Gear Review: Columbia's Powerdrain Cool water shoes

After three months of extensive testing in the day-to-day exertion of my life, I've (finally) come to a conclusion about Columbia Sportswear's Powerdrain Cool water shoes.

They're good.

Read the full review over at my other site here (or click the image below).

Things of Three

Three items/subjects/places/people worth checking out to make life as an angler and global citizen far more enjoyable:

1. Fish Tales Fly Shop, Calgary, AB
The positive side of getting weathered in at the project site in Nunavut last week is getting to meet Matlock (aka @findeep) for a quick fish on Alberta's Bow River and going for sushi with him & Cod (@chroniclesofcod) during a seven-hour layover. Best layover ever. Wet socks & all.

Matlock picked me up at the airport and we headed to his local fly shop so I could grab a license. The fact they had been closed for about an hour didn't really slow things down much; they unlocked the door and got me set up with both a license and the new issue of The Drake for my flight home.

Fish Tales is a great shop, loads of inventory and run by a seriously kick-ass nice dude. If you're in Calgary, it's worth a stop. And Cod guides outta there, too.

Check 'em out on the web here. For a Google Map, click here.

Supporting your local fly shop isn't a cliché. Try rolling into a BassPro or Canadian Tire to buy a license an hour after they're closed. Yeah, thought so...

2. The Shack Up Sessions
This is Ross Neilsen's new solo album, recorded inside the Robert Clay shack at The Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale Mississippi, just down the road from the famous crossroads of highway 49 and 61.

It's good. Really good.

Ross has been mentioned a few times here, and his music is on my regular rotation of playlists & albums. And for good reason: his songs are at times rocking and whisky-chugging, and always soulful and honest-to-goodness blues.

This album is a little less loud but still everything one could ask for in a blues album.

Ross also had a special message for the fly fishing crowd that reads this: "Keep yer poles bent."

You can preview and download the album here & on iTunes; for a physical copy shipped, click here.

Ross can be reached via his website, rossneilsen.com, and through Twitter, @rossneilsen.

And if this picture doesn't brighten your day, check your pulse.

Ross (right) & Karl's search for a bass player brought interesting characters.

3. William Joseph HemoCuts
One of my favourite fly fishing accessories. Probably one of the best sub-$20 items in the fly fishing industry, in my mind.

Pros: easy to grip, easy to open, pinch barbs up to 1/0 saltwater hooks, cutting blades are sharp, and they lock down tight when shut.

Cons: they don't make a big, eff-off size for toothy/salty critters.

Check 'em out here.

Traveling Angler Tuesday: My Must-Haves

Clousers & Deceivers are must-haves

In last week's Traveling Angler Tuesday post, I listed a few of my must-haves for traveling. I decided to take those items and other traveling necessities and compile them into a couple of lists.

I've spilt my must-haves into 'general apparel & accessories' and 'fishing-specific' sublists; this week I'll cover my general category. Fishing-specific items will be covered in a future post...like, next week.

Without further ado, here are my General Apparel and Accessories must-haves for traveling...
(Note: Links to the products will be provided where possible)

Tools of the trade

• iPod Touch (64gb): it does everything an iPhone does (except make/receive calls & texts) with more memory and for less money. I've been traveling with this iPod for almost two years; it's been my camera, atlas, e-reader, music & movie player, video camera, and communications hub. Add a pair of travel-friendly noise-cancelling earbud headphones and you have it made for flights and noisy neighbourhoods (or snoring roommates). It's a full-on mobile command post.
• MSR Packtowel: almost the size of a beach towel, folds to the size of a small paperback novel. It's very quick-drying and an amazing product. I have two of them in different sizes.
• Ex Officio Give-N-Go boxer brief: comfortable, easy to wash, quick drying. Wear a pair, take a pair. Wash them in the shower or sink when needed and they'll be dry within hours. Some day, every pair of underwear I own will be these.
• Smartwool socks: awesome products, and oh so comfortable. I have several pairs of varying weights and it's not often I'll wear anything else. Great to have a pair stashed away even in tropical climates for blister prevention.
• Decent hat. Blocks the sun. Cuts glare on the water. Hides unwashed bed-head. I prefer the mesh-back trucker style as it's a little cooler in warm climates. My current hat is the previous version of this one (gotta support my Southern cousins...)
• Reliable but inexpensive (or inexpensive-looking) watch. You might need to know the time, and hauling out your iPod Touch to check the time in downtown Puerto San Jose or Ouagadougou might not be the wisest choice.
• Pocket tool. This might not be practical if you're not checking any luggage. I'm almost always check luggage, so I bring two: a Gerber Crucial and a Leatherman Wave. If I were to pick only one, the Gerber would make the trip.
• Water bottle. I use Kleen Kanteen, but without the spout (even with water bottles: the more moving parts it has, more likely it will break).
• Packable rain jacket. Buy one of decent quality and it will last for years. I've had one from Marmot for seven years and a full rain suit from MEC for five years; they're both going strong.
• Notebook & pen/pencil. This is a backup in case the iPod battery is dead or dying (or because the traveler is in downtown Puerto San Jose & doesn't want to take their iPod out of their pocket). Jot down directions, contact information, fly patterns to tie or buy, to-do lists, whatever. Just have one.
• Zip-Lock freezer bags (large). Use them to isolate toiletries to keep them from spilling into your luggage. Or to isolate stinky socks & underwear when packing. Transport several pounds of primo Guatemalan coffee beans in them. They're good to have.
• Electrical tape. To tape things shut, like shampoo bottles or bandages to open wounds. Or tape things together, like a tube for a 3-piece glass rod to a case for 4-piece rods, so you only have 'one' carry-on item.
• Gum. Minty stuff to freshen your breath. The Traveling Angler might not have a chance to brush their teeth for a little while.
• A good playlist...or three. Have a playlist for chilling out or falling asleep to on noisy planes, buses, in dorms or whatever. Have another one for fun times, with shitty music you might not normally listen to, because you never know when you'll be called upon to supply the party music (Jay-Z albums are pretty good for this). And have another one of your favourite tracks or genre to sing along to that allows you to do whatever you need to do. Like drive for 26 hours straight. This is a good track for that right here:

Traveling Angler Tuesdays launched June 26th, 2012 on mattrevors.com. My mission is to prove the concept of fly fishing travel abroad is not just the realm of old rich dudes and magazine writers & photographers. Keep checking back regularly as I share tips & tricks to get you to fly fishing locales you dream of going to. To see past articles & tips, click here.

Disclaimer
The products mentioned in this article were bought and paid for by the author, Mat Trevors. 

I, Mat Trevors, am not sponsored by or associated with any of the companies listed above and am accepting no compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for these endorsements. 

My independent status may change in the future but, as of the date of publication, no relationship has been pursued or established. 

Companies wishing to hire a Writer-Not-In-Residence-But-On-Water can definitely buy my allegiance; however, those companies must be upstanding members of the global community and produce gear of high quality. I can be reached through the Contact Page.

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First casts: My CCI rig

Time/Date: 1705 AST, 04-Mar-12
Location: Fredericton, NB

I finally nutted-up to get out to cast my new 7wt setup I'll be using to practice for, and eventually take, the Certified Casting Instructor's examination (see related post Back To School here).

As a bonafide procrastinator, I have a litany of excuses to why it took almost six weeks for me to get out to cast this thing: -24°C temperatures, snowstorms, pinched nerve in my neck, three weeks away working in Mexico, etc, etc, etc.

But, with the mercury finally heading a little north of freezing (by three degrees), I headed out with rod & reel, tape measure and hi-vis pink rope earlier this afternoon.

My "lab materials" are the Loop XACT 790-4 and the Hardy Ultralite 7000DD, paired with AirFlo's Ridgeline Impact Taper (WF7F).

With a medium-fast action, Loop has made a (seemingly) nice, smooth-casting and lightweight rod. Unfortunately on the crusty snow, I didn't get too much in the way of surface tension when I started my cast, but it has a nice feel when the line loaded the rod on the backcast.

I really enjoy the feel of the cork-mix handle in my hand; until I can get on the water to give it a full test, the handle & the weight (103 grams) are my favourite aspects of this rod.

Only downside of the rod I've noticed so far is the small diameter stripping guide, but it didn't seem too problematic the few times I bombed out 70'-80' casts.

The Hardy Ultralite 7000DD balances out the Loop rod nicely. There's a reason why the Ultralite series took home the "Best of Show" award for freshwater reels at last season's International Fly Tackle Dealer expo; it's a high-performance reel at a very reasonable price. Bonus points for looking friggin' awesome, too.

I will be getting a spare spool for this reel and putting Sage's 230-grain bluegill taper on it for my 7.5', 7/8wt CGR fibreglass rod for the bass tournaments this summer. I just like this reel. A lot!

Unfortunately for me (and all of us east of the Rockies in Canada), snow-fish are not a prevalent species so I was unable to test the drag while fighting a fish...yet. Give me time, damn it.

From what I could tell, the AirFlo line seemed to cast and shoot line nicely as well, but it's one of those things that I'm unable to give more than a cursory "seems alright to me" review until I get it on the water. Since I bought two of these lines, one to practice with & one to take the exam with, I'm really hoping they end up being as kick-ass as other people have told me. Time will tell.

As things stand, I like the entire rig; rod, reel & line...so far. I'll definitely be writing a part II of this review once the snow & ice melt and I get on the water.

42 days until season opener. Can't wait.

********
I purchased all of these items at Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers with my own (slightly) hard-earned cash; I have not been given these products or any financial reward to review them. I have principles, not prices.

That being said, any tackle companies that would like to give me financial rewards and gear to test & beat the living shit out of, get in touch. I fish whenever & wherever I possibly can for any and all species of fish available to be caught, I travel to all kinds of environments, and I'm a soon-to-be tournament angler on the New Brunswick amateur bass circuit...using fly gear.