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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
540
14th Street Bridge
1530
Arlington Mill Trail
353
Ballston Connector
0
Bluemont Connector
317
CC Connector
489
Clarendon EB bike lane
243
Custis Bon Air Park
852
Custis Rosslyn
1064
Eads NB
95
Eads SB
133
Fairfax EB bike lane
128
Fairfax WB
151
Joyce St NB
59
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
1128
Key Bridge West
767
Military NB bike lane
32
Military SB bike lane
33
MVT Airport South
1503
Quincy NB bike lane
121
Quincy SB bike lane
108
Roosevelt Bridge
353
Rosslyn Bikeometer
1017
TR Island Bridge
892
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
1130
WOD Columbia Pike
909
Wilson WB bike lane
200

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110 Trail
89
14th Street Bridge
235
Arlington Mill Trail
706
Ballston Connector
891
Bluemont Connector
1302
CC Connector
603
Custis Bon Air Park
601
Custis Rosslyn
651
Eads NB
0
Eads SB
0
Fairfax WB
0
Joyce St NB
79
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
2225
Key Bridge West
694
MVT Airport South
387
Roosevelt Bridge
200
TR Island Bridge
1022
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
894
WOD Columbia Pike
603

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