Articles

Jurassic roots

Bowfin are impressive survivors—able to breathe both in the water and out

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Sep 8th, 2014

The mighty mighty bowfin (photo: Chad Shmukler).

The floor of the boat is littered with carcasses. My focus should be on our quarry but, despite my best efforts, I’m swiping at my feet in an effort to produce some relief from the relentless attacks. The slow Lake Champlain backwater where guide Drew Price has paddled and poled our canoe is rich with lily pads and weeds, bullfrogs and bass. And biting flies. Lots of flies. It is also rife with bowfin.

Review: SPOT Gen3 GPS Messenger

by Mike Sepelak - Friday, Sep 5th, 2014

SPOT Gen3 GPS Messenger in the wild.

My wife worries about me, and justifiably so, because remote trout waters and reliable cellular coverage rarely overlap. It’s both a blessing and a curse. I need to get away from the ringing phone, the sounds of cars, and the din of mankind, yet she needs to know that I’m safe. The needs, I’m afraid, are at odds.

At odds, that is, until now. I have my SPOT.

The plan was a bit loose for our ten-day tour of Montana and British Columbia; fly into Missoula, drive to Fernie for four days, then see where the rivers would take us. Keeping in touch with home from the western slopes and rolling Montana farmland would be problematic, at best. It’s not like I needed to share every detail, but rather to be able to show a direction and send an “all’s well.” I’d grab snippets of cellular bandwidth when they appeared, but most of the time a simple “sign of life” would suffice. My SPOT G3 did that, and more.

Endless Limited Choices

by Steve Zakur - Thursday, Sep 4th, 2014

Endless Limited Choices

Like you, I have too many fly boxes. This could mean I carry too many flies but I doubt it. In fact, I probably have just enough of a selection to always have the right fly. My primary challenge is to recall a specific fly's existence at the right moment and then find the damned thing.

Most of the fly boxes I own are the new type with foam slots. While they're easier to use than the old style boxes, they invite chaos. I can put nymphs next to dries and midges next to Hendricksons. If you were to look at my "streamer" box you would also find a dozen bass poppers, some damsel fly nymphs and a couple of big honking dry flies among classic and contemporary streamers. Strangely, you would not find a half dozen purple woolly buggers tied last month that should be here but are living in sin elsewhere.

New Color-Coded, Low Stretch Sink Tips from RIO

by Ben Kryzinski - Wednesday, Sep 3rd, 2014

RIO Level "T" sink tips

RIO's "ultra-low stretch" ConnectCore technology has received a lot of positive feedback since it was introduced. Put roughly, fly lines are made of a supple plastic coating wrapped around a of supple plastic core line. Supple plastic tends to stretch. And, by in large, if you're looking for quick hook sets, efficient mending and good line feel -- line stretch is bad. With its ConnectCore technology, RIO looked to solve many of these stretch-related issues by creating a line core that with considerably little stretch. Anglers have responded positively, and as a result, RIO has been introducing ConnectCore into more and more of its lines. Most recently, RIO has announced a new line of ConnectCore-based sink tips called the In Touch Level "T".

The tungsten-powder coated tips come in all the expected sink rates (T-8, T-11, T-14 and T-17). RIO says the lines are supple and kink-free, and that "because they are built on RIO’s ultra-low stretch ConnectCore, the tips are extremely sensitive to soft grabs and ensure fast, solid hook sets." The tips come in 30 foot sections with front and back welded loops. If you're really into sink tips, you can buy the new Level "T" lines in 500-foot spools, too, and cut tips to your desired lengths.

Cheeky Intros Affordable Boost Reel Series

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Sep 1st, 2014

The Cheeky Boost 400.

One of the standouts amongst the myriad new products on the floor at this year's IFTD show in Orlando, Florida was a new, impressively affordable reel offering from Cheeky Fly Fishing. Cheeky has long been synonymous with building high quality reels that come to market at affordable prices, but Cheeky's new Boost series takes the affordability part a step further.

Available in 3 models ranging from sizes 2 to 8, the Boost series retails for a wallet-friendly $209 to $229. Spare spools clock in at under a hundred dollars.

According to Cheeky Fly Fishing's owner, Ted Upton, the Boost series is the result of over a year of development and testing. According to Upton, "The Boost Reel Series is the culmination of a tremendous amount of hard work here at Cheeky. We wanted to design a reel with that distinct Cheeky style and performance, but at a more approachable price point for our customers.”