5 New Products That Steven's Excited About
There are lots of new products unleashed on the fly fishing community every year. Here are some that I'm excited to try this year.
Orvis PRO Approach Wet Wading Shoe
Traction, comfort and style - finally a wet wading shoe that has it all! I personally have been waiting for a product like this for a long time. Wet wading options of the past have mostly been bulky and uncomfortable. The Michelin Outdoor Extreme sole is a trimmed-down variant of the one found on Orvis’ very successful PRO Wading Boot, and offers unsurpassed traction without the need for studs. These shoes kind of look and feel like a pair of Jordan’s. After wearing these for several outings there are no spots that rub my feet, even without a sock. The integrated Ariaprene ankle cuff keeps gravel, sand and mud out. The cuff is a little tight at first, making the shoe a little difficult to put on, but once on, these puppies fit like a glove (for your foot). The cuff also sports a tuck pouch for your laces so they don’t catch and untie on rocks and snags. The outer material is a seamless PU material that adds great durability and range of motion. The overall sporty-athletic look means that not only will you look good on the river but that you will also feel at home in the store or bar at the end of the day. On a side note, Simms also has a great wet wading shoe option this year with their shoe variant of their popular Flyweight series.
G-Loomis NRX+ Rods
Loomis has updated both their NRX and NRX LP series of rods for 2020. The new rods, called NRX+ and NRX+ LP, boast stronger more efficient construction while shedding weight. Without diving too deep into the techy side of things, this translates into a lighter, crisper and more powerful rod that I’m very excited to add to the quiver. Some models I’m stoked on are:
NRX+ 7-weight: Sweet streamer stick with enough backbone to handle carp too.
NRX+ 6-weight: Perhaps the best all-round Montana boat rod we sell now.
NRX+ 5-weight: Great wind-fighting large dry rod. Think hoppers, salmonflies, etc.
NRX+ LP 4-weight: Just as much fun as its predecessor with more “touch”.
Thomas & Thomas Paradigm Fly Rod
Another great new rod for 2020 comes from our east coast friends at Thomas & Thomas. The Paradigm is a very deep-loading, slow-action dry-fly oriented rod that will excel in selective trout situations. It offers plenty of power to push small and medium dries through the wind without sacrificing accuracy and touch. If you like the Henry’s Fork, Yellowstone Park, mid-summer on the Missouri or are just a dry-or-die angler you definitely owe it to yourself to check out this rod.
Sage ESN Reel
This new offering from sage finally delivers an elegant solution to balancing long Euro style rods without having to resort to an extremely oversized reel. The slim ultra large arbor holds full Euro lines and ample backing without have to fill with extra backing. While the full frame construction prevents line and fine leaders from sneaking between spool and reel. The main feature; however, is the changeable counter balance weights that mean you can perfectly balance and fine-tune any Euro setup.
Hot New Flies
A Top 5 in a Top 5, this feels like a Christopher Nolan movie. Every year there are countless new fly patterns and of those there are a few that you just know are going to be fire.
Dragon and Mini Dragon
– The streamer junkie in me just loves the combo and distribution of arctic fox hair and marabou in this fly.
Cowbell Cray
– There have been many articulated crayfish patterns over the years, but this one looks g-o-o-d, GOOD. Can’t wait the strip this one through the weed beds on the Lower Madison. Never stripped crayfish on the Lower? Don’t worry it doesn’t work…
Stubby Chubby
– Yet another chubby variant, but the small sizes in this one are just oozing beetle-ant goodness.
PMD Jiggy Nymph
– We got a lot of new jig flies this year but this PMD one has me wanting to bust out the Euro rod.
Corn Fed Sally
- The latest edition to the high-floating, super-fishy Corn Fed line of flies.
