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District Angling

Photo collage, District Angler interior

When asked how Richard Farino, owner of District Angling, got into fly fishing, he answers, “a local tackle shop” in his native Bronx. What started as fishing in Central Park morphed into studying marine biology and the interest in fly-fishing stuck. Fast forward to December 2017, and Richard opened his own shop out of necessity — not his, but for the area. Farino recognized there were very few fly fishing shops in the area and with his 15+ years of experience in the field, he knew enough about the business to bring a presence back to Arlington.

Situated in quaint Cherrydale along Langston Boulevard (formerly Lee Highway), District Angling feels like it has always been there with its industrial black ceiling, faux brick wall and wide-plank floor.  The store sells rods, reels, handmade flies and clothing. All the flies are hand-tied with many natural products as well as synthetic ones. Tip: check out their fly-tying seminars starting in September.

Photo: Richard FarinoRichard says all walks of life come through the door such as “… lawyers, doctors, painters and mechanics. But in my shop, everyone is equal and on a level playing field.” It’s not your conventional tackle fly shop.  Customers are loyal and will stick around to talk about fishing over coffee. As Richard puts it, “loitering is encouraged here.” With staff members that are all fishing junkies, they’re eager to talk about products, methods and other fishing topics. During the summer, they host Beer Fridays (beer donated from local breweries) and Richard grills half smokes from Ben’s Chili Bowl. In December, he’s planning a group trip to New Orleans.

When asked about favorite fishing spots, Farino was tight-lipped except for offering up a spot called ”No Tellum Creek.” Surprisingly there are several great spots in Arlington such as Pentagon Lagoon, Gravelly Point, Roaches Run and Four Mile Run near the Wastewater Treatment Plant — even a small pond along the Custis Trail very close to the store. A pleasant surprise is his older client base is getting to these destinations car free by cycling. They’re finding it easier to access their fishing spots on foot or bike than by vehicle.

Learn how to get car free to District Angling

District Angling
2105 N. Pollard St.
Arlington, VA 22207

 


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110 Trail
444
14th Street Bridge
1270
Arlington Mill Trail
226
Ballston Connector
0
Bluemont Connector
228
CC Connector
386
Clarendon EB bike lane
229
Custis Bon Air Park
593
Custis Rosslyn
901
Eads NB
85
Eads SB
113
Fairfax EB bike lane
110
Fairfax WB
123
Joyce St NB
54
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
928
Key Bridge West
690
Military NB bike lane
26
Military SB bike lane
36
MVT Airport South
1098
Quincy NB bike lane
95
Quincy SB bike lane
117
Roosevelt Bridge
351
Rosslyn Bikeometer
826
TR Island Bridge
638
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
878
WOD Columbia Pike
542
Wilson WB bike lane
171

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110 Trail
156
14th Street Bridge
191
Arlington Mill Trail
664
Ballston Connector
891
Bluemont Connector
851
CC Connector
370
Custis Bon Air Park
491
Custis Rosslyn
518
Eads NB
0
Eads SB
0
Fairfax WB
0
Joyce St NB
37
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
1954
Key Bridge West
609
MVT Airport South
259
Roosevelt Bridge
173
TR Island Bridge
768
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
646
WOD Columbia Pike
436

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