Vision have a knack of producing “cool” gear and this has to be one of the best looking fly reels on the market in our opinion. These new reels have a deeper arbour giving you plenty of capacity for your lines. They also have a reliable and smooth disc brake with easy and accurate adjusting. They are strong but still lightweight, thanks to the latest die-cast techniques and materials. Their nonreflecting matte finish and reliable, XLA style spool’s quick release are something you won’t be used to finding from reels at this price level before.

Available in sizes 5/6 and 7/8 in black or white.

We expect this to be a big seller in 2011.
Price £49.99

For more info click on the following link:
Vision Deep Reel

We’ve been waiting to get these in stock for a while now. When we first shown the Atom rod and Deep reel towards the back-end of 2010 we were quietly impressed with them. Featuring Visions latest 3-piece Atom rod, Deep reel and floating flyline the outfit is perfectly balanced and is ideal for those who have recently been introduced to fly fishing. The whole outfit packs neatly away into a cordura rod/reel tube for safe keeping. Available in either 9ft for a 6# line or 9ft 6in for a 7# line.

Anyone ordering one of these outfits from us will automatically receiver a pack of leaders, tippet, fly box and fly selection free of charge to complete your outfit. All you need to do is add water.

Price £169.00

For more info click the following link:
Vision Atom Outfit

Definately not one for the purists. We came across these little wonders when fly fishing for Zander on Grafham. Designed to slide onto your leader they are designed to take advantage of the principal of chaos, to generate an organic, non-rhythmic swimming action & vibration, resulting in more strikes and bigger fish!

Coming in two sizes. The smaller Action Disc I comes with 12 discs in a pack and is designed to slide onto leaders upto 12lb while the larger Action Disc II containing 6 discs per pack is designed for leaders upto 30lb.

Particularly effective for Pike and Zander but can also be used when fishing large streamers for Trout. They are equally effective when fishing small plastic baits too.

Priced at £4.25 inc P&P these little wonders can make all the difference between catching and blanking.

For more info click on the following link:
Wigglefin Action Disc

This short video gives an idea of the action imparted on a fly or lure when using the Action Disc.

To most people mention the words “Hardy fishing tackle” and immediately the pound signs start flashing in front of their eyes. Whilst we agree their products are aimed at the higher end of the market, occassionally we find a product of their’s that is in the reach of us mere mortals. One such product is the Hardy Premium Fly Line.

Despite being their entry level line at £39.99 this line performs better than a number of other fly lines on the market at a higher price point.

Now here’s the second double whammy. The one we really like is the double taper line and not the more popular weight forward. The double taper line has become less popular over the years as more people become obsessed with achieving distance in fewer false casts. That’s all very well and good but if presentation is key then this is where a double taper comes into it’s own.

The colour is also a drab olive avoiding line flash when making false casts. We know a lot is made of line colour when fishing rivers but in our eyes keeping a low profile and keeping heavy footfall to a minimum will put far more fish on the bank than worrying about your choice of line colour.

Another tip is, if you’re not going to be making long casts then you can actually cut a double taper line in half meaning you get two lines for the price of one. Keep one half to one side and then when the first half becomes worn out after a couple of seasons replace it with the other half. We would only advocate this though if you are fishing small streams where distance isn’t necessary.

So why not go all retro and give a double taper a try. We think you may be pleasently surprised.

For more details on the Hardy Premium line, click on the following link:
Hardy Premium Double Taper Fly Line

The Strait-N-Dry™ has two work areas; the “strait zone” and the “dry zone pads”. Use the “strait zone” as a leader straightener (the rubber pads handle all leader memory problems). The “dry zone pads” serves two valuable purposes. Use the “dry zone” to clean and suck the water out of soggy flies (especially good for CDC patterns). It also does an excellent job of extending the life of your expensive fly lines. At the end of a days worth of angling, simply reel your line up between the drying pads. You will be surprised how much “scum” comes off. We all know clean lines cast better. Also, it makes a darn good fly patch.

RRP £9.99

For more info click the following link:

Cliff Outdoors Strait n’ Dry

New for 2011 is the Rio Specialist Pike Line. Finally Rio have taken the Pike market seriously. In our view it’s about time as Jim Teeny and Scientific Anglers have been targeting the dedicated Pike angler for quite a while now. Rio already have the Mainstream Pike Line but the new specialist Pike line was designed for the angler who targets Pike as their everyday quarry and not just when the trout season has closed.

RRP £59.99. Our Price £49.99

For more info on the line, click the following link:

Rio Specialist Pike Fly Line

A recent trip to Wisconsin fishing for Muskie gave us the opportunity to test the new greys GS2 9’ #10. Launched earlier this year the GS2 replaced the popular G Series. At £149.00 this rod is aimed at the entry-mid level price bracket. The blank although not the lightest, is finished very well and the cork and composite handle is of very good quality. The only other negative is that the rod comes in a PVC tube which was a bit flimsy. It’s ok if you’re putting it in the boot of your car but if you’re planning an overseas trip then I would suggest checking it in as hand luggage so it doesn’t get damaged.

We fished with the GS2 for 6 days casting flies upto 8 inch long. The rod’s middle to tip action handled casting the flies very well. In fact better than some rods that cost considerably more. We teamed the GS2 up with a Jim Teeny Pat Ehlers Pike fly line. The rod handled short and long casts with the short headed fly line very well. I was amazed with the fish fighting abilities of the rod. A nice muskie of about 17 pounds took the fly at about 80 feet distance and the rod had no problem with line pick up and setting the hook. The fish made several short lunges under the boat and the blank absorbed these very well.

All in all I was very impressed with the rod. It handled everything I could throw at it. Yes it’s slightly on the heavier side and you start to notice this after you have been throwing large flies at long distance, but I don’t think you will find a better rod for the money.

The rod is available in a variety of lengths through our online shop.

Angling with the Fly: Flies and Anglers of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, “charts the history and develpment of flyfishing in Derbyshire and Staffordshire. [The author's] detailed research brings together the lives and backgrounds of many noted Derbyshire and Staffordshire fly-fishers for the first time in this comprehensive, but highly readable work; he discusses the evolution and features of local patterns, winging patterns and the notes and fly-dressings of noted angler-authors from the 18th and 19th centuries [as well as] anglers of influence up to the present day”. Very well-illustrated with plates of flies from Aldam, Foster, Roger Woolley and other early writers and fly-tyers and with many two-page spreads of the flies of more recent Derbyshire flyfishers.  Many of the traditional flies were tied by Tim Thorpe and photographed by Terry Griffiths. A first-class and authoritative production of great value to the angling historian and also to the Derbyshire fly-fisher and -tyer of today.

Available through our online shop. £35.00