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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
177
14th Street Bridge
449
Arlington Mill Trail
44
Ballston Connector
36
Bluemont Connector
60
CC Connector
148
Clarendon EB bike lane
1
Custis Bon Air Park
106
Custis Rosslyn
178
Eads NB
9
Eads SB
1
Fairfax EB bike lane
24
Fairfax WB
24
Joyce St NB
39
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
330
Key Bridge West
203
Military NB bike lane
6
Military SB bike lane
10
MVT Airport South
263
Quincy NB bike lane
14
Quincy SB bike lane
15
Roosevelt Bridge
73
Rosslyn Bikeometer
214
TR Island Bridge
484
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
0
WOD Columbia Pike
173
Wilson WB bike lane
56

Peds counted

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110 Trail
0
14th Street Bridge
150
Arlington Mill Trail
660
Ballston Connector
189
Bluemont Connector
421
CC Connector
165
Custis Bon Air Park
235
Custis Rosslyn
272
Eads NB
0
Eads SB
0
Fairfax WB
0
Joyce St NB
46
Joyce St SB
0
Key Bridge East
824
Key Bridge West
411
MVT Airport South
129
Roosevelt Bridge
1
TR Island Bridge
696
WOD Bon Air Park
0
WOD Bon Air West
0
WOD Columbia Pike
614

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