OT: be glad you aren't fly fishermen (and women)

[JoeFriday]

I tell ya, being a fly fisherman is just as bad as being a camera junkie.. I just bought another fly rod today, which brings me up to 7.. why? because it was a bargain.. I only paid $90 (it was worth $300)

I think that brings my average cost per rod to about $350.. does anybody know of any hobbies that are free?

 

[jlw]

Sleeping is pretty inexpensive. It's also enjoyable and a good way of whiling away your spare time. In fact, I think I'll go indulge in it now...

 

[rpinchbeck]

Yes, I know the problem, except now I am making my own fly rods. I have been known to take my Kiev 4 with me fly fishing.

Cheers

Russ
Kiev Survival Site

 

[JoeFriday]

I take my Olympus Stylus Epic on my fishing trips.. it's a perfect companion.. the lanyard fits around the neck, but the camera tucks into the front of my waders.. I forget it's there until I catch a fish.. sometimes I wish I had a 50mm lens instead of the 35, tho

btw, great avatar, Russ... I was experimenting with that same exact shot just a few days ago

 

[peter_n]

I have two fishing shirts - Columbia Boneheads. Great camera wear. Does that count?

 

[JoeFriday]

I dunno.. do shirts typically cost $500 each? that would be the 'premium shirts' of course.. and then you have to factor in the reels, which run about $150.. and fly line is about $50 per... so we're really talking about $700.. maybe you'd have to add in socks and shorts

 

[Fedzilla_Bob]

My hobbies and interest tend to get pricey fast. But, there is potential for enjoyable cheapness.

Classic cameras is one, electric guitars is the other. I have to say I haven't seen a Russian electric guitar yet.

I do have one free thing I enjoy- jazz radio. I mean the real stuff not the elevator stuff. I enjoy swing to modern improvisational. Listening to it on the radio makes especially enjoyable because the stations I listen to have huge selections of classic and current recordings. One is here in San Diego, KSDS . The other is in Los Angeles, KKJZ. I get KJAZZ at the office, with better reception on days when the "marine layer" clouds are just off shore and lingering well until lunch time. I work 5 minutes from the beaches at Del Mar or Torrey Pines. The beaches are the other free enjoyment. Ahhhh... I count myself lucky.

BTW- I think you can hear either one via internet streams.

 

[peter_n]

Well not $500 but they have a zillion pockets for bits of camera gear that cost way more than $500 so I maybe it does count now that I think about it. 😀

 

[DaveP]

HA, I went FLYFISHIN earlier this evening in my $600 KAYAK !

 

[XAos]

Where I fish I wish the SE had an 12mm. Distortion + DOF means I'm in focus behind the fish I'm holding 4" from the camera.

 

[jdos2]

DON'T GET INTO AMATEUR RADIO.

Perish the thought NOW, and you'll be much happier.

On the other hand, if you DO decide to, I happen to have too much equipment right now that could use a good home...

Collecting older typewriters can be very cheap, by the way.

 

[JoeFriday]

my dad is a HAM radio guy, so I know all about that.. I've been around it all my life

and as for older typewriters.. yes, they're cheap.. I bought one off eb@y for a mere $20.. a pristine Remington Standard #12... it cost me $40 to have shipped, tho! LOL

 

[jan normandale]

I tell ya, being a fly fisherman is just as bad as being a camera junkie.. I just bought another fly rod today, which brings me up to 7.. why? because it was a bargain.. I only paid $90 (it was worth $300)

I think that brings my average cost per rod to about $350.. does anybody know of any hobbies that are free?

Hey JoeFriday

just don't go looking at modern cane rods by some people like Aaroner, Summers, T&T or Winston. Then you will have a problem. So far you are okay.. sort of.

Take up fly tying but just do streamers or deer hair flies, you can sublimate your habit of acquisition by spending on cheap stuff like tails and dubbing. Stay away from dries, you can get into expensive capes!

Alternatively eat up 'spending/acquisition' time by uploading some shots to your gallery at RFF. All of us at RFF love pix.


A final note , I'm surprised by the number of flyfishers at this site. Maybe we should all post some shots of home streams or some similar project. Any interest??

 

[akalai]

Women...they're grand!😀

...actually speaking of typewriters I have somehow ended up with three Ollivetti Valentine typewriters....only ever use one, and thats very rarely, but they are pretty cool!

 

[XAos]

streams? you mean runnin water? Nah, I'm a redneck fly fisherman. rubber spiders, muddler minnows and poppers for bass n bluegill on farm ponds. People look at you crazy and say "Whut you doin with that there fly rod, there aint no trout in dat pond!", but I have caught way way more and bigger fish than I have ever caught in the rest of my life drowning worms. (Ever wonder just how many earth worms the average bass ever sees in the wild? I bet its ZERO.) I have always wanted to tie a lady finger (little bitty pencil sized fireworks) into a fly for the guy who got me into it. Dynamite fishing meets Fly fishing. 😉 So far I've managed to do fly fishing on the DIRT cheap, but I did buy a $90 rod recently. There just aint no 4/5 wt's in the cheap section around here, wanted to take the nephew who didn't have his own gear, and hated to buy another 5/6 when I'd been wanting something lighter for the local ponds. (mostly 1-2 lbs) Just about the first cast I pulled in a 2.5 - 3lb bass that I thought was going to break the rod.

I actually seriously did avoid getting a decent camera for a LONG time because I knew this would happen and I was afraid other hobbies would suffer.

 

[peter_n]

I'm not a fisherman, I just wear the shirts. I could add to that but I won't. 😉

 

[Chuck A]

I understand completely. I have spent a bundle on flyfishing and photography over the years.

I have also been carrying a Stlyus Epic for fishing. It works great and is cheap if it gets ruined.

Tight Lines!

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

Brett,

I hear ya ... 🙂 I picked up a dirt cheap 'kit' Scientific Angler rod to complement my Thomas & Thomas rod a few years ago. Guess what? It casts competently, and most importantly, I don't worry about my three left feet stepping on it, or my car door snapping it in half. It ends up getting far more use, just because I'm more likely to grab it without worry. Fish don't care 🙂

As a flyfisher, I've learned through long experience that the only thing that you really need to spend good money for are the WADERS. Simms and only Simms ! Everything else: reels, rods, boots can all be had with much cheaper substitutes. Of course it took me years and lots of ill-spent hard earned money to learn this ;-)

Cheers

 

[pshinkaw]

My brother-in-law is an avid fly-fisherman. I gave him a Minolta Weathermatic Dual-35 for Christmas so that he could take catch and release pictures of his trout without pulling them out of the water.

It's waterproof, autofocus, electronic flash and has a dual switchable 35mm and 50mm lens. It was a such a neat camera I bought one for myself too.

-Paul

 

[gns]

Years ago, I decided to learn fly fishing. I bought a rod and reel and some books and started hanging out at the casting ponds in Golden Gate Park, San francisco. One evening there was just me and a guy who must have been close to eighty. He watched me for a while and then came over and asked if he could try my rod. He made a few casts with it, handed it back and said, "Nothing wrong with your gear". That's all. A reminder that as in photography (and most other things), it ain't the gear, it's the ability of the user.

I don't have anything against collecting nice things (I'm guilty of it myself sometimes), but it is really enjoyable and a good lesson to watch a really skilled person work with the most basic equipment.
I love it when you are at some popular fishing spot and there is a bunch of guys decked out in all the Orvis stuff, thrashing about in some riffle, and along comes a some local with the most modest of gear and starts catching fish immediately.