By Joe Cermele

About 8 months ago I was leafing through Europe's Angling International and a new creation from Spanish company Thinkfish caught my attention. Their new modular fly storage system, dubbed the FlyPad, had scored some awards at a major European tackle convention. Turns out that U.S. fly tackle maker Cortland was intrigued by the FlyPad, too, and they are now the official state-side distributor. That meant I was able to get my mitts on an early sample, and it's a pretty innovative little item, though it does have pros and cons.

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By Kirk Deeter

I'm not the first writer to offer a lesson on patience when setting the hook while fishing dry flies, but I'm pretty sure I'll be the first to do it like this...

I went diving again today off Kaua'i, where I encountered the state fish of Hawaii.

It's called a humuhumunukunukuapua'a. [ Read Full Post ]

By Joe Cermele

Whenever I tell people I love chasing chain pickerel on the fly, they look at me funny. I don't think they disrespect the species, but they just think there are much better things to catch in late March and early April. To this I say find me a 10-inch stocked trout that slams a fly as violently as a pickerel or fights as hard. If you're jonesing to catch members of the Esox family on the fly, I promise chains are much easier to find and hook than pike and muskies. You still get the V-wake, the follow, and the slam, but you get to do it with a 4-weight outfit instead of an 8. Perhaps the video below will inspire you to give it a go. I put it together partly to spread my belief that flyfishing for picks will be the next flyfishing for carp (snicker) and partly because I wanted an excuse to ditch the office and go pickerel fishing last Friday. Enjoy

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By Kirk Deeter

Aloha from the Garden Island of Kaua'i in the Hawaiian Islands. I'm on a much-anticipated family vacation, where my wife, Sarah, and son, Paul, and I are enjoying some spectacular scuba diving (along with my brother, Drew, who took this photograph of a sea turtle we encountered Saturday). When I'm not fishing, diving is my favorite pastime. I enjoy watching fish when I'm not actually casting at them, sometimes for reasons explained in one of last week's Fly Talk posts. I'll admit, however, that I much prefer the clear, warm tropical waters over the icy swirling currents of trout rivers.

Last night, I took my rod to cast off a point of lava rocks. I was casting a Clouser minnow at nothing in particular, and truth be told, I didn't catch anything. But I did see another giant green turtle swim up near the shoreline, poke its head above the surface to check me out for several minutes, then vanish under the foam.

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By Ted Leeson

We didn't winnow the more than 100 Best of the Best entries down to 15 winners by sitting at a desk and reading marketing copy. Instead, our experts took the tackle on the water and fished with it—hard, in all kinds of conditions. What survived the rigors of testing in experienced hands is here—the Best of the Best.

The concept behind KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is plain enough, but converting it into flyfishing gear that really works under demanding conditions is another matter entirely. Our winners, though, clearly have the right idea when it comes to executing a simple design at a very high level. --Ted Leeson

In the new Mac 2 reel (for 5/6/7-weight lines), Bauer puts the focus at the heart of the matter—a proven braking system transplanted from its more expensive CFX series. The carbon-fiber drag provides flawlessly smooth resistance even at the highest settings. Two full revolutions of the drag knob allow fine-tuning, while detented stops eliminate any drift in tension. A patented clutch engages instantly, without a millimeter of counter-rotation, especially welcome for protecting light tippets. The entire drag is sealed against contamination for... [ Read Full Post ]

Download Catchbook from iTunes to share your photos, spots, and detailed catch conditions with fishing buddies -- and win a new kayak! [ Read Full Post ]