Equipment

It seems as if this is an annual event. I make a routine plea to take the right, smart steps to ensure your safety while fishing in the remote places I know you go. In earlier posts, I commented on the loss of life resulting from people being unprepared to be stranded, broken down or injured while

The February Bassmaster magazine had a great article on the line selection – very educational. The author, Frank Sergeant, summed up the problem with his introductory line, “It used to be a simple question – Trilene or Stren?” To bottom line the discussion, there are four major types of line on the market today; monofilament,

At the Richmond Fishing Expo, a reader slid up and dropped me a hint, “Check out Kent’s Stealth Bomber.”  He then went on to expand on why with tales of massive fish hauled in with this interesting fly. A Google search on “Kent’s Stealth Bomber” pops up 233 hits – how to tie it, how

Here’s a reminder. For most of us, the season is over except for those rare warm days where we just can’t resist getting out on the water. So, this is the perfect time to start cleaning your gear for next season. It’s always obnoxious to do it, but cleaning fly line is critical for a

These things are actually pretty cool.  Rather than describe them myself, check out the screenshot from the seller – River2SeaUSA (clilck here).  I bought one… pricey at 12 bucks and it performed as described.  I could twitch next to the shore and then crank it underwater… let it rise, crank again. Sadly, no happy ending.  The

I finally broke down and bought a rod rack. Over the last three or four years, I have probably broken two tips rattling around in the back of my pickup truck. In addition, when fishing from place to place, it’s a real hassle to reassemble the rod, attach the reel, and thread the line at

Last season I discovered the “Shark Tooth Spool Management System” from Loon Outdoors.  The system is an elastic band with a cutter attached that allows you to strip out tippet and then slice it off without having to grab a nipper, or, even worse, bite it. It comes in several sizes with the red (large)

Quick Tenkara tip. For those of you who use Tenkara rods, you have already discovered how flexible they can be. Specifically, if you run into a tight spot, it’s easy to collapse a few sections to shorten the overall length of the rod. The problem is that you have to grip the rod at the

I use my staff all the time and believe I am still alive as a result of some timely, deperate pokes at the streambed. Eventually, the tip comes off and I have to go out and spend another $30 on a new staff.  Geez.. Lon solved the problem – just drill a hole through a

Last year, I was “educated” on the advantage of a fishing bike when I visited the Cranberry River in West Virginia. On that trip, I ended up riding a used girl’s bike that I bought at a thrift store (and donated back when I was done). But, it was such a clear advantage to use a bike

In an article published in October 2009, Ron Brooks stepped through the pros and cons of Braided line versus Monofilament. Ron bases his comparison on 4 physical characteristics — visibility, diameter, stretch and memory. Visibility Monofilament and its cousin, fluorocarbon, both become transparent underwater with fluorocarbon being the better choice when invisibility is important –