My Favorite Fishing & Travel Gear of 2024
Nice gift to buy for a significant person in your life this holiday season
This has been a great year of fishing and I’ve been fortunate to explore some new avenues in fishing, work with a lot of great people and fish a lot of new waters and work on improving my techniques with some new to me pursuits with things like Euro-nymphing trout with a fly rod, fishing glide baits for various species of fish, new and different ways to panfish and a lot more.
I’ve really tried to expand my horizons and knowledge base in an effort to help other anglers and improve my own fishing and I just like to try a lot of new things. And, as always, I’ve tried to stay on top of a lot of new gear for companies I work with as well as for the folks that subscribe to this newsletter. I’m going to start sharing a lot of gear stuff with you soon, but I thought I’d share some of my personal favorite gear from this year and it’s only the stuff I personally use a lot in my own fishing and highly recommend.
Full disclosure, I do not have advertising deals or obligations with most of these companies or products. It’s just stuff I have loved this year and some of the companies don’t even know who I am. There are a couple I’ve worked with in the past, but I’m not trying to make revenue off of sharing this stuff with you.
It’s simply the really good stuff I used a bunch this year that I think other anglers and outdoorsmen would love to use as well. And if you want to buy one of the items for a Christmas gift, I’ll try to include a link with the best price if I can find one for you. Again just sharing for other gear junkies like me, who can appreciate some nice fishing gear.
I am going to write a full article on my thoughts about nice things and I hope people will see where I’m coming from with all of this. I’ve caught a lot of fish on $20 rods and reels and $2 lures. And I’ve enjoyed those experiences. But fishing is something I’ve built a career and my life around and I don’t mind to spend a little more to have something that will last me 5 or 10 years and provide me hundreds of memorable experiences.
I’ve moved from trying to have a ton of stuff that doesn’t cost much to just having a select few rods, reels and lures I lean on for my various fishing pursuits. Spending more on one good thing instead of 5 mediocre things. So that is where a lot of this gear comes from.
EDITORS NOTE: This email may get cutoff because it’s so long but you can see the full article by clicking through to the landing page.
HIGH CAMP FLASKS
This is by far my wife’s favorite product this year, and probably one of my favorites as well. But the High Camp Flasks are some of the nicest drink containers I’ve found for camping, traveling, tailgating, or just porch sitting. They have different sizes that can hold full bottles of wine, a thermos of coffee, a sip of bourbon or just cool refreshing water after a long day fishing and hiking.
Theses flasks offer premium stainless steel containers that will keep your drinks cold or hot, offer magnet cups, in beautiful additions to your travel gear. The lids are rubber sealed, the cups are easy to detach and pour and drink from and the whole package is sleek and durable.
I’ve used the Firelight 750ml and the Torch 9-ounce flasks a bunch this year. My wife loves to fill the Firelight flask with her favorite wine for our summer cookouts, boating on the lake, and tailgating at football games. I love the Torch for a shot of bourbon on trips with good friends in the woods and waters.
Check them out at HighCampFlasks.com.
FISHUSA FLAGSHIP RODS
I’ve used a bunch of the FishUSA Flagship rods this year for bass fishing, crappie fishing, bluegill fishing and trout fishing. These rods are well made, balanced, light with comfortable grips and good sensitivity. And best part is they come in around $99. That’s a heck of a deal for a good fishing rod. I love the blue color as well. Sleek and practical from looks to performance.
ECHO SHADOW X & STREAMER X FLY RODS
I got back into fly fishing, and because most of my gear was cheap and not great 10 years ago, I wanted to set myself up a lot better to enjoy fly fishing a little more with gear better suited for it. I wanted to have a couple of good rods for Euro Nymphing and Streamer fishing, as I have a couple good ones for dry flies and general purpose fly fishing as well as a smaller fly setup for panfish (below).
The Echo rods are some of the best in my opinion and the Shadow X is such a sensitive fly rod. I often feel nymph bites on my hand while holding the rod and line while nymph fishing. It’s a great casting rod for tuck casting and lobbing flies while nymphing and jig streamer fishing with nymphing line or the mono rig. And I love it on a fight in current. This was the rod I first used out in Yosemite this spring with my guide Greg Nespor. I was hooked on the technique and rod after one day.
The Streamer X is an equally proficient rod for streamer fishing, especially bigger streamers for bigger trout. I don’t have as much time on this rod yet, but I love how it feels paired with a Hardy Averon.
Check out the Echo Shadow X at FishUSA.com as well as the Streamer X At FishUSA.com.
HARDY AVERON FLY REEL
The Hardy name remains synonymous with quality in fly fishing circles. Their highly refined, and meticulously crafted reels and rods not only perform well, last a very long time, and add to your fishing enjoyment, but they are beautiful works of art in their own right.
The new Averon reel has become my main Streamer reel but it’s also great for a Euro Nymphing as well. The tall narrow spool provides the perfect platform for holding backing, fly line and a long run of mono leader, sighter and tippet for leading nymphs in current. But I really like it for holding my sink tip line, bigger leader for streamers. That big profile takes up a lot of line on the reel and makes for a more enjoyable day of streamer fishing. The drag offers buttery smooth and dependable action. The lightness of the reel adds to the entertainment tuck casting nymphs or pinpoint targeting ambush points with streamer for both picky and aggressive trout.
Check it out at Hardyfishing.com
SHIMANO VANFORD FA 500 REEL
I am a Shimano guy when it comes to spinning reels. Most of my main setups for bass fishing have Shimano reels on them. And as I’ve gotten into other species, I find myself bringing Shimano into those setups as well. I really loved the Vanford that came out last year, and found this year’s update with the Vanford FA reel to be an even better reel. The 500 size reel is my main spinning reel for trout and I’ve used it a good bit for panfish too. I use it with 2-pound mono line and 2-pound fluoro leaders. This reel performs beautifully with ultra-light lines. So you can trust it to help you play down big fish.
ISLAND OPTICS MAKO XL / CRANE SUNGLASSES
I switched this year to Island Optics for my sunglasses. I still love Costa and Bajio and the folks at both, but I really fell in love with what Island Optics is doing in sunglasses for anglers. They are a family owned company out of Florida and they are eyewear experts. Their family has been helping people with eyewear needs for 5 generations and they also have the most extensive background in frame and lens building out there.
The Crane and Mako XL frames are my two favorites right now. And they are working on some really cool new lenses that I’m excited about for 2025. The Mako XL offers a big frame to block out side and top light, plus give you a very wide viewing area. They know we stare into the water trying to pick out fish, cover, our lures and other things all day. The Crane are smaller profile frames great for multipurpose use. They are making very clear optically superior lenses and high quality durable frames for half of what the competition does.
You can find them at IslandOptics.com
GRUNDÉNS BOUNDARY ZIP WADERS / BANKSIDE WADING BOOTS
I have been using the Grundén Boundary Zip Waders this season and absolutely love these waders. They are comfortable, durable, breath well, don’t weigh me down and give me great performance on the water. I’ve fished 4 or 5 different fisheries now with them and just love them. I can kneel down climb over rocks and logs on the creeks and rivers with ease. The pockets are well done and I can carry a ton of gear on my body thanks to their design.
The Bankside Wading Boots are rugged, durable, and very comfortable. I’ve hiked many miles in these boots through the water, and through thick woods in these wading boots, and I love them. They are reinforced in all the right places that make them feel bulletproof on my feet. When you put a lot of money into waders and boots you want to feel like you’re going to get many years of good use out of them to make it palatable, and I feel that with the Grundéns wading line-up.
Check them out at Grundens.com
GAMAKATSU G-BOX DUO SIDE
I have a bad case of OCD and tackle storage seems to help me calm that some. So when I found these boxes for my trout and panfish kits, I was in hog heaven. I use 3 of these boxes to store trout jigheads, hair jigs and plastics, panfish jigheads, hand-tied bugs and plastics, small spoons, and more. These boxes feature one side with mini compartments perfect for small plastics. The other side had slotted foam for storing jigheads, flies, hand-tied jigs and pre-made jigs easily and neatly. And the box will fit in a coat or hoodie pocket easily or even a big pants pocket or wader pocket.
IROD QUERCUS ROD
I hadn’t bought a new swimbait rod in a few years and got a hold of the new iRod Quercus rod this year. This is such a sweet rod for a wide variety of swimbait applications. I’ve used mine for all sorts of swimmers from 6 to 7-inch glide baits, mid-sized gill baits, large soft plastic swimbaits and some crank-down swimbait fishing as well. To me, iRod has always been the OG of swimbait rods. They have long made well-priced rods that not only could handle the heavy weight of big swimbaits, but were very comfortable to fish with all day.
I have some amazing custom swimbait rods and still I often find the Quercus in my hand this year. It’s sort of been my go-to rod for my glide hunts this year.
Check them out at TackleWarehouse.com.
SCUMLINE KUSTOMS MUNCHIE GILL
My buddy Danny makes some really cool stuff in the swimbait space and his baits not only look great, but fish so good. My biggest bass this year came on the Munchie Gill and was 8 pounds. The Muchie offers a ton of versatility. It can be creeped super slow, fishing burning under the surface and you can get it to walk like a popper … UNDER THE SURFACE.
It’s a sick little bait that you can do a lot with if you love to fish gill swimbaits like I do. I think swimbaits like these are often overlooked. I have had so many personal experiences where big bass come up and eat bluegills around me. The biggest bass I ever saw on Kentucky Lake was attacking a giant bluegill on the surface. Ever since that encounter, baits like the Munchie Gill have had a soft spot in my tackle box.
Check it out at ScumlineKustoms.com.
BUCCA BRAND TRICK SHAD
I just got my Trick Shad a few weeks ago, and the first day I took it out, I caught a bass pushing 6 pounds. So I was hooked pretty quick on the bait. I love that some of the custom swimbait makers are trying to provide more affordable options and gateway baits for anglers to solve the issues of not enough anglers able to get their baits on drops. And the massive expense that comes with a hand-made, resin, hard swimbait.
But it’s also not easy to make a mass produced swimbait balance and swim as good as a hand made, hand weighted, and hand tested swimbait does. So I appreciate that we can get some affordable versions that swim pretty good right out of the package and can be tweaked to be dang near perfect if you will play with them a little. The Trick Shad is 6 inches, weighs around 1 1/2 ounces and comes in 7 really nice colors. It’s a great deal for anglers.
BENCHMADE WATER COLLECTION KNIVES
Benchmade set the bar with their EDC knives and now they finally are offering their water collection to anglers with carry knives, fixed blade knives and filet knives. Benchmade’s marine-grade fishing knives are manufactured, hand-assembled, and sharpened by expert knife-smiths in a state-of-the-art factory in Oregon City, Oregon, with ultra-premium corrosion-resistant CPM-MagnaCut stainless steel blades and durable, grippy Santoprene handles.
I absolutely love their knives. I carry a Auto Immunity or a Bug Out on me everyday and have been using the filet knives a good bit this year.
Check them out at BenchMade.com
SPRO X SURPPA LURE HOLDER
The SPRO X SURPPA swimbait sleeves have become my go-to for carrying my hard swimbaits in my tackle bags and boxes. I can throw two or three sleeves and carry 5 or 6 swimbaits in a bag easily without worry of baits getting hung up in my gear. These are quick, handy and affordable. A simple solution for big bait slingers.
Check them out at TackleWarehouse.com
G. LOOMIS IMX-PRO C FLY ROD
At first I was leery of owning a 2 WT fly rod. Even for panfish I was worried about being out matched. But as funny as my inital fear was, this has turned out to be one of my favorite rods I’ve fished this year. I have had a dang hoot with this smaller fly rod for catching bull bream and shell crackers as well as bonus smallmouth and largemouth bass, whites, crappie and more. The rod loads and launches fly line well, handles the wind and small tight streams and pockets and packs a great punch for such a small package. I paired it with an Orvis Batenkill I reel, and it’s the perfect little water and panfish wrecking fly rod.
VARIVAS FISHING LINES
I’ve gotten into Bait Finesse System fishing a lot the last several years and I’ve been experimenting with lines for many years. I’ve tested about all of the small lines from Varivas now and they have become the staple fishing line for me in light line applications. I use their fluorocarbon for my fly line tippet and leaders on my BFS and ultralight setups and I use their nylons and braids for everything in between. They create very small diameter lines that work very well for your small lure applications.
Some of my favorites this year have been the Varivas Trout and Bass Lines, The Varivas Super Trout Advance Twitch Master, Varivas Trout Shock Leader, and Area Super Trout Master Limited Fluoro leader.
CRONY TROUT RODS
Crony represents the premier CDM rods available on the market. These are ultra-high end and refined rods perfect for BFS and ultralight fishing. The rods are beautifully crafted, extremely light and offer the most action for your very light lures.
I’ve used the Crony Stream Series Rods a bunch and they are a lot of fun to fish with for trout panfish and crappie. Their bass rods are very nice as well and have worked great for jerkbaits and topwaters. They will be available in America in early 2025 as their warehouse gets established in Florida.
Links coming soon …
RAID OSAKANA SLIDE 170
I took a chance on this soft glide mostly because of the price, but after my first outing I ended up by 5 or 6 more. I now have a box of them because they are that good. They skip effortlessly, work very easily in a wide range of retrieves and are just deadly around docks and shallow cover. This is another heck of a steal on a good swimbait.
Check them out at Tackle Warehouse
CRAPPIE AND TROUT MAGNET PLASTICS
As I got back into trout I gravitated to Trout Magnet because I had had so much success with Crappie Magnet baits for crappie. Turns out the design was actually intended for trout and it’s absolute candy for a trout, especially stocked trout. But it works just as well on wild trout as we’ve proven out west. The fact is the Trout and Crappie Magnet baits work, because their people are all very good anglers and the spend a lot of time trying to solve problems for anglers and make stuff that really works.
The Roo and Hammer are new on the crappie side this year and the new Trout Magnet Tungsten heads just came out on the trout side. And some new colors have been added as well. Trout Magnets are also some of my go-tos on bluegills and red ears and I loaded the boat this year on their baits across the board. The D2 Jig is now my staple in trout fishing as I had my best day ever brown trout fishing with that jig this fall.
Z-MAN MICRO FINESSE BAITS
I’m a huge fan of the Micro Finesse Baits from Z-Man and I bounce ideas back and forth with them regularly. They are going to be coming out with lots of cool stuff in this space, and I’m telling you if you haven’t tried the Micro Goat and Micro Finesse TRD, you are missing out as a panfish angler. They are flat fish magnets and the best part is you can catch 20-50 fish on a single bait. It’s nutty how many fish can be caught on these baits and how well a bluegill can swallow the whole bait because of how soft the TPE Elaztech is. Check this video out to see what I mean!
OTB NUGGET
This is another recent find from Instagram. But I loved the first one I got so much, I just ordered the backup this weekend. I had an epic day recently on the Outside the Box York Nugget. It’s a small 4 inch glide bait. But it swims surprising well and it’s an absolute fish catcher. Like crazy. My first day throwing it, I had 23 pounds of bass for 5 fish. This weekend I caught 11 bass between 4 to 6 pounds on it on a drawn down muddy lake with limited visibility.
Seriously the only downside I have found is that it gets savage bites and the bait is way down in the crushers when I get them. Which makes unhooking fish pretty tricky. It was nuts how good I caught them over Thanksgiving on it when a spinnerbait, soft swimbait and jig failed to produce. It can be walked nicely on the rod and on the reel. It can be straight reeled at slow and semi slow retrieves. The water was so cold, I didn’t play much with burning or fast retrieves other than a fast walk with the rod tip. It’s very versatile and it could become my jerkbait this winter.
Check them out at YorkCasting.com
MEGABASS KARASHI AND BABY POP X
I’ve long been a fan of Megabass and how they do things and this year as I’ve transitioned into more realms in fishing with ultralight, BFS, panfish, trout, bass, livescope, kayak and beyond, I’m looking for crossover baits that do a lot for a lot of fish. That has landed me on several of the Megabass baits.
I was already in love with the Great Hunting series of baits and now I’m equally in love with the Karashi and the Baby Pop X on BFS and light spinning gear. These two baits put so many fish in the hand for me this year. And the number of different species is steadily rising. I love baits that I can just tie on and go and know they will catch whatever is in front of me.
I’m still opening up the capabilities of the Karashi because it can do a lot of things. But mostly it’s just fishy and gets fish you know are in the area to bite. The Baby Pop X also generates bites no matter what is around. If they will come to the surface to feed, the Baby Pop X will catch them.
Check them out at FishUSA.com and at TackleWarehouse.com.
So that’s my list for this season. My fishing is a little all over the place between fly fishing for panfish and trout, to throwing big swimbaits for bass to ultralight and BFS fishing in creeks and fishing for big magnum bluegills and red ears, I’ve taken a bigger interest in finding a few quality pieces of gear to make my experiences more enjoyable and memorable.
Wow! Incredible pics as well Jason! Your systems are simple and effective! And your gear is top of the line! I have one of those Shimano Vanguard reels and the drag system in it is phenomenal!