Cliff Outdoors is a Wyoming based company that has a simple and straight forward motto:  "At Cliff Outdoors, our aim is to design and manufacture the highest quality, most practical fly fishing accessories without bending you over."  Matt Cassel started Cliff Outdoors to provide anglers products based upon his personal philosophy that it is vitally important to have efficient and dependable gear systems.  To that end, Matt is quick to admit that Cliff Outdoors products are intentionally "under-engineered."  Cliff products do not feature fancy and complicated approaches to straightforward needs.  Instead, what you will find with all Cliff Outdoors products is a rugged, well designed, practical, and efficient answer to riverside needs.  This is most evident in the Cliff Outdoors line of fly boxes. 

The Bugger Beast Jr.

A quick glance in the boat of a Michigan Steelhead guide and your eye will be drawn to a bright yellow box packed with flashy steamers, eggs, and a range of nymphs.  When dealing with sub-freezing temperatures, quick fly changes, and constantly shifting river conditions, efficiency comes down to gear selection.   There is nothing worse than searching for the fly box with eggs patterns when its 6:00am, still dark outside, and your fingers are already numb from the cold.  Cliff Boxes, with their bright yellow shell can be located in a cluttered boat in moments and have a holding capacity to last a multiple day trip.

Each Bugger Beast Jr. features a hard plastic shell that can hold up to sub freezing conditions and in the summer can withstand long hours in the sun without any change in performance.  Additionally, each box features two sliding locks which close the box tight and can be opened easily with gloved hands.  The slide locks, unlike the flip locks found on many large boxes, do not wear out and there is no chance of them accidentally coming undone.

One of the best features of Cliff Outdoors boxes is the foam.  The boxes feature deep foam that has been slit the full length of the box.  No fancy angles or solid sheets of foam here.  The foam works by backing the hook in and then backing the hook out for removal.  When executed properly the foam remains free from nicks and gouges.  Simple and efficient! The Bugger Beast is perfect for fishing in a  boat, float tube, and even wading.  For wading you can attach a sling to the box and throw it over your shoulder or leave it on the bank. 

Crab Shack


The Cliff Crab Shack is designed for fishing saltwater flats.  The size of the box will fit into most chest pockets of fishing shirts and it is able to hold at least a days worth of flies.  The box features a high impact plastic case and deep set foam inserts.  Here is what sets this box apart:


First, the plastic is very durable.  Just pick one up and you can tell right away that you are holding a quality product that will last.  Second, the crab shack is deeper than most boxes its size.  You can load it up with larger patterns without worry of hackle getting crushed or fibers being all bent out of shape when its time to switch patterns.


Finally, the crab shack features the same deep set foam slit as the Bugger Beast.  In addition to being perfect for flats fishing the Crab Shack can just as easily be used for holding medium sized streamer patterns.

In Sum


Cliff Outdoors products have been designed from the ground up by anglers for anglers and it shows.  If you are looking for frills, then perhaps this is not the product for you.  If, however, you are looking for fly boxes that will last a lifetime if taken care of, then go with the Cliff boxes.  There are a lot of fly boxes on the market right now, but as with most pieces of equipment the difference is in the details and Cliff Outdoors has worked out, in my opinion, the best configuration for durable and efficient fly storage and transportation.

Disclosure-Cliff Outdoors provided the featured products free of charge for me to review. I was not compensated in any other way for this blog post.