The past couple of seasons I’ve made a few conscious upgrades to my vast fishing gear arsenal. Investing in high-quality gear whether its apparel or tackle has made a big difference in both my fishing success and motivation. It feels good to use good gear.
Below are some of my favorites from a season marked by gear upgrades:
I think the acronym stands for:
Really Awesome Damn-near Indestructible Kayak Leggings
These pants were great at 3 important things:
- Being comfortable
- Drying quickly
- Staying cool
Not much else I look for in kayaking pants. They’re great on hikes too.
$160 felt like a lot for something as simple as a net. But it was the perfect size and shape to wear on a belt and fit a well-fed brookie from the connetquot river.
Its lightweight, does exactly what its made to do, and has made fly fishing for trout a more seamless experience. It’s also got a pretty trout pattern on the handle.
When I think of conventional reels, the words ‘beautiful’ and ‘smooth’ do not immediately come to mind. But this star drag reel from Shimano is both of those things. Is it overkill? Maybe. It’s definitely the Lamborghini SUV of conventional reels.
I got to use one on a tog trip back in October of 2024 with Rob Taylor and the OTW crew, and I fell in love with its clicky-drag (similar tone to a spinning reel) and its winching power for big tog. I paired it up with a Jigging World Luminous slow-pitch rod and it’s been my go-to tog-slayer.
Old Town Sportsman Autopilot 136
A beast of a kayak, but the first time I hit spot lock underneath a South shore bridge and jigged bluefish in the ripping current, I was hooked.
Anchoring from a kayak is never fun. Pushing a button and being able to instantly fish, throwing all caution to the wind? It doesn’t get any better.
Grunden’s Tough Seas Ankle Boot
I bought these expecting them to be durable. They aren’t sexy. They’re comfortable as hell, still look brand-new even after a full season of abuse, and are pretty likely to last longer than the 2-seasons my previous pair of boots did. The downside? They aren’t sexy or classic looking like my Xtratufs were – my fiancée constantly reminds me of this.