I remember a time when a vest was pretty much the only option. My problem was that I could rarely easily find what I needed even though certain flies/boxes were in certain pockets. I just seemed to always pack just too much gear…extra spool and line, too many fly boxes, too many floatants and sink, thermometer , hook remover, pliers for turning down the barb, leaders , tippet spools, jack knife, rain jacket, Candy bar…it was endless.
Then I switched to a Richardson chest pack. I had so many flies stuffed into the compartments that I couldn’t pull out a single fly with pulling out a bunch. This year I tried a William Joseph Mae West type whatever you call it and really cut down on the number of fly boxes etc. I have made up boxes with only a half dozen patterns that should be on the water. It seems to be working but I still have to get used to the figure I cut with those two big pockets sticking out in front of me like they do.
Not too long ago I got a William & Joseph Mini Chest Pack II and I LOVE it…I don’t wear it like a chest pack, what I do is wear it on my hip sorta…it’s hard to explain really 
“GET THE DRIFT?”
I recently made the switch from vest to chest pack. I have a small JW Outfitters chest pack that I got in a trade with duckwhacker. It has helped me to cut down on a lot of the extra stuff that I used to carry.
Steve
“If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went”-Will Rogers
I’d love to hear more opinions regarding chest packs…I’ve thought about making the switch, but would like to know about the experiences of others.
Thanks.
Neither. I use Fishpond’s Blue River lumbar pack. So far, so good.
Vest for fresh, lumbar pack for the salt…
Chest packs do not work very well with female anatomy.
Out of the three options I’ve tried so far, I much prefer the Lanyard. I quess I’ve turned into a minimalist. I just put a small dry box and wet box in my pockets, and the rest goes on the lanyard. I’ve found the vest to be too much, and the chest pack too visually impairing. I seriously need to see the stream bed, and with my build, wearing a chest pack is like wearing blinders.
He Knocks. You Only Have To Ask.
Joe
I use both! I put on the william joseph mini ll for warm water and hot weather and vest for cold and trout fishing. I like to carry more than I need but the mini chest pack does not let me. I am learning to live with less especially when you end up using only 4 or 5 different patterns all day and you just happened to bring over 100 or so.
You can’t catch fish with your fly in the air!
I have the tendancy to look like a Cabela’s and Hodgman advertisement!! I spend as much time figuring out which pocket I put it in as I do fishing!! I am re-thinking what do I really need!? As I aquire more experiance in this sport I will definatly cut down on what I take to the stream. Heck I’m normally only a 15-20 min. trip back to the camp anyway most times and need another cola, snack, etc anyway.
I feel more like I do now than I did when I got here!
Cactus AKA “Lucky Dog (Pirate Name)”
inflatable pfd with 2 chest pockets. gotta be safe on the water
roger
princess anne, eastern shore of md.
I carry none of the stuff for fly gear, no lanyard, no vest, no pouches. I wear a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off, a hat, and I carry a pair of flush cutters for cutting line and tippet in a leather holder on my belt, next to it is a leatherman with needle nose. Unfortunately I lost my SOG. Anywhooo…a small roll of tippet material stuffed in the back pocket of a pair of blue jeans and a fly box in each front pocket. Nothing else but the rod in my hand. OOOOPs…forgot. I carry a net on my left hip with a clip for easy removal and use. That is all. No vest, no pouches, no lanyard. I am thinking of making a tool to release fish while they are still in the water and I won’t need the net.
Just FYI
Gem
I have a chest pack, and then found it sat right where I my left hand ends up on a spey cast. (I should have thought of that). Mike Kinney taught me, and I have his style. For a regular fly rod, its great. I usually end up hiking and use a waist pack. It carries alot, plus water, but you have to reach blindly behind you and dig around. Sometimes things end up in the river while pulling out a fly box, etc.
Most of the chest packs will open like a little table top. Kind of handy when you are looking at your flies, hoping for divine intervention.
I like them for the summer especially. Chest packs also are cool in the heat
- rriver
The amount of flies and fly boxes you feel necessary will dictate what you need to use. If you carry tons of flies a vest MAY be the only option if a chest box doesn’t appeal to you.
I gave up the vest years ago because I accumulated too much stuff. I was equipped for a 20 day fishing/survival trip in the Outback! I made my own system which consists of a Richardson Box with removable and switchable trays and a waist belt with removable and changeable pockets that can be moved to the chest box harness when wading deep.
I have additional pouches for the waist belt with a rain jacket and one with a stove, Sierra Club Cup and coffee for those long cold days. I add these pouches when and if needed.
I usually only have two small pouches on my waist belt with the necessities: tippet material, fly dope & various goops, Swiss Army knife, tiny flashlight & extra batteries and the most important item of all; a small 3oz flask filled with something to sip when the fishing gets slow .
The best chest packs (bags) ever made were the Wood River Trout and Salmon bags. I still have one and use it. They won’t wearout. You can rest your rod on it when you change your fly or leader and you can take it off and keep it at your feet in a drift boat and it holds more than enough flies and accessories for a day’s fishing.
rriver;
My mother was a Kinney from Temperance, MI.
I bought a William Joseph Mini II chest pack & only had a chance to use it twice before an opportunity arose & I traded my Orvis vest for the William Joseph Flats Lite waist pack. With that, I can detach the pack & wear it as a chest pack & it has a larger capacity than the Mini II…so, if any of you folks are interested in my Mini II, shoot me an email with an offer & let’s see what we can do. I would also consider trades for “basic” flytying DVDs or terrestrial pattern flies.
Mike
btw…I DO prefer the chest pack to a vest.
This site’s about sharing!
[This message has been edited by ohiotuber (edited 31 October 2005).]
[This message has been edited by ohiotuber (edited 31 October 2005).]
I am still undecided on which is best for me. I own 2 different chest packs and 2 vests and have a Simms vest on the way. They both have their pros and cons and I am always switching from one to the other. I do not need all that I carry for myself. I find myself, on just about every trip to the river, helping someone out who is new to fly fishing by putting on a loop connector to replace the “granny knotted” leader to fly connection and I usually always give them a furled leader and tippet. I guess I do this because I get enjoyment out of helping and watching others learning the “ropes” of fly fishing. I guess I will just continue to bounce back and forth from a chest pack to a vest. I like the short vests due to wading in deeper water and not getting all my gear wet. Yep, I will just continue to bounce back and forth.
Warren
Dano says I am a consummate minimalist. I carry a small shoulder bag from Wal-Mart, about $6, with shot, flotant, line dressing, and two fly boxes inside. It has a compartment in the back where I keep leaders, a small compartment in the front where I keep indicators, and a compartment in the flap where I keep a spare spool. On the shoulder strap, I clamp my forceps, and hang a tippet keeper and a C&F Designs drying box, also a clipper and a cleaning pad for my flyline. It all makes a nice neat package. If you need more info, ask Dano about it. I think he’s trying to emulate it.
I carry a small chapman bag. I used to carry so much junk in my old vest, and with the funny hat, and all the gadgets, I felt like I was playing some kind of wierd dressup game every time I geared up.
Now it’s just a bag and an old pair of converse. Can’t say i’ve been catching any fewer fish, either.
I try to keep fishing things to two shirt pockets, one pants pocket, and a zinger (belt mounted). That let’s me move around more easily and comfortably when the heat and humidity hit the 90s.