What more could an angler ask for? Good looking flies, a two-handed rod and a few shooting heads – and they all happen to be sitting in the tray of a bad-ass jet sled, and that sled happens to be floating on the most ridiculous steelhead river on the planet. More on Gear for the…
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Gear
Switch Rods, Scandi Heads and Polyleaders
In the world of spey fishing there seem to be three types of gear that generate a lot of confusion – switch rods, Scandinavian heads and polyleaders. Here’s our quick-and-dirty, way-oversimplified primer on each of the three. Look down below for a video from an actual expert, with an example of a situation where all…
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Abel Pliers
After quite a few years of hearing good things about Abel’s fly fishing pliers at our lodges, we decided to buy a pair and try them out. We liked them a lot. Abel’s pliers aren’t cheap. We got the least-expensive option – Model #2, the smaller size, in black. They’ll cost you $130. You can…
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Toyota Hilux – Why We Love You
Our vehicle of choice at Chile West is the Toyota Hilux. Oh Toyota Hilux, here’s why we love you. You’ve got 4 wheel drive, and you go pretty much anywhere. You’ve got a turbo diesel engine that runs forever. You’re not huge but you’ve still got 4 real doors and a back seat that actually…
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Switch Rods and Heads – Sage TCX and Rio Steelhead Scandi
Last weekend at IFTD we told you a little bit about two new products in the world of spey – TCX switch rods from Sage, and Steelhead Scandi heads from Rio. We thought they were both pretty interesting, so we asked George Cook, Pacific Northwest angling stalwart, to make a few casts at the spey…
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Airflo Skagit Switch Heads
We’ve told you in the past about how to cut back Skagit heads to match your switch rods – something we’ve had to do to get a good casting setup for rods like the Scott Fiberhammer or the Sage 5110-4 Z-Axis. Modern Skagit heads (with a real front taper) just weren’t available in lengths that worked well…
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Diablo Paddlesports
We saw a really cool boat at IFTD yesterday. It’s a unique concept by a company called Diablo Paddlesports. The boat is a ‘Hybrid SUP-Yak’ called the Adios. What the heck is a Hybrid SUP-Yak? It’s a cross between a stand-up paddleboard and a sit-on-top kayak that’s purpose-built for fishing. OK, so what does that…
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IFTD Gear – Sage, Rio, Redington, Tibor
…and the gear reports from IFTD continue! This afternoon’s update covers the highlights of what we’ve seen so far from Sage, Rio, Redington and Tibor. Sage 589-4 Xi3 Sage is making the kick-butt Xi3 in a 5 weight. The 8 foot 9 inch length helps it feel really light in your hand. This rod would…
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Ross F1 Reel
One of the cooler new products that we’ve seen so far at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show in Denver is the F1 Reel from Ross. The F1 is a high-end reel for line weights 2 to 9. It’s got a totally sealed drag system, a machined reel foot, a whole bunch of carbon fiber…
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IFTD Gear – Ross and Ross Worldwide
Here on day 1 at the International Fly Tackle Dealer show, we just got a walkthrough of the new products from Ross and Ross Worldwide. There’s some cool stuff here – have a look. Rx Rods The new Rx rods are now the top end of Ross’s reel line. They’re faster and lighter than Ross’s…
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