In my last installment, I covered the independent fly rod builders who are probably providing the lion’s share of modern fiberglass rods to this small-but-interesting market.
(You can read Part I here, and Part II here)
Today I take a look at a few of the larger companies building glass, though I use the term “larger” in […]

What’s New In An Old Technology (This is Part II: Read Part I here, and Part III here.)
If I described the number of fiberglass fly rod makers as “large” or even “booming,” I’d be a liar.
There are a handful of small companies building glass, and a few larger companies dipping their toe in the technology, […]

They’re obsolete. They’re low tech. They’re soooo 1960s. So why are fiberglass fly rods reappearing on rivers and streams?
[ed: This is Part I of the series; read Part II here, Part III here]
It’s hard to define the “rightness” of a fly rod, though once — over a couple beers — a few local fly fishermen […]

Except for the uncontrollable, homicidal rage that surfaces whenever my fly line snags in those damned-to-hell metal boot hooks, I don’t give gravel guards much thought.
How about you? Straq at Way Upstream (fly fishing product guy at Patagonia) is looking for feedback about gravel guards, which is either intelligent product development, or a cagey way […]

Singlebarbed – the other blog in the Trout Underground’s fledgling writer’s network – continues to crank out weird and the wonderful posts, including this little gem about fishing “cheap” tackle when the terrain (or the sudden need to flee) demands it:
I’m fishing in the rural-urban interface, a fancy term that means the city is close to the woods. Come Friday […]

[ED: Another in a short series of reports from the FFR show about goodies that might not get a lot of press, but deserve to.]
I stopped by the Thomas & Thomas booth to talk about their fabulous Heirloom fiberglass fly rods — the rods that cast like buttah, but unfortunately, cost like caviar (just a […]

Tibor’s SpeedHandle is an ingenious way to speed the retrieve of Tibor’s fly reels by 1/3, so saltwater species like bonefish and permit can’t gain slack line on the fly fisherman.

[ED: The first in a short series of reports from the FFR show about goodies that might not get a lot of press, but deserve to.]
While I remain a little skeptical of the practical advantages of large arbor reels, I bought one a few years ago — after Chris Raine and I started catching big, fast-moving fish […]

Not quite a year ago, I posted a gear review about my studded-rubber soled wading boots.
To recap, I went to studded rubber soles because hiking along the railroad tracks quickly wore the felt off my studded felt boots, leaving behind protruding carbide studs that skated dangerously on smooth rocks. 

Life is dangerous enough without adding […]

Fly lines used to be simple stuff (it was “this one” or “that one”), but trying to pick a fly line nowadays is akin to playing chess blindfolded; the possibilities are largely endless, and it’s damned easy to get confused.

We start testing Rio and Scientific Anglers fly lines.
We’re in the midst of a full-blown technology/marketing […]

You know those guys with enough cash to buy pretty much any fly fishing gear they want? Well, I’m one of the other guys, and it’s with that in mind that I’m creating the Trout Underground’s First Ever “Smash & Grab Awards.“
I award it to the product I’d most want to rip from the display case, […]

There’s a trout painting I can get behind, by Derek DeYoung of Canvasfish.com
I’m stealing a few bytes of bandwidth from the Hyatt, and typing furiously before the Underground’s aging laptop battery goes fins up.
The first morning of the FFR Retailer show has been interesting to say the least; I’ve scribbled 2/3 a notebook full of […]