Gear

Gear — No Comments
20
Dec 11

A review I found of the Echo3

I am currently cultivating snot. A nice little cold had settled in my head and is kind of preventing a lot of holiday merrymaking, but I still have a few days to kick this before I put on the red hat. So… at least there is that.

Since I’m sick (and tired, of course), I’m glad I found a nice review of the new Echo3 rods via the This River is Wild facebook page.

Echo is an interesting company to me. Never before have so few marketing dollars been spent on what seem to be pretty good products. It is almost as if they don’t really want you to know about them.

I don’t think I’ve ever fished an Echo, although I’ve played with them at a few consumer shows. What I’ve seen, I’ve liked.

I got a few 8wts and 10wts and this past week down in the Bahamas I personally got to fish and test out these rods on some big bonefish and dolphin! These rods are beasts! They are powerful, fast action rods that have the ability to generate enough line speed to cut through some serious wind.

Dear Santa

Hey Santa, what’s up? Remember me? Yeah, I’m doing fine. I’m actually doing great. I want you to look over that list of yours and I’m pretty sure you’ll see my name solidly in the “Nice” column. So… let’s get to the loot.

My wish list this year…

The thing I’d want more than anything is time. There just is never enough of it. I don’t live in a place where bonefish are an hour away. They are hundreds or thousands of miles away and it takes a small pile of money to get there. I have a few tricks to make the pile of money required smaller, but I have yet to find a way to expand the calendar (or the allotment of days off given to me). I’d love to get another couple of weeks to chase bonefish. That would be my number one Christmas wish.

Now… let’s talk more material things.

I am still waiting on that Orvis Hydros. I’m pretty sure I’ve told you about this before. You taking notes? Why the Hydros? Simple… it is as good a rod as the Helios for -$250. It is light, strong and a fish catching magic stick.

I need a new 8 wt. reel and would really like one or all of the following… a Hatch, a Galvan or a Nautilus. I have been REALLY good, so I’d take all three.

Lastly, if you still have a little room, I’d like Hank’s Place, which is still on the market. It’s been in a constant state of for sale.

I’d also like to fish with a few people… Shane, Andrew, Jim, Butch and many more of the great people I come into contact with through the blog.

Alright Santa. Do what you can. Oh, and if you don’t do right by my daughter I’m going to break your legs. Kidding.

Bjorn

PS – not kidding about the legs.

Gear — 4 Comments
09
Dec 11

The Redington Predator Review

On my largely fruitless trip to Hawaii recently I brought along a Redington Predator 9 wt. to cast. Now, bones are usually an 8 wt. fish… sometimes a 7, rarely a 6 and fished for with a 5 wt. by one of the folks I once interviewed. Nines really don’t make the list too often. The trade-winds in Hawaii are a reason to move up a weight and so I brought a 9 and not an 8.

There were times I’d get bored of not catching bonefish and when that happened, I’d go huck some flies in the dropoffs and see what I could get to bite. That meant making a few hundred casts in the wind with a 9 weight and trying to lay out as much line as I could.

I’ll tell you what… the Predator did just fine. I wish I could tell you how it handled with a fish on the other end… but… well… yeah… not so much what I got a chance to experience. What I can tell you is that I laid out some serious string with this thing.

The price point is $249 and that’s not bad. That’s 1/2 the cost of the Orvis Hydros and for that price you get about 2x the weight. This isn’t one of those Ultra Light rods. It is more a traditional saltwater rod… fast and up to the elements. You cast it a lot all day and it is going to start feeling a little heavy. You actually find yourself fishing in a place where there are a decent number of bonefish, you’ll do just fine.

It isn’t a rod that blew me away. That’s not what this rod is. It is a workhorse, not a show horse.

I’d fish it.

The Predator

Gear — 2 Comments
27
Nov 11

Proof that style doesn’t count

Got pictures last night from reader John. A recent trip to the Bahamas yielded some fish DESPITE the fanny pack being sported.

Another proof point that style doesn’t count for much as far as the fish are concerned.

A nice bone... pure and simple.

Yeah... John needs a new pack

I’m not even getting into the color choice on the shorts and shoes… I’m not even going there!

Gear — 2 Comments
25
Nov 11

Black Friday at Skinny Water Culture

Skinny Water Culture has long been one of my favorite technical apparel makers. Today, being “Black Friday” they are having a 20% off sale that will last through the weekend. Good stuff.

Code for Black Friday starts at midnight tonight and will work all weekend, ending Sunday at midnight. The code is for 20% off your entire order, including free shipping. Use “blkdrm” at checkout!!!!

Conservation / Gear — 4 Comments
21
Nov 11

Fishpond… kind of awesome.

OK… thanks to Fishpond for sending me a Low Tide Lumbar pack for my upcoming Hawaii Trip. I’ve long been a fan of their gear, so it was great to test drive this latest version of their lumbar pack (I’m not calling it a fanny pack). I have the earlier generation and it has put a lot of miles in with me.

The Low Tide Lumbar Pack from Fishpond

So, first the important stuff. This pack fits two of my big fly boxes. That is essential. If they don’t fit, it won’t be a useful pack to me. This pack fits. So… we are off to a good start.

They fit and the zipper can still zip.

Another REALLY cool thing was that looking at the tag on the pack I saw that it was very short on the normal marketing drivel and it was instead a place to help spread word on a really important issue… the slaughter of sharks in our oceans.

That's www.protectsharks.org

I say… well played Fishpond… very well played. Check out Protect Sharks.

Gear — No Comments
13
Nov 11

TFM gets a tour of Ross

A cool post over at the Fiberglass Manifesto involves a tour of the Ross factory as an F1 reel gets assembled.

Gear — 6 Comments
08
Nov 11

Olympus Stylus Tough 6020 Review

Pros: Waterproof, shock proof, capable of taking good pictures

Cons: User interface, time from button pushed to picture taken, overall usability

I have this camera. I bought it off Amazon after my Pentax (I think it was the W90) went missing. This is the second Olympus waterproof camera I’ve owned.

Let me just say… I dislike it. It takes a while to boot up when you turn it on (you better not be whipping your camera out the second you want to take a picture) and the software seems bound and determined to be set on the wrong settings every time I want to take a picture. Trying to take a landscape picture, you’ll find the camera trying to focus on something 2 feet away and the shot comes out blurry. I have to go through the options every time to select the right setting. It is time consuming. The software just isn’t very friendly.

It can take some good pictures… it does have that capability, but the thing is just so user unfriendly, that it kind of defeats the purpose.

I loaned the camera to my ex to take pictures of Halloween and the results were telling. My daughter had left the frame in most of the pictures or they were very blurry. The delay on pressing the button is too long and the software seems unable to focus well half the time.

The price was right… but what the Stylus Tough 6020 has in price it looses on functionality and utility.

Don't do it, bro.

Gear — 5 Comments
29
Oct 11

Let’s talk about your underwear

17 countries. 6 weeks. And one pair of underwear. Ok, maybe two. This boxer brief is up for the challenge. Engineered with Aegis Microbe Shield and unbelievably quick-drying, ExOfficio Give-N-Go is ready for odor-free, active adventuring.

That’s the marketing pitch for Ex Officio’s Men’s Give-N-Go underwear. Now, I’ll agree that the name of the underwear is horrible and lends itself to all sorts of interesting word play, but the idea is simple… when you are on a long trip and you are in the salt, it makes good sense to have some drawers on you that will dry fast and not stink too much. I’d maybe bring more than even 2 pairs, but you get the point.

Cotton boxers won’t do the trick and I hope you aren’t wearing tighty whities. A puppy dies every time a man puts on a pair of those.

Gear — 2 Comments
28
Oct 11

Reel Testing – The Vanquish Passes

The Lamson Vanquish has passed my reel testing regime with flying colors.

Here’s what I put it through.

20 high speed pulls at about 25 MPH on a mechanical drill.

A dunking in saltwater for 5 minutes. (then letting it dry, as is).

20 more high speed pulls.

A few shakes in a sand-filled bag.

20 more high speed pulls.

The Vanquish had no problems with any of that. The drag is still as smooth as when I first got it (which is to say “very”). No complaints on the mechanics of the reel at all.

A little sand bath

This isn’t to say I was 100% happy with the reel. There was one little thing that I really didn’t dig… that was the handle. The handle has all these little divots on it that I’m assuming are for grip, but end up making the thing a tad uncomfortable to reel in.

Mechanically wonderful, but I'm not a fan of this.

Maybe that’s just me though. I can’t fault the reels performance, because it didn’t have any performance issues.

The Vanquish = Pass

Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).