Often, it’s not only how well a product stands up in the midst of battle but, more important, how well the company stands behind their product. My trusty Steelhead Large Arbor Orvis Mach IV is only a few years old, but has seen many trying days on Michigan’s rivers. This past spring I had an issue onstream that “felt” like the reel was tight. I was mid-stream and decided to take a closer look, breaking a cardinal rule, and something fell out of my reel. I sent the reel to Orvis with a check for $40. A new clutch and cover and, within a week, I had the reel back with a refund check for $30. The level of service and customer satisfaction far surpass how many clams I shelled out for a quality reel. Thank you Orvis for getting me back in the season in time to chase more chrome.
Innovation / Achievement Kudos
The percentage of new products that enjoy even a brief success is small, very small. Fewer still endure to reach iconic status. Anyone over the age of five or six knows that the hourglass-shape soda bottle is a “Coke bottle.” And virtually every fly fisherman knows that the peach-colored line seen so often on a trout stream is a Cortland 444.
Big Bones with Big Charlie
- Orvis Pack & Travel Sonic Seam Waders
- Winston Boron Rods
- Tibor Spey Reel
- NRS GigBob Pontoon Boat
- Salmo Saxatilis Rods
- Attach the white thread and tie in a small clump of pearlescent Krystal Flash. Lash the clump to the end of the hook shank and bring the thread forward to the starting point. Taper the tailing tips. Tie in the pearlescent Body Braid above the thread starting point, and lash it to the top of the hook, to the start of the hook bend. Bring the thread forward and wind the Body Braid forward to create a slight taper to the rear of the body. Tie down and trim off the excess.
The New Chrome
Only 60 years ago, West Coast steelhead streams churned with silver-plated natives. Waves of naturally reared steelies ascended their natal rivers, hellbent on reaching the same gravel beds from which they had emerged four or five years before. A modern steelheader need only read the accounts of such early anglers as Roderick Haig-Brown and Enos Bradner to appreciate how truly aggressive and plentiful these fish were.
WEB BONUS: More on Yvon Chouinard
Recently returned from the Gaula in Norway, Yvon Chouinard bucked the trend of using the giant tube flies and enjoyed great Atlantic salmon success with small Eastern Canadian patterns. "We landed some fine 20-pounders and turned them all loose," he reported, despite the tendency in many countries to keep large Atlantic salmon.
Hidden Spots
I Scan the edge of a local farm pond and find what I'm looking for-a small cedar shrub, the victim of erosion, leaning into the water. If I place my popper just right, I'll quickly discover if anyone is home. Out goes the Walt's Popper, a tan-bellied frog imitation, beneath the low branches of that bush…and a hungry largemouth responds. That bass is the finale of a fine evening and its capture represents a paramount moment in my angling education: if I hadn't realized what was staring me in the face, I might have overlooked that pond, which practically rested in my backyard. You see, my church owns the pond. I'd seen it many times before, but never with angling eyes - an overlooked bass fishery in plain sight.
|
