New Products Coming to a Fly Shop Near You

Sage designed the PAYLOAD for chasing big fish with big flies, which is one of our favorite ways to fish. This rod has a very stiff tip that won't collapse when using shooting head fly lines with aggressive tapers so you can get those big flies to their target. Available in line weights 6 - 11, this rod is on our must purchase list.  

Two features that we are looking forward to with this rod are the softer butt section and the extended grip on the 10 and 11 weights. The softer butt section will be great for pulling hard on fish without having to worry about breaking tippet during the battle and for delivering the fly to its destination.

As for the extended grip, for years we have been using switch style rods with lower grips to overhead two-hand cast large flies. This casting style is much more comfortable to cast huge musky and pike flies all day, but the longer length of the switch rods made them a pain to travel with, keep in the boat, and get a great hook set. The PAYLOAD 10 and 11 weight models have an extended fighting butt allowing you to cast overhead with ease.  The lower handle makes it easier to Figure 8 when the musky of your dreams follows the fly all the way back to the boat, and it's easier to pack than those long switches. The $550.00 price point is also a win in our book.

The Redington GRANDE is an awesome new reel.  This aluminum and heavily machined reel is a real looker and is designed to be beaten up and used. While we don’t condone letting it bounce around in a boat on a long run or throwing it in the back of your truck to roll around; sometimes that just happens. And when it does, this reel will be good to go. The carbon drag is smooth, yet powerful, and is easy to adjust with a large knob on the backside of the reel. The accent colored splined spindle makes it easy to know when you've attached the spool correctly to the reel frame.

The starting price for this reel is $299.99, which is good for all the features and the look of the GRANDE. Spool this reel with a multicolored backing and bright fly line for a sure to impress setup.

The Orvis Depth Charge set the standard for what a sinking line should be, and the new Depth Charge Pro has done that again. The Depth Charge Pro is a triple density line, meaning that throughout the line there are three different sink rates to help the fly swim, fish, and cast better. For anglers not used to fishing sinking lines, knowing how far you have to strip in before you can cast can be a challenge. This line is triple colored, so you know how much line is out the tip of the rod or at your feet with just a glance.  

The Orvis Pro fly lines have a price point of $98.00, which is a fair price for a modern premium fly line. This line also has AST Plus coating so the line will run through the guides like it is new for a long time. We always recommend that you keep the box and spool for your lines, but that doesn't tell you what line weight it is when it's on the reel. Orvis labels the front of its Pro Fly lines with the taper name and line weight so you no longer have to guess. This line also comes with welded loops on both ends making it easy to attach a new leader or install the fly line yourself when you can't make it into your fly shop before your next trip.

Scientific Anglers is launching a new tippet they call ABSOLUTE.  Scientific Anglers is also embracing the fact that most anglers call them "SA" by recreating their branding with a modern-looking SA logo that we love.  The ABSOLUTE line offers both fluorocarbon and nylon options, and a variety of different styles to fit every fishing situation.

A few things to note about the new tippet. First, these new spools will connect with your current SA tippet spools. Second, the built-in line cutter is a game-changer. And third, the white for nylon and black for fluorocarbon color scheme is a great idea so you can easily identify the tippet material you want and that works for us. 

Patagonia continues to lead the way by using as much recycled material as possible while still making unbelievable gear. The New 55L Black Hole® Duffel Bag is going to be the perfect bag for your next adventure. The fabric used to construct it is made out of recycled plastic bottles (win-win), but there are so many things we love about this bag that it's hard to pick just a few -- but we will try. The color combos are awesome. The shape of the bag with its flat bottom and top is perfect for stacking and packing. The bag can convert from a duffel to a backpack depending on your needs, and one of the features we really love, it can stuff into one of its pockets to take up less space when you're not using it.

This year Simms has wholly redesigned its G3 Guide Z Women's Waders (hooray!). These waders are not just a smaller version of their man's wader; every aspect of the wader has been customized to fit a woman's body. Simms has updated the way the shoulder straps attach, added a side zipper, and refined the pattern and fit.  The shoulder straps attach to the wader closer to the hip and can be configured to connect straight over your shoulder, crisscrossed, or around your waist depending on how you like to wear your waders. We find that feature not only creative but brilliant! The innovative side zipper makes the waders a lot easier to get on and off and more comfortable when the waders are rolled down and worn as pants.

These waders are not cheap coming in at $649.95, but the 4-layer GORE-TEX® Pro Shell in the seat & legs will ensure you stay dry for a long time no matter how you many trees you climb over to get to that remote stretch of river.