Wild Fish Wild Places’ Top 5 Fishing Products of 2012

The Wild Fish Wild Places team spends a lot of time on the water in some of the most remote, dirty, and downright hostile places in the world. Consequently, we are always putting all of our gear through the most brutal abuse you can imagine, which is why we put together a list of the top 5 products that were “worth their weight in gold” this year.

1. Glacier Outdoor Backpack. While fishing the remote outreaches of the Alaska Peninsula this summer, the whole five man crew put these rugged packs to the test. Camera gear as well as fishing gear filled every last pocket and pouch on these beautifully constructed backpacks with no issue whatsoever. These packs were so well thought out with an exterior pouch for your wading boots, fold out plastic mat for changing, side pouches designed for rods and much more, they have made every trip much easier. I am sure these packs are not designed to hold the massive amounts of gear we piled on them, but they did with no problem and that is why they are first on our list.

2. 

   AdamsBuilt fly rods and reels. There is a new company making their way into the fly fishing world, AdamsBuilt. With a longstanding reputation in the fishing world as Hendrix outdoors, these guys are putting their knowledge together to bring you the most advanced, smoothest casting rods on the market. From the 5wt we used in Alaska to the 8wt switch rod we used on the Amazon, these rods truly exceeded all of our expectations. Oh, and did I mention the price? Don’t pass up the chance to cast one of these rods.

3. Buff multifunctional headwear. This handy little piece of gear is one thing I never leave home without, whether I am hunting or fishing. From keeping the bugs off of our faces in Alaska to keeping the scorching heat from burning our faces in Brazil, this is one product we have grown to love.

4. Sierra Stick and Sierra reels. We purchased a Sierra Stick rod and reel to take as a back up to the Amazon because the price was right and we figured if we broke it, no worries. When fishing top water for peacock bass, you always have a spinning rod with a buck tail jig rigged up for the throwback rod: when a top water strike is missed he falls victim to the throwback. Like any other trip, on the first day I broke one of Alan’s expensive spinning rods by not being careful, as I am not a careful person. The rest of our trip we hammered big peacock bass with this new rod and reel combo. The 9 ball bearing spinning reel worked so perfect I bought a couple more when I got home. I think they are a newer brand and they exceeded every expectation we had.

5. Body Glide. Now this one is a little weird, but let me tell you this is the best thing I have found for being an active outdoorsman in a long time. My wife is a runner and she uses this stuff all the time, to keep all those unmentionables from chafing. I started using Body Glide when I went to Alaska and it has been in my travel bag ever since. In the Amazon the humidity and heat was so intense our arms were chafing from casting, legs and everything else that even thought of rubbing. This one little item has saved all of the crew from days of misery.

So when you head to your local sporting goods store this spring to get stocked up, remember these five items to make your trips more enjoyable this spring and summer.

Wild Fish Wild Places

FISH AND FISHING. TWO WORDS HAVING A MYRIAD OF MEANINGS TO A MYRIAD OF PEOPLES. TO FISH FOR FOOD, FOR LIFE, FOR SURVIVAL; OR TO FISH FOR FUN, FOR SPORT, FOR MONEY.

When, almost 5,000 years ago in China, man first attached a hook and line to a bamboo rod to catch carp a little further from the river’s edge, little did he know that this creation would evolve into an industry which at the early part of this, the twenty-first century, is worth over $108 billion annually to the US economy in terms of sport fishing alone!

The variety of fish species is infinite. From cold water inhabitants such as members of the Salmonidae family, to warm water, tropical dwellers like the Cichlids. From the gigantic Tarpon of the Florida Keys to the gentler Arctic Charr spectacularly attired in their vivid courtship colors in the frigid rivers and streams of the arctic tundra. Take the celebrated Coelacanth, over three hundred million years old and still found today in the warm seas of the Indian Ocean around Madagascar, or the seemingly ubiquitous Golden Orfe, or the goldfish, which completes endless circuits in so many glass bowls in family homes in every corner of the world.

In this series, we will seek out great predatory fish. Fish that are much revered, fish that strike terror at the very mention of their name and fish that are the staple diet of many peoples subsisting along the shorelines and riverbanks of the great waters we will visit during our odyssey. Positioned at the very top of the food chain, these apex predators reign supreme in their own domain, be it mighty river, great lake or ocean.

Our quest will take us across cultures and continents to exotic locations of immense beauty and wealth as well as lands poleaxed by poverty. We will explore not just these wild and wonderful places, but the significance of our target species to the different groupings of peoples in terms of social, economic and cultural values.

Our travels in search of extraordinary predators will take us from the cold, unforgiving waters of the West of Ireland to the steaming jungle swamps of India. From the frozen, pristine wilderness of the Canadian subarctic to the sun-baked backwaters of Northern Australia. This will be a series of contrasts and comparisons where we will meet people who live to fish and people who fish to live.