Articles

Gear trend: stronger leaders, tippet for 2016

Coming soon: fewer lost fish

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Sep 2nd, 2015

RIO's new tippet and leader material is 20% stronger than its predecessor.

If you're hip enough to find yourself in the midst of a conversation about monofilament manufacturing, you'll likely hear a quip that goes something like "it all comes from the same three factories in Japan anyhow!" In reality, this isn't the case. Monofilament manufacturers operate factories in Japan, China, India, here in the USA and lots of other places. That said, it is true that many major fly fishing brands, such as those highlighted below, work with some of the leading Japanese manufacturers of nylon, copolymer and nylon monofilament.

Keeping it dry

Three solutions for keeping your camera dry when on the water

by Mike Sepelak - Tuesday, Sep 1st, 2015

It was a frustrating Catch-22. I finally broke down and upgraded my SLR to a fantastic (that is to say, expensive) new full frame camera, capable of capturing stunning outdoor/fishing photos, and then balked at taking it out into the field. It cost too much to take the risk, right? Insurance? Of course I got some. But just the same...

So, for a while, I regressed to carrying my point-and-shoot and cursing my timidity.

The under-appreciated caddisfly

A closer look at caddisflies from Paul Weamer's 'The Bug Book'

by Paul Weamer - Monday, Aug 31st, 2015

Caddisflies are perhaps the most underappreciated aquatic insect family. To many non-anglers, they look like little moths. Adults have wings shaped like a tent, segmented bodies without tails, and antennae that give a moth-like appearance. But unlike moths, caddisflies spend most of their lives living in the water as larvae, which look like little worms. Most, but not all, caddisfly larvae live in some type of case that they build from rocks, sand, plant material, or even their own silk.

Stickman Rods introduces new P4 fly rod

A new, dry fly aficionado's rod from Stickman

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Aug 27th, 2015

European rod maker Stickman Rods recently announced the latest addition to their growing lineup in their new P4. The P4 is a medium action fly rod aimed specifically at dry fly fishermen and anglers that fish small to medium sized creeks and rivers.

The first life jacket you might actually possibly consider potentially wearing

Safety that makes a whole lot of sense for a whole lot of anglers

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Aug 26th, 2015

We've all been there. You're fishing during heavy flows, imagining that you're being careful, when you realize you've done something stupid. Maybe you've incrementally waded deeper than you should, each time telling yourself that just a few inches more can't hurt. But you've found yourself gradually losing contact with the bottom of the river between steps and you realize that, while you'll probably be able to make your way back to safety without incident, there's at the very least a worrisome chance that you won't.