January 25, 2021
By Fly Fisherman
Everything about this product is different, from the box right down to what’s inside it. Normally you’d recycle the cardboard box and the plastic spool your lines come in. But ArcticSilver has created a product package you can honestly reuse as a fly box. We all know some old codger who uses a tobacco tin, lozenge box, or pill bottle to carry their flies. I admire those old guys as much as you do, but this is a real honest-to-goodness fly box with a magnetic closure and four rows of dense micro-slit foam best suited for #6 to #18 flies. The line inside is also wildly different. What else would you expect from the Norwegian company that created “Free-Flex” rods? Grey-Ghost Micro Diameter lines are super thin so they cut through the wind with better stability and more accuracy, and with less effort. The 5-weight I used has a weight of 12.5 grams, which is about 192 grains, somewhere between a standard 7- and 8-weight, so it’s extra heavy.
This kind of density is great for casting, but not great for overall floatability. The Norwegians have tackled this problem by making the front 15 feet a regular diameter to help float the fly, and this works well for the short, accurate casts you want in most trout situations. For fishing far-and-fine, I found myself holding portions of the head and running line aloft to prevent getting swamped, and almost Euro nymphing my dry flies. Because of its weight and density, it’s also a surprisingly good streamer line. $99 | arcticsilverusa.com
