Here’s the latest installment of the Tail Fly Fishing Gear Guide from the March 2023 issue (that’s issue #64 with Bob Popovics on the cover).
There’s much more saltwater fly fishing gear on the way for 2023, including a sustainable gear review and new items for 2024 this Fall. In the meantime we think you’ll really appreciate these great items.
Grundens 6-Inch Deviation Ankle Boot
This is a great fishing shoe for being on a boat or out in the elements, which is what you’d expect from a company that has made its name on the decks of boats in extreme weather conditions. The soles are great on slippery decks, and we’ve found them to very slip-resistant in snowy and icy conditions as well. It’s also a great camp shoe because of the ease of putting them on and taking them off. Even when you’re on your feet for long periods of time, these boots keep you in comfort—even when the weather conditions are anything but comforting. $89.99-$139.99 (grundens.com)
Pelican G5 Personal Utility RF Field Wallet
This wallet has all the benefits of its larger Pelican hard-case cousins—in miniature. It’s a great place to keep hunting and fishing licenses, cash, and credit cards while on the water. We especially like it on beach trips. It can be clipped to the outside of a tackle bag or sling pack, or kept inside a zippered pocket. It’s crushproof and waterproof and also protects items from RF scanning. $44.95 (pelican.com)
Duke Cannon Solid Cologne
This is a great travel product for sportsmen who want to smell a bit better no matter how rustic their location and accommodations may be. We prefer the Bay Rum scent—probably just because of its name and our affinity for rum and bays. It’s easy to pack and doesn’t count as a liquid in a carry on bag. It’s a subtle cologne that improves the wearer’s status compared to his unwashed companions in hot and funky climates. $25 (dukecannon.com)
Captain Experiences Guide Booking
Founded and launched in 2020 by two fishing buddies from Texas, Captain Experiences has become the largest online platform for booking fishing guides in the U.S. Their site claims 1,000 vetted guides with charters available from San Diego to San Juan, Key West to Cape Cod. Their search engine filters by location, group size, target species, fishing technique, price, and more. Read verified reviews, and book real-time availability with quality guides. Most guides are conventional-fishing focused (many of which are in Texas, where this outfit started), but they also offer a fair number of fly-focused guides across the country. Price varies. (captainexperiences.com)
Airflo Superflo Ridge 2.0 Flats Power Taper
Designed to meet the demands of casting big flies with fast rods in stiff winds, this line was tailor-made for fishing the salt. The new and improved Ridge 2.0 technology brings the reduced-friction advantages of a textured line, but its strips and shoots quietly with a smooth-line feel on the fingers. Airlfo has updated its design and materials, resulting in thinner running lines with greater ability to shoot, less drag, and increased reel capacity. Airflo places top priority on always being 100 percent PVC free. While this means you’re fishing with environmentally friendly line, it also represents a more durable line thats stays cleaner, lies flatter, and simply casts well—season after season. The Flats Power taper allows quick loading and turnover of heavy flies, but still allows long pickups and relatively delicate presentations. The Universal taper isn’t as aggressive and is still a favorite of many Airflo users, but we think the Flats taper is the all-around winner for the rigors of salt. $129.99 (airflousa.com)
Sage SALT R8 Rod
In January, Sage released its SALT R8, the highly anticipated saltwater-specific rod using the Revolution 8 technology from the R8 CORE. The Sage team has merged power and finesse to create a rod that meets the challenges of powerful saltwater species and the rugged environments where they’re found, but the SALT R8 provides strength and durability while also maintaining the feel and touch necessary to deliver quick and precise shots on demand. We test drove it late last year in the Louisiana marsh and found it strong where it needed to be and sensitive elsewhere. Sage increased strength by about 25 percent without adding material and weight. But what separates this rod from the crowd of hefty saltwater sticks is its feel, achieved by a taper and fiber alignment that delivers strength, fine-touch presentation, and an intuitive sweet spot. The rod is quick and easy to load, allowing anglers to fire off shots in the time-sensitive situations common to saltwater fly fishing. $1,100 (farbank.com)
Sage ENFORCER Reel
The ENFORCER is designed for the power, durability, and reliability needed on the saltwater flats. The reel’s drag is 50 percent higher than Sage’s SPECTRUM MAX family of reels, with beefed up O rings and drag plates, as well as other design features—including increased rigidity—that make it more durable in unforgiving saltwater environments. Maximum drag is 8 pounds at the arbor in the 7/8 size, 15 pounds in the 9/10, and 17 pounds in the 11/12. Its larger drag discs better disperse pressure and maintain the consistency of the power band throughout the fight by stabilizing inherent stopping strength. We really like the new radius-cornered reel seat, which prevents leader abrasion during storage. $575 (farbank.com)
More reviews…
