Last week, when Simms announced that it would begin selling direct to customers as well as placing stricter regulations on how existing retailers can sell Simms products...
I don't shy away from paying high prices for premium gear. I buy expensive rods, expensive reels, high end apparel and the like. I do this to a fault, more often than not...
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Sun, 05/13/2012 - 17:31
This isn't the first time I've taken time to mention Albright's seemingly perpetual 70% off sale. I'm also not the only one to take notice, as Bjorn Stromsness over at Bonefish on the Brain has also taken the time to alert his readers to Albright's everlasting closeouts. Still, I thought it worth pointing out at least one more time. Albright, maker of what we only know to be rods and reels of reasonable quality, obviously thinks you have a preposterously short memory and shamefully poor math skills. What else could explain the fact that Albright continues to try to lure customers in with "limited time" high percentage discounts that suggest to the unsuspecting shopper that they're staring at a deal that's seemingly too good to be true.
Hey stupid, you gonna pass up deals like these?
Of course, that's because it is. As I explained in my original article on the matter, Albright -- a tackle manufacturer with, to my knowledge, no brick-and-mortar product placement -- habitually sets very high MSRPs for their rods and reels, MSRPs at which their products are seemingly never actually sold (I'd welcome eating humble pie on this point, but I've yet to hear of anyone that actually paid anything close to MSRP for any of Albright's rods or reels). The products are then sold at price points that are only a fraction of these MSRPs, making the products appear to be deeply discounted.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Sat, 05/12/2012 - 10:02
It's fair to say that you couldn't classify me as religious. I don't subscribe to any school of religious thought, I certainly don't attend services of any kind and the only higher power I spend any time dwelling on is the one behind the inner workings of the trout streams I frequent. That said, there's clearly a deity of some sort at work to prevent me from ever casting to, let alone catching, a bonefish. Either that or I've just had some shitty luck.
The height of conditions on a decidedly unpleasant day.
Two times in the last 4 years, 2 nearly finalized trips to chase bonefish on the Abaco Out Islands ended up being cancelled. These are trips where the details couldn't have possibly been easier to finalize. The house at which which were scheduled to stay was owned by a family friend and the guide we were scheduled to hit the flats with lived next door. Fool proof, right? Nope.
Who would have thought that a long avoided -- but in the end, considerably pleasant -- family trip to Disney World would offer up a fresh chance to finally chase bones on Bahama flats, even if only for a day? A quick stop of our Disney cruise ship in Nassau offered up a day to get out with a local guide and be back on the boat in time not to be stranded while my family sailed on to a private island that Disney felt necessary to turn into a shamelessly manufactured theme park instead of letting people bonefish on any of the several perfectly good looking flats that surround it.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Tue, 03/20/2012 - 12:19
Until one of my good friends became a custom rod builder, I was squarely under the assumption that having a custom fly rod built was a luxury intended specifically for grey-haired men who spent their evenings sitting in multi-million dollar fishing lodges drinking $200 bottles of scotch. In other words, guys who have money to burn on having a fly rod built to their exacting preferences. While this can certainly be the case, I've since learned that having a rod built to your custom specifications is not only for blue bloods with swollen bank accounts. In fact, having the rod of your dreams built by a custom rod maker can not only yield a rod that you've helped design every aspect of, but can also save you a considerable amount of money in the process.
A personalized, Costa Custom Sage TXL-F 7' 6" 3-weight.
To be clear, I'm not talking about custom bamboo rods built on rod-maker designed and crafted blanks. That's something I know nothing about and still, probably ignorantly, think of as a luxury confined to the aforementioned grey-haired blue blood crowd. I'm talking about that Sage One, Orvis Helios or R.L. Winston Boron IIx you've been eying up, but have been reluctant to drop $700-900 on. What if you could have that One or Helios, with custom designed aesthetics and hand-selected components and backed by the same warranty as you'd get buying from your local fly shop or online, all while saving as much as a hundred dollars or more in the process? This might not happen with every rod, but it is often the case.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Fri, 03/09/2012 - 12:16
If you're a regular reader of one of my favorite fishing blogs, Gink and Gasoline, then you already know that Louis Cahill and Kent Klewein continue to spew out interesting, entertaining posts from their seemingly endless supply of fishing tips, stories, videos, fly recipes and more. That Louis guy, whose photos seem be on the cover of every fly fishing magazine that shows up at my house these days, ain't too bad behind the lens either. G+G's latest tidbit shows anglers how to remove that hook you'll inevitably drive into your own or an angler buddy's skin, and how to do it right.
The whole how to is presented in video form, which you can see just above. And to be clear, the presentation won't leave anything to your imagination as to how this hook removal theory will apply to a real life hook-in-arm situation. G+G's Louis Cahill takes a hook in the arm not once, but twice, in order to provide a proper test subject for Kent Klewein's removal demonstration.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Tue, 11/29/2011 - 10:28
You know how it goes: you're 3 days into a 4 day fishing trip and already you're dreading the trip coming to an end. Getting away, being in a beautiful place, doing something you love isn't often something you're eager to put behind you. Not only are you dreading the current trip coming to a resolution, you're probably standing there, feet in river, planning your next trip in between casts. This is typical. It's something that almost every one of us who considers fishing a passion can relate to. On certain rare occasions, however, the best part of a fishing trip isn't the biggest fish that came to hand, or the time spent catching up with friends, and it most certainly isn't the whiskey hangover you spent the second morning of the trip enjoying. Sometimes, the best part of a fishing trip is the drive home.
Seriously? For this?
Now, I know I'm not supposed to say this. If you read a healthy variety of fly fishing publications these days, you've likely come under the impression that the true die-hard breed of fly fisherman spends every waking minute on the water. If you consider yourself a die-hard fisherman as well, then you best not talk about not fishing or otherwise performing fishing related activities. Not ever. The ecstasy of being on a river, rod in hand, is at all times so overwhelming that the very thought of leaving is preposterous. True die-hard fly fisherman have tales of glory to share, tales of steely reserve that allows them to be on the water in the most inhospitable conditions without experiencing a moment of displeasure. This modern, agro fly fishing denizen fishes in Alaska in sub-zero temperatures while simultaneously being dispatched by his 14th wife and/or girlfriend and while grizzly bears maul and consume his children. Stopping. Fishing. Can. Not. Happen.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Thu, 11/17/2011 - 11:05
I don't shy away from paying high prices for premium gear. I buy expensive rods, expensive reels, high end apparel and the like. I do this to a fault, more often than not, doing so in a financially irresponsible manner. It's an addiction. I love gear, and when I perceive that gear to be of exceptional quality or perhaps just otherwise "nice", I don't mind paying a high price to own it. However, when I find myself paying high prices for something that seems to have absolutely no justification whatsoever for its high price, it drives me crazy. This has always been the case with boot studs. You pay a ridiculous price for a fraction of the number of studs you actually need on your boots, knowing the whole time that you just got raked over the coals. With the alternative being a miserable, or potentially dangerous, day of slipping and stumbling all over the river, you pipe down and pay.
20 studs, 95% cheaper.
Most of the major fly fishing gear companies are guilty on this one. The typical boot stud setup offers 20 studs/screws at a price around $25-30. That's as high as $1.50 per piece for a screw. You tell yourself that it's okay, because these are fancy screws, but you know better. I've known for some time that there must have been an alternative to these overpriced solutions, but lazy searches for bargain varieties revealed nothing.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Fri, 11/04/2011 - 11:16
One of the great things about chasing redfish is that you can do it year round in Altantic shore waters as far north as Virginia and all the way around to Texas's Gulf waters. If you've ever tried to fish for these spooky, cruising fish with a line not suited to the task, you learn quickly that the wrong tools make the job significantly harder. Lines that wilt in high temperature situations won't shoot the way you need them to and lines that won't load a rod quickly and allow for quick casts with a single back cast will often cause you to miss your chance. That's why fly line manufacturers make lines specifically for warm saltwater destinations. Some, like RIO, take it a step further and tailor lines specifically to individual species such as Redfish.
We're giving away one of RIO's Redfish fly lines, a floating, weight-forward 8 weight line. Since we haven't had the pleasure of getting this line on the water (thanks to a redfish trip laced with lightning storms and downpours), here's some stuff RIO wants you to know. The RIO Redfish line has a short back taper designed to help deliver quick casts. The line has a hard coating designed for saltwater, which RIO says helps anglers maintain excellent loop control. Throw in front and rear end welded loops and RIO's AgentX and XS coatings, which help repel dust and reduce friction, and you've got one of the favorite redfish lines currently on the market.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Fri, 10/28/2011 - 11:32
We're giving away one of Airflo's relatively new Rage Compact floating skagit head lines. This new type of compact skagit head was designed by Tim Rajeff of Rajeff Sports and Tom Larimer to fill a void in the world of compact skagit heads. As Tom puts it, "what [he] really wanted was a Spey line built for surface and near-surface presentations that bucked like a Skagit but still had the finesse of a Scandi."
The Airflo Rage Compact Skagit head
As I'm certainly no expert in the world of compact skagit heads, I can't list all of the ways this versatile new floating head can be utilized. However, the Rage Compact is a versatile line to say the least, with applications in both floating line and light sinking leader spey presentations and switch rod presentations. We're giving away the Rage Compact in 480 grains. It is a 30ft head. This should be good for switch and spey rods in sizes 6-8, though personal preferences will allow you to expand on these suggested sizes if you know what you're doing.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Thu, 10/20/2011 - 12:05
Having owned and loved Albright's A5 in a 5 weight for the last several years, I've been keeping an eye on Albright's new products. Working with Lou Tabory over the last few years, well known fresh and saltwater fly angler and author of many books on the subjects, Albright has continued to develop well-received fly rods, reels and other gear at prices that make most people smile. That said, can someone please explain to me why it seems like Albright Tackle is constantly having a 70% off sale? If your products are perpetually on sale or in close-out, doesn't that mean they're really not? Wait. What?
Albright's GPX fly reel.
Given that Albright is an online-only outfit and thus their products aren't sold in stores, what's the point of setting high-end MSRPs at which their products are never actually sold? For instance, Albright's very well regarded XXT fly rod, is currently on super duper double beatloaf mega sale for $209 (off its MSRP of $679). Quite the bargain, right? Well, sure. But, how much of one? Chances are, and can't guarantee this, not a single XXT was ever sold for anything approaching $679, because everything on the site is always on sale.
Submitted by Chad Shmukler on Fri, 09/30/2011 - 11:45
Though I admit it with a fair amount of hesitation, I've been a skeptic on "The River Why" since I first heard about it a couple years ago. Despite the theatrical success of "The Movie" (A River Runs Through It), the boon it was for the sport of fly fishing and the lack of a fictional, feature-length film dedicated to our sport in the years since -- I wasn't sure that what 'The River Why' appeared to be was what I would have wanted for the sport. I'm still not, and that's because I still haven't seen it. Yet the film has, however, been well received by many in the fly fishing community, and the folks behind the film have been doing a lot of apparent good by screening the film and donating the proceeds to conservation organizations.
Sexy young guy fights big fish in turbulent water while shockingly hot tomboy perched on rock gazes longingly. Seriously?
While searching for more information today, I stumbled on a quote in 1859 Magazine by the author of the book that 'The River Why' is both based on and derives its name from. The book's author, David James Duncan, when asked what he thought about the film had the following to say. "Sigh. I engaged in a three-year legal battle against the producers of the film over their handling of my film rights. That battle was settled ... My name is off the film, Sierra Club’s name is off the film, and the rights have returned to me. I tried to remove my title from their film, too, but the federal magistrate in San Francisco let them keep it ... The current filmmakers held my rights for 25 years, and repeatedly tried to sell off the “property” they claimed to be “developing,” yet claim their efforts are “a labor of love.” Could be, but please spare me any such love. They wrote a crappy screenplay, filmed in a rush to outrace my lawsuits, used a non-fly fisher to play a "Mozart" of a fly fisher, used a rubber salmon to play a wild chinook, and so on."
