Beat the winter blues with this gifts
Whether rewarding your closest friends and family or yourself, giving gifts is one of the best ways to lift the mid-winter blues. The follow items are ideally suited to fly fishers, and any angler would love them — including you!
Native Eyewear Women’s Ashdown, $119
Women represent the fastest growing segment of the fly fishing community, and Native Eyewear is one of the leaders in offering women-specific gear. The Native Ashdown sunglasses offer optical purity in a style that not only looks good, but which is designed to fit women’s faces. The frames hug the face in a no-slip fit. The frames cut light ‘leakage’ around the edges and the polarized bronze lenses provide great contrast in bright conditions, making it easier to spot fish even in deep water. Soft temple pads help hold the glasses in place, even when wet and sweaty. Details here
Clakit Pouch, $20
There are a host of add-on pocket options out there, but the new Clakit System is the best we/’ve seen in years. The Clakit Clip quickly and easily locks onto any strap from a half inch to 2.5 inches wide. The pouches slip securely onto the clip prior to the clip being locked onto the pack or wader strap (or belt). That allows the Clakit Pouches to be moved from location to location with easy, each time locking securely in place. For fly fishing, we found the Clakit Two-Zipper Pouch a great addition. Clipped to our wader straps, it provided a secure storage option for compact cameras, mobile phones, and magnifying glasses. Details here
MyCharge AdvventureUltra, $130
The biggest drawback of adding digital tools to your outdoor adventures is power. Eventually, you need to recharge the power pack for all your electronic gadgets. Recharging at home is the easiest answer, but sometimes that’s just not possible. Multiday trips, long days on the river, and simple forgetfulness can leave your equipment drained. In that case, you need to recharge. The MyCharge AdventureUltra is a great option for staying powered up. This portable power unit holds 13400mAh and is perfectly suited for iPads, small laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras, and GPS receivers. The AdventureUltra sports a pair of USB charging ports as well as an AC power port (i.e. a standard three-prong wall outlet). The unit will charge any device that requires 45 watts or less. Weighing just 1 pound, and roughly the size of a small paperback book, the AdventureUltra is a great addition to a drift boat’s gear chest, a road-tripping kit bag, or a backpacking angler’s pack. Details here.
New Zealand Indicator, $17
The New Zealand Strike Indicator system allows indicators to be sized from tiny to massive. They can be securely placed anywhere on the leader but moved or removed with easy. The system is ingeniously simple: A small needle-like tool pulls a loop of leader through a small section of nylon tubing. From the kit, pull out an appropriate amount of yarn/fluff to match your needs, tuck it into the leader loop, then pull the loop into the tubing to ‘close’ the loop tightly on the yarn. Apply a bit of floatant to the yarn for maximum flotation. To remove, just tug the yarn up to open the loop, remove the yarn, then pull the loop out of the tubing. Details here.
Tacky Collab Dropper Fly Box, $42
The Orvis Tacky Collab Dropper Box employs two forms of the Tacky silicone mat into a two-sided polycarbonate box. One side of the box features ‘big bug’ mat to hold the larger hooks of big stoneflies, hoppers and foam-bodied attractor patterns. Opposite this is a standard mat. This is ideal for the smaller hooks used on small nymphs and emerger patterns. In short, this one slim box holds all the flies needed to rig up a variety of ‘dry-dropper’ two-fly setups. Measures just 7 in. x 3.75 in. x 1.25 in. and holds up to 240 flies. Details here.
The Orvis Guide to Hatch Strategies, $35
There’s an old school of thought that the best way to catch trout on artificial flies is by understanding the life of real flies. And — we say this with complete respect — nobody is better than Tom Rosenbauer at thinking like a bug. Or as fish feeding on bugs. As proof of that, we recommend the new “The Orvis Guide to Hatch Strategies,” by Tom Rosenbauer. This book offers an understanding of how fish respond to the various life stages of aquatic bugs. Rosenbauer details how anglers should take advantage of each life stage of the bugs in the water, and where to find fish feeding on each stage. In short, Rosenbauer thinks first like a bug, then like a fish feeding on bugs. Finally, he shares his expertise as an angler with the ability to think like bugs and hungry fish. Details here.
Rio Shooting Head wallet, $25
Depending on the water and fish in that water, spey casters may want to fish near the surface, just under the surface, or down near the river bed. Fortunately, spey anglers have a host of options available to them when it comes to line configurations thanks to interchangeable line heads and tips. The Rio Shooting Head Wallet heads spey anglers keep their various options clear and easily accessible. The nylon wallet features zipper-lock plastic sleeve pages to storage shoot heads and line tips safely and securely. The wallet fits inside most vest and sling-pack pockets. Details here
Redington 590-4 Vice Combo, $300
Fly fishing truly is a sport for anyone who wants to enjoy the poetry of casting a tiny fly to a rising trout, and Redington encourages that belief by offering a high-quality fly fishing combo that include rod, reel, and line for less than half the cost of many premium rods. Redington Vice Combo boasts the a fast-action Vice rod coupled with Redington’s new i.D. Reel. The 5-weight Vice offers a smooth-loading, fast action that delivers accurate casts with enough power to cut through stiff winds. The i.D. reel provides good line control with a smooth drag system. The Vice Combo will suit any angler who wants premium performance at a reasonable price. Details here.
Opinel Slim 15 Bubinga knife, $36
Most fly fishers are catch-and-release purists. Still, there comes a time when every angler consumes one of their catch. Sometimes it’s a badly hooked fish that will die even if released, sometimes it’s a fish in a overpopulated lake. But when that fish becomes food, the angler needs the tools to clean it quickly and competently. The Opinel Slim 15 folding knife features a 15 cm blade — nearly 6 inches — that’s slim enough to cleanly fillet panfish and fat trout. The stainless steel blade holds an edge remarkably well even after repeated dips in the drink. The hard bubinga wood handle stands up well to abrasions and dings, and is rot resistant to its perfect for angling uses. The blade folds neatly into the handle, and locks open — or closed — with a simple twist of the stainless steel collar. Details here.
Filson Fishing Pack, $295
As much as modern technology has influenced fishing gear, the fly fishing community still embraces a world of tradition. And nobody does tradition as well as Filson — an independent gear maker since 1897. The Filson Fishing Pack features 15-ounce oil tin-cloth cotton canvas for its core construction, with nylon webbing straps for its belt and shoulder straps. The Fishing Pack sports a pair of external side pockets ideal for water bottles or cameras. The drop-panel on the front of the pack serves as a work surface when changing or treating flies. The pack’s main compartment is large enough to hold multiple fly boxes, lunch, rain jackets and more. https://www.filson.com/luggage-bags/fishing-bags/fishing-pack.html
Yeti Panga 50, $300
A week of hauling gear around remote camps in Idaho’s Clearwater country proved the durability of the Yeti Panga dry duffle. Another week bouncing around a raft on the Salmon River illustrated the bag’s functionality. The Panga heavy-duty, dual-layer nylon shell is waterproof and tough, and the stout waterproof zipper provides good access to the interior of the bag. Removal shoulder straps along the Panga to be toted like a backpack, or a sling bag. The 50-liter size swallows the extra gear an angler will need for a long river float – we stashed rain gear, down jackets, and an assortment of camera gear. If the Panga 50 can’t contain all your gear, Yeti also offers a 75 and 100 liter version. Details here.
