iFish Belt Box Review

When I first got my hands on iFish’s Belt Box I thought to myself it’s just another gadget to put on my fly fishing vest and add clutter. But after field testing the Belt Box on the Lower Yuba River I came to the conclusion that his handy box to keep your flies in is much more. Like a gun slinger in the heat of battle this box allows an angler to have a “quick draw” when choosing their weapon of choice to tie on the end of their line. The box easily attaches to a belt or fishing vest and the groove at the bottom of the slide on tab is made for a placement of a rubber band or zip tie that you fasten over by pinching the tab shut to ensure your box will stay put. With a click of the top “open” tab the box folds away from you and displays two halves of compartments to hold big and small flies. Each compartment is very secure and will not open on its own ensuring you won’t see your prized patterns drift down the currents.

During my field test I put the box on the upper right side of my vest and filled it with my Skwala stone fly patterns for the day. While making presentations to a very selective trout that would not take my first choice of fly, I simply went to my iFish Belt Box and in seconds had another different fly on ready to give that fish another cast. There were no zippered pockets to battle or fumble through; all my flies were right where I needed them. Sometimes simpler is better, and when I fish small creeks and streams all I need in the way of tackle is some flies, nippers, tippet, some gel floatant, and my forceps. I can put all the tackle in a shirt pocket, while the Belt Box holds my flies in an easy to get to location.

Some drawbacks with boxes that have sealed compartments is that you never want to put back wet flies back in them as rust will form on your hooks. (Note: I did an experiment with water soaked flies left in the box in a cold environment for 2 days and much to my surprise there was no rust and my flies were dry!!!) This is where a good fly patch comes in handy to dry out them out before putting them back in the compartments for later use. The Belt Box is not bomb proof, but like any good piece of equipment if you ensure proper care it will last for years. Compartment boxes are not wind friendly, your dry flies are subject to being blown out while the compartment lid is open. The Belt Box does offer better wind protection than most compartment style boxes on the market though.

I can honestly say that this little innovative box will be a new companion with me when I venture out onto the water, especially those lush deep canyons in the Sierra where the tiniest of creeks hold some of the prettiest trout on the planet. For more information and to see the complete line of iFish products visit their website at http://www.ifish.com/