Fishing Hats Revisited- Thoughts from a loyal reader.

Tom Phipps is an incredible fisherman, a good friend, and a loyal reader of this blog.  After reading the article about lucky fishing hats, Mr. Phipps felt inclined to offer his own experience with fishing hats.  I also felt inclined to share his thoughts and history with hats as well so it is located below.  Thank you so much Tom for sharing this with me, and I hope that everyone that reads this blog feels like they can do the same.  I would gladly share (or not share if that is your preference) you stories, thoughts, or experiences with any and all things fishy.

The article about how important the particular hat is to his fishing really hit a chord with me.

I'm an old guy, so old that I remember when baseball caps were worn by baseball players on the field and fishermen wore fedoras or other funny brimmed hats adorned with lures.

By the time I moved to Missouri in 65 you saw a few guys on the streets wearing  St. Louis Cardinal hats.  Soon sports team caps were turning up everywhere.  Nike and other clothing manufacturers were flooding the world with caps.  Tee shirt and hat shops were in every mall.  Now the only ones who were wearing any type hat but caps were either police detectives and or IBM servicemen.  Now variations of the baseball caps are everywhere - even lovely girls and women with ponytails wear them.

I started collecting hats, especially fishing hats, in the seventies.  I  have plenty of them.  I choose the hat I wear carefully before each fishing trip.  My wife says that I have too many hats and that they stink!

She's right on both counts but I won't quit wearing these caps or stop fishing.

Tom Phipps 

Past meets present.

Why does the royal coachman get so much pub?

A life's work.

You can't just throw these things away!  Wouldn't that be sacrilegious?

A candidate to become a fishing hat.  Great choice by the way.

Another candidate to possibly carry the title of "fishing hat".