The two best new fishing products

for 2007

  And the two biggest disappointments.

By

George Anderson

Every year we are excited to see all the new fishing products that the manufacturers roll out.   Generally this happens at the Fly Fishing Retailer Show in Denver, in September.    Then our local reps for the various companies show all the product lines just in case we didn't make it to the Denver show.

By October, we've gotten a good look at all the new products for the upcoming 2007 season. I thought that picking the two best new products for 2007 would make a good article for our Christmas newsletter.    In looking for the two best products for the upcoming year I also came up with two products best described as the two biggest disappointments for 2007.    Here's the scoop-   

The two best new products for 2007

Sage's Z-Axis rods

If you get a chance to read our #5 line rod shootout, you'll see that Sage's new 9 foot #5 Z-Axis walked away as the winner.    Apparently a lot of other people around the country agree as Sage is being overwhelmed with orders for the new rods.   Marc Bale, VP in charge of marketing told me that the Z-Axis has been the biggest product launch in history, with unprecedented orders for the new rods pouring in from fly shops all over the country.

These new rods are extremely light in your hand yet have unbelievable, smooth power you have to experience to believe.   They are wonderful all around rods, working well at close range, but where they really shine is at medium and longer distances.  

They clobbered the competition in our all important performance categories, with three out of four perfect scores.This is the rod that Sage needed to build to replace the aging XP.    The XP rods were too stiff and had an action that was TOO fast.

Jerry Siem, their head rod designer, utilized the new G5 graphite technology that has been so successful in their saltwater Xi2 rods, and applied these materials along with some new rod building techniques to come up with the Z-Axis.     The result is a rod that is softer than the XP, and just a bit slower in action.    The action of the new Z-Axis rods is still rated as fast, but now it's just right.    And best of all, the new rods load perfectly with the line sizes they are rated for.     No longer do we have to sell our customers one line size larger to get the rod to perform well at short to medium distances, which was the case with the XP.   

Simms Keen Wading Shoe

This product is technically not new for 2007, but we just re-discovered what a fantastic all around wading shoe this boot is, for both wet wading as well as use with your normal waders.

Simms introduced this lighter weight wading shoe by the Keen Company in 2006, but touted it as a wet wading shoe and sized it the same way.    You picked just about the same size you wore as a street shoe, maybe one size larger, and then added a pair of Simms wet wading socks and you had the most comfortable wet wading outfit you've ever experienced.    I spend most of my fishing time last summer, wet wading in these boots, wearing a pair of shorts, while hiking and walking as much as ten miles in a day.

I was impressed at how much more comfortable this boot was than my other wading shoes.    Part of this is due to the design and wider toe box along with the classic Keen fit, along with their perfectly shaped footbed that gives you the support you need in all the right places. Along with this, they were very light and tough, with a heavy rubber toe guard to keep you from pinching your toes in those big riverbed boulders.    The felt soles held up perfectly and showed very little wear for all thewalking and fishing I'd done.

Then it hit me - if these boots are so fantastic, why not wear them as my normal wading shoes with my Simms waders?     On my fall trip to Alaska, I did just that.    Since the sizing is small, I jumped from my normal size 12 to a 14 to accommodate the neoprene feet in my stockingfoot waders.     The fit was perfect. After hiking six to eight miles a day on bear trails and across spongy tundra, at the end of the day my feet never felt better.

The only problem for anglers that want to wear these boots as a wading shoe with their stocking foot waders will be fitting people that have a shoe size larger than 11 1/2 or 12.    The largest size that Simms will manufacture for 2007 is a 14, which is about the same size as a normal size 12 wading shoe.    If your foot size is 13 or 14, you are still in luck if you are wading wet. Hopefully for the 2008 season Simms will have a size or two larger to accommodate the big guys.

The two biggest disappointments for 2007

R.L. Winston's BIIt rods

You are going to hear a lot of hype from Winston on how great these new rods are, but don't believe it.    The BIIx rods have been one of the most popular rods we've sold here in our shop and they are wonderfully light with good power and a softer tip that allow excellentaccuracy in close.      

Then they got the bright idea to utilize the WT designs, but apply their new boron butt technology.   Master rod builder, Tom Morgan, designed the original WT rods. This was during the time he owned the R.L. Winston Rod Company. Tom's original designs are still some of thevery best casting rods in the Winston line.    

However, marrying Tom's WT designs with the new Boron technology appears to me to be a disaster.     The new BIIt rods are far too soft, too wimpy, and too slow in action to be of much use to most anglers.   

I love Winston rods, so it was a big letdown to see how poorly these rods performed.     We were on the lawn, casting them into a 10-15 mph breeze and it was all we could do to cast forty feet!   To compound matters, the actions were much slower than the BIIx, making them more of a medium action rod, which reduces their ability to cast very accurately, even at close distances.

If you are only going to fish at distances from twenty to forty feet, consider the BIIt but be sure to try it and compare it with Winston's best casting rods, like the WT or BIIx.    For my money the WT's are by far the finest casting rods in Winston's whole line-up.     Their 8 1/2 foot #3 or #4 WT rods are a joy to use for delicatefishing anywhere.    If you want a rod that loads even better at short distances, try the 8 foot Tom Morgan Favorite (TMF).    It will cast circles around the BIIt's.   

One last suggestion – if you insist on buying the WIIt, try it with one line size lighter than they recommend. Then it might come to life.

  Simms G-4 Waders

First, let me say that it appears that the G-4 waders are still a work in progress.    This is a good example of a potentially good product that was brought to the market before all the kinks were worked out.

I picked up a pair of pre-production prototype waders from Simms for my Alaska trip in mid-September.    I was enthusiastic to try these new waders since everyone at Simms felt they were the neatest thing since the invention of Gore-Tex waders.    The new G-4's do have some innovative new features, the best of which is the new waterproof zipper.    Not only does this offer the obvious advantages for the male angler, but the zipper also makes the wader far easier to put on and take off, especially for those approaching an age qualifying for AARP membership.   

Problems with the G-4's surfaced immediately, even before my trip.    The hard, Velcro backed wader belt adjustment loops were so stiff they dug into my ribs when I sat down.   Fortunately they were designed to be removed, so I pitched them into the trash.   

The re-designed feet fit great and the new gravel guards worked perfectly as advertised.    The new fit, with the seams running up the top and bottom of the leg made sense, rather than having the seam on the inside of the leg, where it gets the most wear.   It looks a little odd, but seems to get the job done.

The tough, new 5-layer Gore-Tex fabric has been extended all the way around the leg and also extends nearly up to your waist on the sides and even farther up the seat in the back.    Now this may be a boon to steelhead anglers that don't have to walk very far and guides that spend more time sitting on a rowing seat than they do walking, but I think the majority of anglers seeking a good pair of all around waders will be happier with either the new Guide Stockingfoots or the tried and proven G-3 Guide Waders.  

Hiking for miles in the Alaska tundra with the G-4's was not a pleasant experience.    Not only was the stiffer, 5 layer Gore-Tex fabric more uncomfortable and less breathable to hike in than my G-3's, the new suspender system was a nightmare.    The adjustment system was hard to figure out, and then it kept loosening up.    The worst part for me was the inability to clip the suspenders together (due to lack of adjustment) and wear the wader waist-high.   Even in the 40-50 degree weather we encountered in Alaska, hiking that tundra builds upper body heat quickly, making it a necessity for me to have the ability to fold the waders down and wear them waist high.

This is going to be a wonderful wader, especially for steelhead anglers and others that don't plan to walk long distances, once they correct the suspender problem.     Why these guys felt they needed to re-invent the wheel is beyond me.   If they had just slapped on a pair of the good G-3 suspenders, everyone would be happy.   

 If you want a good pair of all around waders that you can hike in for miles in total comfort, fold them down easily and wear them waist-high, as I like to do 80% of the time, do yourself a favor and get either the G-3 Guide Stockingfoot waders or better yet, the new Guide Stockingfoots waders.    Then you'll have enough money left over to buy a nice 9 foot #5 Albright A-5 five-piece rod and a decent reel!  

Simms assures me that the suspender issue is being corrected, before they ship many of the G-4's.   We'll see.    We'll pick up a pair of the final producion G-4's and have a full report on them in our Spring e-mail newsletter.