Gear

Gear — 4 Comments
02
Mar 12

Cuba Gear List – Ross F1

The Cuba trip is fast approaching and that means I’m begging and pleading for gear to be sent to Bonefish on the Brain World Headquarters.  Largely, I’ve succeeded. Looks like the packing list is going to include rods/reels/lines from Orvis, Ross, Sage, Redington, Rio and Scientific Angler.

Now, important to note, I don’t get to keep all this stuff.  I am forced to send it back to the manufacturer once my trip is done (and I finally get around to it, usually a month late).  It’s a great opportunity to get my hands on some gear and see how it feels in the field.  The good stuff will get talked about and the stuff that wasn’t so awesome (of which there is surprisingly little) doesn’t (unless you ask me directly).

One of the reels I’ll be sporting is the F1 from Ross.  I’m excited to see this reel in action after seeing it in a couple of places over the past year.

It comes from 2 wt. to 9 wt., so I won’t be putting it on any Tarpon rods, but I should get to pace some bonefish on it.  Very much looking forward to seeing how it performs. Field and Stream just gave it the blue ribbon for best new reel of 2011.

 

The F1

Gear — 6 Comments
23
Feb 12

A tale of lines

Not too often someone writes this much about lines… figured it was worth a share.

The 3M Company, the Minnesota behemoth behind Post-it Notes, Scotch Tape, and Scotchguard also owns a small division called Scientific Anglers (SA) that makes fly lines. While there are a few competitors out there, undoubtedly SA has held the reputation of making the best fly lines in the world.

Really?  The best in the world?  How do you guys feel about that?

Sometimes the “Scientific” part outdoes the “Anglers” part of the name and when that happens you end up with a product that is too good and actually does some harm. The Sharkskin line works well on paper and very well in actual use. Perhaps too well. The embossed pattern on the surface reduces friction as it flies through the guides on the fly rod. Lines shoot out further with less effort. Less contact is made with the surface of the water so picking up for a backcast is easier.

Read the full article here.

Gear — 4 Comments
16
Feb 12

Checklist

I was checking out the DIY Flats Fishing site and saw their travel checklist.

You probably have your own checklist.

Mine is not written down, but probably should be.  One of the things I put on my checklist that might be surprising is Desitin. If you are a new parent, you are probably familiar with it.  It is used to treat diaper rash on little kids.

No. I don’t wear diapers.

I have, however, been in tropical places, and had my thighs chaff to the point where I could barely walk. Enter Desitin.

It’s mission critical.  That and some of the waterproof medical tape they have out now.  Really good stuff and excellent to keep your line burns either from happening in the first place or to protect them after you get them.

What’s on your checklist?

Get the heavy cream. That's the stuff you need.

Gear — No Comments
05
Feb 12

Why is bonefishing awesome? Backing

Ya know what I like?  I like seeing my backing. Backing is awesome.  Not a lot of trout get me there.

What kind of backing you put behind that fly line is a question you find yourself asking a lot more when it comes to things like bonefish as opposed to brookies. Turns out you don’t need any backing if you are doing the tenkara thing.

So… you may be interested in how the discussion went over at Deneki when it had to do with backing.

Check it.

Gear — 5 Comments
31
Jan 12

The Most Expensive 8 wt. in the World

UPDATE (4/17/2012) – Yup… still running the 70% Off Sale, which does not appear to have ever ended.  The EXT is still $238.50.

UPDATE (4/18/2012) – They are running a sale right now that actually looks like a sale. $238.50, which is really way down from the $358-$430 numbers with $795 seeming to be steady as the MSRP.

UPDATE (3/26/2012) – March Madness Sale… The EXT continues to have an MSRP of $795, but now is back to $358.50.  This means this actually IS a sale of -$80.

UPDATE (3/2/2012) – They’ve changed their tune a bit.  Now they say the MSRP is $795. Oddly, the old price, for the $1,195 rod was $358.  Now, with the lower MSRP it is now $430. (I think they’ve also unsubscribed me from their marketing emails)

UPDATE… Super Bowl Sunday and I get an email from Albright. 70% off… Free Shipping… Sounds familiar.

So… is the EXT from Albright the most expensive 8 wt. in the world? Well, depends on how you look at their numbers.  See, the MSRP is $1,195.00.  Um… that would be the the priciest 8 wt. on the planet (by $300+).

The NRX =$760

The Sage One =$730

Winston iiix = $810

Orvis Helios = $825

Well… that just sounds a bit crazy, no?

Don’t worry though… they aren’t selling the EXT for $1,195. You can get it for the low, low price of $358.50. Yup… 70% off the MSRP.

Here’s the thing… that rod has never sold for a grand. Never.  It never will. It doesn’t mean it’s a bad rod, but it isn’t a thousand dollar rod.

I have an Albright. It is a decent stick. It was very good in terms of price. I think it was about $90 and it casts like a $130 rod. It’s a deal. The question Albright needs to answer is if the rod is money for value at $358.  It might be that.  There is a good chance it is.  They don’t need to say it casts well for $1,000 because there is no 8 wt. that should cost $1,000.

Come on folks. Play it straight.

(I’m not the only one who has noticed, it seems.  Hatch Magazine has as well.)

All the other stuff / Gear — 1 Comment
30
Jan 12

Steve H, Orivs and Tarpon

I’ve spent a few hours talking to Steve on the phone.  He’s a guy I like and respect.  He’s doing some good things at Orvis, not least of which is the Helios Rod and Mirage Reel series. Here’s a video about the Mirage.

[vimeo clip_id=”28854639″]

PS – saw this over at Flatswalker.

 

Gear — 1 Comment
29
Jan 12

OK… sticking with Rajeff on rods

Now let’s talk about rod breaks and what you can learn from them.  This is a pretty cool little video from Tim Rajeff that talks about what different rod breaks can tell you about the rod that just got broke. Interesting, to say the least.

Gear — 6 Comments
28
Jan 12

More thoughts on rod selection

OK… when you are fishing on a boat you see the fish from further away and are making longer casts.  Stiffer rods respond well here with longer casts, but if you happen to see the fish in close, you sometimes have trouble getting these faster rods to load well at shorter distances.

On foot you tend to see the fish in closer, making shorter casts… maybe more in the 30-50′ range. Getting your super fast action rod to load at 40′ is sometimes a little difficult and so many anglers up-line for wade fishing.  Typical bonefish lines are .25-.5 weights above the line weight anyway, so some folks move to a redfish line, which is .25-.5 heavier still.

Here’s a thought… what if you used a SLOWER action rod for wade fishing?  Slower rods (I’m talking medium action here, not a dry fly rod) load better at short distances.

Might a medium action rod actually be better on foot???

I found this little tidbit at Orvis by Jim Lepage and Marshall Cutchin…

In the second situation you are looking for a rod to take bonefishing. You know these fish are strong and fast, that they can get up to 10 pounds in weight and can attain speeds up to 30 miles-per-hour, and that you’ll have to contend with wind while you are casting. The flies you will be using range from size 2 to 6, and they may have some weight added to them. All this means you should look at a rod with a butt section stiff enough to quickly land these fish and a flex profile that puts most of the bend in the tip to mid-section. A rod that flexes in the tip is often referred to as a ‘tip flex,’ or ‘tippy,’ or ‘fast action’. These rods flex progressively toward the mid-section as more and more line is cast. You’ll also want a rod that is on the high side of the “load range” — casting better with 20 to 30 feet of line out of the rod tip than your typical “slow” rod will. In this situation an 8- or 9-weight rod is a perfect match.

Softer, or “slower,” rods allow the caster to feel the loading of the rod more quickly, with less line out of the rod tip. Long casts, on the other hand, tend to benefit from having more line out of the rod tip (there’s more weight to throw), and a stiff rod makes holding more line in the air easier.

From Orvis.

Found by Flatswalker… good points here!

Gear — 6 Comments
27
Jan 12

Rod Selection

I found something new on Youtube… a vid on rod selection.  In this case the guy has two 8 wts and is talking about the amount of deflection each has, saying it is fast or slow.

http://youtu.be/S6ZVx9EjBbI

Now… I’m sure what he’s said is reasonable.  I’d add, however, that I’d bet there are rods that are much slower that are used for bonefish.  Just because a rod is slower doesn’t mean you can’t cast it in the wind or you can’t hit 70′ with it. We tend to use faster rods because they are easier to use, but it seems to me, that some of the best anglers (and I’m talking about the people here that are much, much better than I am) tend to fish with rods that are a bit slower than “fast.”

Thoughts?

Gear — 2 Comments
10
Jan 12

Sage One at Andros South

Ran across this story on the Sage Facebook page yesterday… pretty funny stuff.

This is the victim rod, a new, first time fished Sage ONE. At one point is was a four piece, eight weight, now I’m no longer sure. Between these two pieces was about six inches that has been chewed and gone. Notice the gnawed-off cork handle; yum! To add insult to injury, the fly line on the reel was chewed through and gone. So what is this mysterious monster Potcake that consumes fly rods?

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