Wrangling Tippet: The Trash Fish

Tippet always seems to be an issue for me. Whether it's spilling from the spools on my bag or just tangling up somewhere, it seems like I'm constantly messing around with it. I also never know where to store all those trimmed ends that come from a day's fishing. Fluorocarbon is notoriously resilient- it won't degrade on its own for a very long time. So I do my best not to leave any behind on the stream. I came across a brilliant solution, thanks to a recent giveaway from Fiberglass Manifesto that I thought I'd pass along. The Trash Fish Spent Line Wrangler from Smith Creek. It's genius in its simplicity- just wrap your tippet pieces around this little gadget and store the loops on it until you get home. I'm sure it also doubles as a bottle opener with a little ingenuity.

Hardy Ultralite 3000 DD

I am one of the more frugal fly fishermen you'll meet- mostly by necessity, by I also firmly believe that you can fly fish without spending a ton of money on fine gear and looking like an Orvis catalog model. However, I just dropped over $200 for a reel, which I have never done. And I have no regrets. This reel just feels like pure quality and the drag has the delicate click of a fine watch. I was hesitant to buy a large arbor reel, I just thought they were bulky, but the small 3000 model is perfectly matched for my five weight. I also love the fast retrieve it is capable of when I need it. I have yet to test the drag on a worthy fish, but it performed like a champ on the two occasions I've had to use it. I just can't wait to hear the sound of this drag system being put to the test. I know I'll have this reel for many years and that makes it worth every penny.






Also a tip: I've always wished for a way to wrap up the spool on a reel to keep the line from spilling out or tangling and I found a perfect solution. I bought a bag of those velcro ties that you can get to wrap up audio/tv cables and it works great. They come in different widths and make a great cover to wrap around your reel in storage. They sell something similar, I've seen Hardy ones made of neoprene, but they are hard to find and overpriced. See.. Frugal.