New Spey Products From RIO
FOR 2014 RIO HAS TAKEN ON REINVENTING THEIR SPEY CATEGORY OF LINES.
With new offerings in Scandi and Skagit heads as well as a couple of new running lines it’s an impressive undertaking.
The driving goal for RIO’s redesign is to simplify Spey lines and make them accessible to the angler who’s new to Spey. Selections have been streamlined with the goal of combining the best characteristics of some of RIO’s best lines. All of the new products feature a color coding system that make swapping heads simple and fast. Several of the new offerings use RIO’s new Connect Core technology for lines that have very little stretch.
My favorite of the new products is Grip Shooter. It’s an updated version of the hard nylon running line Slick Shooter. It has the same oval profile and shoots like a bandit but the first fifteen feet are coated with a positive grip coating, making it easier to handle when casting. Especially with cold wet hands. I got the chance to fish it recently and I really like it.
In this video Simon Gawesworth walks you through the new line of RIO Spey products.
Read More »Tenkara, the new Bamboo
A GUEST POST BY TIM HARRIS OF NORTHWEST-TENKARA.COM
Fly fishing began in both the west and east with a long supple rod, a fixed line, a leader and a fly.
This is how Dame Juliana Berners, Issac Walton and Japanese commercial fisherman fished. Time went by and man created the reel and split bamboo rods which were shorter and lighter than the old greenheart long rods. Fiberglass and then graphite replaced split bamboo and modern fly fishing as we know it came into being.
Then a backlash started, a move toward the vintage. Many fly fishers, myself included, began embracing the bamboo rod again and waxing poetic about the lovely reed, its natural beauty and soft feel. I fished bamboo rods for years on small streams and rivers and figured that this would never change.
Then came a real move back to the past, back to days before the reel was invented and people fished with a long rod and a fixed line. I discovered tenkara. Tenkara is a traditional form of fly fishing that began in the mountain streams of Japan. It was used by commercial fishermen to catch their daily load of trout, char and salmon found in these streams. Now tenkara is catching on in the west and seems to be the hottest thing since the bamboo renaissance.
Tenkara is fly fishing in its most minimal form. A modern tenkara rod is
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Strike Indicators, What Matters to Me
DO STRIKE INDICATORS SPOOK FISH?
There is a lot of debate over whether strike indicators spook fish. I’m not going to beat around the bush on this one folks, because I truly believe that most of the time they don’t. Especially if you rule out flat slow moving water. Only when I’m dealing with really spooky fish, do I downsize and dull down the color of my strike indicators. The other 80% of the time, I think the fish pretty much just find them interesting, possibly a tasty morsel, or just another piece of trash floating over their heads.
What I really think we should be doing is looking at the flip side of the coin. In my opinion, we should worry less about spooking fish with our indicators, and worry more about matching the correct size strike indicator to the type of water and rig we’re fishing. In my opinon, that makes much more sense. Now I know there’s lots of you probably saying “this is obvious rookie stuff, Kent.” I hear you all loud and clear, but bare with me a minute, because I still find myself having to explain to anglers why it’s a good idea to carry different sizes and colors of strike indicators on the water. And as long as I’m doing that, there’s a need for this information to be out there for people to read.
Read More »Saturday’s Shoutout / MidCurrent Talks Musky & Towee Rivermaster SRO
This week’s Saturday Shoutout we bring you two great reads from MidCurrent. One’s a fly fishing musky primer and the other is a really cool Q&A piece with Captain Todd Gregory (Towee Boats master builder). It talks about the ins and outs of the boat company and talks in great detail about the Towee Rivermaster SRO (this boat I totally dig). I enjoyed reading both the articles written by Dave Karczynski. He does a standup job on the content he writes for MidCurrent. Thanks for supporting Gink & Gasoline with your readership we hope everyone has a grand weekend.
Read More »RIO Perception Fly Line Review and Product Video
RIO has made a big splash for itself this year with its new RIO Perception fly line. It was awarded Best New Fly Fishing Line for 2014 at the European Fishing Tackle Trade Exhibition (EFTTEX) and it also took home the award for Best New Freshwater Fly Line at the International Fly Tackle Dealers show (IFTD) in Las Vegas.
For the last few months I’ve fished it a good bit and I’ve guided with it as well. So far, I’ve been really pleased with the performance of the Perception fly line. Some of the new features have even made my guiding easier. For example, the SureFire tri-color system has made it quicker and easier for me to explain to my novice clients about the anatomy of the fly line (front taper, belly, rear taper, running line). Furthermore, I like that the SureFire system allows my beginners to look down at their fly line and quickly know whether they have too much line out to begin their cast or need to strip in. And I’ve taught my more advanced clients to use the color change in the fly line as distance markers. Doing so, it’s much easier for them to make the same distance cast over and over again, whether they’re pounding the bank with a streamer or trying to hit the tiny feeding lane of a lone riser on the far bank.
Read More »Fly Fishing for Carp – Kirk Deeter Book Reveiw
With technology moving forward at a pace that’s constantly increasing, it’s having a huge impact on the way readers acquire and digest information. Some argue that hardcopy books are soon going to be a thing of the past, and electronic book purchasing and the internet will be the future for readers. Although I won’t argue against this notion, for me personally, I’ll never give up on hardcopy books unless they disappear completely. I take pride in my book case located next to my fly tying table that’s crammed full of all kinds of fly fishing and fly tying books. Those hard and soft bound books are my trophies. They’ve done wonders for teaching and guiding me to fishing success on the water, and I hold a personal attachment to many of them. I like that I can highlight important gold nuggets of fishing information in the hardcopy books and I love the freedom of scribbling notes in the side margins when I feel the need (example: try this tactic in december on the tailwater or use this tactic on points 4 and 5 on the lake in the spring). You can’t do that kind of stuff when you’re reading a book on a tablet. For those reasons, and for the simple fact that you can’t easily pass on electronic copies of books to your kids with your added touch, I’ll always support authors that make a point to publish their writings in hardcopies when I have the option.
I recently picked up a copy of Kirk Deeter’s book, The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp. If any of you are familiar with the author Kirk Deeter, it should be of no surprise to you that I read this book cover to cover in one sitting. For a guy that struggles with a serious case of A.D.D., that’s an accomplishment that happens very rarely for me, and also a huge compliment to Kirk’s writing. I know it’s probably going to sound like a horrible cliche, but The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp in my eyes, is a book that’s written by a fisherman, for a fisherman. There’s a fishing story here and there, but for the most part, it’s packed full of the how to’s of chasing carp on the fly. Its well organized, carries an inviting writing style cover to cover and it has tons of detailed illustrations throughout the book to help paint a clear picture of the author’s explanations.
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Bimini Twist
The Bimini Twist may be the the most mysterious knot in fly fishing. I love the look you get when you tie one. It’s as though you pulled a rabbit out of your fishing hat. In reality, the Bimini Twist is not a difficult knot. Once you understand it it’s very easy to tie and it can not be beat for strength. It is the best method for attaching you backing to your fly line and a knot every angler should know how to tie. Here’s Capt. Joel Dickey to show you how easy it is.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Sage Light Saber & A Bloggers Wager
Although totally worth your time, this weeks Shoutout is admittedly self-serving.
I have a little wager going with my good friend Andrew Bennett at Deneki Outdoors. Kent and I feel like our readers are the best and most loyal readers on the web. We did a Shoutout to Deneki a while back, and felt pretty sure that we would show up as Andrews #1 referring site. Sadly, we are stuck in the #2 position.
WE DON’T LIKE BEING # 2!
I made a bet with Andrew that we could change that and I’m counting on your help. Please, let’s show these boys what the G&G family can do. Follow this link to read Andrews awesome review of the new Sage Light Saber.
Thanks!
Read More »2014 Redington Waders
2014 BRINGS WITH IT NEW REDINGTON WADER LINES FOR BOTH MEN AND WOMEN.
The Super Dry Fly Waders for men feature nano-technology and come in standard, zip front and pants. These options have you covered for every wading scenario. The new Siren waders and boots for women offer style, performance and more options for fit with the Marilyn and Kate models.
Cool new wading products with the quality and innovation you expect from Redington. Check out the video for all of the details.
Read More »Fly Fishing the Trico Hatch & Spinner Fall
The first major spinner fall that I ever witnessed and had the pleasure of fishing took place many years ago on the South Platte River in Colorado.
I’ll never forget the excitement I felt as I watched countless trico spinners floating downstream in the surface film. Never in my life had I seen so many bugs on the water. With one scoop across the surface of the water with my hand, I held dozens of tricos. I was so amazed by the density of bugs on the water that it put me in a frozen trance. Unable to wet a line, I remember thinking to myself, “This must be what fly fishing in heaven is like.” Growing up in the Southeast, I’d never seen a spinner fall of such magnitude. I’d only read about them in books. Looking back on that day now, I believe my reluctance to start fishing that morning had a lot to do with me just taking it all in, and appreciating the true beauty of nature at work. Only after I took the time to pay my respect to the bugs and wild trout, did I feel worthy enough to begin fly fishing such a beautiful place.
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