Gear Review- Plano Guide Series Waterproof Cases

This gear review opportunity was offered way back in late May or early June by the good folks at Plano through the Outdoor Blogger Network.  My information got lost in the shuffle and it took six weeks for me to get them, then I had to use them for awhile, since then I've moved etc. etc. ok, enough excuses, but my apologies to Plano and OBN for any seeming delay for this review.

1449 GS WATERPROOF CASE
Exterior dimensions: 6.5" L x 4.675" W x 2.125" H Interior dimensions: 5" L x 3" W x 1.625" H

1470 GS WATERPROOF CASE

Exterior dimensions: 14" L x 9" W x 5" H

rior dimensions: 12" L x 7" W x 4.625" H

Both boxes feature:

Airtight and leakproof storage

Strong poly-carbonate structure

Soft rubber lining prevents your valuables from sliding around

Additional layer of soft rubber is used to conceal the contents of the interior

Padlock tabs for secure storage

Patent pending latch with pressure release

I think the mark of good gear is if you continue to use it after the review is over.  In this case I do.
I received these two Plano Guide Series Waterproof Cases in the mail in July, and I immediately thought of some uses.  I'm not just a fly angler, I'm also a kayaker.  Like so many of you, I carry a lot of sensitive items with me to the field and on the water.  I typically carry a somewhat expensive DSLR camera, my iPhone, extra lenses, reels and so on.  And yes, carrying and protecting these things while out and about has been a problem.  I bought a clear vinyl dry bag for the camera, but if I'm not careful in those exciting moments on the water it gets banged around.  I have bigger dry bags for the kayak, but again, there's some things that could use an extra measure of protection.

First, the smaller box.  I have one use for this box- my iPhone.  It fits perfectly, and the last thing I need to do is replace that little monster.  There's a lot of things you could put in there- keys, other electronics.  An iPhone shaped sandwich.  For better or worse, that little phone always goes with me, especially when fishing alone, and I've always fretted about where to put it.  I almost dropped it in the river once while fishing my camera out of the dry bag.  I can say truthfully that this little box goes with me on every trip, and I don't worry about my phone anymore.  The clear poly allows me to check and ignore missed calls or texts, or for an extra layer of avoiding the electronic tether, you can cover it with silicone pad included.  I don't like always carrying a phone to the river, and really don't like taking calls or texts out there, but I fish alone an awful lot, and it seems prudent these days to take it.  This little box ensures my phone will still work if it's needed.  I also like the wrist strap provided with this box- it provides some extra security when handling on the water or allows you to attach it to your waders or vest if you like.  The cam latches on both of these boxes lock securely and I've never had one open without me.

3 fly boxes, 2 headlamps, 1 wallet and a load of snacks, floating safely down river

Ok, the big box.  This one really shines in the kayak or drift boat.  I use it to store my reels, wallet, camera, lenses and fly boxes- all the stuff I don't want to stuff in a dry bag or back pack, or have sloshing around the bottom of the 'yak.     I've used this box kayaking local trout streams, and used it on my trip to Nipigon Ontario.  The clear poly allows you to see what you have stored, or you can use the included silicone sheet to cover it all and make it less visible to prying eyes.  This box has three locking cams, and I've floated this box down rapids with the above mentioned gear in it and it does what it advertises- keeps your sensitive items safe and dry. This box is in use full time, as I've found it to be extremely useful for storing ALL of my fly reels even when I'm not on the water.  It holds six of them plus a few items.  Now I always know where to find my reels, and it keeps them safe from me. (I can be a little tough on gear).

I didn't find an MSRP on Plano's site, but found these boxes for sale on Cabela's.  At about $20 for the smaller box, I think it's pretty cheap insurance for your phone, wallet, keys etc.  The bigger box sells for $44.99, and with a camera, extra lens and a few reels in it, it's easily protecting over $1000 worth of gear.  Cheap insurance for a one-time premium, and you won't have to make a claim.

six reels, two headlamps, a GPS my lanyard, all protected from me!

My thanks to Plano and the Outdoor Blogger Network for the opportunity to test some quality gear.  No disclaimer, we all know the drill.

Outdoor Profile: Andy Schmidt of The Granite Fly



Andy Schmidt photo

 Yes Andy is a good friend.  Yes, he's a family friend.  Yes he has a product to sell, a very good one.  One I own and it's my favorite piece of tying equipment.  I take it with me to all of the tying seminars and clinics I attend, not to hawk it, but because I never want to be without it.  It's my granite tying base from his company, The Granite Fly.  Take a look.

ahhh, my precioussss

It's gorgeous isn't it?  Wish you had one don't you?  That was the only blue one he had, so there.  Here's the thing- the base that came with your vise is either ugly as sin, or tipsy as all get out and probably both.  These bases are nice and wide and HEAVY- mine never tips, never budges.  It takes my reefing on streamers with 200 denier GSP, spinning deer hair, whatever it is you are fighting your base with right now.  They're compatible with most of the vises on the market, including the Renzetti Traveler, and my Peak vise.  They have little rubber bumpers on the bottom that keep them from shifting- the result?  A rock solid (no pun intended) set-up that is gorgeous to look at.  I love it for the aesthetic value alone.

"But Jason" you say, "I have one of those nifty, shifty clamps."  Really?  You want to tie on one of those ugly ungainly things for the rest of your life?  You are the tyer, your gear needs to work for you.  Why would you want to have to shift yourself around to be in the right position to tie?  Add to this that the surface of a granite base is virtually impossible to mar and that glue of all types and epoxies scrape right off with a razor blade without scratching it up?  Try that with an enameled steel base.  Let me know how that works for ya.

Back to Andy- I truly believe that he is one of the great innovators in the world of fly fishing.  Not that he has brought all kinds of great products to the market that you now use.  No, Andy is one of those tinkerers who can't leave a product or piece of gear alone.  If there is anything- anything at all, that bothers him about something, or that he can improve for his own use, he will work and work at it until he has modified it to his satisfaction, and trust me, that piece of gear is always better when he's done.  Gear manufacturers take notice- you need to be sending your gear to him before you ever bring it to market.  If there is any kind of bug whatsoever, Andy is going to find it, and rather than just complain, he's going to fix it.  I can't think of a single thing he owns that hasn't been given this treatment.  His drift boat, his waders, his tools, everything.
Here's another reason manufacturers should be sending gear to Andy to test.  Andy is truly a hardcore fisherman.  I know I've said some things elsewhere here about the notion of hardcore.  I also know, that this being my blog I sometimes make it sound like I'm Mr. Fisherman.  Andy is the next level plus several levels up, and one of the few truly hardcore anglers I've ever met.  He's a fly fishing purist, a great tyer, an avid steelheader, and a spey caster.  All I probably had to say was "spey caster".  They're all a little touched.  I learn volumes of stuff every time we fish just by watching him.  Andy has spent so much time on the water that it kills me that every time I fish with him, someone, usually a guide, walks up or pulls his boat up and starts talking and then it dawns on me that they know him and have for years.

Andy Schmidt photo

Here's a few more pictures of his bases.  He has them in a lot of different colors and types of stone.  Each base is "broken" instead of cut square or oval- what this means is each base is as unique as a thumb print.  He has pictures of each base up in the gallery sections on his website.  I was really torn between my blue one (the only one) and some that are an awesome green river rock.  What a tough choice.  Andy also has a video up that demonstrates the features of the base, so check it out.

Andy has managed to get these bases in the hands of some top notch tyers and guides, people like Matt Zudweg and Tommy Lynch.  I've been to seminars they've put on, and guess what, they showed up with their granite base they got from Andy, and then proceeded to tell the crowd why this was the greatest thing since sliced peanut butter.

So here's what I'm going to do- GIVE ONE AWAY! in this weeks drawing.  My instructions are very specific, so pay attention.  In the text here and under the sidebar to the right titled Friends of Fontinalis Rising, there is a link to his site, The Granite Fly.  Go to his website, view the photo galleries- (photo gallery I, photo gallery II photo gallery III) and  look at his bases- you'll see that each base, being unique, is individually numbered.  Pick out your favorite, then come back to this post and  leave a comment.  You must enter the words "base number" and the valid number of the base you've picked.  If you win the contest you can change your mind and select any base from his site, but you must enter a valid base number to enter.  I'm going to let this contest run for awhile, so it will conclude on Sunday March 20, 2011 at 7 pm.  Again, the drawing will be by staff member Lorin the Drawing Girl.  She's highly trained in fairness and her mother will be watching.

Note: I love Andy's bases and think everyone should have one.  If you would like to buy one please do- if you have any trouble whatsoever then contact me at fontinalisrising@gmail.com and I'll see to it that you get one.

San Juan Dreaming

Fontinalis Rising after some San Juan Oncorhyncus Mykiss

I'm dedicating this post to my buddy Tim.  He's heading out to the San Juan river in Northern New Mexico today, without me.  We went there together for the first time two years ago, a trip I would like to make an annual one.  I had to sit this one out, for many reasons.
Tim and I grew up together, were best buddies.  We learned to fly fish on the same northern Michigan river, in the same manner: Hexes in June, back before the Hex hatch became the Rotary Club International Annual Convention and Pig Roast.  Our lives have drifted, mended and changed over the last 20 years, both of us doing stints in New York City, me moving from there to metro Detroit, to metro Ohio, then back to Detroit.  Tim's sojourn to NYC only lasted a year; he married his childhood sweetheart and went back to northern Michigan to work at the family business. Shortly after  I moved back to Trout Country 11 years ago they moved out to Arizona, which spawned some adventures of its own.
I had spent a dozen years away from my beloved fly fishing and took it up again shortly after returning to Trout Country, but my participation and growth was fairly stagnant.  It was a few years back  that I got the call from Tim with the big announcement- he was going to return to the sport and ply the delicate waters of the Grand Canyon State.  It was through the constant back and forth with Tim that I started trying new things, researching more, buying better gear.
Two years ago I spent the winter in southwest Colorado, working for some friends.  Tim came up with the brilliant idea of us meeting up to do a fishing trip- the original plan was to fish Lee's Ferry but in the end we settled on the San Juan.  Perhaps I shouldn't say 'settled', as it was a perfect choice.

Tim, with a San Juan brown caught at Tim's Hole

I've heard the San Juan denigrated as a glorified trout pond.  I don't buy this argument.  If only more of our waters had such a healthy population of protected, fat, sassy, overfed slobs of trout.  It's a tailwater fishery, a western tailwater fishery, meaning size 18 flies are probably too big, and 5x tippet is out.  The name of the game is 6x, size 22-28 midge larvae and emergers on two-fly rigs under indicators, a set-up and method that was new to both of us.  We went, we learned, we adapted, we fished from sunrise to sunset.  We caught a few fish.

While the San Juan is in the west, it is not what non-westerners think of as a western river.  The mountains are not the highest, or snow capped.  The desert is not the most picturesque.  The towns seem seedy and sad.  But the river itself is beautiful, an aquamarine gem flowing through sandstone cliffs.  Wide, powerful, but with plenty of braids and flats to explore, spread out in, to get away from the crowds at the Texas Hole.  As usual, if you walk more than 200 yards from the launch the crowds thin out. It's all about the trout, ohhhh, the trout.  Rainbows, browns, cut-throats and cut-bows, by the thousand, munching midge larvae by the million.  Trout measured in pounds, numbers measured in the tens of thousands per mile.  You can fish broad, muscular flats, or find your own small stream fishing in the Braids.  You'll find fish that average 18-24", in large, hungry hordes.
Tim has been after me since the fall to join him again this year.  I waffled back and forth, but in the end I've had to bow out.  So Tim, buddy, I wish you a good trip, that you catch some fish, and learn some new techniques to teach me.  I'll buy my ticket this summer.

FR and the battle of the 'bow.

San Juan cut-bow, one of the smaller fish of the trip