A good friend of mine from Fredricksburg, Texas, proudly wears the mantle of “former biology nerd.” Now and again, Mick McCorcle pulls out one of his microscopes and takes a detailed look at various fly-tying materials.

“One cold winter day,” he told me, “I pulled out some peacock herl and began to examine it under increasingly higher magnification. At each level, the herl was iridescent. As the magnification got higher, the field of view got smaller, but the iridescence was still evident. No matter how high the magnification, the iridescence never dulled.”

For anglers who fish hard, their gear is everything. It keeps us warm. It keeps us dry. Sometimes, it keeps us upright — on our feet — when the river or the terrain has other ideas. It helps us achieve that desired connection with the fish we’re after. Good gear adds joy to fishing. That’s what it’s supposed to do, and those who scoff at the idea that quality gear is a significant component to good fishing might need to rethink the state of their fly fishing closet.