So you guys useing the standard tupe don't have any chafeing problems on your neck working a rod in the sun all day? Nope, not with my Stearnes. I take it with me to tropical destinations where it's often in the 100's and don't even notice it. They don't weigh much, and have little bulk. Now I will...

<<< I don't much care for the idea of a standard inflatable that looks like a pair of suspenders. Seems like a couple of big pieces of plastic hanging down your chest and around your neck all day in the sun fishing would not be so nice.>>> Mine are ultra comfortable and I don't even know I'm wearing...

I used to be a serious canyon buster, and usually fished solo in some pretty tough terrain. Nowadays, at my age, I rarely fish alone, and I seldom wade, and 90% of my fishing is from a boat.

If you seek a golden trout, and are unable to hike for hours at 10K+ elevation (like me!), take the road up from Lone Pine to the Cottonwood Lakes Trailhead. Lotsa little creeks a short distance from the road that are stuffed full of golden trout that you don't have to do the "death march"...

That's a good plan. If you go the spey casting route, you'll have to buy some specialty lines (and that gets really complex!). Better to start with what you know and then work into it.

I only have the Orvis Helios switch rods I mentioned above so my comments only apply to them. As a general rule, switch rods are designed to carry much heavier lines than their line rating specifies. So a 6 wt switch rod really isn't the same rod as a standard 6 wt rod. For example, my 6 wt switch r...

I have 11' switch rods in 5, 6, 7, & 8 WT (Orvis Helios). I've used them a lot, especially while wade fishing. Advantages: long distance casting ability and can use 2 hands while casting overhead, can execute two handed switch/spey casts, great at indicator fishing with lots of mending for ultra...

If I still lived in SoCal (glad I don't!) and had a week in early OCT to go camping, no doubt where I would go. The Kings River in Kings Canyon NP. However, I live in NorCal now, and if I was going fishing I'd be pounding the Lower Sac in Redding since that's the salmon spawn and fishing during the ...

What a wonderful story. Thanks for posting the link, Jon. Maybe some day Rush Creek will be restored.

More good news!!!! Even though Chris' subdivision is still under mandatory evacuation orders, they are allowing residents access to inspect their properties and retrieve belongings. Chris went in this morning and his house and property are completely undamaged and there does not appear to be any smo...

Good news finally! Chris' home and entire street is completely undamaged! The fire swung to the north around a small hill and completely avoided their section of the subdivision. Mandatory evacuation still in place though, and since the northern portion of the subdivision had many damaged/destroyed ...

Update as of 6 PM. The situation is still very volatile. Even though the front of the fire is over 3 miles from Chris' house, a spot fire erupted near his house (two streets over) this afternoon. Fortunately, there are plenty of fire assets stationed in his neighborhood and they quickly contained th...

The fire is still burning out of control (< 5% containment) and is very dangerous. Death toll up to five. It's almost doubled in size from yesterday to over 80,000 acres. The only somewhat good news is that it is currently burning towards rural/unpopulated areas instead of towards the city of Reddin...

Since my son, Chris Laskodi, was active in the SJ flyfishing community when he lived here, I have received some inquiries about his status during the Carr (Redding) Fire. So I figured I'd post an update here for more to see. First off, good news, Chris, his wife Liz, new baby Charlie, and dog Bruce ...

If budget/cost is the most important requirement to you, then let that drive your flyline selection. As Jeff said, Cabelas, Bass Pro, etc have their lines made by a major manufacturer and they're all good (not all that familiar with Allen, but I'd bet that they also do) and you can save some serious...