A few members of the Fly Fusion team have been using 3-Tand reels over the last number of years and have been extremely impressed by them. Each of their reels has a super smooth sealed drag system with unparalleled stopping power. Not only that, the 3-Tand design team makes an extremely attractive reel. With the VIKN™ (pronounced vixen) the company takes another step forward. The V-80 (8-10wt) weighs 7.7 ounces, has an ultra-large arbor spool that packs 300 yards of 30 pound backing. The reel feels well balanced on single hand, switch and spey rods. It’s also available in a 5/6wt and 11/13wt. 3-Tand.com

Most reels nowadays are lightweight by design. But truthfully, lightweight is a relative term (even a tyee is lightweight compared to an orca). Not only is the term relative, but what does a fly angler have to give up in order to fish with a next-to weightless reel—a more modern drag or machined aluminum? Hardy’s new Ultralite FW DD is a feather like, large arbor reel that provides the best of both worlds. It’s one of the lightest (non click-and-pawl) reels on the market, as it features a minimalistic disk-drag system. Built from 6061 bar stock aluminum, the size 1000 (1/2/3 weight) is 3.15 inches in diameter and weighs a mere 2.9 ounces. The heaviest in the family, the size 4000 (4/5/6 weight) measures 3.74 inches in diameter and weighs just 3.6 ounces. If you like the featherweight nature of a click- and-pawl, but you prefer a disk drag system, then you’ll enjoy this marriage. hardyfishing.com

In the area of fly lines, fly fishing has
 obviously progressed. We’ve come a long
 ways since the days of the encased glass
 display providing meager choices between
 floating and full-sink lines in a few different
 weights. Now there are literally hundreds of 
line choices for the consumer to fit unique 
angling needs. Enter the Big Nasty by RIO. It’s a floating line designed with a specific 
purpose in mind: to turn over large flies, whether they be large streamers, dries or nymphs. The Big Nasty is front loaded so there’s a better energy transfer when turning over big flies, and the long handling section at the back of the head makes it easy to cast long distances and mend the line once it’s on the water. If you’re like members of Fly Fusion’s team and you swing large streamers on sink tips through the spring, or you’ve got an early summer love affair with oversized foam stoneflies, you’ll want to check out the Big Nasty. rioproducts.com