The Backstage Pass

For years, most tarpon rods lacked the flex and feel that lighter rods offered, but new materials and technologies have changed that. Today, a solid 11-weight has the backbone to turn a hundred-pound-plus fish boatside without turning into kindling, along with the power, feel, and finesse to make accurate shots in variable conditions....

Permit have a well-earned reputation for making anglers second-guess every piece of gear in the boat, starting with the rod. That's exactly what the Saltwater Invitational was designed to settle — a three-part series putting 8, 9, and 11-weight rods through the same rigorous, data-driven testing. This article covers the 9-weight permit course...

We wanted hard, unbiased data on how saltwater fly rods actually perform. So this past spring, Yellow Dog hosted the Saltwater Invitational at Turneffe Flats Lodge in Belize, in partnership with The Angling Company out of Key West: a performance-driven evaluation of modern saltwater fly rods built to answer which rod actually performs...

Packing for a destination fly fishing trip is not about following a universal gear list. Every fishery presents different conditions, travel requirements, and demands on your equipment. What earns a place in your bag for the Seychelles may be unnecessary in Belize, while a relatively simple item can prove essential in Alaska, Patagonia,...

Walk into any fly shop and say the words “I’ve got a bonefish trip booked,” and you’ll watch someone’s eyes light up. Within ten minutes you could walk out having spent $4,000 on a rod, reel, line, all the trinkets you can imagine, and a dry bag to carry it all in. None...

The new Sage SIGNAL fly rod series is officially here, and we recently headed to Hyalite Reservoir to put it through the same structured casting test used during the 2026 Saltwater Invitational. The SIGNAL replaces Sage’s well-known, mid-priced MAVERICK saltwater series, which we tested on the flats of Belize during the Invitational. After...