Gear

Gear — 8 Comments
19
Jul 13

The Sage Boat Bag – A loving review

Before the Florida trip I was asked if there was anything I could use. One thing that I haven’t had was a boat bag. Soon, a boat bag was delivered to the office and I was pretty much in love from that point on.

I did have “a bag” before. Sometimes this was a regular backpack. That would get wet as the boat moved from place to place and anything that wasn’t supposed to get wet… well… would be. It didn’t really do the job.  The other bag I had was a simple NRS dry bag. That does better, but it is something I sometimes don’t bring along and it while it does keep things dry, it is also hard (impossible) to organize.

Sage… not a company I tend to think of when packs come to mind. I think mostly of the rods… the lovely, lovely rods. I own two Sage rods (a 5 wt. RPL+ and a 7 wt. RPL) and I know their reputation is well deserved. They make other gear too… I know that intellectually, but I just don’t tend to think of their reels and I routinely forget they make packs, backpacks and even some pretty good looking technical clothing.

They also make a sweet boat bag.

The bag itself is really more of a box. It has semi-hard sides with adjustable compartments inside. It also has pockets on both the top and on the inside of the top flap, both of which are waterproof. The whole thing is waterproof, really. There is even a foam patch in one of the end pockets for those pesky flies.

Nice... very nice.

Nice… very nice.

The whole thing shows a high level of thought and dedication.

The main reason for having a bag like this, in my mind, is for the guy who is going to be in and out of different boats. It is so easy to prep for the day, organize your gear and be ready to get in the boat as soon as it is in the water or at the dock.

The top of the bag has two compartments, both waterproof, one accessed from the outside, one from the inside.

The top of the bag has two compartments, both waterproof, one accessed from the outside, one from the inside.

For travel, it was my carry-on. It isn’t something that breaks down to fit in the bottom of your bag. It’s substantial. You’ll either need a really big bag to carry it in, or you’ll need to bring it on the plane with you.

yeah... I need to get more into this bag

Boat bag as carry on.

Bonus… if you do carry it on, you’ll probably get a comment or two from other envious anglers who know that this bit of serious gear is for the serious angler. At $300, it isn’t something you will likely buy on a lark. It’s an intentional decision and probably one that will help you make the most out of your week on the water somewhere awesome.

Sage… you’ve done well.

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Gear — 7 Comments
12
Jul 13

Vapen, a review

I knew it was going to be beyond reasonably hot when I got to the reservoir. It was 11:00 AM and already my car told me it was 94 degrees. It would get hotter. There would be no shade. As I stepped into my waders in the parking lot I could already feel the oppression, the weight of the heat.

Still, there is the whole “a bad day of fishing is better than a good day at work” thing, so I grabbed the Redington Vapen and I went to go look for big, prickish carp.

The Vapen is unique. It’s hard to be unique when you make a fly fishing rod. They mostly look identical and it is usually the components or blank color which identify the rod maker. From an appearance perspective, most rods look very similar. On this, the Vapen has done a great job of creating a little space.

With the red grip, you can tell it is a Vapen from 300 yards. From up close you can also admire the very unique blank… metallic, sleek and slightly deadly looking. The grip is what really sets the rod apart. There just hasn’t been a lot of innovation in grips over the years. The biggest innovation was probably that someone took cork, cut it up into lots of tiny pieces, made a composite cork and made a grip out of it. It’s still cork and the feel is largely the same. The Vapen is a hard right turn from tradition. It is unique.

As far as backbone and casting power, the Vapen does well and I can understand why the Vapen is coming in at the top of the Redington line of rods. It casts well. The one big carp I hooked on the rod felt very good on the rod. Wish I could have put it through the paces a bit more, but alas… there was just the one hooked carp.

That's a grip you'll see from a long ways off.

That’s a grip you’ll see from a long ways off.

When giving an overview of the rod, I have to go back to the grip, that red, tennis racquet like grip. I think it is really hard to do something totally unique. Cork has been used for so long largely because it is so effective and well suited to the job. The Vapen grip didn’t work for me. It felt hot (on a day that was a scorcher) and it felt a bit slippery (as I was wading to my waste and my hands were often wet). I found myself thinking about the grip too much. It was a distraction.

I wanted to like this rod. I wanted it to be my new favorite thing. I like risk takers. I like innovation. This rod was trying something new and for that I applaud the good folks at Redington.

The Vapen grip for me was New Coke. Put a cork grip on that thing and it would make it Classic and I’d probably love it.

NOTE: It looks like you will be able to get the Vapen with a cork grip… so… that might make me a lot happier with this rod. It isn’t up on the Redington site yet, but that’s good news.

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Gear — 11 Comments
10
May 13

Building a bonefish leader

When I read the formulas from the guys who really know, I understand that I am just scratching the surface. Read about Chico’s bonefish leader philosophy and you start to understand what sort of depth you can get to when you spend a LOT of time on the water.

You can watch Bruce Chard tie up a bonefish leader and hear him share his thoughts as well.

All of that seems complicated and that’s why I settled on the formula I have used to this point which involves a 50/25/25 formula. I don’t know where I saw this, but I know it was the simplest and I seized upon it for that very reason. Let me be frank here, I will not make any claims about this being the best or most effective or about it working particularly well. I tie this because it is easy and I am lazy.

Reading Chico’s thoughts I’m breaking several rules of leader design. I’d likely be ashamed to show my leaders to anyone who actually knows what the hell they are doing, but I’m also nagged by the strange knowledge that those leaders have worked for me. I go 40#, 30#, 20# and then some #15 floro tippet and it shouldn’t turn over, but it does and every bonefish I’ve caught in the past 3 years has been caught on a hand tied leader with that formula. I’m not sure if I need to step my game up here, or if I should just leave well-enough alone.

Do you tie your own leaders? If so, what formula do you use?

leader material

Oh yeah, and most of my leader material is cheap, too (not including the tippet).

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Gear — 4 Comments
15
Apr 13

Thoughts on the Abel Super 7/8n

I was really interested to fish the Abel Super 7/8n on the trip to the Bahamas. Clearly, it is one of the best fly reels in the game. There are passionate fans of this reel and this brand. I had manhandled a few Abels at shows, asked some questions and snapped some pictures, but I had never fished one. So, when Abel got in touch and asked if I’d be interested in a loaner, I jumped at the chance.

In action.

In action.

Let me just be clear on one point here… I would likely never buy this reel because I’m a cheap SOB and this is more of an investment than I’m willing to make. The reel retails for $700, and gets more expensive from there if you add some of the fantastic art they can put on it. The bonefish graphic will run you another $200.

Pretty.

Pretty. And $900

So, getting past the price thing, I talked to a few people who love their Abels and here are some of the thoughts about why an Abel might actually be worth it.

  • The reel is pretty much bulletproof.
  • Cork drag is silky smooth and everything you’d expect in a quality cork drag.
  • Most of the reel is readily accessible. That means if something breaks, you can fix it. If your sealed drag stops working, you are hosed. If your Abel stops working, you can open it up, take it apart and put it back together.
  • It is a reel you are going to have for a decade or two.

The reel fished well. I can’t say landing 6 bonefish is a real test of what the reel can and cannot do, but I can now understand a little bit more about what it is, what it offers and why people love them. My largest fish of the trip was about 6 pounds and a 6 pound bonefish can really put some excitement in your day. This reel sang the praises of that bone… a good sound. It is not a silent reel. There in an inbound and outbound click. If you are taking in or giving out line, there will be some reel music.

Nothing broke. The drag performed flawlessly. I wish I had more fish on it, but that was the trip I was on.

I was a little surprised when I first got the reel to see that it was right hand retrieve. Turns out most of their customers for the 6 and lower reel left, but at the 7/8 level and above, people reel right. Seems if you are a born saltwater guy, you reel with your dominant hand. If you are a trout guy who eventually fishes the salt, you reel with your off/line hand. I fit into the latter group and the odds are fair to good you do too.

The process to change over the reel was a little bit daunting, but when I actually did it, it ended up taking about 7-10 minutes. Pretty easy. Having everything exposed makes it easy and is the reason the reel is easy to repair in the field. I didn’t need to do any repairs, obviously.

The reel was nice… really nice. I wish it wasn’t $700-900, but then I also wish airfare to the Bahamas was $59. I like that the reel is made here in California and at some point I may go down and check out the factory. They tell me if I saw what was involved in making the reels I’d understand the price. I’m actually not very likely to understand the price, or to pay it, but if you want to pay the cost, you will certainly end up with a reel you’ll fish for the rest of your life and be happy with.

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Gear — 5 Comments
09
Apr 13

The RIO Quickshooter

I was going to do a review of the RIO Quickshooter Bonefish Fly Line.  Then, I read the review of said line over at Flatswalker.com.

He crushed me both in time to evaluate the line, useful insight into what makes the line work so well and word-count.

Basically, a line should do what the box it came in advertises. It doesn’t have to have some trippy nano-texture copied from a Jesus Lizard or slide through the rod guides faster’n a greased up snake. It just has to not tangle, load the road and not fall apart too soon.

Classic. Read the rest of this too.

Here is what I had written about it:

If you look riiiiiiiight there, you can see the Quickshooter line.

If you look riiiiiiiight there, you can see the Quickshooter line.

The idea behind the Quickshooter is this… when you need to load a rod quickly, especially the ultra-fast rods you find on the flats today, you need a line capable of loading the rod with very little line out. This is a wading line for when you see the fish at 30 feet and need to send something pointy down range quickly.

I can say it works. Two of the fish I caught were while wading and one was probably about 35 feet away. I had no problem loading the rod quickly and making the shot.

I’d say I think the line is slightly less ideal for fishing out of a boat on a windy day when you want to keep line on the deck. The thin running line can get a bit FUBAR if not watched closely or if you are fishing with flats beginners who don’t understand their role in keeping your line from birdnesting.

I like the line and will fish it in the future for sure, especially if I think I’ll be doing a lot of wading.

*This line was sent gratis by RIO.

 

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29
Mar 13

The Quiver

Here’s what I’m bringing to the Bahamas… for my “family” vacation.

I’m bringing three fly rods.

I’m bringing one spinning rod (first time for that).

I’m bringing three fly reels.

I’m bringing one spinning reel (thanks Charlie).

The quiver for Spring Break 2013

The quiver for Spring Break 2013

The gear is almost all mine and almost all on the budget side of things, with the major exception of the Abel Super 7/8n. I’m going to fish the TFO and Abel as my go-to set-up here with the 10 for the cuda and the spinning rig for my daughter and wife.

I think the lines on the fly reels are all RIO. Pretty sure the Lamson’s both have RIO Clouser Tropical lines, which have been kind of my standard lines in the salt, but which, as far as I can see, isn’t in the RIO lineup anymore, although maybe it has just been re-branded. The Abel has the new RIO Quickshooter, which I’m interested to try out.

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Gear — 5 Comments
27
Mar 13

New toys

When I head to the Bahamas I’ll have a few new things to play around with. Several of these things you might be interested in.

First, I’ll be trying out the new RIO Bonefish Quickshooter sent by the good folks at RIO. The normal RIO bonefish line is overweighted .25 line weights, but the quickshooter is .5. The idea is when you are wading you often have shots much closer as you don’t see the fish until they are in that 40′ range. If you have one of those super fast rods, you might not be able to really load the rod well at short ranges. A slightly heavier line will do this better. This is basically the Redfish line in bonefish colors. Looking forward to putting that on the Abel Super 7/8n.

The RIO Quickshooter

The RIO Quickshooter

Next up… did you know you can wear other sunglasses besides Costa?  You can. I’ll be sporting a pair of Revo shades sent by the company for my feedback, love and affection. So far I can tell you they are great for driving to work and back. I’ll let you know how they stand up to the elements/salt.

Revo shades on our handsome model.

Revo shades on our handsome model.

Lastly… are you a member of the GoPro revolution?  I’m not. However, I did pick up a ContourROAM on the cheap from Amazon. The thing is supposed to be waterproof and does many of those GoPro-ish things. I have no idea what I’m doing with this thing, but it should keep me from missing when my dad hooks the guide, which I expect to happen at least twice.

This “action camera” was only $100… making it half the cost of the lowest level of GoPro and 1/4th the cost of the top-of-the-line GoPro. I like cheap and I look forward to seeing just how much I can underutilized this camera.

I'll, like, take some video, maybe?

I’ll, like, take some video, maybe?

I also have some Redington clothes along to test, but I’m too lazy to go put them on for you just for this post, so you’ll have to see me wearing them in pictures from the Bahamas. One pair of pants is a good rival for my beloved Patagonia Guidewater pants… in fact, at a distance you’d be hard pressed to tell them apart and wearing them you’d be challenged to feel the difference (I like them).  I have a couple of new rain jackets for the trip and I hope I don’t need them.

 

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26
Mar 13

Full Swing

It may have happened later than usual, but my trip planning and obsession is now in full gear. The workday flew by as I was constantly interrupted by thoughts of the Bahamas and things I might need, either for myself, my wife or my child.

The iPad and charger cable for the flights. The back-up battery pack. Cameras. Chargers. Tripod. Sun gloves. Spare fly line. Backing. The long pliers. Pack of long white socks for wading. Some e-books to read to Anna at bedtime. Some snacks for the flights. Cash. Rain jackets. Anna’s rain jacket. The parental consent form that split custody parents need to take their own child out of the country.

Even with all this thinking I’m bound to forget something.

I’ll have about 600 flies with me… for no good reason. I tied all but 40 of them or so.

I’ll also have some Desitin along. Anyone who has needed it will know why.

Trip Saver.

Trip Saver.

What’s something odd or different that you bring along on a trip?

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Gear — 10 Comments
23
Mar 13

The Abel Super 7-8n – First look

I recently heard from Abel. I had met a couple guys at the Pleasanton show and they followed up, wondering if I’d be interested in getting my hands on an Abel for my upcoming Grand Bahama trip.

Sure.

The Super 7/8n

The Super 7/8n

I have never fished an Abel. I know people who love them (like, really love them). They are certainly well established as a premier reel maker. As you may know, I think the reel is pretty important. So, it seemed like a good idea to actually fish one. To be clear, this is a loaner. They didn’t give it to me, they loaned it to me, and after I fish it, I’m going to pay the postage to send it back. The reel is more expensive than I’m likely (or known) to go for. The retail price is a cool $700… not a budget guy’s kind of value buy.

First impressions.

The reel is solid. One thing I noticed right away was how narrow it was (0.85″). I asked the Facebook page about this. Eddie says this is good… he says “Benefit, It helps keep the line from piling up and helps with the speed of retrieve.” That’s what they say at the factory too. The “n” in Super 7/8n stands for “narrow.” The idea is that the line piles up faster as you reel.

Out of the box the Super 7/8n is Right Hand retrieve. I know some folks are RH retrieve, but do you? I don’t. I am LH retrieve, which seems more common to me. So, I had to make the switch. It was a little comical looking at the directions, as there were a lot of them. After getting some good stick from the guys on Facebook for complaining about this, I went ahead and made the switch. There are a few steps involved, but it is doable. Took about 7 minutes… not bad.

I got to talk on the phone to the folks at Abel and they said that up to their Super 6, they ship the reels as LH retrieve, but they find most of their buyers do RH retrieve when it comes to the Super 7/8 or higher. Turns out if you are a trout guy, or coming from a trout background, you reel with your off hand. If you are born into the salt, you reel with your dominant hand. Clearly, a lot of my readers are like me… coming from the low-sodium stuff, as the tally on Facebook was 27 to 5, for non-dominant hand reeling.

So, now the reel is ready. I have the backing on and I’m just waiting for the RIO Bonefish Quickshooter line that is on its way. I’m looking forward to taking the Bentley of fly reels out on the waters of Grand Bahama.

Looking forward to hearing this reel scream.

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12
Mar 13

Others succeeding, where I have failed

Me: Hey, you guys seem to have some great reels.

Them: Gee, thanks. We feel our reels are pretty awesome. Did you see us attach one to a motorcycle?

Me: (cough) Yeah, that was, um, great. Hey, I am running some reel tests simulating normal wear and tear so someone going to Christmas Island can know they can trust your gear.

Them: Testing… um… so, like, what did you have in mind?

Me: Well, I want to attach one to a high speed drill, a bunch of times, like… a whole bunch of times. Then, I want to drop it in sand and put it back on the drill and then drop it in saltwater and put it back on the drill and basically see if the thing breaks. So, what do you say?

Them: HOLD ON Captain Crazypants. No effing way. Who the hell are you, anyway? Ya know, we test these things ourselves and we don’t want you breaking our stuff and then writing bad stuff about us. Didn’t you see the Tesla review thing? We don’t want to go there buddy. How about we pretend you didn’t mention this. Mkay?

Me: Uh… bummer man… bummer.

Yeah, that’s more or less how most of my Reel Testing efforts went. I had a hard time getting a hold of the gear I needed to actually test.

Here’s the thing though… I wasn’t the only guy thinking about this. The folks at Trident Fly Fishing (this is the link with all their results) put together some tests… with like, science and stuff.

I’m a fan of what these guys pulled off. They even forked out some of their own cash to test some of these reels.

The surprises for me came in the form of two reels… first, that Cheeky did so well, tying for 4th… they are new kids on the block, so it is great to see them place so highly alongside established players. Another reel that tied for 4th was the Sage 1880. The 1880 is a $140 reel. That is some good pricing.

The overall winner was the Hatch 7 Plus, and that is not a real shocker. Those that have fished with that reel seem to have found Hatch religion.

I would have liked to have seen some Nautilus reels in there and Galvan too… but this is a pretty solid set of reels. Well done Trident… well done.

From my ill fated reel testing.

From my ill fated reel testing.

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