Trouts Fly Fishing

Airflo Ridge Clear Tropical Fly Line Review | by Louis Cahill

There hasn't been a lot of new and inovative products to come about in the fly line category since the debut of the Sharkskin Fly Line by Scientific Angler a few years back.  Ultimately, there is only so much you can do to change the taper, color or make-up of a fly line to make the fly fishing industry go "WOW".  This is particularly true in that no many new fly lines actually aid the angler in catching fish.  All of this changed in 2012 with the debut of the Airflo Ridge Clear Tropical Fly Line.  The name says it all, CLEAR!  Anglers have long looked for the ideal fly line color to deal with the wary fish that prowl the flats of the globe, and most companies have looked past the ideal color... no color.  Yet not many fly line companies can achieve this new look, as the make-up and manufacturing process that goes into their fly lines won't allow it.  Yet through Airflo's patented PVC Free fly lines, they have been able to dial in this technology, and make one of the stealthiest salt water fly lines available.  

Now we have unfortunatally been unable to test this new line, so we're not going to BS you into thinking we know what we're talking about.  I am uber physced about this line, and you can bet the farm it will be on my reels next time I'm being poled along the flats, but I know only as much as the Airflo catologue and my rep has told me.  Which is why we have looked to Louis Cahill of Gink and Gasoline for a little "on the water" perspective on this line.  

"On a recent tarpon trip I had the chance to fish one of Airflo’s Clear Floating Tropical Ridge lines. I was prepared to either love it or hate it and to be honest I got a little bit of both. I fished it for two days and here’s what I learned.

THE POSITIVES:

Stealth: I’ve always been skeptical of clear lines. It’s long been my belief that what fish see is the shadow of the line or the disturbance it creates on the surface and that a bad cast will spook fish no matter what line your using. I was surprised to find I was wrong. The first day fishing the clear line was bright and very calm. Landing an eleven weight line softly on a day like that is crucial. I’ll be honest, I made a few bad casts. Casts that should have spooked fish but didn’t. In this area the Airflow really delivered. It’s a great stealth line.

Castability: All in all the line casts very well. It loaded my Thomas and Thomas eleven weight Helix very nicely. It turned over easily and was easy to land softly. It shot well, as promised, handled the wind nicely and, after some work (more on this later) had very little memory and laid out nicely on the deck. No complaints casting this line.

Low Stretch: One of the things I generally don’t like about clear lines is they all seem stretchy to me. A stretchy line is the kiss of death when tarpon fishing. A tarpon’s mouth is so tough you really need some authority to get a good hook set. I expected this line to be a problem, but it wasn’t. The hookups I missed were on me, not the line."

read the rest of this review...

Well there you have it, straight from the bloggers mouth.  New technology is fun, particularly when it helps in catching fish.  A big thanks to Mr. Cahill for the review.

Gear Review:  Hatch Tempest Pliers

Trout's good friend Kirk Deeter (editor-at-large for Field & Stream, editor at Angling Trade, and regular contributor at MidCurrent.com) just wrote up a great review of the Hatch Tempest Pliers.  We have always known Kirk to be a truthful and trusted source for information and advice, so we feel certain his review has little to do with all the free product Hatch is throwing his way having him test.

"I have fished the Hatch pliers in South America for dorado, throughout the tropics for bonefish, tuna, sharks, tarpon, and permit, as well as in the far north, places like Alaska for trout and salmon, and Lake Athabasca in Saskatchewan for trophy pike. They don’t leave my side, and they have not let me down.  Cold weather, hot weather… salt, whatever. Stripers, sure. Carp—of course."

read the rest of Kirks review at MidCurrent.com

Or, go ahead and get yourself a pair of these pliers

Gear Review:  Fishpond Nimbus Pack

When Fishpond sends Michael Gracie, Trout's IT Guru and master blogger, a free Fishpond Nimbus Guide Pack, what's an owner to do other than say "fish it, and be kind".  Well he did, and he was:

"Despite the size, the pack remains featherweight. Add extra beefy nylon zippers (salt friendly), a slot between the lumbar support and the pack for your net handle, and a thick, single carry strap up top which is perfect for grabbing and then slinging all your gear straight into the river during a fit of rage immediately after the fish-of-a-lifetime breaks your 5X tippet (a.k.a. fool’s line), and you have not just a sufficient pack, a really decent pack, or even a great pack…

You have one the most thoughtfully designed pieces of fishing equipment I have ever used. And that wouldn’t be saying much except for the fact that I have been through enough vests and packs in my day that I once considered started a business doing nothing but selling my own used vests and packs."

read the full review at michaelgracie.com

Gear Reveiw: Scott S4S 906-4 Fly Rod

Every seasoned angler knows that you can't get a full appreciation of a fly rod until you can get it out on the water and test it with a little "fish weight" behind it.  Michael Gracie, IT guru and Online Manager for Trout's Fly Fishing, put together a Long Term Rod Review of the Scott S4S 906-4 Fly Rod for our friends over at MidCurrent.

"I’ve pulled off a few half-fast rod reviews in the past, only to find some quirk down the road that made me dislike the stick. And go looking for something new. Hence, this review is long term, as I’ve owned the Scott S4S 906/4 for better than eighteen months now.

As rods go, I’ve pared down my quiver considerably in the past few years. The goal: update my rigs while making them serve multiple duties. Let’s face it, premium fly rods are a significant investment—when you plow money into a business venture, you look for multiple revenue streams, so why not look to use your expensive fly rods for multiple situations and multiple species? Over the last year and a half I’ve spent more time with Scott’s saltwater six than any other rod I own. And as a result, I will likely spend more time with it going forward… than any other rod I own."

Read the rest of this review at MidCurrent.com...

Gear Review - Sage ONE 490-4 Fly Rod

What do you do when a complimentary Sage 490-4 ONE shows up at your door step to fish and review?  That's right, take the day off of work and go fish it!  There are many perks to my profession, but the one I enjoy the most is testing out new gear.  I have always believed that we can better serve our customers by fishing the gear we sell, so if it means taking a day off work to try out one of the most talked about fly rods in years, well I guess I'll take one for the team.  The testing grounds for the day were The Historic Lincoln Hills Fly Fishing Club, a rehabilitated section of South Boulder Creek chalk full of big fish.  While it may not be the stream that the average angler would be fishing this rod, I figured it would be a great place to see if it would live up to the hype.  The day was ideal with highs in the upper 60's, plenty of sun, active bugs and hungry fish.

Initial Impression

This fly rod is just sexy.  From the "ice black" blank to the powder-coated tube, there is a lot to like about the ONE just by looking at it.  Once fully rigged, the first thing you'll notice is how light weight it is.  At 2.5 oz. for a 9' 4wt, this fly rod is one of the lightest on the market today.  The other noticeable feature is the "half" wells cork grip.  Available in all 3wt - 5wt ONE fly rods, this grip is somewhat of a hybrid of the standard cigar shape and the full wells that are found on most big game fly rods (i.e. 6wt and up).  This will definitely throw some people off, but I can say after a day of fishing it that I really like this design.

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