Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category

Years ago, when I first saw and was able to touch and feel a pair of Simms Guide waders, I salivated. At the time, due to having expenses such as child support and other things that I needed to pay, I was unable to afford the hefty retail price and couldn’t justify spending the money.

The other night, when I was able to touch and feel the most recent version of Simms waders including the G4Z model, I salivated. At this time, I still have child support and other expenses and can’t justify spending the SRP of over $800.00 Canadian on a pair. The top of the line Simms waders may well be the best on the market with their five layers of gortex in the leg area and three layers in the chest – but for now, I’ll stick with my William Joseph’s that have done me well for the past four years or so.

Ray Collesso and Brian Primeau of Hook, Line & Sinker/The First Cast in Guelph, Ontario, did a fantastic job of hosting their “Third Annual New Product Presentation” featuring Canadian Rep for Simms, Sage, Reddington, Rio and others, Bob McKenzie, at their shop on Friday night. Ray and Brian provided a cheese and meat tray with refreshments to the guests that were present, and the guests got to listen to Bob McKenzie talk about the product line-ups, including new for 2010, of Simms, Sage, Reddington, Lamson, and Rio.

Simms does offer up an impressive lineup of waders, clothing and footwear for not just the angler, but for anyone who enjoys the outdoors. One of the nice things about many of Simms’ shirts is their attention to detail in styling. Available in great colours, one can wear some of the Simms shirts when casual wear is expected and not be identified necessarily as a “fisherman.” At the same time, the materials and designs have anglers in mind. Bob said something to the effect, “When a company makes great waders that will last for years, we need to come up with other great products to sell.”

A few of the items I’m interested from Simms include the “Taco bag” – a nicely designed wader storage bag that can also be used as a mat when putting on or removing waders; the G3 Wading “pant” which I think might actually be more useful to me in the majority of the conditions I wade in (but again, the $440.00 price tag is a bit hefty for me); the “Guide Windstopper” jacket which could do double duty as a cross country ski jacket on those cold days when I’m out on the trails in the winter months; and finally, the Guide Shirt. I liked the blue one.

One of the things Bob stressed was the importance of getting a good fit with your waders. For this reason, it’s really important to go to your local fly shop where experienced people can assure the waders you are purchasing fit you correctly.

Although my cold weather fly fishing is not as frequent as others, I still wouldn’t mind an extra few base layer tops – the Waderwick™ crew tops. In the winter months, I do enjoy cross country skiing and other outdoor activities and I’ve learned just how comfortable base layers that wick away moisture and perspiration can be when it gets cold but I’m sweating.

(By the way, I wanted to provide my readers with some images of the Simms’ products, but their website has a little javascript thing going on that makes it inconvenient but not impossible to download and save images. Kind of dumb because such “security” measures are very easy to circumvent – but obviously Simms wants me to email them, wait for a reply from someone, just to help promote their stuff. Don’t see too many businesses trying to be that protective of their images – So you can just go visit their website to see what I’m talking about, I guess).

After the discussion about Simms, Bob McKenzie showed us all the Sage, Reddington and Lamson lineups. Sage of course has been one of the leaders in graphite fly rod development for about 30 years. I have a few rods that I built for myself on Sage blanks back in the late 80’s and early 90’s and still enjoy them very much. A couple of rods that I don’t use anymore will likely be handed down to one of my sons. It was interesting to learn about the new fly rod lineups from both Sage and Reddington, and to be able to hold and feel their reels. The top of the line reels are impressive, but again, come with a hefty price tag beyond most people’s pocketbook capabilities. But for those who can, they’ll own some great stuff that will likely be able to be passed down to sons and daughters perhaps as heirlooms.

One of the really interesting reel designs was the Lamson Vanquish with its “Waterworks conical drag” and “v-shaped” large arbor. It was hard to believe that the 4.1 inch diameter reel can hold 220 yards of 20# backing and a fly line. But due to the design, it can – but apparently it could take some getting used to due its width when retrieving line back onto the reel.

Anyhow, my concerns with the high end price tag of some of the stuff we saw aside, it was a very enjoyable evening all round. Bob McKenzie is a great guy that does a great job of promoting the lines he represents, and Ray and Brian do a fantastic job of keeping their customers in the loop and coming up with ways to keep things as affordable as possible for their customers. I ended up spending a few bucks in the shop on some fly tying supplies I needed as well as picking up last year’s version of Simms Waterwick undershirts at a great price.

There it is – on page 89: “Parental Advisory Explicit Fly Porn.”

I just received the issue of Hatches Magazine that I ordered last week. What a great job the publishers have done. I haven’t counted the number of articles in it, but have been leafing through, getting ideas and looking at the great photography when I came upon the article on Bud Guidry. Wow! What amazing flies this guy ties, and to think he’s only been at it for 2 years!

Yes, these are works of art – and I’d be framing them, not casting them out to fish, that’s for sure.

Years ago, I owned a custom fishing rod building business and did quite a bit of decorative thread work and received a number of compliments on some of my work. But I always found that I needed way more patience and attention to detail than I ever thought I possibly had – and to look at the photos of Bud’s work – I am convinced that I simply do not have the patience and attention to detail to do create anything close to the beautiful creations that Bud Guidry has done.

Hatches should have put the two page spread of the photos of five of Bud’s flies as the centerfold of the Magazine – and maybe even offered it as a frameable poster or something.

Absolutely gorgeous.

The rest of the magazine is very nice too – with a lot of great information and “how-to’s.”  But the porn on pages 91. 92 and 93 is just incredible.

During the cold winds and inclement weather of Grande Prairie, I kept a handy dandy flask of whiskey handy – basically a 500 ml bottle that originally contained some spring water.  No, I did not consume anything from the flask during the competition sessions as apparently, that would have been illegal being in a boat according to Alberta law.

Unfortunately, the 500 ml bottle did not always fit very well in any of my pockets however.

Well, a very thoughtful woman came to the rescue and I have received a wonderful birthday present that is a nice flask that is sure to fit in just about any pocket – jacket, shirt, or boat bag.  I don’t remember telling the woman that my birthday was October 8th, but I guess I did – and she remembered.

Just the right thing for those cool spring or cool autumn days when fly fishing and inclement weather is a threat.

Yes, it will be filled with “whiskey,” (note the ‘e’ between the k and the y) and probably not “whisky.”   There are some Scotches that I like – but my own preference is for a good Bushmills – Black Bush – but I am not going to say no to the ten or 16 year old single malt Bushmills either.

This flask will fit perfectly in any of my pockets – shirt, trouser, vest, or boat bag.  And I love the inscription on the flask as well.

Ok, I may have a 500 ml water bottle as a back up (along with an un-opened bottle of Black Bush to boot) – but this birthday present is indeed a piece of fly fishing equipment that I will treasure and enjoy!