by John Merwin

Among many thousands of fishing-related web sites, I’m always surprised at how few there are that have really solid, useful information. So I was happy to fall upon one such over the weekend from Anglers Resource, which is the sole North American distributor of Fuji rod components. If you’re about to buy a spinning or baitcasting rod, Anglers Resource is a must-read.

The section on five rod-buying tips is really excellent. They demonstrate how to match a spinning reel to a spinning rod, for example. Take the reel you plan on using with you when you go to a tackle shop. Then check to be sure the reel’s centerline axis matches the guide set-up on the rod you might buy. In the accompanying Anglers Resource photo, the match is marginal at best.

Importantly, the company is not touting any particular rods or brands. It’s just that the physical configurations of spinning reels and rods are widely varied. Some match well together. Some don’t. And the only way to get peak performance is to check that match before you buy. This is just as true if you’re planning on spending $50 as it is if the price tag were $500.

There’s lots of detail, also, about guide size and spacing on both spinning rods and baitcasters. Maybe more than you want to know. There are plenty of people who don’t care about this sort of thing. As in “Here’s my money. Just gimme a rod.” But there are plenty of others (like me) who obsess over the smallest details. For those, the Anglers Resource sections on static loading and guide spacing are truly enlightening.

by John Merwin

Flashlights. Everybody needs at least one and--most often--more than one, each light suited to a particular task. In my case, that includes tying on a fly or lure after dark, finding my way through the alder tangles back to my truck, and illuminating the area around a camp stove so I can have dinner.

I recently had the chance to test five new-for-2012 flashlights, a couple of which are truly outstanding. Fortunately, my neighbors didn’t call the cops despite seeing all the odd-looking activity in my yard after dark. I am thus still free to report the following.

1. The PolyTac 90 LED is a small (4.1 ounces, 5.22 inches high) right-angled light that puts out a whopping 170 lumens at its highest setting with 3 hours and 45 minutes run time. On the lowest-output setting, the two 3-volt lithium batteries are said to last for 30 hours. An attached belt clip plus a hanging carabiner give various attachment options. At $85, it’s nice, but pricey. From streamlight.com.

by John Merwin

In last week’s post I mentioned that this week I was going to talk about abrasion resistance in fishing lines. The ability of different types and brands of line to withstand being rubbed hard over any rough surface is obviously important. When a hooked fish drags your line across an underwater rock, you are of course hoping--maybe even expecting--that the line won’t break.

Line companies make all sorts of claims as to the abrasion resistance of their respective products. And it’s quite true that some lines are more abrasion resistant than others. The problem comes in the way in which manufacturers measure abrasion resistance, which to my mind bears little relation to actual fishing situations. I think dragging a line under tension between your hands and across a rough-surfaced rock (as shown in the photo) is the best test. But first, let’s look at what the line companies do.

by John Merwin

The guy in the photo is ABT Lures founder Allen Borden, shown at the recent ICAST fishing-industry trade show. The lure he’s holding is a four-sectioned hard-body swimbait called “Banshee.” It’s a good lure, but for veteran lure-designer Borden, it’s an even bigger bet.

I got the story behind the story through a quick interview. Borden was a California roofing contractor for 21 years. Also a fisherman, he had ideas for new lures as so many fishermen do. About 10 years ago, he started fooling around with carving and then molding hard-plastic baits. Eventually he made some jointed hard-bodied swimmers that he showed at ICAST in 2003.

Strike King, one of the major lure brands, picked up both the lure and Borden shortly thereafter. For the next 7 years, Borden was a Strike King lure designer creating such well-known jointed hardbaits as the King Shad.