Gear Review: William Joseph Confluence Pack

I started rockin' a William Joseph Confluence pack last summer, right before heading off for a fishing trip in Alaska. Since that trip the Confluence has become my main carry system. Throughout the Fall it was seeing saltwater action several times a week. If you plan on using anything with a zipper on it in the saltwater, a quick tip, buy some McNett zipper care products to prolong their life. Saltwater seems to destroy almost everything over time and a great pack can become junk with one ruined zipper. With that said, the zippers on this pack are in great shape! They glide smoothly and corrosion free.

On the front of the pack there are two zingers for attaching tools and they are durable and in the right place. Inside the front pack there is a high quality foam fly holder which can hold as much as a typical fly box. The fly patch is great for holding flies that are soaked with saltwater and are not ready to be put back in the fly box. There is also room for fly boxes. It is possible to fit two C&F Waterproof Boxes in the front pack but it doesn't leave room for much else. I usually stick a C&F Waterproof box and then a regular C&F Box in the front and extra boxes in the back.

The second zippered section on the front is designed to hold tippet and I can usually fit 8 spools of tippet in there. There are also small zippered pockets on the sides of the front pack for split shot, tippet trash, etc.

The back of the pack has a loop on the top to hold a landing net, which has come in handy more than once. The back pockets have plenty of room for fly boxes, lunch, water bladder (the pack is hydration compatible), packable rain jacket, etc.

The overall feel of the pack is very comfortable. Though sometimes difficult to unbuckle on the sides, once in place, the pack distributes the weight evenly and comfortably. The padding on the inside of the pack is comfortable but also allows for maximum breathability.

This pack is practical and comfortable. In the fly fishing world, it seems like carry systems are either minimalist, with the ability to carry only one box, or they are gigantic behemoths! Those packs all have their places but are extremes. This pack is the right size for the majority of fly fishers.

fishing report

The bummer thing about fishing alone is that there is no one to take pictures of your huge Sea Run Cutthroats, but yourself!

Great fishing today (Friday) for cutthroat on the end of the outgoing and beginning of the incoming tide.

Cortland Fly Rods

A couple of weeks ago I was fishing with my buddy Clint and snapped my 8wt Cortland Precision Rod. I was pretty bummed. I was also bummed because I knew just the travel time to send it from Washington to New York and then back would be several days with USPS/UPS. 

Well I received the rod back in the mail on 9/8. I mailed it to Cortland on 8/18 . So I had a fixed rod back in my hands in 3 weeks time!

So not only does Cortland stand behind their lifetime warranty, they have fast turnaround too! Want to get your hands on a new Cortland Precision or Cortland Endurance? We have them on sale right now!

fishing reports

I've been doing a lot of fishing around Puget Sound the last two weeks and haven't taken the time to post individual reports. So here's a couple pics from the last couple weeks.

Clint trying to dial in the fishing.
Cutt fishing is hot right now!
Another SRC
Big SRC
Sunrise
Clint with a Coho
All smiles! :)
From the beach on a pink/white clouser

fishing report: Northern California

Last month we were down in Sacramento for a friend's wedding so I brought along my gear to hopefully get a day of fishing in. I was able to get up to the Sierras with three other buddies for some hiking and fishing. 

The plan was to fish by float tube, two small lakes, that required a pretty decent hike. I hadn't been to both of these lakes since the early season of '04. We decided to try to access these lakes from a different trailhead. Unfortunately, the trail split early without us knowing and we went the wrong way. This ended up putting us way down the trail in the wrong direction. We weren't sure where the trail was so we went cross-country trying to find it. With float tubes, waders, boots, fins, etc this was difficult to say the least. The hike that should have only taken us an hour (remember, this trailhead was closer!) we ended up hiking for four hours!

We finally met up with the trail and had to back track a bit. We ditched out on the idea of hitting the furthest lake and just fished the lower lake. 

We put the tubes in the water around 12:30pm and then around 1:15pm a Callibaetis hatch came off like I've never seen. The bugs were hatching over a submerged island in the middle of the lake and fish were porpoising everywhere. We immediately started hooking fish and had several doubles and even a couple triples. 

View of the lake/trailhead where we parked. We're up on a peak trying to figure out where we are at and where we're going! 

Daniel with a rainbow!
All of the fish were 12-15 inches!
Jeff, the dude who outfished all of us, with another rainbow.

Happy Labor Day

Hopefully you are all home enjoying some rest (or are out fishing)!

This month we have some items on clearance as well as a bunch of new stuff!

William Joseph packs - Clearance!

Cortland Fly Rods - Clearance!

Cortland Fly Reels - Clearance!

Cool New Stuff!

*fishing report from Northern California to come...