For far too long, high performance fly rods have been associated with astonishingly high prices. Sure, some of our favorite rod series have rang in at premium-level prices, but not all of them. Believe it or not, when it comes to fly rods, performance doesn’t have to be sacrificed for affordability, and the folks at…
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Rapids Camp
Support the Fight with Businesses for Bristol Bay
Dozens of businesses nationwide with an economic interest in the Bristol Bay fishery have come together to form a coalition known as Businesses for Bristol Bay. Amongst them are major outdoor brands like Orvis, Simms, YETI, Sitka, and many more. They’re joined by commercial fishing processors, well known supermarket chains like Publix and HyVee, as well…
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George Cook on the Importance of ‘Engagement Range’ When Swinging Flies
Our good friend and legendary sales rep for some of the most respected brands in the biz, George Cook, has been at the forefront of modern spey fishing since the beginning. Simply put, he’s been swinging flies for steelhead, sea-run browns, resident trout, and everything in-between long before it was cool. So, when he’s willing…
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G. Loomis IMX-PRO Short Spey 71111-4 Review
Over the past six months, we’ve been fortunate to swing flies for everything from dime bright king salmon, to feisty wild steelhead, to some of the largest native resident rainbow trout in the world. That’s allowed us to put some of the latest and greatest spey gear to the test, in full hopes that we…
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Post-Election Pebble Mine Update
A couple weeks ago, our good friend and Sportsman’s Alliance of Alaska director, Scott Hed, gave us an informative update on the current status and threats of the Pebble Mine project, an open pit mine proposed to be built in the headwaters of Bristol Bay, Alaska. Well, a lot has changed since the midterm elections…
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Spey Casting – 3 Benefits of Aerial Mending
It’s long been said that great presentations catch fish, not great casts. Its one of the most governing truths in fly fishing. Mending, the act of repositioning the fly line after the cast, is what makes this possible in moving water. Make no mistake, like casting, mending is a skill, and those that are able…
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Spey Casting and Current Speed
When determining which spey cast to use in a given situation, most experienced spey anglers take into account three primary variables; wind direction (upstream wind, downstream wind, etc.), river position (which side of the river you’re casting from), and obstacles (trees, rocks, banks, or other obstructions that limit your casting area). The majority of the…
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Timeless Tips: Swinging Flies – Don’t Block Your Hookset
In any avenue of fly fishing, one thing that separates successful anglers from not-so-successful anglers is complete, undivided, fully engaged, focus whenever your fly is in the water. Many fish are lost (or perhaps never hooked at all) from anglers who’s minds were wandering or whom were not expecting a fish to eat the fly in…
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Pebble Mine Update
For over ten years, the battle between sportsmen and the Pebble Mine project, a proposal for the world’s largest open-pit mine intended for the headwaters of Bristol Bay, has been underway. Many thought the project had been defeated in 2014, but make no mistake, Pebble Mine is still very alive. Many of you have asked…
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BTT and TU Establish Lefty Kreh Conservation Memorial Fund
Two of our favorite conservation organizations, The Bonefish and Tarpon Trust (BTT) and Trout Unlimited (TU) have teemed up to establish a conservation fund in memory of legendary angler, instructor, writer, and conservationist, Bernard ‘Lefty’ Kreh, who passed earlier this year. According to BTT, the Lefty Kreh Memorial Conservation Fund will provide support to important…
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