“My fishing stuff is so basic that it will make your trip look like a maplotter fishing trip.”
– Rex Fey on being told, by me, that he had homework for the Lesotho trip in the form of two guest blogs!

As long as I’ve known Rex, he has skoffed at those of us who hound gear, talk leader dynamics and get too technical about our fishing. He keeps a farmer’s simplicity – he is a dairy farmer after all – and likes to worry about presentation of his fly and not himself (again, think farmer). It is rather a refreshing moment looking through Fey’s bag. It reminds you that at the end of the day all you need is a rod, reel, line and a fly to tickle a fish’s fancy!

This is what Rex takes into the mountains and onto the rivers:

Fisherman: Rex Fey
Rod: Hardy Sintrex 8′ #4
Reel: Stealth SLA 1
Line: WF #4
Second rod: Streamtech 10′ #3 – experimental Czech Nymphing rod for upcoming Lesotho trip.
Spare reel: Hardy Ultralite
Line on spare: WF #3
Fly boxes: One fly box to rule them all!
Leader/Tippet: 3x, 4x, 5x XPlorer Tippet Spools
Pack: Pockets of my shirt or normal day back pack.
Other:
Floatant
Strike Indicator Putty
Soft Lead
Teeth – I use these for all cutting of tippet and tightening of knots.

Comments: I keep around 30 – 40 flies in four or five patterns – sometimes I feel its an overkill but its what I’ve got! Keeping it simple keeps me happy. Everything I take serves a needed purpose. The more types of fly you take, the more confused you get and the more time you spend changing flies. If you are not catching it’s cause the fish aren’t feeding or your presentation is dog shit.