I have always wanted a streamer wallet. I guess it falls under my fly box fascination. I can barely keep my hands of interesting or unique fly boxes and streamer wallets when I run across them and I guess it is due to my appreciation for all things that organize. In my profession, at my home, and especially in fishing, I like for everything to have a place and for things to be in those places. When the fishing conditions call for a heavily weighted conehead wooly bugger, I like to know exactly where it is so I get quickly get it tied to the end of my line rather than spend valuable time on the water hunting for said fly.
I have always been taught to not assume, and unfortunately I have done that in this case. I have assumed that all readers of this post know what a streamer wallet is and what it looks like, so let's take a step back and look at a few examples.
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| This wallet was featured in a post on thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com |
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| This artistic and handcrafted wallet was also featured on thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com |
http://www.artmerkstudio.com/HOME/
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| This is a more commercial option from L.L. Bean and is lower in price but also lacks in detail and aesthetics. |
I am also a pretty frugal person so in the past, streamer wallets have tended to stay outside of my price range. I have seen wallets run between $25 and $100 dollars and I just can't justify a purchase of that magnitude especially since wallets are specifically designed for one type of fly and don't hold a large capacity of streamers either. Finally, streamer wallets are usually associated with steelhead fishing and I don't live withing 500 miles of a wild steelhead. After all of those limitations, it sounds like they are not very versatile and overpriced, which is a fair conclusion that I would agree with. The problem for me is that they just look so COOL! I didn't think I would ever own one though because of the overall impracticability.
Well leave it to my good buddy Pat to inject his thoughtfulness and generosity into my seemingly oppressed and cynical pursuit. Pat has been featured in many posts on this site and is one of my closest friends. I am constantly in awe of his selflessness and giving nature. With that being said, I wasn't surprised when he came over to my driveway with a present for me. This is a fairly common occurrence with Pat, but I have to admit that I was shocked when I opened the bag and saw a streamer wallet. He said he picked it up at a "vintage store" and it looked like it was still in pretty good shape. The surprise didn't stop there because when I opened up the wallet it was loaded with flies. The flies ranged greatly in size, color, and uses but they were all streamers (and one crappie jig which was odd). Some were deer hair bugs for bass, some were all around flies like a black wooly bugger, and some appeared to be steelhead flies. I say "appeared" because I really don't know the difference between steelhead flies and Atlantic salmon flies.
Anyway, I am in the process of getting my new streamer wallet cleaned up and getting rid of the "vintage" smell. I am planning on using the wallet to hold bass flies when I hit local lakes and ponds for white bass, hybrids, and bass. I am a little unsure of what to do with the flies (some are rusted and I don't have a practical use for others) and would love to see some ideas in the comments section below. Also, if you carry a streamer wallet or have maybe even made one in the past, I would love to see some pictures or hear from you. Again, feel free to comment or email me at showmeflyguy@gmail.com.
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