Salomone: Choices for managing your gear while wading.

A busy river access point provides an excellent vantage to survey the vast variety of ways fly fishers manage their gear while wading.

There’s old-school vests with wear points on the creases and mini chest packs for minimalists or those taking advantage of a suddenly open, brief window of opportunity. Packs designed with a technical flair, sporting high end features like ergonomic shoulder straps and tool specific pockets, have commanded the shelf space in fly shops for those that need to carry just a little bit more to the river. Different choices hold praises and disappointments — whatever your selected style.

A good starting point: Consider what you have to carry. Cover-it-all fly fishers benefit from pack style fly-fishing vests. Fishpond, Orvis and Patagonia offer vests in this configuration.

I was on a flight from Kauai in 1996 when I read about a Patagonia pack vest in one of my fly-fishing magazines. I pointed it out to my girlfriend on the flight. She paid attention and bought me my first pack vest. Fast forward to today, I’m on my third Patagonia pack vest — and I still have that same girl.

I have to carry a little more than most fly fishers, especially if I am guiding a wade trip. Colorado Parks and Wildlife requires guides to have specific items such as a very detailed First Aid kit. Gear for multiple fly fishers like weights, flies and tools are a necessity. Bottles of water and a landing net start to overload pockets.

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For over two and half decades the Patagonia pack vest has performed perfectly. I know where my gear is located and can reach for it in the dark. The durability found in the materials, stitching and zippers withstands professional guiding abuse as well as the additional days from my own personal recreational fly fishing. It is an asset for a fly fisher to find a system that works so well with the way they fish.

The Fishpond Ridgeline Tech Pack available from Vail Valley Anglers is another gear-hauling choice. Fishpond has been a leader in the fly-fishing industry for years, with fly-fishing focused products that excel on the water. The Ridgeline is an excellent example. It’s comfortable, durable and angler-focused.

Small water fly fishers can slim down their gear to a waist pack or chest pack. Deciding which can be based on how the pack feels and how easy it is to access necessary tools. 

Accessibility is a major focus when trying to get to frequently needed items. I find waist packs to be too cumbersome and inconsistent in how they ride throughout the day. The pack seems to shift and slide down, requiring me to tighten the waist strap beyond a comfortable range. I do like how waist packs double down as a waist belt to prevent waders from filling up if an angler slips into the water.

In that case, I want the waist pack to be waterproof like the well designed Orvis Pro waterproof hip pack or the streamlined Simms Dry Creek Z hip pack. Hip packs like these two choices perform well for fly fishing the beach, walking saltwater flats, wading the Eagle River or hiking into the High Country.

An extremely popular choice in recent years for wading fly fishers are sling packs. This style of managing your gear allows the angler to slide the pack around to the front for access and then back behind to stay out of the way. Sling packs are unique pieces of gear wherein the design wears on the shoulder. My experience testing out a variety of styles is that some are very specific as to which shoulder to wear the pack. I want to wear the pack on my non-casting shoulder. The additional weight on my casting side is taxing and hampers my casting performance.

There is still room for old-school, tan vests too. Classic looks and abundant functions make well-made vests a desired item. Modern renditions of fly-fishing vests employ lightweight materials and more pockets than you can count.

How you carry your fly fishing gear — whether a vest, sling or pack — is a reflection of function and enhances your time on the water. Stop into Vail Valley Anglers to put your hands on a variety of choices. The holidays are closer than you think.

Michael Salomone has lived in the Eagle River valley since 1992. He started his professional guiding career in 2002 and currently guides for Vail Valley Anglers. He lives on the bank of the Eagle River with his wife, Lori, his youngest daughter, Ella and a yellow Labrador named Poppy. His published writing has appeared in Southwest Fly Fishing, Fly Rod & Reel, Eastern Fly Fishing, On the Fly, FlyLords, the Pointing Dog Journal, Upland Almanac, TROUT, American Fly Fishing, USA Today Hunt & Fish and Fly Fisherman magazines.