We get asked a lot about what fly fishing and outdoor gear we recommend, so here here is a list of our starting gear for season 2025/2026, along with some tips to make the gear last longer, and work better!
Waders:
Orvis Pro wading boots (season 4) and waders (season 4), both of which have delivered unheard longevity for me. The feet are about gone in my waders, but the boots look like they still have another 100 days left in them!
Hot tips for wader and boots:
- Apply seamseal to all the stitching on whatever wading boot you own. This prevents chafing, which is typically the cause of wear and tear that leads to boots failing.
- Always dry your waders inside-out first, from the moment you take them off. This stops mildew forming which will lead to leaky waders. Rutn them right side out for final drying and storage
- I clean and re-proof my waders every 20 days or so, using products by Nikwax or similar. The goal is to get the exterior of the waders to shed water once you are back on land, so the fabric itself isn’t damp, heavy and cold. Wader manufacturers have previously relied on toxic PFAS and similar chemicals, which thankfully are becoming banned. On the flipside, the replacement water repellant coatings just aren’t as good. So do yourself a favour, grab some re-proofing spray or wash from your local outdoor store, and give your waders a clean and spray every 20 days or so; they’ll be much warmer and drier!
I would also give an honourable mention to the affordable and tough Redington wading pants, which have proved themselves time and again in the previous season.
Fly rods and flylines:
I still use my trusty classic Sage XP 586-4 for most of my personal fishing, along with my Epic glass 470-4 and Bamboo Garrison taper (5 weight). We’ll be running the modern Epic carbon rods in our guiding arsenal again this season, along with their reels.
Flyline hot tip:
A typical range of common fly fishing scenarios can’t be catered for by 1 line, and 3 different flyrods; but it can be caterd for by 1 rod and 3 different lines!
Instead of changing rods for different purposes, I’m a massive advocate for changing flyline tapers. I prefer the Rio Perception as my go-to general purpose flyline, but the smoother taper of the Epic Glass flyline is my preferred on the small creeks. For punching short and fast casts into winds, sightfishing the Western Lakes, and lobbing large wets at frog feeders and sea runners, the Rio Single Hand Spey floating line is an amazing (and massively underrated) dry fly line.
Leaders and tippets:
I predominantly use two different tapered leader setups for all of my guiding and personal fishing. I start with the Stroft 4X 9ft for the creeks, and 4X 12ft for everything else. The Stroft leaders have a thick and aggresive taper on the butt end which is ideal for the Tassie wind, and turning over flies regardless of skill. They are also very abrasive resistent.
Leader and tippet hot tip:
Over the years I’ve found that the last foot or so of tapered leaders can be unreliable out of the box. In otherwods, the breaking strain can be inconsistent. The solution is simple: simply cut the end off the tapered leader, and add some tippet. It is importnat to match the diamter of the tapered leader end to the diameter of your tippet materials, so that the tippet is always equal or finer (this preserves taper). This overall approach has two advantages:
- Firstly, my preferred Maxima Ultragreen tippet material is far tougher (more abrasion resistent) than any of the materials that form a tapered leader. So you’re effectively adding additional abrasion resistence to your leader.
- Tapered leaders have limited stretch, so they are in effect brittle and can snap on large fish or surging runs. On the otherhand, Maxima Ultragreen has ~20% stretch (my estimate); so by adding in Maxima Ultragreen as tippet, you are adding stretch to the overall leader system. This is ideal for protecting your leader from surging runs while striking and playing bigger fish.
We source the majority of our fly fishing gear from Epic Fly Rods, Spot On (Fishing Connection) Hobart and Aussie Angler in Melbourne
Wilderness packs, tents and equipment
For the past five years I’ve relied on Wilderness Equipment packs (the awesome Lost World pack), tents from Wilderness Equipment (Space 2) and Mont (Supercell), and outwerwear from Mont (the Pro Shell rainjacket, and the Guide Hoody PrimaLoft for insulation). I’ve relied on this equipment on trips across Tasmania and Alaska, and highly recommend them. I get all my gear from Apsire Outdoors in Launceston.