The Wall Street Journal posted, “The Top 10 Products that Transformed an American Pastime” a survey of the American Sportfishing Association on their view of the top 10 products that changed fishing forever.
I couldn’t decide whether the fly fishing equivalent would be, “The Top 10 Products that I’ve tucked away never to Use” or “The Top 10 wallet-lightening items that I should have reconsidered.”
I’ll go with the straight face for once, and let you remind me of the seventeen other items I completely forgot about.
The Top 10 Products that Changed the Face of Fly Fishing forever?
- The plastic fly line – likely a unanimous choice, prior to the advent of the modern fly line we had at least nine other indispensable items in the vest – including the mandatory fishless period wherein we draped our line over a sunny rock hoping to dry it out before the evening hatch started.
- The fly tying vise – If you’ve ever attempted to tie flies by hand, either out of desperation or on a dare, you’ll agree the vise is somewhere’s in the top 10.
- The fiberglass fly rod – The rod that mainstreamed fly fishing from an expensive and exclusive club to an everyday pastime. The first machine made rod, the miracle of industrialization that lowers the price so everyone’s Dad could afford one.
- Matching the Hatch – The switch from flies-that-attract to flies-that-imitate, and the complete carnage that resulted in everyone rethinking absolutely everything. Attributed to Ernest Schweibert’s book of the same name.
- The House of Hardy – The standard for fly reels for over 100 years. Only in the last decade has the disk drag, large arbor flavor preempted their reign.
- Genetic Hackle – The complete overhaul of dry flies and the demise of the lightly dressed “Catskill” standard.
- The eyed hook – As revolutionary as the plastic fly line, removing tins to moisten gut snells, and adding everything from compartmented fly boxes, to leader enhancements like split shot and beads.
- Waders – Lumping a lot of technology into this single category, but this stimulates the “fly fisherman as predator” versus the tweed, monocle, and jodhpurs of vacationing nobility.
- Catch and Release – It’s both an ideology and a product, introducing everything from stomach pumps and barbless hooks, to stream etiquette and what’s socially acceptable once afield.
- Bottled Water Trash – redefines the wilderness experience, a shift from “make as small an impact as possible” to “I’m ‘green’ and that’s enough.” The most common trash in the parking lot, littering the streambed, and bobbing in the current.
I tried to restrain the fly tier bias, removing the Matarelli Bobbin in favor of generalist gear, and opting for genetic hackle over synthetics. It’s a daunting and distinguished list, and I’m sure I missed some really important items.
“Kids” or “a job” are disallowed, that only changed your fly fishing world forever ..
11. The internet.
I was going to mention something along those lines, but the effect is still unclear. Clearance sales, tax avoidance on purchases, blogs, factory seconds, all are reshaping both the flow of information and old habits.
The influence of YouTube alone is reshaping print media.
Young whippersnappers! Any damn fool knows there has to be a place near the top of that list for synthetic fishing line (good old casting nylon, for example) and, accursed though it may deservedly be, monofilament. And while I agree with the inclusion of the fiberglass fly rod, there ought to be room for graphite as well, and not just fly rods. If you’ve ever fished with a steel casting rod, or used cuttyhunk line, or a reel with the “Revelation” brand, you know we’ve come a long, long way in other forms of fishing, too. But to keep a bit of fly bias, if you include the House of Hardy, you need to make a lot of room for Pflueger, Shakespeare, Martin, and the others who really drove the popularization of fly fishing for the common man (cheap s***s like us).
Sorry, I must have been blinded by the red glare from the shelves in front of me. How about a round of applause for ABU, makers of the closest thing to an easy-to-use baitcasting reel? Go cast a Shakespeare 1944 Service Reel – or even your beloved Marhoff – for a while and try to tell me ABU didn’t change fishing in a huge way. OK, I’ll shut up now. It’s probably time for my nap.
Lou, you’re absolutely correct – but I couldn’t tie monofilament to fly fishing alone, it’s more of a overall fishing Top 10 than a fly fishing specific. Ditto for the reel companies .. and yes, my #10 is questionable when viewed with the same criteria.
Sunscreen.
My apologies; I hadn’t read the WSJ list before making my comments, and complete missed the fact that you were making a separate fly-fishing list. My butt’s still dragging from a long day of fishing yesterday (no fly fishing, no kayaking, but some nice sassy stripers), and I’m obviously not completely awake yet.
great list. I was gonna say the internet, too.
Inflatable watercraft
Polarized sunglasses
The foam indicator
NEVER overlook the importance of the JAPANESE VAL-U-PAK – still available at Big Five stores everywhere ! Six dazzling and affordable classic patterns that transformed generations of timid novices into the insufferable streamside elitists that infest our native waters (and our fishing blogs) today. Who would remember the irreplaceable Yellow Sally, McGinty, Royal Coachman and Parmachine Belle patterns if not for the ubiquitous and affordable Japanese Six-Pak – still a classic after half a century.
I can tell the SMJ’s been unable to chew on little else today, and YoMomma has an interesting point – I’m unsure we can quantify it but he’s likely right…
Of course it might have been the countless thousands of elitest’s that the Val-U-Pak eliminated early in their career …
The Internet changed how society functions not how we fly fish. SMJ forgot the Igloo cooler and the electric trollin motor. These items changed fishing not fly fishing. The strike indicator was on the mark because it’s specific to fly fishing and shares nothing with the bobber. The aluminum fly box and it’s plastic brothers make the sport possible just as the fruits of the vice do. I vote for the lowly fly box.
You sure you aren’t talking about the “Magic Filling Fly Box” – the one that sprouts all them flies after you’ve finished pillaging mine?
Blood relations only goes so far, especially after you “liberated” that slab of Lemon Cake Ma sent via you … for me.
Ever use a “fly pen” ?
How about one of the earliest t.v. shows geared to fly fishing? Anyone ever watch “The flying fisherman” with Gadabout Gaddis?
The Orvis catalogue? Knotless tapered leaders? Ted Williams?
Igneous: I didn’t see the word “exclusively” anywhere in the “Top Ten…” header, but that’s beside the point. You of all people should realize that I was merely taking advantage of a great opportunity to pad my post count. You really shouldn’t take these things so seriously.
Deet
The automobile
yuppies.
The sport of gentlemen and nobility finally made its way to the common man, only to have it transform back to the wealthy again after watching “that movie”. Hopefully the ebay generation will reclaim the sport from their clutches.
Fly Fishing Guides:
So we clueless-luckless-helpless wannabes can actually see what a fish looks like up close and personal-wise.
This includes the non-paid guides who will work for nuts.
LOU is ON to something there. Let us not overlook the trememduous boost to novice flyfishermen furnished by Sears Roebuck’s “TED WILLIAMS” and “J.C. HIGGINS” brand names. TED was very big back there in the ’50s and ’60s and we novices had utter faith in him. He’s right up there with the Japanese Val-U-Pak ! NICE CATCH, Lou ! I would suggest that the OLD HERTER’S catalog might have had more clout than the fancier, pricier, and intimidating ORVIS.
Good catch on Herter’s, although personally I can’t recall ever buying anything from them. Orvis’s catalogue isn’t nearly as impressive or intimidating since a fresh one seems to arrive every week. OK, how about something that really changed fly fishing: the development of the split bamboo rod? How many of you still fish with greenheart, lancewood, or bethabara? And split bamboo wasn’t always the province of the rich; there were a lot of quite usable factory rods, even trade rods – and most of them are still available on a certain auction site today.