Are you a GEAR JUNKIE or a MINIMALIST?

[Rocketfish]

Minimalist.

[James Smith]

I would have to classify myself as a "recovering" gear junkie. I have tons of gear; at least ten rods and reels etc. but I find that I use two or three of them at most and I no longer have any interest in buying any gear at all. When I go fishing, I take one outfit, one fly box, a small bungee cord tippet holder clipped to a belt loop, nippers and a pair for forceps. I clip the forceps to my shirt with the nippers clipped with a zinger to the loop in the forceps. Not one piece of equipment I own limits my fly fishing ability since it's all better gear than I am fisherman. I do tend to have more luck than many people I fish with, but it's certainly not because of my gear or because I'm a better fly fisherman.

Jim Smith

[roygpa]

I'm a gear junkie. I think I have more fun accumulating gear and fly tying materials than I do fishing.

Roy

[Royal Wulff]

Look in my closet in the guest bedroom and you'd say I was a gear junkie. See me on the stream you'd say I was a miliminumst (lol). I tie my own flies and tie at shows, etc. But I'm pretty sure that's a whole seperate category.

rw

[joe cool]

Definitely junkie at this point. I don't have tons of gear yet since a college budget doesn't afford for everything, but I do carry way more flies and boxes than I'd ever need. I keep trying to slim down what I bring but my problem is I tie lots of patterns to test and try to bring them all in case I feel like the situation might call for that particular variation that day.

[LadyFisher]

I stopped wearing a vest a while back. I carry whatever flies I think I'll need in the one box I've loaded the night before (got to admit anticipation is a great part of fishing) and it goes into a shirt pocket. Nippers in a pocket, a spool of tippet material, and hemostats clipped on a pocket flap...maybe frog's fanny if dry flies are in the box. If I've chosen the wrong flies, just maybe my fishing companion has the right ones.

[deon]

i think i am a gear junkie except i aint got the rods. i only have one rod but by this time next year will have a few more. i have my fly vest that i bought from rainbowchaser, in and on the vest i got two fly boxes, a nippers, a pair of scissors, forceps, tie fast tool, 5 spools of tippet, two leaders or more, some split shot, a waterproof jacket, in the back pocket, gink and dab a fly. xink, thingamabobbers and poly yarn strike indiators, a camera, tape measure, thermometer, fly patch, net, and im sure there is more i am forgetting.

Deon

[appalachian angler]

Hi. My name is Mike, and I am a gear Junkie. I have been in recovery for a few years. I suppose i will no longer need a 12 step recovery program when i find that perfect one rod/reel/line/fly pattern that does it all. I know I am in "denial". I must make amends.

aa

[Fishing Jill]

Definitely a minimalist. When I started I wore a purple Harrah's fannie pack and flies were in a tin box lined with terrycloth. I wasn't sure how I'd take to fly fishing. Now I have a vest and one floating box among others. I lost a good pair of sunglasses and for some reason didn't replace them with polarized for a few years. I'm still impressed that I did as well as I did "fishing in the dark" with regular sunglasses. Each year I make a few additions to my gear but I am by no means a junkie at this point. Fly tying has definitely added to my quest for new items. I'm not cheap, just picky about what I invest in. My new reel and fly box were definitely good investments for this year.
Ask again in 20 years and I may have a different answer.

[Valhalla 1]

Definitely more of a minimalist here. My only excess is the number of fly boxed I carry on stream because I am too lazy to take out the ones I don't need. Everything fits in an old shoulder bag. I have a pair of hip waders. I carry one rod.