One important item for fly fishing is a quality vest. You have a lot of choices when looking at fly fishing vests, so you will want to choose carefully. It’s important that your vest meets your needs, so consider your options before settling on one.
All fly fishing vests come with a variety of pockets in different shapes and sizes. You will want a vest that comes with enough pockets to hold your fishing gear. As well, consider what type of fasteners do the pockets have? Does it have velcro, buttons, zips or press studs? Some press studs can rust and cheap vests with low quality zippers become corroded after time. Some cheap fly vests have a small amount of velcro that hardly secures the pocket.
There is nothing more disheartening then leaning over in the water and your precious fly box splashes into the deep cold water. Or even worse, is when you get back to the vehicle after a long hike and you find a vest pocket undone and your favorite fly box missing! It is tempting to overload the vest with dozens of fly boxes and items, so make sure it is comfortable. The shoulders and neck areas of the vest should be padded and made out of comfortable material that will distribute the weight of the vest evenly. This is very important after several hours of fishing. Lower quality vests can cut into your shoulders or rub your neck.
When you choose your vest, consider the size carefully. If you do a lot of cold water fishing, make sure that you are able to wear several layers underneath it and you can still move around easily. Especially in the underarms, as the movement of you casting should not be inhibited. Are you going to wear it with thermal clothing on, several layers of clothing and a heavy coat under the fly vest? Will you still have enough room to move freely?
If you will be fishing mostly in the hot conditions, you may want to consider a mesh vest that will be well ventilated and keep you cool in the summer heat.
Some vests have too many bells and whistles hanging off them and your fly line can easily get caught on anything sticking out from it. Vests come in a variety of colors. Many fly fishers choose a neutral brown, but you can also pick vests in colors like blue and orange. I can predict female and junior fly vests getting more colorful and trendy in the years to come. However, blending into the environment is important, so you don’t scare the fish away in the process.
The vest should have a short waist mainly because you may be wading in water. Ideally, you don’t want it to get wet, so having it short without compromising the amount of pockets is important.
Some vests come with a built-in life preserver. This can be a great help if you will be fishing in rough waters with strong currents. You never know when an accident may occur and with these built-in floatation devices, you may have easy rescue right at hand.
Fly fishing vests come in various price ranges. You can buy a very basic vest for as little as $20. The pricier vests can run as high as $250. In general, a better quality vest will last you years, while the cheaper ones can rip and deteriorate quicker. Like most things though, you get what you pay for.
By: Craig Alan HowlettAbout the Author:
