Articles

Orvis Debuts New Recon Fly Rods for 2015

by Chad Shmukler - Wednesday, Jul 30th, 2014

The new Orvis Recon fly rod.

At this year's IFTD (International Fly Tackle Dealers) show in Orlando, Florida, Orvis debuted a number of additions to its rod lineup. One of these additions was the new Orvis Recon, a rod that Orvis and others expect will find its way into the hands of many an angler. The Recon series will replace the well-liked Access series of rods in the mid-price range of Orvis' rod lineup.

Like the Access, the Recon is a what most anglers would classify as a high-performance, fast action fly rod. However, the Recon rods will come in only one "flavor", unlike the Access before it and Orvis' Helios 2 rods which both come in what Orvis calls "mid-flex" and "tip-flex" varieties.

4th Annual Tenkara Summit September 27-28

by Ben Kryzinski - Tuesday, Jul 29th, 2014

The fourth annual Tenkara Summit will be held this year in Boulder, Colorado. The two-day event will be held at the Millenium Hotel on the banks of Boulder Creek and will include a variety of presentations, clinics and lots of tenkara anglers hitting the water in search of feisty trout.

Clinics and talks at the summit will cover general tenkara topics, tenkara casting, fly tying and more. This year's Tenkara Summit will also feature a presentation by Dr. Hisao Ishigaki, who is widely recognized as the world's foremost authority on tenkara fishing.

Review: Redington Sonic Dry Pants

by Mike Sepelak - Monday, Jul 28th, 2014

Redington Sonic Dry Pants

I hate waders. Well, no, that’s not exactly true. I hate wearing waders. Actually, I suspect that it’s most accurate to say that I hate having to wear waders.

You see, I cut my fly fishing teeth chasing North Carolina shoals largemouths – wet wading steamy Piedmont rivers with water temperatures in the 80s and air temps and humidity percentages way beyond that. Air so thick that you wish you had gills. All I needed, all I wanted, was a pair of light, quick drying pants to protect my legs during the bushwhack to the water and a pair of sturdy boots. Waders? You’ve got to be kidding.

But, as most fly fishermen do, I eventually expanded my fishing horizons, turning to the fairer species - those delicate rainbows, browns and brookies - and in the South that means tailwaters for a good portion of the year. And that means waders. But while the water coming from the bases of Fontana and Philpott and the mighty South Holston might be as cold as sweet iced tea, the air remains pig cooker hot. It doesn’t take long to get steamed like a Cajun crawdad.

There’s no wader funk like southern wader funk.

Night on the Bay

by Chris Hunt - Friday, Jul 25th, 2014

Ethan Kiburz has the tiger by the tail, and he knows it.

As he piloted two visiting trout bums across Tampa Bay on a recent sultry night, the young man -- just 23 years old -- explained that he’d been guiding on the bay for about a year and that he worked in a local fly shop part time, efforts to pad the bank account of a single fly fisherman with a passion for salty critters on the business end of an 8-weight.

“Married?” he responded to a poorly timed query, with an exasperated gas. “No. No way.”

IFTD 2014 Highlights: Accessories, Fly Boxes, etc

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Jul 24th, 2014

A great number of new products are debuted at the annual International Fly Tackle Dealers show. Each year, a handful items stand out among the crowd of new introductions. In order to help highlight some of the new products, IFTD allows attendees of the show to vote for their favorites in its New Products Showcase. While this helps bring attention to some great products, there are many that don't win awards or that aren't entered in the showcase which don't always get the attention they deserve. Over the next few weeks, in an effort to help highlight some of this year's best new products, we'll be publishing a series of pieces highlighting some of the new products that caught our eye at this year's show in Orlando.

Fishpond Sushi Roll

Although accessory manufacturers are always trying to reinvent the fly box, with varying levels of success, Fishpond has decided to go in another direction with its new Sushi Roll. The Sushi Roll is a storage solution for big streamers, saltwater flies and the like which aims to improve over big fly boxes and their issues with bulk, durability and moisture retention. The Sushi Roll is a nylon backed foam mat that you can plunk a hefty number of streamers onto. Once you've plucked off the fly of your choice, simply roll up the Sushi Roll and stash it. The Sushi Roll is lined with foam teeth that separate its layers which, according to Fishpond, lets air to flow through, allowing your streamers to dry and preventing your hooks from rusting. Once rolled up, the Sushi Roll takes up considerably less real estate than a hard box. Retail: $30.