Smoking while fishing

Paul6.5

Paul6.5

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Oct 23, 2023
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Any pipe smokers here?

I enjoy an occasional cigar, but I’ve never really been comfortable smoking one while I’m actively fishing. Seems like I’m always casting, messing with line, changing flies, or doing something with my hands.

Got me wondering about a pipe. Anybody smoke a pipe while they fish? Is it a little easier to manage while you’re actually fishing, or is it still more of something you enjoy once you sit down on the bank?

Just curious what you guys think
 
I believe @lestrout and @afishinado on PAFF are pipe smokers....

I used to smoke a pipe while fishing because I think it looks cool, it smell great (IMHO) and it was kind of an "in" thing when I first got into fly fishing. However I found it to fussy for me with tools, pipe cleaners and tobacco pouches so I switched to cigars.

When I smoke a stogie while fishing I light it, shove it in the corner of my mouth like some fight promoter in an old 1930's Warner Brothers picture and typically never bother with it again unless I'm flicking off an ash, cutting off a soggy cap or flicking it in the water when I'm done.

I save the contemplative smoking involving handling the cigar for the front porch after a long day fishing or during serious whiskey drinking.

If having a soggy cigar in your mouth isn't for you, consider a nice cigar holder to match your favorite ring size. George Burns used one almost his entire life.
 
wildtrout2 said:
Just an occasional cigarette.
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You should get a cigarette holder...

It would make you look elegant on stream and on the way to the creek... 😉

Smoking.jpg
 
Jaybird said:
I see guys smoking cigars posing for Instagram while fishing . Id love to check their fly lines for melt marks , I'm sure it's expensive looking so " COOL" .
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Check their lightweight breathable UV protected fishing shirts for burn marks...

However, it's still cheaper than wearing Simms zipper waders and a flat brim hat to look cool...
 
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I haven't done either recently but I think smoking a cigar is easier than a pipe while fishing.

I don't actually really like smoking either pipes or cigars all that much but love the smell of it. I'll often put some 1-Q and a charcoal disc in an incense pot in the house. I don't know how to replicate that on the stream.
 
My fiance made me quit 31 yrs ago, or else... (which was probably a good thing!) To this day, my first wife does tolerate (she may not realize this) me smoking a pipe or cheroot while I'm on the water, or otherwise a couple miles separated from her. This is more of spring/summer thing for me, but I will occasionally light up a cheroot while fishing an evening hatch. I enjoy the aromatic smoke, mild nicotine narco buzz and, I think it keeps the 'skeeters away to some extent. That said, its literally like a 4x or less thing per year for me. More a nostaligic treat than anything else.

Joe
 
I used to wear a vest. I traded it in for a chest pack at some point. Some years later I was going through my gear and came upon an old vest and when I unzipped the lower right pocket and revealed the dozens of cigarette butts. I nearly puked from the smell. After smoking for 30 years and quitting 15 years ago, when I pass a smoker. I still ask my wife, "did I really smell like that?"
 
I really dig Romeo Y Julietta cigarillos--the ones in the metal tins. Perfect size for a quick puff without the commitment of a full size stoge. My preferred bug spray supplement in May & June.
 
Smoking.....one of the lone vices I wasn't drawn to! 🙂
 
ntallen said:
I really dig Romeo Y Julietta cigarillos--the ones in the metal tins. Perfect size for a quick puff without the commitment of a full size stoge. My preferred bug spray supplement in May & June.
Click to expand...

I swear by the bug repellent effect of cigars (the only thing I use) and possibly other critters based my lack of bear encounters.

I was a cigarillos fan back in the day, but was partial to H. Upmann 1844 Reserve Aperitifs or Arturo Fuente Maduro Cubanitos.
 
I carry a pipe w/ me when I fish, but MOST TIMES, when I smoke it, it's usually while I sit down on a log to retie/take a respite, or when I'm w/ my son and I'm just watching him fish the runs. Every now and again I'll clench while fishing-usually when settling into a big hole during an evening rise when I know I won't be moving much- but it does become just a bit much to deal with when really fishing hard. I've worked on a system for the last 30 years on how to manage both-but this is what I ended up with.

Damage to my fly line hasn't been an issue, but I dropped more than one pipe in the creek, especially early on. Boswells in Chambersburg makes "fishing pipes". They're on a lanyard, and they come with a wind screen over the bowl. Usually they're little nose warmers, but I like the idea.
 
My brother has one of the Boswells fisherman's pipe. 've been meaning to get over there one day to order one but haven't pulled the trigger on one just yet. He loves his.
 
I'm a former cigarette smoker and admitted nicotine addict. I once quit smoking soon after burning through my line (mono on a spin rod), while I was holding the cig in my reel hand. A few years later after quitting cigarettes, I thought I could have a cigar while fishing. The promise I made to myself was "only while fishing". I fished almost every day for the next 6 months and soon broke down to buying cigarettes. These days I use the nicotine pouches, like Zyn and On.
 
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