Benjamin Clary

Ben Clary was born and raised along the Atlantic coast but did not take up fly fishing until he lived in the largest metropolis in the Southeast.  He relishes the many warm water and saltwater opportunities in the state of Georgia but is hopelessly addicted to trout of north Georgia, western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee.  He can be reached at [email protected].

Author Articles

Review: Beaverkill Rod Company 7-Weight Fast-Action

Fly fishing, like many other sports, is chock full of conventions which are rarely questioned. Anything from a 9-foot 5-weight being the most recommended rod on the planet to the reluctance to cast (or sell) any leader that’s not 7’6” or 9’. Like all truisms, some are in place for a reason, but others can stifle creativity and slow progress. Enter...

Review: Creek Company’s Voyager 2 Frameless Pontoon

Doug was in the middle of telling me about an old pool hall “over the yonder hill” where Ms. Heidi let you play all the pool you wanted for $1 while serving chili dogs and cold beer.  Doug is the taxi driver who was my shuttle for one particular float.  Had I been toting a drift boat or a frame and a raft, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to get...

Review: Orvis "Access" 6-Weight Switch Rod

It was a very wet morning and we found the river shrouded in a veil of fog.  As we stood by the car and rigged up our 11-foot rods, the fog began to slowly burn off, revealing classic runs just waiting for us to swing our flies through.  After attaching the reel and getting the 27-foot shooting head out of the final guide and attaching a leader, I tied...

Fiberglass Rod Review: Thomas & Thomas Heirloom 5-Weight

After what looked like a bullwhip routine, I took a breather, tied on a new fly and told myself: “You’re not in the land of Z-axis anymore.” Switching from arguably one of the fastest-action rods out there to the slow, deliberate action of fiberglass probably was not smart in retrospect, but worth the trouble. Like many who scour the Internet for...