Review: Women's Waders - Patagonia Spring River Waders for Women

by Aileen Lane on Mon, 12/09/2013 - 12:01

As finding women’s waders that fit and function the in ways that make sense for women has always been a challenge, I was very excited to learn that Patagonia was “joining the women’s wader party.” Patagonia's Mark Harbaugh, in an interview with Midcurrent, stated that these waders were designed from the ground up “by women for women.”

Patagonia Spring River Wader

Unfortunately, when the time rolled around to put Patagonia’s new women’s waders to through their paces, Patagonia did not have available my size to review. However, my friend and fellow fly fisher, Rachel, was the perfect candidate for these waders. So, we both headed out, working together to test the Spring River Wader -- both in and out of the water -- to give our assessment. The following review is a compilation of our thoughts and findings.

Artist Helping to Support the Henry's Fork Foundation

by Marshall Walker on Sun, 12/08/2013 - 09:57

Artist Dave Hall has released the first poster in his Moving Water series to support the efforts of The Henry's Fork Foundation.

The first poster is titled "Dawn on the Henry's Fork", and it depicts a fog-laden Henry's Fork with the caption "If you're lucky, there are places you go back to."

Moving Water Poster

In an interview with MidCurrent, Hall said he chose the image because most people will never have the chance to witness Henry's Fork at dawn.

"Anyone who's walked the Henry's Fork at dawn and any number of other rivers around the country knows that scene. It's gone when the sun's up and the air warms. It's ethereal and an experience I find extraordinarily beautiful."

Umpqua Founder Dennis Black Passes Away

by Marshall Walker on Fri, 12/06/2013 - 13:22

Umpqua Feather Merchants has announced that its founder Dennis Black passed away this morning.

Black is known as a pioneer of fly fishing who revolutionized the industry by working with over 150 expert tyers to increase the production of quality, hand-tied flies. Black's efforts throughout the years helped to reduce the negative stigma associated with flies tied overseas. Part of this accomplishment was driven by Black convincing American expert tyers to allow young women to tie their designs at his factory in India. Dennis is also known for rewarding the creativity and skill of professional tyers with his own unique royalty payment system.

Dennis Black Umpqua
Dennis plying the waters of Thailand (photo: David Lambroughton).

In over 40 years, Black has worked with expert tyers, like Dave Whitlock, Mike Lawson and Randall Kaufmann, to build five separate fly-tying factories in India, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. Today Umpqua Feather Merchants is known for having some of the best fishing flies constructed of the best materials on the market. Black is also a commercial tyer himself and has been credited with launching the careers of many talented amateur and professional fly tyers.

Older posts