Fly Fishing For Carp - Our Beloved Carp Apparel

There are a number of blogs I read each week, and one of my favorites is Trevor Tanner's Fly Carpin.  Last week, Trevor published a post entitled Ode To Stank - a ballad in honor of his well worn and beloved carp-by-fly cap. 

If we read Trevor's words and look at the picture of his Carpe Carpio cap, it's easily to tell this cap has reached can't-fish-without-it status.  Additionally, I would suggest Trevor's cap is quickly reaching, if not already there, gnarly status.

I now realize that Trevor and I have something in common besides our love to chase carp by way of fur, feather, and fly rod.  We both seem to have a tendency to not easily let go of some of our carp apparel. 

Now I don't know if he has ever been offered money for his cap, but when it comes to the cowboy hat that I always wear when chasing carp there have many several offers of money from people who say they collect cowboy hats. 

Of course, their offers were turned down because there truly are some things in this world that money can't buy. 

Anyhow, since Trevor made his post and it seems we have something in common when it comes to hanging on to sacred carp apparel... I begin to wonder how many more, like us, are out there with their grimy gear.

In order to determine how many more may be hanging on to long-owned, well-used, gritty, grimy, nasty-status carp apparel, I decided to post a picture of my hat. 

Trevor tells us his cap is eight years old and that is certainly a respectable age.  However, my cowboy hat is seventeen years old.  Yes... for seventeen years this low grade felt (X-factor like 1) has somehow survived me.  For almost two decades this hat has held every stitch when gear like waders, boots, and rods have failed to live through my onslaught of fly fishing insanity. 

Not taking anything away from Trevor's fine cap, I have to argue that my hat is just a bit more gnarly this his cap.  Not only is it gnarly it has become completely socially unacceptable.  I know this fact because I have worn it to social functions just to see the response on the faces of the fine people attending said social functions. 

Does it smell as badly as it looks?  Oh my god... this time of year it can make the olfactory curl and rollover dead.  All I can say is thank goodness for the man or woman that invented Frebreeze. 

So with all this said and done now, I hope that others out there - like Trevor and myself, will offer pictures of their cherished and can't-let-go-of carp apparel.  Let us see who is the king of gnarly carp apparel.