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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
571
14th Street Bridge
1550
Arlington Mill Trail
423
Ballston Connector
0
Bluemont Connector
337
CC Connector
412
Clarendon EB bike lane
258
Custis Bon Air Park
1
Custis Rosslyn
967
Eads NB
48
Eads SB
74
Fairfax EB bike lane
121
Fairfax WB
131
Joyce St NB
57
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
1052
Key Bridge West
584
Military NB bike lane
37
Military SB bike lane
28
MVT Airport South
1915
Quincy NB bike lane
110
Quincy SB bike lane
74
Roosevelt Bridge
298
Rosslyn Bikeometer
724
TR Island Bridge
991
WOD Bon Air Park
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WOD Bon Air West
1575
WOD Columbia Pike
1318
Wilson WB bike lane
179

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110 Trail
667
14th Street Bridge
396
Arlington Mill Trail
557
Ballston Connector
0
Bluemont Connector
1454
CC Connector
0
Custis Bon Air Park
0
Custis Rosslyn
551
Eads NB
0
Eads SB
0
Fairfax WB
0
Joyce St NB
43
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
2561
Key Bridge West
4982
MVT Airport South
103
Roosevelt Bridge
224
TR Island Bridge
1349
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0
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1006
WOD Columbia Pike
964

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