Books

Fly fishers are notorious literary sifters, and the best books aren't always the newest.

• The Curtis Creek Manifesto ($7.95 on Amazon)
  Written in 1978 by Sheridan Anderson, a uniquely creative person whose flame-out saddened everyone who knew him, the book remains the classic introduction to fly fishing. (Read about Sheridan Anderson.)
• The Longest Silence ($11.62 on Amazon)
  Thomas McGuane says more about fly fishing in his stories than any dozen how-to books. Meditative and often funny, these 33 essays about everything from salmon fishing in Russia to permit fishing in the Florida Keys show him at his best. (Read a sample chapter.)
• Casting a Spell ($16.29 on Amazon)
  George Black has written cogently about everything from conservation crises to human rights abuses, so we got lucky when he turned his trained eye toward the crafting of bamboo rods.

Fly Rods

Those of you disappointed that Wal-Mart has ditched their layaway plans, please continue to the next aisle. These three rods are rods that we and many of our friends have actually fished. You won't go wrong with any of them.

• Sage X-Axis 9' 5-Weight (Trout) ($650 at Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters)
  5-weights are the do-it-all rods of trout fishing, and Sage hit the sweet spot with their new X-Axis, a 4-piece rod that does as well on spring creeks as it does chunking split shot and strike indicators. Heck, we even streamer-fished the Snake with it this fall.
• Orvis Zero-Gravity 9' 11-Weight (Tarpon) ($695 at Orvis.com)
  Yes, Orvis makes great saltwater rods for putting the heat on big fish. Remember to bow.
• G. Loomis CrossCurrent 9' GLX 8-Weight (Bonefish, Snook. Steelhead) ($635 at Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters)
  String a 9-weight floating line on the fine-casting CrossCurrent 8-weight and you'll have one of the most versatile setups possible for saltwater and big freshwater fly fishing.

Coffee

Yes, that's right. Ever since coffee spawned the industrial revolution, we've been trying to figure out ways to take a good cup 'o joe wherever we travel. And java's a fine alternative to whiskey when you're tying size 22 gnats at the cabin.

• REI Double Shot Press Mug ($24 on REI.com)
  Aficionados know that the richest, most in-your-face cup of coffee comes from a French press. REI's double-steel-wall mug with plunger and coffee storage base requires only hot water ... say, from the mouth of a nearby geyser.
• Factory-Reconditioned KitchenAid Pro Line Burr Coffee Grinder ($122.99 on Amazon)
  Want to do something nice for your favorite fly shop employees? Buy them one of these $300 bean busters that can be purchased pre-owned for less than half the price. Guaranteed to shake retail burnout, at least until the next pot is brewed. (We haven't tried it for dubbing yet, though we're wondering whether this may be the secret technology behind Umpqua's success.)

Fly Fishing Art

Stuff that we we wish we had on our wall.

• Matt Zudweg's Carved Fish Signs ($225-$350 from CarvedFish.com)
  Zudweg's sign subjects range from vintage advertisements to hat racks, but they all make us feel like nostalgia should: warm and welcome.
• Derek DeYoung Oil Paintings (call or email for pricing)
  DeYoung's paintings of cutthroat, steelhead and brown trout will not be mistaken for classic sporting art and won't be happy above some dimly lit mantelpiece in a room that's never used. This is color and wetness in a whole new perspective.

Fly Reels

We used to consider it a given that you get what you pay for with fly reels. This is still true of products meant for the most drag-melting saltwater scuffles, but some more recent less-expensive reels give you great bang for the buck.

• Redington Titanium CDL Series 9/10 ($219 at Redington.com)
  A large-arbor reel with a cork drag made of anodized 6061 bar stock aluminum for less than $250. Who'd a thunk it?
  
  
• Ross Evolution Fly Reels ($265-$345 at Cabelas.com)
  The Evolution was one of the first large-arbor trout reels, and after being on the market for a few years, it's still among the top performers. Hard to complain about the lifetime warranty, either.
• Abel Super Series Large Arbor Reels ($415 to $830 at Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters)
  Our classic Abel reels have been put through every torture test a saltwater flyfisher could give them and after 20 years look almost brand new. The new Super Series just makes the best even better, with lighter frames, gorgeous styling and the ability to use the spools from your older Big Game reels.

Maps and Notebooks

Being lost is not fun, but looking at high-resolution map details of your next fly fishing adventure certainly is.

• National Geographic TOPO! State Series Software ($99.95 per state from NationalGeographic.com)
  We all love topographic maps, but National Geographic takes the cake for bringing topo maps to life. TOPO! enables you to create and print your own custom topo maps with specific elevations, levels of detail and data overlays. Blueliners rejoice!
• Google Earth Plus ($20 from Google.com)
  We probably don't need to tell you about Google Earth. But did you know that with the speedier personal version you can import GPS data from Magellan and Garmin devices and overlay it onto satellite imagery on your PC?
• Nomad Fly Fishing Journal ($24.99 from NomadJournals.com)
  The waterproof Nomad Journal is small enough to fit into the lightest fishing vest but large enough to record everything you'd want to remember about a day on the water.

Fly Boxes

Boxes guaranteed not to turn to closet-clutter.

• Scientific Anglers System X Fly Box ($21.95 on Amazon)
  Ever since SA came out with this box, we've been amazed by how much a box that costs less than $25 can do. Waterproof, windowed, and wickedly cool.
• Cliff Outdoors Bugger Beast Jr. ($39.95 on Amazon)
  Our recent tests of the Bugger Beast Jr. found that it comes closer to our ideal notion of a large-fly box than anything else we've seen to date. Simple, durable, and capable of holding an amazing number of large flies securely. (Read our review.)

Boating and Floating

Not everyone who fly fishes likes water higher than their kneecaps, but those who do know that being mindful of their gear makes all the difference.

• Fujinon Techo-Stabi 14x40 Binoculars ($1,095 at BuyTelescopes.com)
  In the old days, you had to buy HEAVY binoculars in order to make them usable on a small boat or in rough seas. Image-stabilization technology has changed all that. Of the products on the market, these are our favorite, and not just because of Fujinon's trademark light transmittal and lens clarity.
• SOSPENDERS® World Class Inflatable Life Vests ($129.95 at Cabelas.com)
  We can tell you from long experience on the water that the last thing you want to do is begin grabbing for your life preserver once a problem is already apparent. The good news is that you know longer have to wear a rigid foam preserver to get Type III personal flotation.

Flies and Such

We like practical. And these two ideas — one for budding fly tiers and the other for those who want to spend their time fishing and not rigging — are just the thing.

• Reel Combo Pre-Rigged Dropper Flies ($29.95 from Reel Combo Systems)
  Many fly fishers are only barely aware that a dry fly and dropper combination is a deadly way to fish, because knotting on the sinking fly is so tedious. Reel Combo takes the fuss out with these pre-tied dual-fly setups.
• Tie-A-Fly Fly Pattern Kits ($24 at Tie-A-Fly.com)
  If you know someone who is learning to tie and wants to expand their repertoire, this is a great way for them to learn to tie PMDs, Black Winged Ants or even the Parachute Adams.