Hi Jill,

This may not be the perfect group to ask about washing a fly vest. You might try Emailing some of our wives.

Many male fly fishermen that I have seen seem to never have washed their vests, and many of the rest of us seldom so. A few must wash their vests often, but they are the ones that look like they just stepped off of the cover of a Cabales fly fishing catalog.

Washing a vest is a thought that likely never even occured to some of us. Actually, though, I have washed my vest, just like you, in the washing maching. I find that it needs it at least every 5 years or so. When my wife tells me not to bring it into the house and don't put it in the closet until it smells a lot better, and that she is thinking about having it fumegated, then I can take a subtle hint, and know it needs to be washed.

Remember, old fisherman never die, they just smell that way.

Regards,

Gandolf