Skip to main content

The Manual may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site.

Patagonia’s Simple Fly Fishing Kit Takes You to the river

Fly fishing is an age-old tradition that might date back as far as the Roman Empire, but for most of us, the 1,900 years in between haven’t made casting the weighted line any easier than it once was. However, most every outdoorsman has pondered fly fishing for salmon and steelhead while wading through the frigid waters of Montana’s Bighorn River — or a similarly-iconic body of water — at one point or another, before shuddering at the sheer complexity and supposed elitism of the sport. Thankfully, Patagonia’s Simple Fly Fishing Kit ($255-$280) curbs both qualms with one fell swoop, conveniently packing the bare essentials and a comprehensive guide in a single package.

12024_181
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Entitled Simple Fly Fishing: Techniques for Tenkara and Rod & Reel, the straightforward guidebook informs beginners and experts alike regarding the art of wet fly, nymph, and dry fly fishing. Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews and Mauro Mazzo authored the text, while artist James Prosek adorned the pages with melange of instructional paintings that prove just as colorful as they are illuminating. The book is basic and informative, lined with easily-digestible text outlining which type of tackle or knot is best suited for certain situations, along with a bevy other crucial details pertinent to up-and-coming wranglers.

Recommended Videos

While the bundled book covers all the dynamics of flying fishing, the kit also includes everything a beginner needs to get up and running within the hour. The offering includes a flagship tenkara line and reel-less rod — which is widely considered to be one of the most fundamental fishing rods for beginners — along with a dozen of Montana Fly Company’s hand-tied, soft-hackle flies designed to cover the most commonly encountered hatches. Moreover, Patagonia also includes a 7½-foot tapered leader and quick set up guide, rendering the century-old Japanese fly fishing technique more accessible than ever before. No wonder English author Izaak Walton celebrated the sport’s spirit in prose and verse, referring to it as “The Contemplative Man’s Recreation” back in 1652.

Fish Kit
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Check out Patagonia’s Simple Fly Fishing Kit online to make a purchase or for more information, or visit one of the company’s many retail locations across North America and Japan to pickup the kit firsthand or learn about the best fishing spots in the local region.

Brandon Widder
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brandon Widder is a journalist and a staff writer for the Manual and its brother site, Digital Trends, where he covers tech…
Learn how to smoke a pipe the proper way with our guide for beginners
Let us show you the classy way to smoke a pipe
Packing a pipe

Pipe smoking is the most aesthetically distinguished way to enjoy tobacco, but you lose the classy effect if you don’t know how to smoke a pipe properly. Smoking a pipe has become a lost art, and these days, most people who engage in pipe smoking do so to achieve a sense of nostalgia. Perhaps your grandfather enjoyed a puff now and again paired with a good stiff whiskey, or maybe your goal is to emulate a pipe-smoking artist.

I know that I enjoy a good puff on a pipe now and then, and knowing the right way to enjoy a pipe has made the experience much more pleasurable for for me. Whatever the case, if you intend to take up the time-honored tradition of unwinding with a pipe like me, you should learn how to smoke a pipe the right way. And smoking a pipe is very different than smoking a cigar (except you shouldn't be inhaling either).

Read more
Don’t ruin your cigars: here’s how to properly season a new humidor
Seasoning secrets every cigar lover could use
faceless man presenting a cigar humidor with cigars inside with gloved hands

If you're a newcomer to the world of cigars or just bought a brand-new humidor, you'll need to season it. And no, I'm not saying to add salt and pepper to it. If you've never heard of it, you might ask, "What is seasoning for a humidor?"

Don't think you need to flavor the box or anything — seasoning is really about getting the wood inside your humidor so as not to rob your cigars of precious moisture. Easy to understand, and getting it done is relatively straightforward as well. The trick is figuring out the "why," and we'll get into that in a bit. But let's first discuss seasoning a humidor.

Read more
The NBA’s ultimate celebration tool: The victory cigar
A look at the players and coaches who smoke to celebrate
Jordan smoking a cigar image on a bag

Sports are synonymous with celebration. After winning the biggest trophy of their lives, athletes want to indulge in the payoff that comes with seeing their dreams realized. Teams go into the locker room, where a waterfall of champagne hits them in the eyes, and swimming goggles seem to be a requirement, lest you walk around on the best night of your life half blind. While drinking is often the activity of choice after winning a championship, the NBA has an alternative symbol of greatness that other sports don't use nearly enough: the victory cigar.

Basketball is a team game, but it's also an individual canvas for solo superstardom. After winning an NBA championship, the coaches and players who sit atop the throne have long smoked a cigar in the locker room, during the parade, or even on the bench before the clock has hit zero. There's nothing quite like a good stogie to signify the ultimate win over the rest of the league, but how did the victory cigar get so ingrained in NBA championship celebrations? We want to take a walk down memory lane and look at some of the historical moments and people who made the cigar what it is within the NBA today.
Red Auerbach's victory cigar on the bench
Red Auerbach: The Story Behind the Victory Cigar + His Disdain of NBA Officials - Red on Roundball

Read more