FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $75! (exclusions apply) / ALL TACKLE IN STOCK
Your Cart is Empty
FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER $75! (exclusions apply) / ALL TACKLE IN STOCK
Here you'll find the latest and greatest tackle that's new in stock.
Save big on some of the best names in the business. We have a variety of great deals on everything from waders, boots, rods and reels to terminal tackle.
Here you'll find the gear that our team of experts loves most.
Check out some of our best gear for Saltwater Anglers!
Every year we have the privilege of outfitting anglers all around the world. But as any serious angler knows, not all gear is created equal. Here are our picks for the best gear of the year, the items that set themselves apart from the fray.
As any serious angler knows it's hard to have a great day on the water if you're cold, wet, and uncomfortable. Here we've included the gear that's guaranteed to keep a smile on your face no matter what mother nature throws at you.
Finding great deals may seem tougher and tougher these days, but rest assured they are out there if you know where to look. This holiday season our team did a little of the legwork for you by rounding up some of our favorite deals on rods, reels, and everything in between.
Ah, the Trout Bum. You probably know one or two of these characters. The ones whose waders are always wet, who have bits of fly tying material perpetually stuck to them. If that sounds familiar, and if you have one on your shopping list this year, fear not. We've got you covered.
Saltwater anglers are a special breed, braving wind and waves to chase the fish they love. Here we've pulled together some of our favorite gear for your favorite saltwater angler, tried and tested by our customers and expert team here at the shop.
September 01, 2014 2 min read
Ok, I admit it: I had a case of the summer blues. Bad.
It started this spring, when everything was late. I went to the Gaspe, in search of my beloved Atlantic salmon, and found the river empty. The talk was about how the run was “late.” One fish, one hookup, and a year’s worth of anticipation, and I returned home. (Read my post and watch my video here.)
The same was true for stripers. I caught my first striper of the year later than in years past and, despite repeated attempts, caught little but schoolies. And so I started asking around. A few conversations later, and the pattern was clear: people had — Cape Cod, Maine, Rhode Island — had caught some fish, but not in the same numbers, nor in the same size.
First, it seemed like it was a late season. Then, when the summer doldrums arrived, it was clear that the season had failed to arrive as it once did. It was at this point that I took a break from fishing — from blogging, from fishing, from the whole thing. I walked away, preferring to regrade my entire lawn than dust off my fly rod.
And then, all of a sudden, the signs of late summer and fall starting flowing in.
First, I got photos of bones. Lots of beautiful bonito. That got me thinking of false albacore. And then, a few days ago, I got my first photo of an albie caught off the south side of the Cape from my good friend and fellow Compleat Angler Todd Fedele — the first albie I’ve heard reported from that region of the Cape.
For their size, albies exert a disproportionately strong pull on my heart: an albie blitz is so much fun, filled with so much adrenaline and energy, that it requires the same in response to have any action. They are so so efficient, so beautiful and strong for their size, that they restore a sense of hope when I hold one aloft: the little albie’s force is so visceral, so unarguable, that is comes almost as a challenge to one’s own strength and energy, not viscerally but metaphysically. Ask yourself, for instance, if you were that size in that ocean, would you be capable of such incredible things? It’s the perfect way to end the season, this challenge, and their affirmation of marine strength and beauty. (I’ve written about them before, here.)
It’s also the perfect antidote to the summer blues. I’ve got a few trips planned to chase albies, with more in the works. The season may have arrived late, but I’m going out strong, if I’m going at all.
Fellow Compleat Angler Todd Fedele with his daughter getting into a false albacore off the south side of Cape Cod.
Comments will be approved before showing up.
Sign up to get the latest on sales, new releases and more …