Media Coverage of 'TACH-IT™
& Scherer Designs

They dared us, so we tried it. The people from Scherer Designs, that is, who introduced their magnetic fly box, called 'TACH-IT™ at the International Fly Tackle Dealer Show Last September. Let us explain. 'TACH-IT™ is a small 3x4x1/2 inches, 3.8 ounces) box With a black shell, transparent lid and a removable white magnetic pad insert; it's meant for wet flies, nymphs and streamers. The claims for capacity seems generous at first (50-70 #10 flies, 1O0-150 in sizes #14 to #20) but are in fact pretty accurate, given how tightly you can pack them on the magnet no need to conform to clip arrangements, as in many nymph-and-streamer boxes. (Scherer suggests keeping a small pair of tweezers in the box when using it for very small flies.) The white background makes it easy to pick out individual patterns, and there's a hole in one corner for a mono lanyard.

Enough with the basics, and on to the dare. The maker recommends a couple of ways to dry flies after use and before storing the box in your pocket (There are no vent holes to speed air drying). One way is to open the box and put it upside-down on the defroster vent of your car. Another is to remove the magnetic pad and blow gently across it. Or, says Scherer, you can clamp the magnet to the hood of your car and drive at "moderate" speeds. Guess which method we liked? Now, one man’s moderate speed is another's crawl so we dropped the pad on the car with a couple dozen nymphs on it - including, just for fun, a big air resistant caddis dry - and hit the road. At 50mph, the dry fly disappeared. A bit farther on we hit 75, but every one of the nymphs held fast. We may use the thing just to have fun drying our flies. The lid is made from the maker calls "ploycarbonate saftey glass"and so it should be pretty tough; it certainly seems so. We’re not as convinced, however by the claims for the strength and durability of the hinge: Two pins, one on each side extend into the lid only about a quarter of an inch; A full-length hinge might be a lot stronger(But then this is a fly box, not a big game reel)

Our comment: The hinge is plenty strong for the application. We’ve never had a return for broken hinges.

The 'TACH-IT™ is a TERRIFIC accessory for the potentially messy fly tier and there are quite a few of us) and the very tidy fly tier (of whom I doubt there are nearly as many). The 'TACH-IT™ , a 3"x4" magnetic catch-all holds hooks in plain view, has a two-position stand, a millimeter rule for sizing hooks and a handy hackle gauge. The white background makes viewing flies and hooks very easy, especially for those of us with mid-to-late-life vision. Not only will the 'TACH-IT™ hold hooks, it will quickly pick up spilled hooks from table or floor better than a vacuum cleaner. So, when I need to secure a selection of hooks in plain view during a fly tying session, or temporary storage spot for flies I am tying, the 'TACH-IT™ has proven to be the answer. Available at better fly fishing stores.