You're Not Fooling Anyone: Anglercore - The Problem with Fly Fishing "Fashion"

Can we stop with fly-fishing clothing becoming a high-fashion trend? It's not high-fashion, and if you wear technical fly fishing clothing and don't fish, that makes you a poser.

Image licensed from iStock by Getty Images-photo by avid_creative

We just lived through the "Oh, look at me, I'm a lumberjack" trend, by hipsters wearing Filson jackets, flannel shirts, Timberland boots, and sporting long beards. Now the fashion crowd wants to play make-believe by dressing up in fly fishing technical clothing. Stop, you don't look like an angler, you look like someone who is trying too hard.

"Anglercore"

It's called "Anglercore", where non-fishing "fashionistas" are wearing fly fishing vests, wading jackets, and fishing paraphernalia because it has been deemed to be hip and happening.

I Apologize

I may be complicit in contributing to this movement. Nine months ago, I wrote an article about Drake the rapper, who released the NOCTA Opal collection, clothing inspired by "fly fishing," and was featured on the cover of Drake the magazine. The trend seems to be taking hold, and if I contributed to this in any way, please accept my apologies.

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Not Making This Up

You think I'm making this up? Here are some examples of articles that have appeared in my Google Discover.

- What is the Fisherman Aesthetic and Why It’s the Biggest Trend of 2025 - The Velvet Runway, a style, lifestyle, and travel blog.

- What's This Fisherman Aesthetic the Entire Internet Has Fallen for Hook, Line, and Sinker? - Cosmopolitan

- How fashion got obsessed with fly-fishing - The Washington Post

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Not the First Time Fashion Mixed With Fly Fishing

In 2011, feathers became such a trendy hair accessory that fly fishing stores struggled to keep Grizzly Hackle in stock. Hairstylists frequently bought out entire inventories, leaving fly anglers without the materials needed to tie their flies.

The owner of the fly shop I frequented would put some hackle to the side for his regular fly fishing customers. The buying process felt like a drug deal going down. He would bring you to a back room where he kept his stock of feathers. He charged the fly anglers the regular price, and the hairstylist a higher price, knowing the hairstylist was charging their customers an exorbitant amount for a single feather woven into their hair. It was strange times.

Keeping it In Perspective

Am I truly suffering because of this latest fashion trend? No. My motivation is to point out that for those of us who fly fish and authentically live the lifestyle that comes with it, it's not a fashion statement. We would never wear a fly vest around town because of the cred it gets us. Wearing a costume to look the part without actually playing the part, if you are an adult, comes across as silly with a hint of desperation. I know it's not harming anyone, but I can't help but call it out. KB

"The gods do not deduct from man’s allotted span the hours spent in fishing.” - Herbert Hoover