Fly Fishing Tribes

Each so called genre of fly fishing is represented by its own so called "tribe."  Each group has their own distinctive look, gear, lingo and ways about them.  When it comes to fly fishing I originally belonged to the adipose fin tribe.  If it didn't have an adipose fin I was pretty much not interested in catching it.  Since that time I would like to say that I have matured as a fisherman and now greatly appreciate what different species have to offer.  Variety is the spice of life is my new mantra.  As a result I find myself as a member of many fly fishing tribes. 

This post will highlight some of my time when I was a full blown trout weenie.  My dress has changed from non-breathable waders to the much more comfortable breathables.  I still have my original Columbia vest in storage, but I now use something completely different.  I had a pair of Thomas &Thomas wading boots made by Weinbrenner, which were by far the best wading boots I've ever owned. They lasted through 4 seasons of guiding in AK which is  amazing.  I still have them and need to take them to a cobbler for some ripped seams and break them out for summer fishing.  They are light weight and felted but most importantly I can feel the bottom with them and hence they make me a better wader.I used 2 piece rods as 4 piece rods were not on the scene yet.  We had those old huge polarized glasses that weighed a ton and fit on one's nose like a square on a circle.  Back then I even had hair!

During this time I traveled far and wide to chase fish with adipose fins.  My travels took me to Oregon, Montana, Alaska, British Columbia, Argentina, New Zealand and Nova Scotia among others.  All of these pics are scanned from slides so the quality isn't so great.

                                                                 A good Ak bow

                                                                Argentine brown

                                                     My friend Bob working down a run

     Sunset at the Boca of the Chimehuin, famous for it's huge spawning browns.  I wasn't there in     prime time but it was beautiful.

                                                    Another Argentine Brown

                                                                   An King in AK

                                The famous Leopard bows of AK.  Followed by some piggies

                                                        A New Zealand piggie

                            Love the old glasses that we all wore.  This fish fell for a dry.

                                                               Typical NZ brown

                                                Some better fish from down under

                               The king of fish from Nova Scotia

                                My first steelhead, I worked really hard for this BC steel. 

Over the next year I will be highlighting my own fly fishing "tribal" affinities in a number of posts as the seasons change including an updated trout section.  As such consider this the introduction to my tribes. Up next Spey fisherman aka speynerds.