Fly Fishing Reviews Blog

Steelhead fishing in British Columbia video Saturday, 04 September 2010 10:23 Written by Philip Light

So I'm not calling these "fly fishing video of the week" anymore since I really can't keep up with posting a video every week.  This is a video I came across the other day while researching steelhead fishing in British Columbia.  This lodge (Steelhead Valhalla Lodge)  looks like a blast and is situated on the Sustut river in British Columbia.  While the video isn't really a high end production, and it isn't laid out like a movie in that it doesn't have a real story to tell, it is some awesome scenery.  It's really more like someones vacation slide show with some video sprinkled in.  I like it just for the scenery and action involved. Really makes me want to travel to BC for some steelhead fishing.

Chasing Chrome on the Sustut River, BC from Entropy Sports on Vimeo.

Our New Gear Selector Wednesday, 01 September 2010 16:05 Written by Philip Light

We've finally finished (sort of) our new gear selector application.  You can test drive it HERE.  This has taken a good bit of time, and while it's close to being complete, there are a few things that aren't quite there yet.  We decided to go ahead and publish it and let people use it to get feedback on how it's performing.  This application came about from the countless times we've encountered people who don't fly fish, but would like to get into the sport.  They usually have no idea where to start on buying an outfit.  Normally, I tell them to go to a fly shop or outfitter and have them help, but I've heard from a few people who said that they were pushed into buying a lot more expensive gear than they thought they needed.  I still stand behind fly shops, but they need to realize that sometimes people can't drop $2,000-$3,000 on an outfit when they've never tried fly fishing before.

Our gear selector builds fly fishing outfits based on criteria like: Type of fish, Size of water and budget.  It will build a complete fly fishing package that fits your desired combination of criteria.  You will get different results for example if you want to trout fish in small streams for around $1000 than you will big game fishing in big rivers for around $3,000.  We're still adding products to the application to make it better, and we're open to any suggestions you might have on gear that you feel strongly about.  We've built these packages based on a number of criteria, similar to our in depth reviews of fly rods and reels so far.  We made large blocks of selections in different categories, like fly rods and fly reels for example, then narrowed the selections down based on reviews, build quality, country of origin, material, warranty and price to come up with what we feel are the best choices in their category.

We look forward to hearing your thoughts on this project both good and bad.  Feel free to post anything you like about the application in the forum HERE.

Fly Fishing Art for the Week Tuesday, 31 August 2010 13:13 Written by Philip Light

Ok, I've been seriously slacking on the fly fishing art for the week and fly fishing video for the week posts.  I think I'm not going to call them that anymore, and just post cool stuff when I find it.  I found these guys on facebook a while ago and just hadn't had time to post about them.  The company is blackwater fish replicas, and their replicas are some of the best I've seen!  There are quite a few replica guys out there today on the interwebs.  Most of them aren't bad, but at the end of the day, they're just painting fiberglass shells that they bought from one of the few suppliers there are of blanks.  This means that it's all about paint.  The base is going to be mostly the same from replica supplier to replica supplier, so the paint is really where the rubber meets the road.

This is where I think Blackwater Fish Replicas excels.  Their paint work is pretty much the best I've seen.  Check out their photo gallery here: http://www.blackwaterfishreplicas.com/site/gallery.html.  I'm a big fan of replicas.  Just take photos of your catch, measure it, record those measurements and send them to blackwater to have your trophy recreated without killing the fish.  I think if I were to want to have a replica done, I'd definitely go with these guys.  Feel free to shop around, but I doubt you'll find anyone better.  You can find blackwater fish replicas on facebook here: Facebook

Salmon Season in the east Monday, 30 August 2010 18:45 Written by Philip Light

As we're nearing the start of the King salmon season in the northeast, my mind is almost constantly on this season.  I've never fished for kings before, but this might be the year I do it.  It's more a matter of timing than anything, though the number of people to contend with on the Ontario tributaries is a big factor too.  My buddy and fishing friend Rusty is also a big bow hunter, and it just so happens that the salmon run coincides with bow season in Pennsylvania.  That means that I either have to fish by myself on unfamiliar water, or go with someone else.  I haven't found someone else for now, and I'm not keen on fishing a big river like the salmon river alone, so it's up to Rusty.  I started laying the groundwork the other day and hopefully, he bags a buck early and we can try out the Salmon River for the first time this season.

Another key factor in this year's season is the lack of any gear sturdy enough to handle a King.  Being primarily a medium stream and river fly fisherman, I mainly own fly rods in the 3wt to 6wt range and 7'-0" to 9'-0" class.  If I'm going to hit the big water in search of big fish, I'm going to need some new gear.  Right now, I'm leaning toward a Redington Red.Fly 2 - 9'-0" 8wt rod and a Redington Surge #8 reel.  This with some line should be acquired for the $250. range, and while you can spend a lot more money, the question for me right now is why.  For me, this is something that I might do once or twice a season.  It's a bit of a drive for us to get up to Pulaski NY, and due to our lack of interest in fishing elbow to elbow, the trip has to be in the middle of the week, which means we have to take vacation time to make the trip.  In other words, If I do hit the SR this year, It will be a one time deal.  I can't justify spending $600-$800 on gear that I might use once a year.  If anyone has a better suggestion for gear, feel free to post it in the comments.

On top of Salmon season, it's getting to be close to the time of year that the steelhead start running in the lake Erie tributaries.  Our trip last year was fantastic, and while I'm hopeful for another stellar steelhead season, that has to compete with my vacation time too.  Top that off with Rusty's work schedule, and his interest in other outdoors activities, and you've got yourself a challenge for trying to hit the water with any real purpose.  This has been a rough year for fly fishing for me.  The spring was too wet, and my schedule was hectic, the summer has been too dry and my schedule was hectic, and now we're approaching fall and one of the best times of the year to be on the water, and it looks like something will prevent me from fishing it.  All I can do is keep playing the lottery and hoping for the right opportunity to get on the water.

Anyone with comments or suggestions for salmon fishing on the lake Ontario tribs is welcome to post them in the comments section below.

Fly Fishing Art for the Week - June 28th Sunday, 27 June 2010 10:20 Written by Philip Light

I was on vacation to the Outer Banks and got behind on posting on the blog, so here's my first post to get things rolling again.  I did some saltwater fishing for the first time while I was in North Carolina, so I thought some saltwater art might be fitting.  I found Mike Savlen on Facebook a few weeks ago, and really like his fly fishing artwork.  He has more saltwater works than freshwater, and up until a week ago, saltwater didn't excite me much.  Now, however, I'm a little more keen on the coastal version of the sport, so I have more love for the saltwater art that Mike does.  The Marlin painting below really caught my eye.  Very nice composition and colors.  Enjoy.