Articles

Redington Aims to Take the Ugly Out of Fly Fishing Boots

by Ben Kryzinski - Wednesday, Jul 10th, 2013

The Redington Men's Prowler Elite and Women's Siren wading boots.

Redington, who recently announced improved and restyled wader designs, is also introducing five new boot designs that aim to set to rest the perception that fly fishing boots are ugly. The new designs are all clear standouts from industry convention, even the more modern and stylized designs from companies like Simms and Patagonia.

The Redington Men's Super Elite and Women's Siren wading boots.

In fact, one may find themselves wondering if Redington has taken inspiration from snowboard boot manufacturers like Burton and DC, as many of the new designs feature rounded bright, eye-catching colors and youthful design. Redington will also be offering five different colors of laces, allowing anglers to customize the look of their boots.

Scott's New Radian Fly Rod Winning Fans Early

by Colin K. Breck - Wednesday, Jul 10th, 2013

Scott's new Radian fly rod.

Scott's new flagship one-handed fly rod, the Radian, is making its formal debut at this year's IFTD trade show in Las Vegas, Nevada. Even before it makes it into the hands of the masses, Scott's new rod series is winning over a number of anglers. Scott describes the Radian as a fly rod where "fast meets feel", and it seems like those who have cast it are in agreement.

Scott's new Radian fly rod.

According to Scott, "until now, you’ve had to choose between a rod with power and line speed, or a rod with touch and feel. But thanks to Scott, those days are over." The answer to this dilemma, says Scott, is their new ReAct technology. ReAct technology "dramatically increased recovery speed ... by minimizing energy - sapping vibrations - ReAct creates fast action, high line speed rods with all the nuance and feel of a presentation rod."

Given that few, if any rods, have truly been able to provide fast action power while allowing for short presentations of size 24 flies -- let alone providing finesse and feel during such presentations -- the fact that Scott is claiming the Radian can do so is no small matter. Still, initial feedback on the Radian has been overwhelmingly positive.

Redington Intros New 2014 Super Dry Wader Series

by Chad Shmukler - Tuesday, Jul 9th, 2013

Redington's Super Dry Fly (zip front) waders.

Redington announced yesterday its 2014 additions to its already successful lineup of waders. Building on the success of its Sonic Pro series of waders, which included the first zip-front waders that didn't come with a $700+ price tag, Redington is aiming to continue its innovative strides with its new Super Dry series of waders. As unabashed fans of the Sonic Pro series (you can read our review here), it will be exciting to see how Redington's latest effort performs in the field.

Redington Super Dry Fly (zip front) waders

The new Super Dry series comes with a significant list of improvements and added features. Leading the list is the addition of Cocona treated interior fabric. Cocona is synthetic fabric that, according to Redington, "uses natural micro-particles permanently embedded in polyester fibers to enhance performance by actively removing moisture, increasing the rate of evaporation and breathability, drying faster and maintaining better odor control." There's little doubt this will sound like music to the ears of anyone who's worn their waders on a day where the air temperature is over 70 degrees and has later found themselves checking to make sure they don't have a leak, only to realize they've soaked the inside of their waders with sweat.

Hardy & Greys Limited Bought By Pure Fishing Inc.

by Ben Kryzinski - Monday, Jul 8th, 2013

Hardy Fly Fishing Logo

Hardy & Greys Limited, the company behind the Hardy Brothers, Hardy and Grey's brands of fly fishing rods, reels and related tackle, has been acquired by U.S.-based Pure Fishing Inc. Pure Fishing, in turn, is a subsidiary of Jarden Inc, a large corporation that is behind brands that which span the gamut from outdoor brands such K2, Volkl and Coleman to household brands such as Mr. Coffee, Sunbeam and Crock-Pot.

Pure Fishing is one of the largest companies in the fishing and tackle industry and, prior to the recent acquisition, had only limited involvement the fly fishing industry, with most of its brands in the conventional fishing arena. Pure Fishing is behind brands such as Abu Garcia, All Star, Berkley, Fenwick, Hodgman, Johnson, JRC, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger, SevenStrand, Shakespeare, SpiderWire and Stren.

Loud and Clear: 77% Think Pebble Mine is a Bad Idea

by Colin K. Breck - Saturday, Jul 6th, 2013

A Bristol Bay rainbow trout (photo: Alaska Rainbow Adventures www.akrainbow.com).

On June 30, the EPA closed its second public comment period regarding the latest draft of its risk assessment of large-scale open-pit mining in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska. Specifically addressed in the assessment are the likely scenarios that would result from the realization of the yet-to-be formally proposed but heavily researched and planned Pebble Mine at the headwaters of the Nushagak and Kvichak Rivers, the two most prolific wild salmon rivers in the world. The assessment was unequivocal in its determination that a mine such as Pebble would have very significant negative impacts on the salmon populations of the Bristol Bay region -- given that mining operations are accident free -- and would have disastrous consequences were an accident to occur. Given that no large-scale open-pit mine has ever operated accident free, rather spills and pipeline failures and other accidents are common with such operations, opponents of mining in Bristol Bay see little ambiguity regarding the outcome for Bristol Bay salmon and the economy that depends on them if mining ever came to the region.

According to a press release by the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development association, 77% of all comments received by the EPA regarding the feasibility of mining in the Bristol Bay region were anti-mine. That figure represents the total percentage of comments received during both this latest and the EPA's previous public comment period (70% of respondents in the latest period were anti-Pebble). In total, 762,979 comments had been received as of June 28, 587,145 of which were in favor of protecting Bristol Bay.