A Look Back... Year End Review

The future starts today, not tomorrow. - John P.

As the year comes to a close, 2013 marks another year for the books. Many things to take note of and to look back on and think about for the coming year. We saw many new and exciting products announced and introduced to our site: Sage Method, Outcast Stealth Pro, Kast Steelhead Gloves and Gear, Flyvine products, ConnectCore technology and much more. As we look towards 2014 and plan our bucket list for the year we look forward to bringing you the latest and greatest gear, travel destinations and the latest fly fishing technology known to man. 

Below are a few of our favorite posts in the last year or so, we hope you check them out if you haven't already done so. Some of them have been updated, for example our Sink Tips and Pontoon Guide posts.

Sink Tips, Polyleaders, Versileaders - A Buyer's Guide

Polyleaders and Versileaders are both words coined by their respective manufacturers. Polyleader – Airflo. Versileader – Rio. Ok, think of these as taking the place of a conventional, mono leader however unlike conventional leaders there is actually a polymer coating that surrounds the inner, mono core. These leaders come in various densities, lengths, strengths and sink rates. Just like your mono leaders, they loop onto the end of your fly line and they are tapered so as to eliminate “hinging” and encourage smooth turnover. They have more overall mass – starting thick at the loop and tapering down to just the mono core at the fly end. So think of these as a leader - A leader that attaches to your fly line the same way a conventional leader would.

Fly Fishing Pontoon Boats - A Buyer's Guide

Floating atop the surface of a lake or a river is a beautiful thing. Not only is it an enjoyable way to travel, but you may also experience places that would otherwise be impossible to reach. For anglers around the globe, the benefits of pontoon boats have become quite clear. They help to bring you where the fish are -or through those special landscapes that your own two feet, cannot.

NRX vs ONE...Who rules the flats!

2013’s Mexico trip came to an end on May 3rd. The gang packed it up and headed out of the little town of Punta Allen on our way to catch a flight in Cancun. The long bumpy gravel road from the lodge to Tulum seems twice as long on the way out. We had a great time at the Palometa Club. Good food, good drink and lots of good company swapping stories back and forth. The Permit were elusive to us this week but we had some good times with the Bonefish, watched Tarpon tail dance while spitting flies and the occasional Barracuda rip towards our fly at lightning speeds. A warm thank you goes out to Dick and Kaye, Host of the Palometa Club, for providing plenty of entertainment and Margaritas. Watch out for the third Margarita!

Lines for Switch Rods - A Buyer's Guide

Finding the right line for switch rods (rods between the lengths of 10.5 – 11.5 feet) can be confusing. Let us try to clear a few things up by talking about the different types of applications that switch rods are used for.

Spey Fishing. These short rods provide a light, agile alternative when fishing small to medium sized rivers. Finally, lines now exist to give anglers a sound spey experience with rods of this size.

One Guide Tip to Reign Them All

OriginallOriginally this article was going to list my top 5 guide tips. The plan was for a distillation of wisdom that I have received from fly fishing guides the world over. After all, this is the time of year that our existence seems to be whittled down to a parade of top ten lists so we can reflect on the year gone by.y this article was going to list my top 5 guide tips. The plan was for a distillation of wisdom that I have received from fly fishing guides the world over. After all, this is the time of year that our existence seems to be whittled down to a parade of top ten lists so we can reflect on the year gone by...

G. Loomis Factory Tour

Today’s fly rods are nothing short of amazing! The master rod builders have perfected so many actions and tapers that enable us to expand our reaches of angling with a fly. The loading of a fly rod is also something one needs to witness...Hard to see with the naked eye but a video camera can catch it…

Sage Method Rod Series (NEW 2013)

Sage Method: Earlier this year you heard me talk about the Sage One in my article NRX vs. One. The ONE is an awesome casting rod with a very intuitive feel of stability with Sage’s Proprietary Konnetic Technology. But I said it in the article that The One is not a fast rod and I suspect we’ll see Konnetic Technology in the future refinements of faster action rod categories such as the TCX.

Welcome in the NEW Sage Method.

The Story behind an Angel (Steelhead Angel Fly)

My wife, Angelique Garrett and her Mama, Rosalie Stavaas were featured in a cancer survivor add for Celio Treatment center, my wife was gearing up to join me in my guide service business before cancer struck. We had bought a second drift boat and she was excited about joining me.

Casting for Recovery: Photo Contest

Casting for Recovery Photo Contest. In support of CFR the GFS team has created a very first for GFS and have commissioned the help from some of our friends, G. Loomis, Nautilus Reels, Hatch Outdoors as well as fellow fly fisherman and fly tyer, John Garrett (GFS Employee). We have some pretty cool prizes to give away to four lucky winners.

Getting Started

Mention Fly Fishing in a room full of people and inevitably someone will respond with "I always wanted to do that but don’t know how to get started”. If I had a Dime for every time I heard this, well, I would have a pocket full of dimes. But the question remains how to get started? It seems almost an enigma to the beginner. Sort of like a secret society and unless you have friends that fish or grew up fishing with family, well it can be a bewildering undertaking.

Mike Prine - Webmaster
Gorge Fly Shop Team

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