Articles

Review: Redington Sonic Dry Pants

by Mike Sepelak - Monday, Jul 28th, 2014

Redington Sonic Dry Pants

I hate waders. Well, no, that’s not exactly true. I hate wearing waders. Actually, I suspect that it’s most accurate to say that I hate having to wear waders.

You see, I cut my fly fishing teeth chasing North Carolina shoals largemouths – wet wading steamy Piedmont rivers with water temperatures in the 80s and air temps and humidity percentages way beyond that. Air so thick that you wish you had gills. All I needed, all I wanted, was a pair of light, quick drying pants to protect my legs during the bushwhack to the water and a pair of sturdy boots. Waders? You’ve got to be kidding.

But, as most fly fishermen do, I eventually expanded my fishing horizons, turning to the fairer species - those delicate rainbows, browns and brookies - and in the South that means tailwaters for a good portion of the year. And that means waders. But while the water coming from the bases of Fontana and Philpott and the mighty South Holston might be as cold as sweet iced tea, the air remains pig cooker hot. It doesn’t take long to get steamed like a Cajun crawdad.

There’s no wader funk like southern wader funk.

Night on the Bay

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Jul 25th, 2014

Ethan Kiburz has the tiger by the tail, and he knows it.

As he piloted two visiting trout bums across Tampa Bay on a recent sultry night, the young man -- just 23 years old -- explained that he’d been guiding on the bay for about a year and that he worked in a local fly shop part time, efforts to pad the bank account of a single fly fisherman with a passion for salty critters on the business end of an 8-weight.

“Married?” he responded to a poorly timed query, with an exasperated gas. “No. No way.”

IFTD 2014 Highlights: Accessories, Fly Boxes, etc

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Jul 24th, 2014

A great number of new products are debuted at the annual International Fly Tackle Dealers show. Each year, a handful items stand out among the crowd of new introductions. In order to help highlight some of the new products, IFTD allows attendees of the show to vote for their favorites in its New Products Showcase. While this helps bring attention to some great products, there are many that don't win awards or that aren't entered in the showcase which don't always get the attention they deserve. Over the next few weeks, in an effort to help highlight some of this year's best new products, we'll be publishing a series of pieces highlighting some of the new products that caught our eye at this year's show in Orlando.

Fishpond Sushi Roll

Although accessory manufacturers are always trying to reinvent the fly box, with varying levels of success, Fishpond has decided to go in another direction with its new Sushi Roll. The Sushi Roll is a storage solution for big streamers, saltwater flies and the like which aims to improve over big fly boxes and their issues with bulk, durability and moisture retention. The Sushi Roll is a nylon backed foam mat that you can plunk a hefty number of streamers onto. Once you've plucked off the fly of your choice, simply roll up the Sushi Roll and stash it. The Sushi Roll is lined with foam teeth that separate its layers which, according to Fishpond, lets air to flow through, allowing your streamers to dry and preventing your hooks from rusting. Once rolled up, the Sushi Roll takes up considerably less real estate than a hard box. Retail: $30.

Connections

by Steve Zakur - Wednesday, Jul 23rd, 2014

Yesterday afternoon I had the water to myself. During the dog days, the Farmington is one of the few local places to reliably find trout. Weekends it can be crowded but mid-week you can still find places to be alone. I fished and caught in solitude until rush hour. The road across the way, unnoticed through the afternoon, suddenly had a spurt of life. It was the only indication of the rhythm of elsewhere.

A little while later I heard commotion in the small lot behind me. Late of some workplace, three guys entered the pool above me. While they were a hundred yards off the quiet of the valley and the reflective quality of lazy water made their banter easily heard. These three took up what seemed like the usual spots and the cliche, stream-side taunts bounced back and forth. Portly guy was into fish quickly and rated a few hoots while his buddies struggled. Before long the abundance of the Farmington yielded bent rods for the lot of them.

Deep in the Weeds

by Mike Sepelak - Monday, Jul 21st, 2014

I fully expected to bump into Mowgli and Baloo, bopping their way through the jungle. Or to have some hideous children-of-the-corn moment. Or to simply lose my way in the sea of seven-foot black-eyed susans, never to be found again. It was delicious.

I'd asked Mac, somewhat skeptically, if waders were really necessary. My early glimpses of the sweet little stream seemed to belie the need to get wet, and it was bloody hot, but he had nodded and I reluctantly suited up. Good thing too, for without that slick outer surface I might still be out in that deep Wisconsin meadow, tightly wrapped in bright green tendrils.

Instead I slithered my way through the growth, pausing in the occasional gaps of matted grasses formed the night before by bedding deer, listening to the constant drone of bees, enjoying nose-to-nose stare downs with curious hummingbirds, and following the sound of running water - often the only clue that a stream was near.