Guideline is a fly fishing company based in Sweden.  They produce a full range of fly fishing equipment including single and double hand rods, some of the finest spey lines available, reels, clothing, waders, and fly tying supplies.  Guideline products are among the top European fly fishing companies and their dedication to the sport carries over into not just product development but  also they run a series of "boot camps" in the U.S. to help both beginner and advanced casters hone their skills.  Perhaps best known for their spey rods and lines Guideline also produces a nice range of trout rods.  The Fario (Latin for trout: Salmo trutta fario) is one of Guideline's top shelf trout rod.  The rod is built on a high performance medium loading blank and features all of the finer details one comes to expect from rod that far exceed its price range.  First things first, I'll start with how the Fario 7' 6" 3wt. casts and then conclude with a few of the aesthetic features. 


The Fario is at heart a technical presentation rod.  The blank excels in the short to medium range (20-50 feet). Like all of the Guideline rods I have fished, the Fario was a joy to cast and has all the hallmarks of a rod that cost twice its price. I love fishing small streams in late summer and over the last few years I have had a hard time finding a rod that can handle throwing size 18 BWO softly and then turn around and throw a hopper dropper rig.  I strung up the Fario and headed to one of my favorite trout streams.  The river I fished is at it's widest point around thirty feet and narrows in parts to around fifteen.  There is heavy tree coverage and the river is loaded with submerged structure.  I wanted to give the rod a good work out so I started with a size 20 BWO and then fished through my fly box ending with a size 6 Dave's Hopper with a bead head dropper.  Most of my casts were between fifteen and thirty feet and the rod handled beautifully.  I rate the action as a solid medium/fast.  I found that the blank loaded at about three feet from the tip and with forty or so feet of line out it had plenty of heft to shoot an additional fifteen-twenty feet of line.


As with every 3wt. rod I have cast the Guideline Fario topped out, for me at least, around fifty feet which is more than enough distance.  What I enjoyed most while fishing this rod was casting small dry flies up close.  The rod could drop a size 20 dry fly fifteen feet off the tip with such delicacy that I could hardly discern the moment the fly landed on the surface film.  Most of the 3wt. rods that I have fished have either been too soft and thus unable to handle the larger bugs or so fast that they are not sensitive enough to relay delicate sub-surface takes.  The Guideline Fario does a great job  splitting the difference.  By utilizing a slightly softer tip, the rod is able to handle very delicate presentations while at the same time allowing for a tight loop to reach cast under low hanging branches.  As a critical review I sought hard to find a suggestion for improvement.  I even tied on a size 4 woolly Bugger with a tungsten cone head, which completely overloaded the rod, but you can hardly hold that against a 3wt.  The rod simply handles a wide variety of flies and casts great up-close and has enough power to punch out a fifty foot cast should the situation require it.


In addition to the time and research put into the development of the Fario blank Guideline pulled all the stops when it came to finishing the rod.  The blank is finished in a glossy medium olive with burgundy wraps and copper accents.  The quality of the rod finish is outstanding (which can no longer be assumed) The thread is completely sealed and there are no "football" wraps which result from way too much finish being applied.  The finish lines are smooth and straight. 


The reel seat was the first thing I noticed when removing the rod from the tube.  The wood insert just pops!  The high gloss burl matched perfectly to the hardware and over all aesthetic of the rod is the best I have ever seen.  Most companies lower the production cost of their rods by selecting hardware and components that perform but look second rate. 


The butt cap features a etched mayfly that matches the rod tube.


 The Fario features a reversed half wells grip with a just the right amount of rubber cork to enhance the look and durability of the grip.


Each rod section is marked with alignment dots that made assembly effortless. 


Every Fario rod comes complete with a high quality partitioned rod sock and a powder coated metal tube that has a lazier engraved mayfly on the cap.


In Sum: Without hesitation I would recommend this rod to anyone looking for a  3wt. rod which can deliver a wide range of flies up-close through medium range while maintaining excellent line control. It has the sensitivity in the tip for fishing nymphs and does not fall prey to the limiting ultra-fast action so often found in so many modern trout rods.  Additionally, the Fario is thoughtfully designed with matching hardware, a beautiful burl insert, and powder coated tube.

Disclosure- Guideline provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.

John Quigley has generously offered five sets of his premium furled leaders (each set contains a 2/3/4 wt. and 5/6wt. leader)  to giveaway as a spring promotion.  For a full review of his leaders please see: Quigley's Furled Leader Review.



John offers a wide range of furled leaders in a variety of colors and sizes and all of John's leaders come with a 100% money back guarantee.  John also offers free shipping on any quantity anywhere in the world!  You can check out the full range of leaders at: Quigley's Furled Leader Page. John also offers a very detailed summary of his leaders here: Furled Leader Info.  With John's money back guarantee and free shipping the only possible regret is that your supply of mono leaders will go to waste.

Giveaway:

How to enter:

Leave a blog comment on this post with the name of your favorite fly.   Note: be sure and include your name and email so I can contact the winners.

I’ll draw 5 winners with Random.org toward the end of the day on April 30.

Fishing for Pike has really started to pick up in America.  You can purchase rods and fly lines specifically designed for throwing large wind resistant flies and there are even tying materials specifically designed for tying 8"-12" flies!  Amidst all the new products I have tried a number of fly lines specifically designed for casting to Pike.   Scientific Anglers now has a Pike line and it features a  heavy short head (basically a skagit head wed to a running line).  I've cast it over a couple of days and the large head does a great job at throwing a ton of line and turning over big flies.  What disappointed me about the line is two-fold.  First, the heads are massive and when they hit the water (regardless of how gentle you try and lay it down) they slap the surface.  Although Pike have the reputation for being a fearless predator not all water disturbances are helpful in getting them to take a fly and 20' of line smacking the water can quickly put them off the bite.  The second thing I noticed about both Pike lines is that they float.  Now I love fishing large poppers for Pike, but most of my takes have been from sub-surface flies.  Pike like to hangout in the shallows patrolling and getting down 6'-10' is perfect for bait fish imitations!


This summer Guideline sent me two Pike lines.  One sinking and one floating.  The first thing I noticed when spooling them was that they do not have a over-sized forward head.  The head definitely has some mass, but it is less compact than both the Rio and S.A. Pike lines.  I was a bit concerned that the lighter head would not be able to throw large flies, but after lining it up I was pleasantly surprised.  I tied a 2/0 Partridge predator hook, with about half a buck tail tied to it, on the Guideline sinking Pike line.  I was using a fast 9wt. rod and although the line was 105' long I was able to cast the backing into the guides.  The more level head is much easier to keep in the air than the heavy heads on other Pike lines.  I found that the Guideline Pike line is easy to shoot, but you don't have to shoot that much line because it cast so well.  Using a 7' leader I was able to turn over everything I cast.


The Guideline sinking Pike line features a 30' sinking head attached to an intermediate running line.  The line does a great job getting your flies down and keeping them there.  Although floating lines can be used to fish sub-surface flies they have a tendency to pull the fly to the surface thus creating a unnatural swim pattern.  I found that the sinking Pike line could be fished in 6' of water (with a quick retrieve) all the way down to a 20' drop off.  I gave the cast a 8 second count after it hit the water and the fly presented very deep and stayed deep until the rod tip lifted it at the end of the retrieve. 


The floating Pike line also features a strong forward taper that does not rely on a an over-sized head.  The line color (white) is easy to locate on the surface and has plenty of powerful to turn over large poppers.


In sum: I found Guideline's Pike lines to be much easier to cast than either the Rio or S.A. Pike lines.  The lighter lines didn't wear out my arm nearly as fast when throwing large bugs into the wind.  Both lines could handle long distance casts and cast well up close when wading.  The tapers are plenty heavy to turn over large flies but do not slap the water like other lines I have fished.  The real game changer for me was the sinking Pike line.  The sinking head with intermediate running line combination is perfect for fishing down deep!  It casts easy and presents better than any sinking line I have fished to date.  Guideline has built their reputation around well thought out equipment that works.  Both Pike lines that I fished reflected a in-depth understanding of the tackle and techniques required to successfully present a fly to a Pike.  Without hesitation I fully recommend both Pike series lines.

Boar bristles are one of those fantastic yet under utilized tying materials.  Boar bristles can add structure, durability, and a great profile to a wide range of fly patterns.  Additionally boar bristles have a translucent quality that makes them almost glow in the water.  Cookshill boar bristles are some of the best I have ever seen.  They are sold in packs of 100 and come in ten different colors.


Boar bristles are traditionally used on Salmon patterns like the Snaelda (pictured above).  Boar also forms the pronounced tail of the famous Pot Bellied Pig fly that is responsible for more caught salmon than any fly I know of. 



Cookshill boar bristles come from their own breed of boar and are much more pliable than other bristles I have worked with.  The fine bristles hold their form very well and tie in easily.


 Cookshill bristles measure from 4-5" and come 100 to a pack. 


In Sum: As with all of the Cookshill products I have reviewed the boar bristles are hand selected and perfectly dyed.  One thing I have really come to appreciate about ordering from Cookshill is that I never need to worry about quality.  As a small company Cookshill's reputation rests on every product they sell and their quality control far exceeds any other company I have worked with.  You can order boar bristles and other top quality fly tying supplies online: Cookshill Fly Tying

Disclosure- Cookshill provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.

It took me a long time to finally purchase a reel bag I like.  I can't tell you how many hours I spent searching drawers, bags, my truck, and the basement for an extra spool or the 300 grain sink tip that I saw last season.  My gear was literally strewn all over the house and beyond!  In the past I have owned at least a couple reel cases, but they were either too small or didn't function well enough to hang on to.  When I saw the Vision Mega Reel Bag I was hopeful.  The first thing I noticed about the case is the size.  It measures 18" x 12.5" x 7" plenty big to hold the majority of my gear, while not being so big that it becomes cumbersome to transport.  When I opened the bag the 14 zippered pockets on the cover sold me.  Here are some of the features that set the Vision Mega Reel Bag apart from the rest:  

First, the shear amount of gear this bag holds.  I fit with room left over the following:  

2 bottles of floatant                                                             
2 containers of split shot                              
utility knife
8 spools of tyger leader
40 leaders
6 sink tips
Hatch chart
wader repair kit
10 furled leaders
indicators
reel oil and knot sense
extra laces
rod repair kit
tape
extra zingers
four large fly boxes
four extra lines
5wt reel with extra spool
3wt. reel
2 wt. reel
8wt. spey reel
8wt. reel
camera
leader wallet
lanyard
two buffs
stripping gloves
18 spools of tippet
headlamp

With all of the different tube fly supplies out there keeping track of the needles for each brand can be a real chore not to mention expensive!  There are a couple of tube fly adapters out there and they all claim the same things: "holds tubes secure without spinning, fits all tubes..."  After trying a few of them I have finally settled on the Eumer tube fly adapter as the most versatile and highest quality.  Unlike the HMH adapter, Eumer has added a few more mandrels and a tightening chuck to their adapter which allows you to tighten down the tube to actually prevent it from spinning.  Here is how it works:


To start you simply clamp the adapter in your vice just like a hook.  The wide surface plate does a nice job holding preventing the adapter from moving around in the jaws.  After the adapter is in place you select the mandrel that fits the tube you are working with and slip the tube over it.  Next, you insert the end of the mandrel in the adapter and tighten the knob on the bottom, which holds the pin in place.  Finally, for and extra tight fit and to prevent the tube from spinning you tighten the chuck up on the tube.  Simple and effective!


Most tube adapters do not have the chuck and rely solely on the pressure of the pin to keep the tube from spinning.  The Eumer adapter with chuck allows you to hold a wide range of tubes very secure. 

The Eumer adapter also comes standard with five mandrels.  Three of the mandrels are of different diameters and feature brass heads which prevent the tube from coming off the end.  The additional two mandrels have two different tapers for a pressure fit tubes. 

In Sum: Of all the tube adapters I have tried (and that includes most of them) the Eumer adapter is by far the best.  The clamping surface holds the adapter secure, the chuck allows for a tight no-turn fit, and the inclusion of five mandrels make this unit the best out there.  I tried tubes from HMH, FITS (Guideline), Pro-tubes, Tubeology, and Eumer and with the exception of a few of the FITS tubes, which require a two-part tapered mandrel they all worked great.  I did have one of the brass caps pop off the adapter when tightening down a plastic tube, but a quick fix with 5 min. epoxy fixed it and it has worked very well ever since.

Disclosure- Eumer provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.

Just the other day I saw (yet another) fisherman hoist a fish completely out of the water by the jaw with a Boga grip.  In addition to being an extremely inhumane way to treat a fish, by failing supporting the belly you can actually kill or severely harm a fish's ability to recover from being out of the water.  For a long time Boga grips were the only known tool out there for controlling fish at the boat and so the collateral damage and awkward design were overlooked.  The design team at Rising has developed a tool, Lippa4life that works better than the Boga and allows the angler to control a fish without harm.  Here is how the Lippa4life works:

Disclosure- Rising provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.

Rumpf

Rumpf inventories one of the largest selections of fly fishing related products in the U.S. They produce and import products covering the full range of both fly fishing and fly tying products.  Rumpf is perhaps best known for some of the finest fly tying materials including Slinky Flash, the Steve Farrar Flash Blend, and of course Angel Hair.


Steve Farrar Flash Blend is a premixed blend of Slinky Fibers and Angel Hair.  Either material on its own makes for a great tying material and the combination of the two creates blends that are greater than the sum of their parts.   SFFB tie in quick and you can blend different flash blends or use them individually.  For bait fish imitations (like the one below) I like to use either SFFB on the top or sandwiched between two different materials to change up the texture.


SFFB add a brilliant amount of flash to any pattern and the semi stiff fibers do a good job not fouling the hook and shedding water.  


Perhaps the best thing about SFFB materials are the colors they come in.  You can literally match exact bait fish colors right out of the package.  Their are even blends that incorporate contrasting red angel hair with dark fibers to imitate a wounded fish. 

In Sum: I have used a number of materials from Rumph and bar none Steve Farrar Flash Blends are my favorite with angel hair coming in second.  For tying large Pike flies SFFB's are quick and simple to use and really cut down on the time you will spend on a fly that will only last (at best) for a couple fish.

Disclosure- Rumph provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.

Shih Tzu is one of the Chinese imperial temple dogs and were kept for centuries by several royal families in imperial China.  The benefit of using the hair from "temple dogs" comes from the very long and soft fibers that come to a nice thin taper.  When in the water temple dog breaths and pulses like no other hair I have seen or used.  The hair compress's very well, making tying it in quick and easy.  There have been some real horror stories surrounding the harvesting of temple dog fur that came from China or Tibet so until I saw that the Canadian Tube Fly Company was offering ethically harvested temple dog I stayed away.  The hair that CTFC offers is as good as I have ever seen and offers outstanding quality at a great price.  Here are a few examples:

In Sum:  I understand that not everyone is concerned with whether or not an animal hair is ethically harvested, but if we can reduce the amount of suffering in the world (even for animals), then it seems to me that we are in some way morally obligated to do so.  To that end,  the Canadian Tube Fly Company's temple dog offers three advantages over other temple dog hair that I am aware of.  First, is the fact that it is ethically harvested.  Second, the product quality is outstanding!  Finally, the price is great ($8.95 for select and $11.95 for extra long).  You can find the complete temple dog selection in addition to a number of great tube fly supplies from the Canadian Tube Fly Company here:  CTFC

Disclosure- CTFC provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.