Flylab’s Top Products of 2024

Flylab’s Top Products of 2024

2024 was a banner year for innovative fly-fishing product releases, as well as classic remakes, and we certainly couldn’t cover them all, but here are some of our favorites…

Fly Rods

Epic Fly Rods: The innovative fiberglass (FastGlass) and graphite rod maker from New Zealand is making fly rods that are beautiful to cast and fish, exceptionally durable, highly versatile and also overdeliver from a customer service perspective. We tested the Reference 6-weight 686 FastGlass and Reference 4-weight 476 FastGlass and loved them both.

Scott Fly Rod Company: The classic Colorado rod maker made a splash with their Swing Series two-handed rods and 50th anniversary remakes, but we loved this old-school classic: the G Series 8-foot 8-inch 4-weight fly rod. “Great fly rods (like the G Series) allow you to feel every aspect of the fly-fishing engagement: the cast, hook set and fish…”

The Winston PURE 2 8-foot 3-inch 4-weight Fly Rod. Winston has built another (soon-to-be-classic) line of smooth casting dry fly rods. “The 8-foot 3-inch 4-weight is 100% a dry-fly rod. Or a rod for sight fishing with a single nymph, without any weight or indicator. This rod shines with single dry flies, and the size of the dry doesn’t really matter a ton (within reason).”

The Orvis Helios D 8-foot 5-inch 7-weight Fly Rod. No fly rod line had more marketing hype than the Orvis Helios, but it mostly delivered on accuracy, versatility and durability. We tested the 7-weight for bonefish, smaller redfish and stripers, and it was a standout.

Fly Reels

The Lamson Purist II Fly Reel. “If you are a fan of click-pawl reels, if you are truly a primitive tool ‘purist,’ if you want a click-pawl that is legitimately engineered (and has a braking system that actually matters), if you like a reel that sounds and looks great, if you value a super-light reel on the end of a bamboo, fiberglass, or feathery graphite rod–this might just be the number.”

Outerwear

The Patagonia Swiftcurrent Wading Jacket. Watertight, “fishing-friendly” design features, excellent durability and impressive abrasion resistance–what’s not to like about this storm-chasing rain jacket? Likely buyers: anglers looking for a tough, watertight and smartly-designed rain jacket that won’t break the bank.

The Skwala Carbon Jacket. In the “packable” category of rain jackets/shells, we loved this easy to stow, smartly designed addition from Skwala. For summer fishing, or fending off tropical showers, the Carbon Jacket is a light and dependable solution for traveling anglers. It’s also a versatile piece of gear that can be hiked, biked or skied in.

Wading

The Skwala Backeddy Wader. We’re still testing, but have really liked this pair of waders from Skwala–durable, well designed, with lots of functional storage, and reinforced in the places that matter to anglers (knees and seams).

The Simms G4Z Stockingfoot Waders. Simms has reset the bar for high-end waders. The G4Zs are expensive, but come with proven reliability and durability, and are backed with a strong warranty and customer service. “The price point is a pretty steep hill to climb, but, as they say, you’re only as happy in the river as your feet are…” For half the price, also consider the Simms Freestone Z Stockingfoot Waders.

The Korkers Stealth Sneaker. Light, surprisingly durable and a good looking entrant to the wading boot category. “If you appreciate product value, if you’re focused on foot comfort as you fish, if you’re a ‘sneaker head’ who actually cares about footwear styling, this shoe/boot is for you.”

The Patagonia Forra Wading Boot. A lightweight, tough and very hikable wading boot. “They’re light and comfortable, yet supportive, and have burly Vibram Mars sticky rubber soles that we found to grip almost as good as felt or studs on river bottoms.”

The Simms Challenger 7-inch Deck Boot. Comfort, warmth, solid construction and an outstanding outsole grip. Likely buyers: guides, saltwater anglers looking for warmth, outdoorsmen looking for a reliable, mid-height boot to wear on trips, or utilize in camp situations.

Accessories

A newcomer in the sunglass market, Ombraz is doing something entirely different: stemless glasses. They not only are comfortable, but our pair of RX Teton’s (with a brown tint) have surprisingly good optical quality from edge to edge. Perfect for whitewater enthusiasts, bikers, skiers, photographers, anglers or anyone who values sunglass security, or is constantly taking their shades on and off. More to come on this innovative brand.

Astral has been one of the go-to brands for dependable PFDs (lifejackets) for a while now. Most of the summer (and into the fall) we’ve been rocking the newish “Sturgeon” Fishing PFD Life Jacket on mellower river floats and have been impressed by the combination of low profile wearability, comfort and the ingenuity of a single clamshell (front) pocket. Our favorite feature? A side zipper that provides easy on/off access.

The Airflo Superflo Universal Taper Fly Line. “A solid and versatile choice for beginners and veterans, not to mention the added, eco-factor bonus of polyurethane construction and processing, which more anglers should pay attention to.” Well done for a $100 fly line.

The Cheeky All-Day Freshwater Fly Line. This Cheeky fly line is perfectly adequate for most anglers and costs about half of what you’d pay for a top-end line. “Nothing flashy. No breakthrough technology. Just a line that casts smoothly and performs without the high-end price point.”

The onWater do-it-yourself GPS mapping app for fishing adventures (30% off with a Flylab membership). This invaluable phone app provides offline river maps, private/public access points, boat ramps, real time streamflows, river shuttles, fly shops and fishing reports. Make more informed fishing decisions when you have answers right at your fingertips.

The TroutRoutes do-it-yourself GPS mapping tool for trout streams and fly fishing is also awesome (40% off with a Flylab membership). As the industry’s first mapping tool, the app includes interactive GPS fishing maps for every trout stream in the continental United States, providing comprehensive geography, stream flow, access and local information.

The Fly Banjo Fly Dryer. One of the smarter on-water accessories we came across for dry fly fishermen. Likely buyers: anyone and everyone–most anglers could use a Fly Banjo, but especially the ones who love stalking big fish on dries.

Boats

Bote’s Rackham 12-foot Bug Slinger Backwater Paddle Board with an inflatable kayak seat and removable pedal drive is more of a sit-on-top kayak/mini-skiff than a true paddle board. This is one cool-ass little boat that we’ve been fishing on some front range bass lakes. You can sit and paddle, or pedal, while throwing poppers at largemouth bass. It also quickly transitions to a true “stand up” when spotting carp. More to come on Bote’s versatile product lineup in 2025.