BONEFISH
The ideal bonefish combination should be able to effectively handle conditions that can vary from completely calm to extremely windy and this set-up does that to perfection. It will effortlessly deliver a silent presentation that won’t disturb even the spookiest bonefish in quiet shallows, yet it is equally as efficient when it comes to driving a tight loop into a strong head-wind with precision. The high-capacity reel’s silky-smooth drag never misses a beat and protects the lightest tippets even when a double-digit monster heads toward the horizon on a signature blistering run. When it comes to stalking bonefish, this is the quintessential outfit.
- Rod:
- SALT HD 890-4
- Reel:
- SPECTRUM MAX 7/8
- Line:
- RIO DirectCore Flats Pro WF8F
PERMIT
Catching a permit on fly requires patience, perseverance, and the right fly rod and fly line. To be successful you must be accurate with the fly presentation in all types of conditions. The 9 weight SALT HD rod with RIO FlatsPro Fly Line gives you the confidence to be successful and meet the demands of permit on fly.
- Rod:
- SALT HD 990-4
- Reel:
- SPECTRUM MAX 9/10
- Line:
- RIO DirectCore Flats Pro WF9F
TARPON
Bar none, Tarpon are the most rigorously demanding shallow water gamefish of an angler’s tackle, and the SALT HD stands up to the test. The responsiveness of KonneticHD Technology provides my anglers with the ability to present flies delicately at short distances to laid up Tarpon in off-colored water, while still maintaining the ability to reach out far to strings of swimming fish. The low stretch properties of DirectCore incorporated in the Flats Pro makes the insurmountable feat of penetrating a Tarpons mouth more feasible and ensures in increasing more quality hook ups, amounting to less fish jumping off. The dynamic duo pairing of the SALT HD with the Flats Pro aids in leveling the playing field for all anglers in pursuit of these mythical dinosaurs that lurk beneath the surface.
- Rod:
- SALT HD 1190-4
- Reel:
- SPECTRUM MAX 11/12
- Line:
- RIO DirectCore Flats Pro WF11F low-viz color Gray/Sand/Kelp
General Purpose Flats
Your flight leaves in a few hours, accommodations are reserved, and bags are packed. It’s annual family vacation time and hopes are high to be able sneak away for a few DIY sessions on the water. You’re unsure as to what opportunities you might find when you get there, and you need a tool that will get the job done no matter what. Enter the 8 weight MAVERICK. Its powerful blank design ensures the fly hits its target in a variety of conditions, and that said target, whatever it may be, makes it to hand. Built on our tried and trusted Konnetic Technology, the MAVERICK is just as much at home on a shallow flat sight-fishing to finicky Bonefish as blind casting the surf of Cape Cod searching for a cruising Striped Bass. Paired with a SPECTRUM MAX 7/8 and RIO Flats Pro WF8F, the MAVERICK 890-4 gets the job done in style.
- Rod:
- MAVERICK 890-4
- Reel:
- SPECTRUM MAX 7/8
- Line:
- RIO DirectCore Flats Pro WF8F
Words & Photography
ERIN SPAULDING
Editor / Writer Erin Spaulding is a writer based in Seattle, WA. Born in northern Michigan, she grew up chasing bluegill and walleye with worms before picking up a fly rod and moving west with her husband to the land of searun cutthroat and high alpine lake trout. Her work has appeared in The Flyfish Journal, Chicago Athlete Magazine and a handful of Michigan newspapers, and she has been featured on the Writers on the Fly Cascadia Tour. On her first trip to Christmas Island—the first known all-women trip to the location—her group was stranded an extra week due to a cyclone in Fiji. During this extended stay she dialed in the fishing and got her ass kicked by the guides in several games of pool.
ANDREW MILLER
Photographer Andrew Miller is a multidisciplinary photographer with a niche in the outdoor industry space. His work has taken him all over the country shooting in often remote locations capturing moments overlooked by the average eye. His imagery has been featured in reputable publications such as The Fly Fish Journal as well as commercially with several notable brands in the outdoor industry.