vinnyb

No you’re not being picky at all - you should hear no knocking at all. Send it back to VS for a replacement.

Wow valentine it sounds like you need a vacation. Maybe a nice cruise?

Yea good luck with that ;-).

I know - I stole it from you

What about it? They were there first, correct? If you can fish & not affect them then fine. If not, move on or wait until they leave.

That’s good to know but there’s no mention of the ability to customize on their website. My guess is that stock bags are what they prefer to sell & that’s perfectly fine. They make a high quality product that’s readily available for purchase. For many folks, this is exactly what they’re looking for.

There’s a very simple rule that, if followed, would insure no conflicts. If you arrive at a spot and another person (or persons) are already there, your presence should not cause the other(s) to have to alter the way they are fishing. If it does, you’re too close & you should move. If this causes you to have to settle for a lesser spot, that’s too bad - get there earlier next time.

Gear up is a high quality bag but they don’t customize like Flatlander does. (Picking different colors isn’t really custom). So if you want something truly custom & don’t mind waiting, Flatlander is likely the better choice.

Yea, I won't do that either

I honestly don't know how you guys do it. I don't want anyone within 100 yards of me, much less 5- 10 yards. I guess I won't be fishing the CCC anytime soon ;-).

For you it might be too long & that's fine but there's a long list of folks who disagree. If you want a truly custom situation with high quality, there aren't many options out there.

Great story - thanks for sharing & for your service to our country during which you clearly sacrificed a lot. Best of luck to your grand niece!

When I'm chunking from the beach I like to travel as light as possible so into my bait cooler goes a few Hatteras sinkers in a few different weights & a stainless bait knife - that's about it. At the end of the night I just rinse out the cooler, throw the sinkers/knife back in there & I'm good to go for the next trip.

Congrats on a great catch! Now retire this fly, get yourself a nice shadow box for it & a few pics of the fish. It will serve as a constant reminder of that day the stars aligned for you ;-)

There are many types of rips but the one that the OP is likely referring to is caused by water moving over a change in bottom contour such as shown in the picture below from Lou Tabory’s Inshore Fly Fishing.