fly boxes into different categories……. mayfly nymphs, mayfly dries, caddis nymphs etc. (nine in all). You get the idea.
However, many times when I’m actually out in the field fishing it can get rather frenetic trying to match the hatch, so flies sometimes go on and come off at a feverish pace leaving a muddled mess of flies in my boxes and on my drying patch.
I tell myself after each trip that I will “clean up” that patch, but mostly it only happens once a year (usually during a rainy winter day) which takes it from being a five-minute job to something more like an hour. It’s amazing to me how many flies can accumulate on that little 2” x 2” patch of fleece.
Other vest housekeeping duties include refilling weight boxes cleaning and sorting indicators, checking tippet spools for quantity and quality and checking leader inventory.
I also carry things like a flashlight, several pairs of gloves, stomach pump and other miscellany. All of which I make sure to clean, install new batteries in or just check to make sure they are in satisfactory working order.
It’s nice to start out the season with a well-organized and clean vest (it goes in the washing machine one a year) with all of the necessary accoutrements of our sport ready for action.
I wonder if a three year old granola bar is still edible?
Tight lines and fighting fish to all!
Scott Olson | CVFF Former President
