What kind of year would it be if the fly-fishing industry didn’t come up with a bunch of new stuff, all billed as better than what was around last year? Well, it wouldn’t be 2014, since we’ve got new waders, boots, fishing packs, jackets, and other new goodies, all available at the swipe of that credit card you maxed out at Christmas.
A New Net
This year sees the introduction of an unusual, but interesting combination wading staff/net. The hoop is made of proprietary composites and the shaft from extruded, hard-anodized aluminum. A short, foam-covered handle extends out from the top of the hoop. At the other end, a second foam-handled shaft telescopes out and locks in two positions. With it halfway extended, you get a long net handle. With it fully extended, you have a 54-inch-long wading staff that you hold by the short handle, with the hoop of the net just beneath it. To carry the NetStaff, you collapse the long handle so it extends up across the surface of the hoop, reducing the length to about 30 inches, short enough to carry on your back via a supplied docking piece that attaches to your vest. A little stainless steel hook folds, clasp-knife style, into the end of the wading staff, which you can use it to retrieve flies or things you dropped in the stream.
I’m normally pretty skeptical about combination gizmos of any sort, but this one seems designed with intelligence. It’s surprisingly well-balanced as a wading staff, and the little docking piece works effectively. Two sizes are offered: 9 inches wide in the trout version and 12 inches wide in the steelhead/salmon version, both with the same 16-inch hoop length and a carry length of 30 inches, which in addition to being short enough to hang easily on your back, will fit in a duffel bag for car or airline travel. The fish-and-fly-friendly mesh is configured in a different shape than usual. Rather than hanging down symmetrically from the net frame for a foot or less, the mesh angles back down from the top of the frame toward the handle. That’s a bit odd looking at first, but it puts the net usefully parallel to the water or streambed when netting. Well worth a look. $199.99 retail, either net.
Fly Boxes
For 2014, Wapsi has come up with larger versions of their popular Anglers Image Ultra-Thin fly boxes. At roughly the size of a magazine page (OK, not a California Fly Fisher page) they’re too big for a vest, but make great boat or fly-storage boxes. At seven-eighths of an inch thick, they’re appropriate for trout flies and big enough for bonefish patterns and many larger flies. The thin design lets you stack two or three in the space that a single thicker box would occupy. And at $20 to $25, they’re inexpensive enough to own a bunch, which lets you more easily store flies by type and carry just what you’re going to use. Two versions are available: the Magnum Ultra-Clear Fly Box is made of extremely durable ABS, has a metal hinge, and measures 11 by 7 inches. The larger Magnum Ultra-Thin Fly Box is 12 by 8 inches, is made of polypropylene, and has a “living hinge” of that material. Both box styles are available in three configurations of foam slits. A deeper version of the ABS box is in the works for larger flies.
C&F Design’s new Intruder box won the Best Fly Box category at the last International Fly Tackle Dealer Show. Meant for large flies, including Intruder-style steelhead flies, the box uses 18 rustproof magnets to grip the eye of the fly, instead of a foam insert or clip to grab the hook. The clear lid lets you see what’s inside, the box is waterproof, and the dimensions are 7.75 by 4.5 by 1.625 inches. The retail price is $76.25.
Clothing
There are lots of good waterproof breathable wading jackets, but one I saw recently does better than most what I want a jacket to do: keep me dry and hold a couple of fly boxes while still packing down small enough to fit easily in the back of a vest or in a day pack. L. L. Bean’s new Stowaway Paclite Wading Jacket is a minimalist design that packs in its own pocket and weighs less than a pound. A previous version was as light, but had flap-closing pockets placed at an uncomfortable hip height. The new version has larger pockets with vertical zipper access placed high on the chest to keep fly boxes from bouncing against your hips when you walk and out of the water when you wade. The hood adjusts one-handed, the waistband is adjustable, and there are small handwarmer pockets and gusseted cuffs. Folks who fish multiple hours in very cold, wet conditions may want a heavier jacket with more storage space, but I prefer to wear layers and generally have a vest or pack for fly boxes and such. And if it’s going to rain for more than a couple of hours, I head for the truck. Priced at $189 retail.
Vests/Packs
Umpqua Feather Merchants expanded into the vest category for 2014 and came up with two interesting models. The Toketee vest ($159.99) is the smaller of the two, with eleven pockets, fully cushioned shoulder straps, and a mesh back panel, though no back pocket. The larger volume Swiftwater Tech Vest ($179.99) is set up for carrying larger loads. Like the Toketee, it has cushioned neck straps, but adds a cushioned waist belt. There are 14 pockets, plus a large “reach-around” back pocket and two other back mesh pockets. Also, like the Toketee, it has tricot-lined hand pockets, a couple of rigging stations, and a handful of well-thought-out web docking stations. Both vests integrate with the Umpqua Surveyor 1100 backpack for times when you need to carry more gear or clothing.
Fishpond has come up with a new line of packs notable for being made from recycled commercial fishing nets. Largest among them is the Black Canyon backpack, an adjustable, external-frame pack with an offset air-mesh back and padded, contoured shoulder straps, a large main backpack compartment, and three smaller pockets. Retail is $179.95. The new Bitch Creek backpack has all of the same features, but with a structured air-mesh back panel instead of an external frame: $149.95. The modular design of both packs allows docking compatibility with some of Fishpond’s chest/lumbar packs, including new Savage Creek and Medicine Bow packs, which are likewise made from recycled material. For the traditionalist, there’s also a new Vaquero waxed canvas vest with large horizontal main pockets, four additional zippered pockets for smaller boxes and accessories, four front flap pockets for tippet and leaders, a quick-access hemostat dock, and dual snap attachment straps for a pliers sheath or other necessities. The retail price is $159.95.
Patagonia’ new Vest Front sling pack combines features of a traditional fishing vest with a minimalist sling pack. The front has a couple of vertical pockets, while the rear pod provides compartments for a rain jacket, fly boxes, and lunch. Internal quick-access pockets and organizing pockets hold small gear, and there’s a nylon utility keeper to attach things like nippers. Retail is $89.
Simms’s new Headwaters line of packs includes two-day packs, one of which has room for a hydration bladder, two sling packs of different sizes, two hip packs, and a chest pack. All of them are made from 420-denier abrasion-resistant, water-repellent fabric, have interior and exterior Velcro for patching on accessories, and magnetic exterior tool ports. The two-day packs have magnetic “Catch & Release” attachment points on the front and shoulder straps so the Headwaters chest pack can be attached, and the sling, hip, and chest packs have compression-molded panels that fold down to form workstations. They’re priced from $89.95 to $169.95.
Waders
Orvis, in an effort to eliminate needle holes and cut down bulk, developed and patented a way to use ultrasound to weld seams in its waders and introduced the process in its Silver Sonic waders during 2010. For 2014, there are Silver Sonic waders in a convertible ($259), zip-front ($395), and guide models ($379) that feature a more abrasion-resistant and puncture-resistant lower fabric and Y-style padded suspenders. Leg seams run up the back of these models to limit chafing and wear, and there are neat pockets on the front and other useful touches. An expanded range of sizes is also available to fit more folks, although with my size 13s, 31-inch inseam, and slender, but manly 43-inch chest, I seem still to fall between sizes.
Patagonia came up with a new wader, the Spring River, designed especially for women. The upper is a four-layer, 5.4-ounce breathable fabric, while the lower is of slightly heavier four-layer breathable fabric, all with a water-repellent finish. Seams run up the back of the articulated legs to minimize wear, and suspenders are mounted at the waist inside the waders to allow for easy waist-high conversion. There’s a waterproof pocket inside for valuables, a reach-through kangaroo pocket for hand warming, and a horizontally opening chest pocket for incidental gear. The 3-millimeter left and right neoprene booties are wool-lined for additional warmth. Spring River waders are $399 retail.
Simms, whose waders occupy a warm spot in my heart for offering the industry’s widest variety of sizes, continues to fine-tune their products in 2014. For starters, they’ve redesigned their signature G3 Stockingfoot Guide model ($499.95), starting with Gore-Tex’s new five-layer Pro Shell material, said to be 25 percent more breathable than previous fabrics. Updates also include new reach – though handwarmer pockets with storm flaps, a new zippered chest pocket, and a flip-out tippet tender. A boot-foot version with two sole options is on the way for the spring. There’s also a new, lighter Headwaters Convertible stocking-foot model ($399.95) in a three-layer Gore-Tex Pro Shell fabric that converts easily from waist high to chest high.
Redington has a new Super Dry wader series built with a tough, four-layer SurgeShell waterproof, breathable fabric on the exterior. The interior fabric is treated with Cocona, a permanent, activated carbon treatment process that aids evaporative cooling and odor management. Zippered ($499.95), zipperless ($399.95), and waist-high ($279.95) models are available. There are lots of bells and whistles, such as handwarmer and flip-out pockets. As with Orvis’s waders, seams on Redington Super Dry waders are sonically welded.
Before you decide it’s just the relative advantages of sewn seams versus sonic welded seams you have to obsess about, note that L. L. Bean has introduced yet another seam-joining technology that they say is 32 percent stronger than sewn seams and 49 percent stronger than sonic-weld seams. This one’s done with a super adhesive tape that sandwiches between the two sections of the wader fabric, and Bean claims the fabric will tear before the seam breaks. In any event, the new Bean technology is debuting with 2014’s Kennebec Waders: stockingfoot models for both men and women, plus waist-highs and bootfoot models for men. All of them feature quick-fit stretchy waist belts billed as the “fastest on the market.”This last, no doubt, is to get a leg up, so to speak, in the fastdressing contests that have become common on trout streams everywhere. Prices start at $199.
Boots Korkers has added three new wading boots to their product line for 2014. All make use of a new footbed that puts drainage into the midsole area toward the bottom of the boot, rather than letting it run through screened ports higher up. The Devil’s Canyon ($199.99) is a lightweight, minimalist boot, with a four-way stretch back panel and the new M2 BOA wire closure system, which is said to be a bit slower, but stronger than the previous version. The White Horse ($169.99) is a workhorse, a somewhat heavier boot, also with the M2 BOA system, and the Buckskin ($129.99) is a superlight boot with traditional laces. All of them come with two interchangeable outsoles, generally usually with rubber and felt, but with more options available as aftermarket purchases. Along with redesigning its waders, Simms reworked its line of wading boots. New for 2014 is the G4 BOA ($239.95), built on a new Rivertread platform that includes a molded footbed and dual-density midsole. The outer tread is Vibram’s Idogrip rubber with 4-millimeter multidirectional lugs that accept a variety of Simms metal cleats. As the name implies, the boot is fastened with the BOA wire closure system. There’s an updated G3 Guide Boot ($199.95) with traditional lacing, built on a slightly heavier platform, with either felt or Vibram Idogrip outsole. And for the fleet of foot, there’s the new slightly lower cut Vapor Boot ($169.95), built on a lightweight platform that’s billed as “an engineered balance of fast hiking and wading performance.”
Other Stuff
Fluorescent fly materials are much talked about these days. Recently, Monic, the fly-line manufacturer, came up with a way to add fluorescence to existing flies. AquaGlow, also known as The Dot, is a tube of glow-in-the-dark fly dressing that comes in a container like those used for lip balm. Activate the stuff with a flashlight or sunlight, squeeze a little dot of the stuff on your fly or the bend of the hook, and it will glow, regardless of depth or light conditions, arguably attracting fish that otherwise wouldn’t notice it. And if you mistake the tube for Chapstick and get a little on your lips, who’s to say what you’ll attract?
Buff, makers of those lightweight fabric tubes many of us pull over our heads and faces to ward off harmful UV rays when we’re fishing, has added two cold weather buffs to its lineup. The Buff Cyclone combines Gore-Tex Windstopper fabric on one side and lightweight Polartec fleece on the other, while the Polar Reversible Bug Slinger buff is fleece plus Coolmax Extreme fabric — just the thing for frosty mornings on the Delta or the coast. And if you figure making a lifestyle statement is as important as the right fly, both buffs are available with a bunch of fishing-related designs on the non fleece side. It’s an attempt, as the Buff literature proclaims, to bring “serious style to the sports lifestyle.” I might quibble a bit with the term “serious,” but who’s gonna quibble with letting the world know that what you wear reflects, as Buff’s literature proclaims, “the unique artistic aesthetic and attitude of angling.” They’re $23 to $35.
Finally, what would a new season be without a new high-tech hemostat? No worries, mates: it’s Abel’s new hemostat to the rescue. Picture a set of high-tech fishing pliers slimmed down at the jaws to hemostat size. And instead of locking as regular hemostats do, via interlocking grooves on the two sides of opposing center posts, Abel hemostats use a thumb lock on top of one arm. A quick squeeze of the ergonomically designed handles or sliding back the thumb lock is all that’s needed to unlock the jaws. The jaws are stainless steel and replaceable, the top handle is aircraft-grade aluminum that can be anodized in any of Abel’s three zillion artistic patterns, and the bottom handle is stainless steel. The whole package is just under 6 inches in length and weighs a little over an ounce. Cheap they aren’t, at $125, but what are you going to do, leave your money to your kids?
