Cliff's Bugger Barn and Bugger Beast
| Cliff's Bugger Beast |
If you are in the market to purchase a really big fly box that can hold
everything you will need for a day on the water, the Bugger Beast is it.
The huge dimensions is what really makes this a great boat box along
with the slotted inserts for flies to keep the box working for years. The
box shown above is what I have used for Tarpon fishing for the past
three years, but this box functions just as well for holding all of the flies
you would need for a season in the northeast. Another nice feature of
this box is that I am able to carry striped bass, albacore and even
bluefish flies for the entire year and don't have to switch out flies or
boxes for the different seasons. In addition to carrying all of these
patterns, the bugger beast allows me to keep the wire leaders attached
to my bluefish flies for a quick switch when needed.
With all of the positives this has to offer, there are some drawbacks I
have found over the years using this box. First, would be the large size
of the box does not enable you to carry it around with you if fishing from
the surf or in a situation where you will be walking a lot, as a side not,
this fly box will not even in a backpack. In addition to this problem,
recently I have had the glue under the foam begin to break down,
making the foam separate from the box. It has not caused the
functionality to suffer, but from time to time I need to push the foam
down and wedge it back into the box. Lastly, the box is not waterproof
and in the event the box gets submerged, water will get into the box
and get your flies wet.
Keeping in mind these are the only drawbacks I have after 3 years of
steady use and I can still say with certainty that these are some of
the best boxes made for the job, especially if you like to carry an
arsenal of flies for the days when the fish can be picky.
everything you will need for a day on the water, the Bugger Beast is it.
The huge dimensions is what really makes this a great boat box along
with the slotted inserts for flies to keep the box working for years. The
box shown above is what I have used for Tarpon fishing for the past
three years, but this box functions just as well for holding all of the flies
you would need for a season in the northeast. Another nice feature of
this box is that I am able to carry striped bass, albacore and even
bluefish flies for the entire year and don't have to switch out flies or
boxes for the different seasons. In addition to carrying all of these
patterns, the bugger beast allows me to keep the wire leaders attached
to my bluefish flies for a quick switch when needed.
With all of the positives this has to offer, there are some drawbacks I
have found over the years using this box. First, would be the large size
of the box does not enable you to carry it around with you if fishing from
the surf or in a situation where you will be walking a lot, as a side not,
this fly box will not even in a backpack. In addition to this problem,
recently I have had the glue under the foam begin to break down,
making the foam separate from the box. It has not caused the
functionality to suffer, but from time to time I need to push the foam
down and wedge it back into the box. Lastly, the box is not waterproof
and in the event the box gets submerged, water will get into the box
and get your flies wet.
Keeping in mind these are the only drawbacks I have after 3 years of
steady use and I can still say with certainty that these are some of
the best boxes made for the job, especially if you like to carry an
arsenal of flies for the days when the fish can be picky.
| Cliff's Bugger Barn |
This box is a work horse! One of the biggest upsides in this box (and
every box Cliff makes) would be the slotted foam inserts (8.5" x 4.25")
which helps you in stopping the destruction of the box when you take
flies in and out. That feature on top of using those slots on both the top
and bottom, and you can really pack in the buggers. When using the
Bugger Barn, I fill in the box with every other slot and then stagger
them on the top and bottom. Both using the same box in the surf,
carrying around for bass fishing and throwing in the back of my kayak,
this box can pack them in and fits almost any situation. Also, the box is
made in the USA, and that is always a huge plus when I can get that.
So that is the good news. The downside to this box is that I noticed it is
not waterproof when sitting in the back of my kayak in a couple inches
of water. Not too bad though, I seemed to have managed to have kept
all of the flies dry in a pounding surf, but when sitting in water, it
seemed to have taken on some. The other downside to this is that it is
a little too big to fit in any regular pocket. Unable to fit in jeans or shirt
pockets seemed not to be a problem though as I have been able to stuff
it in the cargo pocket of my shorts when walking around a park looking
for large mouths or a fanny pack that I carry for fishing in the surf.
Chances are though if you are fishing for stripers, hybrids or bass with a
fly rod, the fly selection should not be able to fit in your shirt pocket
anyway. This is a great box if you are looking to carry only one box
which can handle big flies and needs to be portable.
every box Cliff makes) would be the slotted foam inserts (8.5" x 4.25")
which helps you in stopping the destruction of the box when you take
flies in and out. That feature on top of using those slots on both the top
and bottom, and you can really pack in the buggers. When using the
Bugger Barn, I fill in the box with every other slot and then stagger
them on the top and bottom. Both using the same box in the surf,
carrying around for bass fishing and throwing in the back of my kayak,
this box can pack them in and fits almost any situation. Also, the box is
made in the USA, and that is always a huge plus when I can get that.
So that is the good news. The downside to this box is that I noticed it is
not waterproof when sitting in the back of my kayak in a couple inches
of water. Not too bad though, I seemed to have managed to have kept
all of the flies dry in a pounding surf, but when sitting in water, it
seemed to have taken on some. The other downside to this is that it is
a little too big to fit in any regular pocket. Unable to fit in jeans or shirt
pockets seemed not to be a problem though as I have been able to stuff
it in the cargo pocket of my shorts when walking around a park looking
for large mouths or a fanny pack that I carry for fishing in the surf.
Chances are though if you are fishing for stripers, hybrids or bass with a
fly rod, the fly selection should not be able to fit in your shirt pocket
anyway. This is a great box if you are looking to carry only one box
which can handle big flies and needs to be portable.
