Berkley’s new NanoFiL line has really been creating a buzz in the fishing world over the past few months since the iCAST show in Vegas. Through the grapevine, I’d been hearing some really good stuff about the stuff but didn’t have a chance to try it out until recently.

But first, let me back up here and try to explain what the hype’s been all about. Berkley says that the line isn’t a mono or a braid, but rather “The Next Generation of fishing line.” It is made out of gel-spun polyethylene, much like a superline, that consist of hundreds of Dyneema (“The World’s Strongest Fiber”) nanofilaments . The filaments are molecularly linked and shaped by “unified filament technology” into a unified filament fishing line.

In layman’s terms, the fibers that make up the line aren’t braided but instead all run the same direction, so you end up with a smooth finish (made very strong by the Dyneema) rather than they typical rough feel of regular braid. So, basically, Berkley is saying that you can have your cake and eat it too. I was eager to find out…

So, I picked up a spool of 12-pound NanoFiL, which has a 0.008-inch diameter and seemed about like the equivalent of 4-pound mono. Twelve is actually the heaviest test they make and I can hardly imagine how thin the 1-pound Nano must feel! The first test was to slide the line between my fingers and it indeed feels very round and smooth.

Testing Grounds: Alaska

So, I spooled up my primary reel that I was going to use on a week-long Alaskan mission and headed north, hoping I didn’t put all my eggs into one basket by trusting NanoFiL without having ever used it.

Well, the short version of the story goes like this: I fished it in fresh and saltwater (going back and forth many times a day) and hooked at least 50 silver, chum, pink and sockeye salmon a day on it, not to mention a variety of other toothy saltwater critters too. The line is amazingly strong and I had no issues with fraying or break-offs. In fact, I got lazy and didn’t re-tie for a couple days at a time and never lost a fish to that.

The NanoFiL stood up to toothy critters like chum salmon!

NanoFiL has some properties that make it very attractive to river anglers!

Knots

NanoFiL doesn’t take well to some of the basic fishing knots out there, so you’ll have to learn a couple new ones to get the most out of the line. Berkley recommends it’s “NanoFilL Knot” which is a Palomar with an extra loop for attaching lures. To tie it to a leader, they suggest a Double Albright, though all I did was a Double Uni and never had any issues.

Conclusion

Well, I can pretty much say that after a hard week’s fishing in Alaska, NanoFiL is pretty bad-ass stuff. I will probably use it to replace braid on many of my reels, including all the spinning gear that my guiding clients use. Unless I am missing something here, this line really is looking to be the best of all worlds. Of course, there’s always a drawback or two and one is the cost. Nano is about $20 for a 150-yard spool, but in the big picture that’s not such a big deal — if it lasts as long as traditional braid, you’ll get your money back in longevity. I can’t yet speak to the line’s long-term durability, but I have to imagine it will hold up.

Another thing that is a bit of a bummer is that due to NanoFiL’s ultra-thin diameter, it’s probably best used only on spinning reels. On a baitcaster, it would likely dig into itself, but I have not tested that theory — and perhaps you could get away with the 12-pound in some situations.

But the downsides are minimal and I think Berkley really has something special on its hands with NanoFiL. Apparently, the future of fishing line is now…

Read more here: Berkley.com

The original RoeMaster ad, placed in Salmon Trout Steelheader magazine in 1992

The very first-ever Roemaster. We obvioulsy didn't have the wire twisting machine yet! We later moved to brass bodies

Despite that, the blade did spin (most of the time) and the thing actually worked. I caught a pretty decent number of salmon and steelhead on the RoeMaster…but I also lost a bunch due to the fact that I was unknowingly running too small a hook on them. At least I knew enough back then to put good ones on it (Gamakatsu) though the expense of those turned out to be yet another nail in the RoeMaster’s coffin.

RoeMaster's first-ever kill, from the Feather River in 1991

Hanging on the garage wall...the last three production RoeMasters on planet earth

My uncle is a fishey biologist...but he never actually caught a fish on a RoeMaster!

Not since the invention of the Slinky has there been as big revolution in drift fishing sinker technology as the “Sploosh Ball.” Over the past 10 seasons, these big plastic bombs have slowly been replacing other forms of lead on Western steelie waters.

And it’s easy to see why…they cast great, glide like a dream and are super snag resistant. The only real drawback is they aren’t the greatest bank fishing tool…when side-drifted, however, they are tough to beat. The venerable Plunk-N-Dunk got the “sploosh” movement going and now Mad River Manufacturing has entered the arena with their Mad River Drifters. But can they improve upon an already good idea?

We aimed to find out…

First Impressions

Comparing a No. 2 Mad River Drifter to a similarly-sized 3/4-ounce Plunk-N-Dunk, the first thing we noticed was the fact that the Mad River offering is a made from a slightly harder and more dense plastic. On the scale, they were also a tad heavier.

The only other real difference was the the MR Drifters featured nickel swivels and the P-N-D’s had black. That could be an issue in clear water, but the folks at Mad River Mfg said that the nickel were used only on the initial batch of drifters and that all the future sinkers will feature black as well.

Key Feature

The most enticing feature of the new drifters from Mad River Mfg. is the fact that they come in a weighted version — as well as the standard unweighted model — something Plunk-N-Dunk doesn’t offer. The terms “unweighted” and “weighted” are a bit misleading when you’re talking about sinkers, so let me clarify.

Weighted and unweighted versions of the Mad River Drifter are available

On-The-Water Test

Being a little more dense, I suppose you could argue that the Mad River Drifters were easier to cast but both brands of balls fly with ease. The heavier plastic, however, enabled us to get the unweighted ones down better in water where we’d often have to switch over to the leaded versions. But that didn’t compromise their “glideability”…if that’s even a word. As with all sploosh balls, these new models were as snag-resistant as ever, and though we lost several leaders throughout the day, all the drift balls came back home alive.

Again, because of a sploosh ball’s wide profile, they typically don’t fish all that well off shore (except in slow flats). By the time the ball gets down, you usually have about two bounces on the bottom before the swing starts and the current sweeps it up and towards the surface. That wasn’t the case as much with the Mad Drifters — we actually found that we could fish them from shore in more cases than the other balls. Still, not the ideal situation and they’re best used from a moving boat…

Mad River Drifter: Looks to be a better mousetrap!

Conclusion

It’s hard to talk a whole lot about sinkers and not be totally boring, but our initial impressions of the Mad River Drifters were extremely favorable. Unfortunately, they only come in the one size at the moment, but there are several other sizes coming soon, including some that the trout guys are going to go bonkers for.

More Info

To learn more about Mad River Drifters, visit them at www.madrivermanufacturing.com

Well, the weather outside is abominable so I figured it was a good time to do some prepping for steelhead season — which includes tying up a whole bunch of Yarnies. That, of course, gave me the perfect opportunity to try out some of Steelhead Stalkers’ new UV yarn. I’ve actually been anxious to tie with this stuff for quite awhile and just hadn’t had the opportunity until the deluge outside started. Here’s what I found…

Steelhead Stalkers claims theirs is a premium grade of yarn that is super soft and is dyed and treated with a UV finish that will never fade…all properties that make it unique. The first thing you’ll notice when you bust this stuff out, however, is the size of the yarn is much different from the stuff you’re used to…

Steelhead Stalkers (below) compared to regular Glo Bug yarn

To the touch, Steelhead Stalkers yarn feels a lot like fine cashmere (the things you learn when you’re married!)…in other words, it is extremely soft. When I started tying with it, I found that that made it super easy to cut, which I really appreciated when it came down to the trimming part of the process.

Learn how to tie Yarnies HERE

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you’ve no doubt heard that UV is the biggest craze in fishing right now. I honestly have not spent a whole lot of time playing with stuff that’s UV treated versus lures that aren’t, but the research and anecdotal evidence from anglers I know all suggest that it’s pretty legit. The basic gist is this: while humans don’t see UV light, fish (& birds) are able to view it…even when colors from the regular light spectrum peter out in deep or dark water. It stands to reason, then, that in the case of steelhead fishing, a UV-treated Yarnie would be more visible to a fish in darker water. That’s one of those things you just kinda have to take my word for. Here’s how UV yarn looks to a fish…

White, orange and pink (Left to right)

Okay, so after tying up a hundred plus Yarnies with the Steelhead Stalkers yarn, I can say that it is much easier to work with…it trims up nicely and doesn’t require much effort to cut. But how does it look in the form of a steelhead offering? Well, underwater, the stuff fluffs out great and has an extremely life-like, vibrant quality to it.

Lots of good movement and pulsating action!

And I think the soft fibers of this yarn are more buoyant than other brands. It took some doing to get this thing to sink in my test tank. Check out the air bubbles caught in the fibers.

The UV Yarn rides high

Really, how much different does this look than an nice bait of natural eggs and some skein snot?

Add some scent and you're in business

Overall, I think I’ve found my new favorite egg and Yarnie tying material in Steelhead Stalkers UV Yarn. It was easy to use, looks great in the water and floats really high. The yarnies came out much more “full-bodied” and held their shape better than ones I’ve twisted up with other yarns. As an added bonus, the fluff from all the trimming didn’t seem to stick to my clothes as much as the other yarns. This is pretty sweet stuff…the only drawback being is it’s a bit more expensive than other yarns. While packs of both the UV stuff and other brands all are around the $3 range, I blew through a lot more raw material when using Steelhead Stalkers than the others. But, when you’re talking a better overall product that could help me catch more steelhead…who cares?

Now, if the river would just drop...

Willy's Worm, Bagley's Crawfish & Pee Wee Wart (Top to bottom)

STORM Pee Wee Wart

It was a tough day for me when Rapala, who had just bought out STORM, excitedly announced that they were going to totally revamp the Wart line. Of course, I wasn’t the only salmon and steelhead angler who was screaming for them to not mess with anything! But mess they did — including a total elimination of the Pee Wee’s from the lineup!

Since then, it’s been a struggle to find any of these little guys and my stock just keeps on dwindling (I’m down to 3 now). Though petite in size, Pee Wees were dandy steelhead plugs…and spring Chinook loved ‘em too! The secret to getting them to run right was to switch out the stock trebles and replace them with a tiny, No. 4 Siawash….which always proved interesting when you hooked a hawg!

Bagley’s Crawfish

While Bagley’s is still making their Crawfish these days, they have changed the bill…added lead to it, which I’m sure the bass guys like but the change has rendered the plug damn near useless as a backtrolling lure. And the bill was really what made these lures great — extremely wide and long, the Crawfish could stay down in super hot water.

For decades, these were a closely guarded secret of guides all up and down the West Coast…steelies in clear water absolutely mollyhocked ‘em. In fact, that was actually the downside of the plug: the are made of balsa wood and it didn’t take too many steelhead attacks to turn them into sawdust. Until the eyes pulled out, the bill wiggled loose and the body got all deformed, these things were D-E-A-D-L-Y!

Willy’s Worm

I’ll also greatly miss the erratic, side-to-side wiggle of the WIlly’s Worm…a plug manufactured by a not-super-well-known company called “The Producers.” These things just had a shimmy to ‘em that steelies liked and a nice wide bill made them very stable. You also had two line attachment points with which to work and the plug also featured some small and light rattles that didn’t spook fish in clear water. Plus, the things were damn near free…they were something like $2 a pop!

Does it live up to the hype??

Let’s back up here just a second. The MagLip isn’t exactly new to the market, but it suffered from a bit of an identity crisis for several years as the “M2 SP Flatfish” before legendary salmon and steelhead guru Buzz Ramsey joined Yakima’s ranks and decided to give the plug a new name…and a new lease on life.

Features & Specs

For comparison’s sake, the MagLip is roughly the size of a K14 Kwikfish and a tad longer than the original M2 Flatfish (Ramsey says that there’s a larger size…think K15 or T-50…and also a steelhead model in the works and those may be out next year). It’s key feature is it’s bill: Yakima says that the deep cupped design allows the lure to get down as deep as 20 on the troll or flatlined. Once it’s down in the “zone,” the lure is said to have a “skipbeat” action.

The MagLip also comes in just about every color a salmon angler could want…

On the Water Test

I busted out the Mag Lip recently while working for a fishery agency that wanted spring Chinook for tagging purposes. Initially, I only fished the plug on one rod, trusting my job performance to my tried and true K15 Kwikfish on the other sticks. While not yet a believer in the bait’s ability to catch fish, I was immediately impressed with its diving ability…it got down in some really hot water and stayed there…even after the other plugs got overwhelmed and kicked to the surface (we primarily flatlined).

It didn’t take long for the plug to get bit, but bugle-lipped brown trout weren’t on the list of target species. Oh-oh…not a good sign!

I'm a sucker for a MagLip!

Not a sucker...repeat...not a sucker!

Yeaaa baaaaby!

Apparently kings (& suckers) aren't the only fish that like the MagLip!

Conclusion

Okay, so obviously the MagLips catch fish. The spring kings here absolutely mobbed them as you can see by all the chew marks and worn paint on this one…

No paint left in spots...a good sign!

Doesn’t need tuning

The package says the MagLip doesn’t need tuning…something that I’ve never really bought into…But, after running these things for three weeks straight now, I’m pretty pleased with how little I need to tweak ‘em. Wrap ‘em up and throw ‘em in the water and they run!

Of course, you can tell a lot about a plug’s action by checking the wear pattern on the leading edge of the bill. All but one of mine look good and symmetrical like this one:

An evenly-worn bill means the plug's trackling true.

Dives 20 feet

Though Yakima recommends letting out 120 feet of braid to get the lure down to 20 feet on a flatline, we gt bit several times in one particular hole that is 17-20 feet deep using 50-lb. braid (and 25-lb. mono leader) out 85 feet on a Shimano Tekota 300 linecounter reel, so this thing does get down! If using a sardine wrap, the designers recommend that your fillet should measure 1 3/4 inches long by 5/8 inches wide, but I’m here to say that the plug dives just fine with a much larger slab of meat on the belly.

You can really see how well it dives when you reel the MagLip back to the boat. When it gets to the boat, your line angle will be straight down! I’d imagine that its diving capabilities would also make this lure a sweetheart of a plug for trolling northern lakes for big macks in the spring, too.

In one area we fished, the kings were stacked in 8 to 12 feet of water but the current was too slow to backtroll. Instead, we fished ‘em like sardine-wrapped bass plugs — casting and retrieving. The cool thing about the lures is they dive deep without having to crank too quickly — so I could get a nice slow ”thump” while keeping contact with the bottom. Not only was that one hell of a fun way to catch salmon, the MagLips proved to be an extremely deadly tool in that situation, which kinda opens my mind up to several other places where that just may work.

Has a “Skipbeat” action

Call it what you will, our spring kings really, really liked the way the MagLip wiggles. When fished on a slow grind or backtrolled in soft water, it has a nice, wide wobble at slow speeds (for all you fans of the K16 out there, it looks like a smaller version) but it also hangs extremely tough down in fast water. As far as skipbeat action goes, I can see it…the MagLip has a bit of an erratic wander to it now and then, but it always comes back “home.”

As of now, I really can’t find much of a downside to the MagLip. About all I can come up with is maybe the paint jobs, while nice, aren’t quite as durable as other plugs. But, if the thing’s wiggling properly and getting bit, who cares? I’ve now got a few that have very little paint left (from getting bit so frequently) and the lack of color hasn’t stopped the takedowns…

Rigging

The stock No. 1 roundbend treble hooks on the MagLip are actually pretty tacky, but I always change out the hooks on all my plugs. Apparently, you can run double 1/0 or 1/0-2/0 (2/0 on tail) siwash on the thing, but I went with No. 1 Owner 2x Stinger Trebles the first go around and found that the extra stout hooks were a bit heavy and made it ride a little lower in the water. Though pretty flimsy, Gami No. 1 EWG trebles were deadly, but I had to change them out every a fish or two.

To allow the hooks a nearly 360-degree range of motion when fighting a fish, I added an extra split ring between the hook and the lure body, which kept out hooked-to-landed ratio very high.

Bottom Line

I’m buying more, what can I say? And I’m really looking forward to fall Chinook and coho to do a little more “testing!”

More Info

Yakima Bait Company

We’ve been out scouring the West Coast sportsmen’s shows this winter, in search of the coolest new fishing stuff…and let me tell ya, brother, we found plenty! From boats to plastic baits and everything in between — there’s a lot of stuff out there that you just may need.

Here are some of our favorites…

A Fresh Take on Driftboats

We’re always suckers for new boat concepts and Chuck Gross at Pavati Marine is an energizer bunny full of slick new ideas. Okay, so he’s obviously the “drift boat with doors” guy, which makes so much sense, but he’s just introduced his new fully customizable floor layout.

Everything's movable in here...

No more anchors bouncing around in the bottom of the boat on the way home!

Swimbaits for the Rest of Us

For those of us not named Skeet Reese or Kevin Van Dam, amassing a workable collection of swimbaits is an expensive proposition. These days you can spend more on a rubber bait that looks like a trout than you paid for your first truck. Now, however, thanks to Ho Pham, the president of the Real Fish Bait Company, us Regular Joes can actually afford a collection of swimbaits without taking a second out on the house.

Pham has an impressive list of cool baits that cost less than ten bucks, including Crappie, Bluegill, Tilapia and, our fave, the goldfish…

Bet they've never seen one of these before!

A swimbiat for under $10? No kidding!

Real Fish Bait Co. will have trout and shad models out soon too and Pham has plans for all sorts of baits in the near future like spanish mackerel, sardine, bullhead, baby bass, brook trout, balllyhoo, baby pike, brown trout, anchovy, baby tuna and a bunch more.

What’s really cool about this small company is Pham truly wants to know what his customers want. To that end, you can log onto Real Fish Bait Company, and tell him exactly what types of baits you’d like to see him produce — and in what sizes.

Sweet New Bass Sticks

Well, if you’re going to pick up some of those swimbaits, you might as well get a nice rod to throw ‘em on. It just so happens that you’re in luck! Lamiglas has just come out with a new lineup of rods: The Excel Series, which features 10 graphite models and 1 glass version to cover pretty much any bassin’ situation you’ll encounter: froggin’, small swimbaits, crankin’, rip baits, drop shot, etc…they’re all here.

The Excel’s feel really nice & light and have crisp actions.What’s really great about them is they come in at a really user-friendly price-point in the $99-$119 range. These days, to get a sick, American-made rod for a hundred bones is almost unheard of. Check ‘em out at Lamiglas

Back and Better than Ever!

It was a sad day for salmon and steelhead guides across the West when we found out Shur-Cure egg and prawn cure kinda just dropped off the map. For many of us, this stuff was like gold — the easiest cure to use ever created and the fish really, really seemed to like it. Unfortunately, the cure’s creator, Mr. Shur-Cure himeself, Budd Mackey, got tired of making it a while back and all of us diehards had to find a new cure.

That's Ms. Shur-Cure, to you pal!

It's almost like organic fish food!

Finally, Somebody Thought of This!

Let’s face it, the worst part of owning a driftboat is the whole tilt it up so it can drain scenario. You know the story — you go to rinse it out or store it and always seem to be propping it up precariously with a 2×4 or stick or whatever…It’s just a matter of time before the boat comes cashing down on somebody or it hits so hard that you break the trailer tongue.

Well, finally there’s an answer! Ken Smith has come up with a simple yet totally ingenious drift boat stand that allows you to prop up the boat safely.

A little piece of mind, eh?

With 4 bolts, you quickly and easily install this bad boy to your trailer and you’re good to go. Just pull the pin, lift the trailer and the leg drops into place. Put the pin back in and you’re done…And when it’s time to hit the road, the stand easily kicks up and out of the way.

Ready for the road...

Check ‘em out at Ken’s website, www.smitty-tackle.com

The Eel Deal

Being the Delta striper junkies that we are, we were drawn like moths to the flame to the Vision Hooks & Tackle booth when we saw their new line of sexy swimbaits: the Surf Eels and Sand Eels.

Though we have yet to get any into our hot little hands, these babies have that holographic paint job and skinnier profile that look a lot like small smelt, baby steelhead and salmon that stripers seem to really enjoy eating. See more colors at the website.

Cut it Up!

Finally, this one comes to you from our “we’re not really sure why we need this, but it sure looks fun,” file. Allow us to present Motion Marine’s Lil’ Mo Jet. These micro jet sleds come in three different sizes (12′, 12′ and 16′) but the little guy somehow looks the coolest.

Big Fred and Lil' Mo

See it a Motion Marine