Thanksgiving Day 2024

 Thanksgiving afternoon made for a stunningly beautiful time to throw poppers on a pond! Hooked up a nice little bass, that was the icing on the cake!

The Catch and Release Pickers, The Fly Fishing Show Atlanta 2018

Great live entertainment before the IF4 show starts!

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Rainy day reading.

We're supposed to be having a very stormy Sunday here today (although the sun is still out), so I'm glad I got a "new" book in the mail this week. 1964 First Edition of Outdoor Life - America's Favorite Fishing. Hoping to pick up a few new/old pointers for catching bluegill! .

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More exploring!

More exploring of our new home today. This time we made it over to Blue Spring State Park in Orange City. Such an incredible thing to see, the water was crystal clear with a blue/green tint. You could see schools of 2 and 3 foot gar, large catfish and bass swimming by and we were even priviledged with sighting a small pod of manatees with calves! Unfortunately, fishing isn't allowed along the spring run and there's no room for a back cast along the main river. Definitely a natural wonder!

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Double Barrel Poppers from Flymen Fishing Co.

These Double Barrel Poppers from Flymen Fishing Co. really push some water and give a loud pop!! I can't wait to get a package and get a bunch tied up!! Those Dragon Eyes really set them off, too!!

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Such a blast on the fly!!

Got out with Steve Hudson tonight and caught a few more of these guys. Such a blast on the fly!! Too bad the run is winding down, but it was sure fun while it lasted!

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The One Pound Range!

Managed another largemouth on a popper today! According to the Release Ruler he was about 12 1/2" long, which clearly put him into the 1 pound range! I've never been one to carry a scale while fishing, so it's nice to have an easy to carry ruler that gives approximate weights!

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Largemouth Lovin'

I believe I was witnessing a little largemouth lovin' at the office pond tonight. They couldn't care less about me or the fly I dropped in front of them!!

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The Brim Buster

Tying a couple variations of the Brim Buster fly with Steve Hudson's Friday Night Fly Tying class!!

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How 'bout that? I managed to catch a nice little largemouth in the office pond after work tonight!! I think this guy might be my first on the fly. #Largemouth #bass #flyfishing #officepond #SuburbanAngling #largemouthbass

How 'bout that? I managed to catch a nice little largemouth in the office pond after work tonight!! I think this guy might be my first on the fly.

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My Favorite Accessories from IFTD and ICAST 2015

Mornin' Folks,

  Here's the third installment of my favorite products from IFTD and ICAST this year.  This post contains, what I consider, some of the best new accessory products and companies in fly fishing for the coming season.  Keep in mind that these are in no particular order whatsoever and I've included links to each company's website. 

  Tight lines,

       Nick

WetFly

WetFly are purveyors of rods, reels, lines, tenkara and fishing accessories.

This is WetFly's Voyager insulated bottle.  On the first day of the show the guys loaded this bottle up with ice.  On Friday, there was still ice in the bottle!  My current water bottle doesn't do that, and it would sure be nice to have cold water while spending the day fishing.

Release Ruler

The folks at Release Ruler have taken decades worth of fish size data, threw some math at it and came up with a ruler that, based on that statistical analysis, will give an approximate weight of your catch based on it's length.  The rulers are species specific, but they have them available for seemingly everything from largemouth bass up to mako shark!

The Release Ruler also won Best FishSmart Product in the ICAST New Product Showcase, which proves that I'm not the only one that thinks this is a great idea!

Hatch Outdoors

The Hatch Outdoors folks had a few cool tools on display, including their IFTD Best of Show Accessory, The Hatch Nipper.  The size and heft of these nippers really felt good and secure in the hand.  The Fish Tail bottle opener looks like a waterside necessity, too!

 

 Here's a beautifully machined knot tightener.  Used to tighten the knots on heavy

saltwater line, it's a tool I didn't even know existed!

Weego

 I'm a big fan of the "get your ass home" products.  After a day of bluelining a dead battery in the truck is one of my worst fears.

The folks in the Weego booth told me that the larger battery could jump start my truck 6-8 times on a single charge, charge my cell phone or laptop and do all that after sitting in the glove box for a year! 

Rising

 Determined to make your fly fishing life easier, with a strong made in America showing, Rising has everything from the aluminum Lunker and Brookie nets to multiple pliers and nippers to the Flask and Shot minimalist packs.  Since fly fishing tends to be more of a lifestyle than a hobby, they even make a grilling multi-tool called the PopsQTool!

 

Cigars in a Pouch

I would consider a good cigar a fly fishing accessory, especially one packed in a pouch that maintains freshness for up to three years! 

Brook Fishing Equipment

 I got to hang out for a little while with a couple of really nice guys from Brook Fishing Equipment.

 American made, silicon insert fly boxes. They even float!

Brook Fishing Equipment already has a pretty good range of sizes and styles for their fly boxes.  The Outta The Box patch would be great for the tying bench or drift boat, too!

Western Rise

 I've already mentioned Western Rise in the My Favorite Softgoods post, but they really have some great accessories as well.  Like this hatchet that's a collaboration with Victor Axe and Tool.

 If a full axe is more your thing, they've got you covered there, too!

 Enameled cups, water bottles, koozies and an ever expanding line.  Western Rise has your fishing camp needs pretty well covered.

TyWheel

Here's a cool item that was introduced at IFTD, the TyWheel is a magnetic, modular fly tying station that attaches to your fly vise. 

 The pieces hold on securely with magnets (with the side benefit of keeping your hooks in check) and can easily be swapped based on the configuration needed for the fly you're tying.

RIO Products

RIO had their new Cranky Kit on display.  Basically it's an empty line spool with a removable crank handle so you can strip line off your reel and back onto a spool for storage or to swap line on the same reel.  This would definitely be easier than trying to do it by hand!

 

RIO also introduced the new LightLine series of fly lines.  Designed to get the best performance out of fiberglass, bamboo and vintage action fly rods.  Available in Weight Forward and Double Taper from 2-6 weight.

 Tacky Fly Fishing

This was a long awaited item for me, the Tacky Big Bug Box!  I like to think I had a hand in this one when I asked the guys to make a box tall enough to house my bluegill poppers.  They delivered here, room for 72 large flies with a taller profile than the original box and a sculpted silicon mat to ease fly insertion.  Look for a review on TheSuburbanAngler.com soon and, in the mean time, check out my review of the original Tacky Fly Box.

 

Huge congrats to the Tackiest guys in fly fishing for their Best of Show Fly Box/Storage System win at IFTD 2015!

 

PostFly

I don't know about you, but I love getting fly fishing gear in the mail.  A subscription to PostFly Monthly Fly Box will ensure that you get a selection of quality, trout, bass or saltwater flies delivered to your door every month.  If that's not enough for you, you can add leader, tippet, fly line, fly dressing, t-shirts, a Tacky Fly Box, or even a Taylor reel!  And, the longer the period you sign up for, the bigger the discount you'll get!  I need to see if I can talk them into a Bluegill box...

 

Orion Coolers

Orion Coolers are probably the most thoughtful coolers I have ever seen.  It's awesome enough that this high end cooler is made by the same folks that make Jackson Kayaks and that they're made right in Sparta, Tennessee, but the standard accessories on this one really made it stand out to me.  The first thing that caught my eye was the removable Princeton Tec flashlight that's molded into the removable tray.  Looking closer, the standing pad on the lid is included as well as the YakAttak/RAM Mounts accessory tracks, tie down points, bottle openers and, one of the best parts in my opinion, Orion Coolers are certified bear proof by the IGBC!  

 

ARC Fishing

The ARC Fishing guys were on hand to introduce their New for 2016 ARC Dry Fly and ARC 99 Salt Coldwater lines.  Both lines feature the low-stretch Response Core, permanent PTFE coating for slickness and float, welded front and back loops and line ID system, as well as features specific to the lines intended conditions.  A big congratulations goes to them as well for winning a 2015 Fly Fish America Editor's Choice Award for the ARC Flourocoat Tippet!

 

Umpqua Feather Merchants

Huge thanks to the folks at Umpqua Feather Merchants for the pile of gear to test and review!

Evenin' Folks,

  If you follow me on social media then you've already seen these pictures, but I wanted to make sure and get them posted up here for those that don't.  Back at IFTD I had the pleasure of meeting the folks from Umpqua Feather Merchants and I had the opportunity to check out the soon-to-be-released gear they had in the works.  Fast forward a few months and I had a nice, big box waiting on the front porch full of a few pieces of that new gear that impressed me so much!  Keep an eye here on TheSuburbanAngler.com over the next few months as I do my First Cast review and follow ups.  I've already mounted the Tailgater on a storage container and filled a few of the pockets and I can tell already that it's going to become a vital piece of kit for me!

  I hope you're all doing well and staying warm this winter!

     -Nick

The Tailgater locked and loaded!  There are still a lot of empty pockets to fill!

Happy New Year 2015!!!!

Happy New Year!!! 2014 was a great year for The Suburban Angler and 2015 will be even better!! We've got some big plans in the works, starting with our first giveaway, so stay tuned! Thanks for all the support in 2014 and here's to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year!! 
   Thanks again,
        -Nick

Photos from iCAST and IFTD Day 3