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Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - Magazine - Index

CHRIS ANDERSEN PHOTO
Clear Creek
Decorah Back Pack
If you hike in to fish—especially at high altitudes
or in arid climates—the new-for-2008
Decorah Back Pack with Hydration System
from Clear Creek is just what you need.
Constructed from rugged, high-Denier
nylon, and weighing only 1 lb. 12 oz.
empty, the Decorah won’t weigh you down
like some back packs. A zippered, expandable
rear compartment provides plenty of storage for
rain gear, additional clothing layers and food.
A piggyback zippered compartment offers
additional storage, and includes a zippered
mesh interior pocket for storing small items.
An innovative outside flap compartment can
hold a landing net or a pair of wading boots.
Additional features include fully padded back and shoulder straps, twin rod tube carriers,
two mesh belt pockets, adjustable nylon web waist and chest belts with quickdetach
buckles, hidden shoulder strap adjusters, two shoulder-strap mounted poly-cord
retractors, plus web attachment points for Cedar Foam fly boxes.
The Decorah includes an integral Hydrapack hydration system housed in its own slip
pouch inside the main compartment, with a drinking tube that extends down the left
shoulder strap. You can fill it with water, Gatorade, or even Bass Ale for that matter, but
whatever you choose to pour in, you’ll have 100 fl. oz. of it “on tap.”
Like all Clear Creek products, the Decorah Back Pack comes with an unconditional lifetime
repair or replacement warranty. See it at your fly shop ($99), or contact Clear Creek,
Dept. FFA; Tel: (800) 894-0483; Web: www.clearcreek.net —Crispin Battles
Fishpond Rodeo Rolling Duffel
From its 3.5-inch diameter, 1.25-inch wide rubber wheels, to its rigid PVC molded
PVC bottom, the new Rodeo Rolling Duffel from Fishpond incorporates everything we
hold near and dear in a fishing duffel.
Measuring 31” L x 16” W x 16” D, the Rodeo’s 7,872 cubic inches of storage volume
will accommodate everything you need for a week or more on the flats (or anywhere else
for that matter). Constructed from 420 Denier and 1680 ballistic nylon, it’s tough enough
to withstand the attentions of the most abusive airline luggage monkey. Other features
include a vented, zippered lower compartment that will hold wet waders and a half dozen
30-inch rod tubes, huge zippered main compartment for clothing and other gear, zippered
end and side compartments for quick access to stuff you need to reach quickly while in
transit, rubber-covered telescoping handle, adjustable web compression straps with quickdetach
buckles, padded aero-mesh carry handle, extended zipper pulls, Jacquard-accent
webbing lash loops, and molded luggage tag. Perhaps most important, the end opposite
the telescoping handle is reinforced and fitted with molded feet to keep the Rodeo standing
on its own while you’re fumbling with travel documents.
All this functionality doesn’t come cheap,
however. The Rodeo sells for $329, and it
weighs over 10 pounds—leaving less
than 40 pounds for your stuff
before the airline whacks
you $25 (or more) for
an over-50-pound
bag. See it at your
fly shop, or contact
Fishpond, Dept. FFA;
Tel: (866) 347-4766; Web:
www.fishpondusa.com
—Dudley Hall
Cortland
Big Sky Rods
Cortland Line Co. has
put a lot of effort into their
fly rod program over the
last year, and the results are
impressive. Their new Brook
Series 4-weight made our
Staff Favorite Dry-Fly Presentation
Rods in the 2008 Gear
Guide as the least expensive
($179.95) of the twelve rods
reviewed. The Brook Series
provides a lot of rod for the
money, but Cortland’s new,
travel-friendly Big Sky Series
offers even more.
Priced from $229.95 to
$239.95, the Big Sky Series
includes three freshwater and
seven saltwater models covering
every line weight from 4
through 12. All are fast-action,
9-foot, 4-piece designs
that Cortland bills as “The
best casting, best fishing rods
we’ve ever offered.” And we’d
agree with that claim.
Common features include
olive-green painted, highmodulas
graphite blanks,
tip-over-butt ferrules with
alignment dots, twin strippers
with SiC inserts, hard-chrome
snakes and tip-top, and Cordura-covered
rod/reel case.
Freshwater models (4- through
6-weight) are fitted with handturned,
half-Wells cork grips
and uplocking reel seats with
exotic wood inserts. Saltwater
models (6- through 12-weight)
get full-Wells grips and anodized
aluminum reel seats with
cork fighting butts.
Our evaluation rod was the
freshwater 6-weight. Weighing
3.9 oz., it balanced a 6weight
reel nicely. It loaded
easily on a short line, yet had
no problem throwing 80+ feet
of line into a quartering wind.
Stay tuned for the 8- and
10-weight saltwater models
in a later issue. See them at
your local fly shop, or contact
Cortland Line Co., Dept.
FFA; Tel: (607) 756-2851;
Web: www.cortlandline.com
—Bill Battles
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