Now that anglers are coming out of the woodwork and starting to fill the river with their rusty fly fishing skills after a long winter, there are a handful of trout anglers you’re bound to see. If you see these six fly anglers you’ll at least be entertained if you’re not catching anything.
Gore-TEX Guy
As if a magazine ad jumped off the page and landed next to you in the river, this guy has all the newest gear that looks brand new and picture-perfect. Have his waders ever touched the water? His rods and reels are the same ones you have set as your desktop wallpaper at work and the back of his truck is better stocked than your local fly shop.
The Redneck
Wet wading in overalls, shirtless and a can of worms in his back pocket that he uses to bait his dry fly before sending that abomination out into the river. This dude is the anti-thesis of fly fishing and the elitist in you curses his every move. He also catches a ton of fish, which makes it way worse.
The Elitist
His favorite view is looking down at other anglers that, “simply don’t understand.” His bamboo rods are so pretty they make your knees weak, but he barely ever fishes them because they cost more than your crummy truck. He only identifies bugs by their scientific name and knows each life cycles of more bugs than you knew existed.
The Instagrammer
This guy can’t take a step without posting it on social media. He makes you pause when you sip your beer so he can kneel down and get the right amount of sun flare in the shot. He makes you fish on the worst weather days to make him look cooler on his social feed. You know he posts the same fish three times from different angles and he’ll even change outfits a few times to make it look like he’s on the water every day.
The Noob
The second this angler starts stringing up his rod, you know he’s a noob. You know because you pulled in at the same time and you’re ready to hit the water while his line keeps falling down his guides when he tries to grab the leader and he can’t quite find the second strap on his waders. Take this guy under your wing. It’s your duty as a seasoned fly angler to take a noob under your wing as your padawan for the day. You’re likely to be rewarded by a free round back at the trucks, once he figures out how to take off his wading boots.
The Old Timer
You might never see this angler, but if you do pay attention to their every move. Like an apparition, the old timer knows how to sneak away from the put in and find the best spots on the river you didn’t even know existed. He can cast three times as far as you with half the effort and his knots look like works of art. Find an old-timer to be your mentor and you’ll jump on the fast track to being the best angler on the river.
https://postflybox.com/blog/2018/10/18/invest-in-what-you-love-equity-crowdfunding-and-why-were-doing-it/
https://postflybox.com/blog/2018/11/13/game-fish-of-the-week-brown-trout/
https://postflybox.com/blog/2018/11/06/river-etiquette-fish-karma-why-they-are-so-important/
Haha, this is great.
the gore tech guys invaded deckers on the south platte after a river runs through it came out
Fly shops wouldn’t survive without those guys…
Spot on. Healthy population of elitists and gore-tex guys here in central PA.
Haha!
Where you at Chris? I’m in Lock Haven.
While fishing the”Brule” for steelhead.My girlfriend noticed a guy walking by and said “He looks just like he jumped out of a catalog!”. I was surprised!
All of these guys have their merits. The only anglers I truly can’t abide are the ones that disrespect the river by leaving trash, tossing cigarette butts and walking right through a run I’m fishing. There are also more than a couple of guides who feel they have a God given right to push you out of hole for the benefit of their clients.
What about the local guy who thinks it’s his river and talks trash while giving you the stank eye because you have the nerve to fish his river
I’m with Guimont!………..some think because they been guiding the river for 15 years that your a tourist or part time guide because he doesn’t want to look over and see you killing it all day w/ your clients! After only a few years!
I think I’m “bi-angler” “metrafishual”. .h
I found the old guy just a few weeks ago, he was pretty cool. His name was Jerry and that description fit him perfectly.
For the guides, I bring my dog. I have taught him to walk the water correctly, not shake but most importantly, one word from me and he growls. Can’t afford the fancy new gear but I’m dry and conformable. What grinds my gears are those guys walking through the fish beds. Pick up your trash and tell your kid to shut up.
As someone pointed out, they all have their place. It’s scary to think that I fit into each category throughout my fishing career. I agree with you guys, I get upset with the people who leave trash or those who are not considerate to others regardless if it’s their home waters or not. While the tug, the chase, the scenery, and the fish draw me to fishing, it’s the people and acquaintances that often leave the biggest impact on me.
What about the trout bum? The guy with a nice setup, but you know was bought second hand. An entire tube of aqua seal on his waders, and an altoids can of parachute adams and ehc, that were probably tied himself.
Damn, you nailed it. I was wondering where I fell, but I have the nice brands all purchased 100% second-hand for about 10% the retail price, a second-hand fly desk at home to tie all of my flies with all of my boxes of second-hand materials, to be fished in my buddies hand-me-down waders with 5 patches (or in shorts).
Im right there with you, I’m kinda new to the scene myself, my 2 fly rods were a gift and a hand-me-down missing a guide. I tie my own flies and sell em to a couple of buddies because the shops out here are outrageous, and my waders were gifted too.
a buddy and I try to outdo each other on how cheap the rig is that we caught our last few fish… used and old baby!
Is it possible to be the redneck without the bait?
The worst type are the invaders -the inconsiderate fools who see you catching fish and move in to within 10 feet of you on both sides, thereby hindering your ability to set up a good drift and get your wet fly down in the trough. It should be legal to fire a w
a buddy and I try to outdo each other on how cheap the rig is that we caught our last few fish… used and old baby!
Hmm; Not sure where I would fall…. Just finally received my 1st and only bamboo rod, yet waders are patched and aqua-sealed (last coat curing as I write!). Meanwhile, I’m reminded of fishing a steep, heavily boulder-strewn section in the Smokies, that took a while to hike to. Calmly casting away, some asshole in shorts and flip-flops comes bounding over my head, boulder to boulder, flippin’ his fly into every pocket twice, then leaping on, doing the same to my wife, two pools up. He just turns and grins and away he went. They’re out there.
All these guys tend to view all the rest with suspicion, or outright contempt. Each is pretty sure he’s doing it the right way. There is no right way. The only wrong way is the discourteous way.
Best thing that ever happened to Fly Fishing was Tiger Woods. I think he caused a lot of the A River Runs Through It folks to thankfully move over to golf. #nextshinyobject
Is this Michael in Boise?