Every angler should appreciate fly fishing

I tried being a snob for a while, just to see how I felt and how that ego trip affected others. It wasn't that great.

I'll admit that over the last 15 years I've asked custom rod maker and designer Jim Grandt to make fly rods to my specifications. These tools of trade serve me well.

Please don't hold it against me for not using off-the-shelf rods for bass and trout, or anything else where a fly rod would be applicable. There are decent rods in the racks of some dealers that are rock-steady fly shops.

But here's what this column is all about.

I face a constant, give-and-take, friendly battle with my friend and fly fishing maven Paul Melchior. He also runs a good trip-planning company, Angling Escapes.

I have written and ranted about fly fishing's early days, how that compares to today, and how it is represented to Mr. Average Angler.

Long, long ago, you were not considered a brother of the fly sport if you weren't dressed in high-end garb, especially from a shop like Abercrombie & Fitch (known as VL&A before 1959) on Wabash Avenue in downtown Chicago.

This wasn't the trendy shop where young men bought T-shirts and make-believe safari shorts. Nope, this was a shop dedicated to the fly-fishing aficionado whose wallet was no stranger to the Ben Franklins.

The rest of us cherished our low-paying jobs at retail food stores such as Hillmans, A&P, and Jewel Tea - and we were glad to have a few bucks for a weekend date.

In a previous column I shared how I made my own version of a "Tenkara" fly rod (extra-long, no reel rod) out of a bamboo pole. That was an unusual piece of child engineering, if I may say so.

When I eventually became fascinated by the casting magnificence of an accomplished fly fisher, I asked my father if I could use one of his split bamboo fly rods. He was eager to see me learn about the sport.

But even today, the fly fishing industry continues to cater to the high rollers, especially with high-priced fly reels. By the way, a fly reel, even with a disc drag, is nothing more than a line-storage appliance affixed to the butt end of a rod.

There are still fly fishing clubs rooted on the banks of private waters, open only to members who can afford the outrageously high fees.

Even though I have some Grandt Custom rods, I've also used and written about South Bend and St. Croix fly gear.

I wear a little more expensive pair of zippered front chest waders, for the sake of comfort, while always looking for bargains on fly lines.

• Contact Mike Jackson at angler88@comcast.net, catch his radio show 7-9 a.m. Sundays on WGCO 1590-AM (live-streamed at www.1590WCGO.com) and get more content at mikejacksonoutdoors.com.