I’ll admit, at first glance I was a little skeptical. It looks like your average box on the outside. Nice material, functional size and shape, but then you open it up and it’s got four pieces of what looks like, the old-style telephone ringer chord strung across the inside. Remember those days? It looks pretty hokey to the untrained eye. But then fiddle with it a bit, and you realize this is one slick unit.
You examine a new piece of gear and you start thinking about how it can help you.
The fly box is one aspect of my fishing that I could use some serious help with. It doesn’t matter if I am trout fishing, bass fishing or steelhead fishing, I often like to use big articulated flies and tube flies. The boxes I use to hold these flies are disaster zones. I have some that are the traditional foam padded and I have some of the cheap plastic ones that have long, interior compartments. Neither one works very well. If I hook them into the foam boxes, they all swing around and get crunched when I try to close it up. The compartment style boxes just encourage serious disorganization and tangling which doesn’t bode well for on-water browsing. You finally pick out the fly you want at the bottom and then 3 flies come out, all hooked together. Not to mention, they don’t dry out very well after fishing. And not to mention, the clear plastic lets in light which will fade the color from your flies.
Tube flies, with no attached hook? What do you use? The foam boxes do not work. I know people who just use little zip-lock bags… I simply toss them all in the cheap compartmentalized box, but they end up stuck together AND when the wind comes up, sometimes they blow right out into the river. Ever lose a fly you spent a half hour tying or one that you blew 4 bucks on, to the river? It’s pain.
So with this in mind, I got to fiddling with this new box and it works really well. Flies slide up beneath the cord, holding them snug and organized. After sliding the body of the fly under the cord, you can then also secure the hook into the foam. Have a look. It’s nifty.
Articulated flies won’t swing around and get hooked on one another. Tube flies stay tidy and secure. Here’s another idea… You know when you are fishing tube flies and you not only have to pick out a fly, but you also have to round up a hook that, more than likely, is in a separate little bag or container? Well, with this box ,you can just stick the hooks in the foam and that way, everything is right there, organized and waiting. Tube fly and hook. Having both the foam and the chord makes for a real versatile box.
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| Cliff Articulator Box |
Articulated flies won’t swing around and get hooked on one another. Tube flies stay tidy and secure. Here’s another idea… You know when you are fishing tube flies and you not only have to pick out a fly, but you also have to round up a hook that, more than likely, is in a separate little bag or container? Well, with this box ,you can just stick the hooks in the foam and that way, everything is right there, organized and waiting. Tube fly and hook. Having both the foam and the chord makes for a real versatile box.
Greg also shot a quick video…
Cheers:
Cutting-edge use of telephone cord to keep articulated/tube flies organized. Easy to secure and remove flies. Great size to fit in the vest/pack/waders. Stout and light polycarbonate case with rounded corners. Opens and closes smoothly. Durable interior foam that holds hooks well. Floats.
Jeers:
Only holds 16 large flies comfortably. But that should probably cover you for a day on the water.
Sharpness (1-10) on cutting edge meter: 7.
Have a good time,
Duffy & Gorge Fly Shop
Sharpness (1-10) on cutting edge meter: 7.
Have a good time,
Duffy & Gorge Fly Shop
Sweet box! Pretty cool review to.
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