Articles

Review: Water Master Grizzly raft

Truly a boat built by fisherman, for fishermen

by Matthew Reilly - Tuesday, Jul 26th, 2016

Photo: Matthew Reilly

It’s widely understood as a somewhat fallacious, though subconsciously persistent, rule that the fishing is always better on the other side of the river; on the overgrown, unreachable bank; or the assumed piece of structure just outside of casting range. As a kid, often confined to the finite dimensions of a dock on warmwater lakes, I spent many an hour cultivating adherence to this philosophy while expending the fishing opportunities between that imprisoning platform and the arc where I could effectively place a lure.

Review: R. L. Winston Boron IIIx Super 10 fly rod

The accidentally great dry fly rod

by Spencer Durrant - Thursday, Jul 21st, 2016

Many anglers were surprised when Winston announced this Super 10. Winston, making rods dedicated to nymphing? Winston makes dry fly rods, right?

In truth, increasingly over the last few years Winston has been producing high-performance rods that have nothing to with dry fly fishing. The Boron III Jungle series and Boron III Plus lines illustrate that Winston isn’t afraid to dive into the big-game arena, and their saltwater rods receive a lot of positive praise throughout the industry.

Blackberry

Public lands in Dixie

by Johnny Carrol Sain - Wednesday, Jul 20th, 2016

Photo: Johnny Carrol Sain

Thorny vines drooped with the weight of ruby-red berries still a week away from summer ripeness. My daughter, Mackenzie, and I walked farther down the old logging road winding around the head of a steep hollow. We were searching for mature blackberries and raspberries with my four-legged kid, Rudy, bounding ahead as scout and then back to check our progress. We ended up with only half a coffee can of plump wine-colored berries that never made it out of the hills.

Lunch fish

Monster pike on Saskatchewan's Reindeer Lake

by Chris Hunt - Tuesday, Jul 19th, 2016

Photo: Mike Sepelak

It’s a satisfying gurgle, the sound forged through dark water as a foam creation tied dreamily late one winter night is retrieved in fits and starts over dark, north woods water six months later. Yellow with red painted-on dots, trailed by two white marabou feathers and a few strands of tinsel, it passes as a popper, albeit a poor man’s creation.

Sage X tops list of 'Best of Show' winners at IFTD 2016

Simms, Umpqua and Patagonia also rack up multiple wins

by Chad Shmukler - Monday, Jul 18th, 2016

AFFTA president Ben Bulis presents the Sage fly fishing team with IFTD's 2016 'Best of Show' award (photo: Chad Shmukler).

Each year at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, hundreds of industry professionals select their picks for the best new rods, reels, lines, apparel and other gear. This year, a record number of attendees voted to determine this year's winners. When the results shook out, Sage's new flagship fly rod, the Sage X, stole the spotlight with wins in three categories — Best Freshwater Fly Rod, Best Saltwater Fly Rod and Best in Show. The wins marked the first time in IFTD history that the same series of rod has racked up wins in both fly rod categories and 'Best of Show'.