The Chum Nation Has Spoken: 2009 Slab of the Year Results
Tuesday, March 2, 2010 at 12:00AM 
FIRST PLACE: Sammy Stark's , S.E. AK Steelhead
Sometimes the future of the sport supersedes slabdome by itself. Congrats to Sammy - enjoy your new duffle (which you'll likely be packing soon for another trip to AK).
Patagonia Stormfront Duffle ($400)
Designed to haul the goods, protect them and keep them dry, the Stormfront Duffel 100 is built with the most abrasion-resistant materials available and is guaranteed to be waterproof.
SECOND PLACE: Kristoffer G. Vassdal, Atlantic Salmon
With what could possibly be the prettiest Slab of the Year finalist in the history of Chum voting. Congrats to Kristoffer - keep flying the Chum flag in Europe my man...
Reel Pure River Armor ($100)
The ultimate cold weather necessity. This full-zip soft shell jacket with DuPont™ Hytrel® film is waterproof, windproof and breathable.
THIRD PLACE: Caitlin's B.C. Steel
Caitlin's first steelhead lands her Chum royalty. She'll enjoy Hustle & Fish as it coincidently highlights the very flow she stuck this winning fish.
HUSTLE & FISH DVD ($25)
Fly fishing is everything to Steve, but after sacrificing everything for the chance to live the life he's always dreamed, things are not going exactly as planned. Against the pressure of his parents, girlfriend and hated rival Al Braughtinwood to give up on his dream, Steve decides to dive further in, taking him on a once in a lifetime fishing trip.
slab of the month, slab of the year in Contests
Reader Comments (10)
you gotta be kidding me ... $400 duffle bag.
don't knock it till you've tried it. i've used a stormfront for two years as my go to dry bag on multi-day floats. it's bulletproof.
HUSTLE AND FISH SUCKS! WASTE OF SPACE> BARELY EVEN GOOD FOR THE PORN IN IT
Anything Patagonia is great quality, but 400$ is extremely pricey when you can get a bag that functions the same for 1/4 the price. Hustle & Fish is probably the best video of 09' - Hands down.
congrats!
love the hustle and fish movie, which is not only one of our favorites from 2009, but of all time!
I use the first version of the duffel bag and must say that it is one of my best and most functional pieces of equipment for float fishing. a little pricey, but a great bag nonetheless!
Thats my girl!!! The competition was seriously tough. Girls rule and boys drool.
I am sure the bag is great, but I couldn't justify that price unless I needed it for a survival trip down the Amazon and needed something that could keep my matches dry and act as a flotation device.
I have one of LL Bean's Kennebec River Boat Bags that cost 25% of the price and has tons more features, pockets, a hard bottom, a clear pocket for maps, etc. Mine has held up well for a couple years, and I've had trips where I spent multiple days in open center consoles and pangas fishing in the rain - no water got in. I once tipped and flooded a canoe thanks to an overweight fishing buddy and again no water got in the bag. This is all without even using the provided packable rain cover. I think I only paid $100 for the thing.
I appreciate quality gear and own lots of Patagonia, Simms, Sage, Tibor, etc., products that I love. I agree that sometimes you only get what you pay for, but that doesn't mean we have to always blidly buy only top shelf gear. Just giving everyone a friendly heads up on a good bargin.
there must have been a lot of dads voting
My goodness! Thanks guys for voting me to the slab of the year! This is seriously like my very first major contest that I've won that's determined by voting. I'm so looking forward to my new bag and using it to go fishin' with my daddio and grandpa. I'll see you all soon next time I catch a monster. :)
Thanks again!
<3 Sammy
Thanks again to all who voted for our daughter, Sammy. She is an awesome addition to the sport of fishing!
Mel (Mom)