I am conducting this review much later than I had intended to be, but the first time I got out on the water this year was a little over a week ago and that was with a spin reel mainly. I did manage to get to play around everything enough though to get a review done on everything.Back in mid January, the OBN announced the winners of a Gear Review Opportunity for Montana Fly Company. I entered this gear review in hopes of building up some of my fly tying materials and tools since it was barely a year at the time since I purchased my first fly rod and reel, as well as my first vise and fly tying materials. To my surprise I received the opportunity to review some great products, and you better believe I was ecstatic. First thing I did upon receiving my package in mid-February was to rip it open like
A general look over of everything: the Scissor forceps seemed to be extremely strong and looked to have many uses, the ceramic bobbin looked to be a upgrade from the kit bobbin I had been using, and the fly box seemed to be solid with a tight closing lid. That was my only initial concern about any of this products was the fact that the fly box didn't have a tab or latch to close, but you can chalk that one up to personal preference.
After my initial excitement and fiddling around with everything it was time to start testing everything. Considering I was still looking out at about a foot of snow at the time, I knew I wasn't going to be fishing much in the next few weeks so I settled in for a little fly tying. As I still consider myself a novice fly tier, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into with this review, but much like everything else I dove in head first.
The first thing I tried was the new thread and River Camo Ceramic Bobbin. I wasn't sure how much of an upgrade this could be, I was sadly mistake. As soon as loaded the bobbin with thread and made the first wrap or two around that hook, I could tell this was a huge upgrade. It actually felt like a different kind of tool, as the thread easy fed through the bobbin with limited resistance and allowed me to spend more time concentrating on what the fly I was trying in comparison to making sure the thread wasn't going to get stuck or hung up in the bobbin. I not only recommend that anyone getting into fly tying upgrades to a ceramic bobbin immediately, but I am looking to pick up a few more of them myself.
Then not until last weekend was I am to make it out an trying out some of new new fly fishing gear, I thought that if the bobbin, thread and hair stacker were make with such quality that I wouldn't have anything to worry about with the River Camo Aluminum Fly Box and River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor. The main thing I was worried about was the fly box, I loved the feel and seeming durability of the box, but as I had stated before I was just worried about it not having an external latch to keep it from opening. But after having it in my pocket, pack, and even had it "accidently" fall out to see if it would open, and it didn't have a problem once. The internal latching systems seems to work well enough I won't have to worry about it again, this was my only worry about this box. Other than that it has a beautiful brown trout covering over a rugged aluminum box.
The River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor were actually what impressed me the most during this review, as they has the most used for various aspects of fishing. They obviously work well in removing hooks, but they incorporated scissor is was I found most useful. Instead of having to having to dig for clippers I was able to trim my tippet/line with the forceps that are easily attached to the outside of my pack. They even did well in purring a small branch while trying to retrieve my fly from an ill advise cast. Now a pause for some laughter, as I even had to laugh at myself for this one. This pair of forceps are far and above my new go to forceps in replacing my old medical grade forceps, as they provided me with many more uses.
I would highly recommend all these products to any fly fisherman from novice to expert. They have met and greatly exceeded the expectation that I had set forth for them.
Disclaimer:
All reviews conducted on Foggy Mountain Meanderings are my honest thoughts, feelings and opinions on said product(s), I received the MFC Thread (White, Chartreuse, and Dark Gray), River Camo Ceramic Bobbin, River Camo 4" Forceps/Scissor, River Camo Hair Stacker and a River Camo Aluminum Fly Box free of charge, thanks to the product review giveaway from the OBN and Montana Fly Company, and agreed to provide a review in exchange for these products. Foggy Mountain Meanderings is not sponsored by or associated with Montana Fly Company and is accepting no other compensation, monetary or otherwise, in exchange for this review.
