Tested on the water, not in a catalog

Gear Reviews.

Gear I own. Gear I fish. Gear that's earned its place, or hasn't. No gifted product, no padded scores.

Latest Oct 1, 2026 Best Trout Streamer Rods for Colorado Tailwaters: Six Worth a Look Gear Review 14 min read

Newest reviews

49 reviews

Scott F Series E-glass fly rod — cork grip and black anodized reel seat beside three amber fiberglass blank sections with red wraps and chrome snake guides (photo: Scott Fly Rod Company)

The Blue-Line Setup: Gear & Tactics for Small Colorado Creeks

The rod, reel, leader, flies, and on-water tactics I use to fish small Colorado blue-line creeks — short soft glass, dry-dropper rigs, and a stealth game built on moving slow.

September 30, 202613 min read

The Ross Coors Banquet Cimarron Creek, buff Coors-gold with its red center circle, mounted on a Headwaters Madison cane rod and resting on a granite boulder beside the river

Ross Coors Banquet Cimarron Creek Review: The Cimarron That Finally Got Me

I never liked the Cimarron. Then the Coors Banquet edition landed on my Madison and changed my mind. An honest review of Ross Reels' limited Colorado click-pawl collab.

September 22, 20266 min read

A Scientific Anglers Amplitude Smooth Infinity box — black and red packaging reading 'freshwater floating fly line', a swatch of olive camo line, icons for AST Plus, welded loops and improved dry tip, and along the bottom the words 'half-size heavy line'

Fly Lines Explained: Weights, Tapers, and the Thing That Actually Casts

Fly line weights, the AFFTA grain system, WF vs DT tapers, and the 'lines run heavy' reality — why the line you choose matters as much as the rod, explained simply.

September 21, 202612 min read

A high-country freestone creek tumbling through a boulder field and willow scrub, dark conifers and a rocky peak behind

Fly Fishing in Movies & TV: What Hollywood Gets Right (and Hilariously Wrong)

A fly fisher's honest, affectionate roast of fly fishing on screen — from A River Runs Through It to Mending the Line to Yellowstone, and the tropes that make every angler wince.

September 16, 202613 min read

A gold Lid Rig 3.0 magnetic nipper docked on a gold Stash Tray, both clipped to the brim of a white Lid Rig ballcap (photo: Lid Rig)

Lid Rig 3.0 Review: The Hat-Mounted Nipper That Finally Stuck

The Lid Rig 3.0 is a magnetic, hat-mounted nipper — and with the Stash Tray, the tool system that finally stopped me losing nippers. A South Platte gear review.

September 14, 202610 min read

A fly rod bent deep into a running fish on a clear South Platte canyon run — the load under a real fish is where a blank shows you what it's actually made of.

Are Expensive Fly Rods Worth It? The $300 vs $1,000 Question

An honest breakdown of what separates a $300 fly rod from a $1,000 one — modulus, swing weight, recovery, warranty — and where the money is real versus marketing.

September 11, 202615 min read

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