Articles

Best Fishing Sunglasses of 2013: Part One

by Chad Shmukler - Thursday, Dec 5th, 2013

A few of the test subjects from this year's field.

See our updated for 2015-2016 list of best fishing sunglasses.

As we’ve noted in previous “best of” features, that term should be taken with a grain of salt. Even though the internet is flush with lists of the best of this or that, the reality is that few -- if any -- of the outlets that publish such lists can claim to have sufficiently tested the field well enough to declare any one item the best.

What you’re reading is more accurately described as our favorite fishing sunglasses of 2013. That said, what follows represents a year of on-the-water testing of dozens of pairs of fishing sunglasses -- including offerings from a diverse array of manufacturers -- in a wide variety of circumstances and environments in which one might find themselves when pursuing their fishy quarry.

It’s also worth noting that we’re changing the format this year a bit. While we’ve previously highlighted specific pairs of sunglasses that we consider standouts amongst the crowd, this year we’re selecting the best lenses across a group of categories. The reality is, virtually every sunglass manufacturer offers a select set of lenses spread across a number of frames and, when it comes down to it, it's the lens that matters. Frames are not without consequence however, far from it, and given such we’ll be listing recommended frame choices for each of our selections.

Finally, if you're still making light of your fishing eyewear, stop. We've heard fishing guides describe high-quality, polarized sunglasses as equally important on-the-water gear as your rod, line and flies. Being able to see the fish you're after is often significantly more than half the battle. Even if it means stealing from your rod or reel budget in order to be able to head to the stream with high-quality sunglasses, doing so should be done without pause.

Enough housekeeping. On with the list.

Win a Custom Sweetgrass Bamboo Fly Rod

by Marshall Walker - Wednesday, Dec 4th, 2013

The rod.

If you're a bamboo fly rod aficionado or would like to be but haven't been able to justify the lofty price tag that comes with bamboo, you can take a shot at winning on from the makers of the documentary Where the Yellowstone Goes. The filmmakers are giving away a custom made bamboo rod that was used in the film. Prizes in the contest include the rod, a Sweetgrass custom bamboo fly rod valued at $995, some copies of the movie's soundtrack on CD, and few other "goodies" donated by the contest's sponsors. If you're really intent on winning, participants who purchase anything from the online store before 12/25 will also receive an additional 5 extra entries for the giveaway.

Where the Yellowstone Goes follows fishing guide Robert Hawkins and his small crew as they travel the Yellowstone River, the longest free flowing river in the contiguous United States. Director Hunter Weeks (10 MPH, Ride the Divide) illustrates the lives of various locals living in cities and dwindling towns alongside the Yellowstone, while exploring the history and controversies of the famous watershed. The film has been called "joyous to funny to heartbreaking" by the Huffington Post.

Light Like Daggers

by Mike Sepelak - Tuesday, Dec 3rd, 2013

Light Like Daggers

There’s no heat left in the sunshine by the time it reaches the bottom of Cattail. Every last joule has been poached by blue crystal skies and what finally descends is ice cube cold, diamond sharp. Light like daggers. If focused on tinder through a magnifying glass, it would freeze-dry and shatter rather than ignite.

The only warmth to be found leaks between interleaved wool and fleece, seeps through Gore-Tex and polypro, or vents through chapped lips in short jets of steam as we climb the icy stairways of water. How can one be so hot and so cold at the same time? Each extreme, heat and chill, feeds the other in the thermal yin and yang of insulating layers.

From an inner breast pocket, my old-man specs immerge, coated with a warm sheen of sweat that frosts almost audibly as glacial rays bend through the glass; lenses become lozenges more fitting in a tumbler of scotch than on the bridge of my nose. But the copper john needs to get deeper so I squint through the translucence and clumsily add another shot.

RIO Introduces Yet Another New Two-Hander Line

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Dec 2nd, 2013

The new RIO Switch Chucker line.

RIO has been introducing a bevy of new products into its catalog of lines for spey and switch rods. RIO recently introduced three new skagit heads and also expanded its shooting line offering with two new shooting lines. Now, RIO is introducing a new line geared specifically for switch rods in its new Switch Chucker line.

The Switch Chucker is intended for switch rod applications where big flies, sink tips and heavy indicator rigs are the order of the day. Based on RIO's description of the Switch Chucker, this new line sounds like it offers a very similar suite of benefits to rigging up their switch rod with a skagit head and shooting line, but as one complete, integrated line designed specifically for switch rod use.

The Switch Chucker is also recommended by RIO for casters new to switch rods and two-handed casting, due to the powerful head and front-heavy weight distribution, making the line "extremely easy to cast."

The Future of Striped Bass

by Chris Goldmark - Saturday, Nov 30th, 2013

George Costa hooked up to a Jersey striper, after spending time covering ground.

When I was asked to write about pursuing striped bass in the fall and fly fishing techniques used to target them, I almost passed on the offer. I thought back on how, 20 years ago in my home state of New Jersey, you could walk down to a jetty or groin on the right tide, time of day and pick away at all the schoolie bass your heart desired simply by throwing an appropriate pattern into the rock pockets and letting the fly breath in the tide.

We did this back then with a floating line, mostly 8 and 9 weight sticks and stripping baskets. The idea behind the floating line was to keep hammering the pockets using a quick water haul and to keep presenting the fly to a target in a coordinated rhythm with the surge. A jetty ace from back then used to call this process 'fishing the hydraulics'. It was killer. And, of course, there were fish everywhere -- which made the whole picture complete. Variations on this approach involved using poppers or crease flies and changing patterns appropriately as the bait changed, but always using floating lines. The presentations were generally very short in duration and you timed your casts between waves so the grab of the floating line by the surf never became an issue.

As years passed, more and more fly anglers ventured to sink tips or full sink and intermediate lines and employed a style of fishing I typically refer to as 'covering ground'. These tactics are an effective way to fish, but are as different from fishing the hydraulics as blind casting is to sight casting. Repeatedly blind casting to quadrants is a dramatically different fishing experience than the visual one that comes with casting to a fish boil behind a rock or nervous bait in a close rip.