Last year, I needed to get myself a gear bag suitable for fly fishing from a boat. I wanted something that wasn't too big, that I could customize the space inside the bag, and provided me with a comfortable way to stay organized during the Canadian Fly Fishing Championships of 2007, where all the venues were lake fly fishing. I had looked around at a variety of options and had almost settled on an inexpensive Plano bag but they were all out of stock at the retailers I visited.

Although a bit pricey (around $225.00 Canadian at the time), I really liked the design and features of the Fishpond Cloudburst bag. Although there are larger gear bags, sometimes large can be a disadvantage for a few reasons: I often end up carrying too much stuff, and in small boats, larger can get in the way of moving about and as well, get in the way of finding what you need quickly.

A couple of other important requirements for me was a bag that had a waterproof bottom as well as a method to keep the entire bag dry should a rainstorm blow in while out in the boat. The Cloudburst met both of those requirements. With a molded waterproof bottom and a zip out waterproof cover, if needed 100% of the bag can be kept dry in wet conditions. Having said that, while participating in the competition, I did encounter rain but because of competition conditions and limits on fishing time per session of three hours, I chose not to spend any time unzipping the waterproof cover. The top of the bag did get soaked but dried out well and several days that included some wet conditions didn't appear to cause the bag any damage. Some of the contents inside the bag were damp after one heavy rainfall, but nothing was soaked.

Close up view of fly station.

One feature of the bag that I really liked and used a lot was the "fly station" at the front. Unzipping the cover reveals a foam fly holder. This feature alone was a time saver in that instead of having to rummage through fly boxes for the fly that I wanted to use, I could simply secure the flies that I thought were "best bets" for each venue and have access to them at my finger tips.

One thing about this bag is that it has so many pockets (10 outside, 20 inside), I didn't know what to do with them all! But there were enough to keep my hand and toe warmers in one place, my towels that I used to strip line onto to keep the lines clean, and other items that I wanted to have along with me. And even with all the pockets and the fly station in front, I still stuffed in a water bottle and 7 fly boxes of varying sizes. The main internal space of the bag uses velcro dividers to organize the space - but you can always remove these if you simply want to have a large open compartment.

Fishpond describes this bag as "the sexiest gear bag to be found." And not only does it have good looks, it's also very durable. Since owning this bag, it's been tossed around boats, been through snow and rain, stacked up with other gear on school buses while traveling, and it looks as good as new except for one minor detail - a small defect that occured after just a few uses. More on that below.

Fishpond also describes the bag as "Carry-on sizing for valuable reels and gear." Well, forget about that. Yes, it does come within the size ranges for airline carry-on luggage - but with today's security at airports (much of it absurd), there is no way you're going to be able to bring on board much of your gear. I have even heard recently where one fly angler was not allowed to bring on his fly reels with lines attached - a strangling hazard apparently! So while you could use the bag for carry-on luggage, you will have to stow your valuable reels and fly boxes in your checked luggage.

The One Defect

After unzipping and pulling down the fly station flap a few times, I noticed that the chord on the right hand side that is stitched into the flap had pulled away. Clearly this is a case where whoever did the stitching of the cord to the flap didn't spend enough time ensuring the stitching was done right. But as far as affecting any performance, I didn't find this to be a major issue - but I do hope that there are no stitch failings anywhere else in the bag.

Left side shows correctly stitched cord, right side shows defective stitched cord.

Overall Impressions

If you want a detailed list of the bags features, visit this page on the Fishpond website. There are more than I've discussed - some of them like the rod tube holder I never used.

But overall, I'm very pleased with the bag and am convinced it will give many years of service. I do think it is a bit pricey relative to other gear bags (If memory serves correct, a comparable in size and features Plano bag was less than half the price - but I'm not sure it's made from as durable material). But it's been very well designed, lots of room for tools you might need, space and pockets to organize and put stuff, and certainly is rugged. As well as the handle on top, it also comes with a shoulder strap that I used too keep my hands free for lugging extra rods and nets to the boat.

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