It's that time of the year again and new gear is being announced at IFTD. I figured this may be a fun place to gather all our thoughts and comments about what these companies are doing. I know gear rarely makes a difference in fly fishing, but it's kind of fun to geek out on the tech stuff sometimes too. Below are some of the things that caught my eye. I'm curious to see what else everyone else thinks or if other products piqued anyone else's attention.

I think the biggest news is Orvis's Helios H3 - I've got an H2 and love it, but they're touting the H3 as the most accurate rod ever built. Not sure how finely that means they're splitting hairs because the H2 is pretty damn accurate. It seems like rather than go with the tip flex / mid flex designation they're using a more consumer friendly distance vs. accuracy modeling. Oddly enough Bloomberg has the first review of it. Not sure I'm digging the white on the bottom of the blank, but we will see how it feels.

Sage has updated the Salt model with the Salt HD which is supposed to be more versatile. That means you can find the old Salt for a pretty steep discount now.

Simms has new G3 Guide waders coming out.

Rio seems to have adapted its freshwater connect core into a low stretch mono based saltwater version called Flats Pro. Seems like a neat idea but the MSRP is a little high at $119. I'll probably wait until this trickles down into a Redfish line with a bigger head.

Enjoyed the Bloomberg piece on the H3. Orvis has 15 percent of the rod market. That's pretty low.

I feel like the fly rod and gear folks don't do much in terms of products and marketing to pull people away from spinning and baitcasting gear. Maybe that's by design, to sort of bolster the elite and selective image. Maybe the fear is that opening it up to mass appeal and consumption the elite big spenders will be turned off.

Thanks for sharing. I wish a show like this would come to Texas. Would be nice to see some of this equipment first hand.

For awhile the bass tournaments wouldn't allow a rod over 8 ft. so some of the fly rods companies began making a bass legal model at 7'-11" I think trying to get into that market. Now, the tournament rules have changed again and I believe up to 10 ft. is allowed. From some of the comments I get from other bass fishermen when they see me fly casting from my boat on Lake Conroe I don't see many taking up the sport.

My reaction to the $850 H3 is mostly unprintable. Its touted for accuracy, LOL.

I'd offer that accuracy is 99% a function of the caster and not the fly rod. If you are willing to pay $850 for that extra 1% then I'm reminded of that saying "a fool and his money are soon parted" line.

The biggest deal about the new rod may be in the distinctive appearance...elitists love to show off and will pay anything to gain an "edge" in appearance if not in fact performance.

I reviewed the lists of new products and really didn't find anything I would be interested in at the prices they quoted.

A new sling pack from Umpqua caught my eye until I saw the bottom line of $100. Just not worth 5 times what excellent sling packs(without fly fishing labels) cost.

Nope, not very interesting overall. mostly grossly over priced gear, IMO.

http://www.ginkandgasoline.com/gear_revi...series-fly-rod/

here is a rod I am excited about and cant wait to hear more info at iftd

I'm excited about the H3 coming out. I may be able to afford a clearance reduced priced H2.

I fish a lot of ponds. When people see my fly rod they almost always ask if I'm fishing for bluegills. When I say I'm catching bass they don't seem to really believe me.

I am with Meadowlark - accuracy is a function of the caster. That said, I also think a good rod can help an average caster. For the longest time it was distance, distance distance. Now, it's accuracy, accuracy accuracy (my journalism mantra by the way). Seems like it's never affordable, affordable affordable. I also like Karstapo's point on pulling baitcasters into the fly world. The big exception - TFO. I believe that company has done more to make fly fishing accessible to the public than any single fly fishing company out there, and they have stuck with their program of doing so.

To your door $475

That's a good deal there Smurfs. Love my H2s

I found it interesting that a few of the comments above focused on elitism in the fly fishing industry. I grew up in fly fishing and in the 90s it was definitely a county club sort of sport where old white guys in their vests would go out and fly fish when they got bored with golf. However, I really think a big shift has occurred in the market and the sport and manufacturers are actively trying to pursue a wider demographic, especially with regards to women. I see a lot more women fly fishing and in fly fishing ads and there is a great movie about three female anglers trying to pursue a saltwater grand slam. If the counter culture movement hasn't fully taken hold yet, I do think it's on its way and the sport is at least taking steps to shed its old image.



I like reading G&G but they are given to hyperbole in their product "reviews." Nevertheless, there is a lot of buzz around the G series rod and I've got to say I'm excited to try it as well. I casted the Meridian and it will be my next saltwater rod, Scott has a good thing going.

Excellent point!!

I have 2 H2 rods and love them. I also have a Orvis superfine carbon and an entry level clearwater. There are several rod companies that make good quality products, its just like shoes, everyone has their own preference. I do think there is a big difference in some of the higher quality rods, again its personal preference. If Orvis or TFO works for you then use it,but a side note, most of the time you get what you pay for!

I guess I'm looking forward to the Rio Flats Pro line, mainly because I'm due for a replacement.

I get this same reaction a lot. Some guys will pull in close just to ask what I fishing for. When I say bass, they just shake their head and say "why waste your time with that stuff".

We all, including myself, get "hide bound" on what's good water and fish for fly fishing. I know if I was stranded anywhere in the world without aid in sight, I'd want a fly set up and a few hooks and thread and maybe a spool of mono(for leaders) over any other type of fishing gear. I just don't think one can beat the versatility of fly fishing and I think it even beats bait fishing for producing in some situations.

I'm not sure everyone is on board with fly fishing is good just about everywhere there are fish and for just about every kind of fish using just about any price of gear. Redfish weren't always a destination type fish, but they are now for lots of folks. Carp are becoming fashionable in many places to pursue with the fly gear. Fly fishing has at least partially or maybe largely broken free from the insect sipping, match the latest hatch cold water trout scene of years past. I don't think there is much room for growth there anyway, the rivers are already too crowded in many places. Tropical flats fishing has been a big deal for a while now and from what I hear, many of those spots get a lot of fishing pressure. But everywhere there is water, especially shallow water or surface or near surface feeding fish, there's potential markets and products to market that fit the fish and the budgets of the vast numbers of potential converts to fly fishing fishermen and women. Hey rod makers, stop pushing so many 9' rods in the 6-12 weight range and give us more choices in the 7-8' sizes.

I think you're going to have to wait a little while. The market trend is definitely longer rods for the foreseeable future.

Is that Spey? Euro nymphing? Sage, G.Loomis, Redington (Same people as Sage), Orvis, and TFO all have an 8' or less rod in the 6-12 weight range. Scott has an 8'4" Meridian skiff model. I've only used the TFO and G. Loomis rods. I think the Short Stix received recognition in the IFTD show 2-3 years ago.

The Short Stix taper seems very much different than the TFO minimag. That tells me there's room to come up with even more tapers in the short rods. It seems like the G.Loomis Short Stix is getting a little bit of a following at least in some circles. Maybe if it sells well enough other makers will put out their new and improved versions.

I've got a 7' 11" Orvis Recon 8 wt.

ST Croix has the Mojo Bass series rods at 7' 11" in 7, 8, and 9 wt. At $149 there certainly affordable, but from what I can tell are only available online. Bass Pro and Dick's have them, but they aren't available in stores.

I have the St Croix Mojo Bass in 8wt and would really recommend it to anyone. Aside from the quality of the cork used in the handle it's as smooth casting as my other more expensive rods. I bought it primarily for it's shorter length to fit inside my boats rod locker. BPS Katy usually has the Sage Bass rod in stock if you wanted to see it firsthand. BPS also has a "casting class" on Saturday mornings where by you could actually try out any of their rods. Its more of a try and buy than an actual learning how to cast class.

I've seen the Mojo rods at the Grapevine BPS from time to time. I've pondered picking one up as a spare or a gateway rod to convert some friends.

I'm not saying they aren't manufactured or sold, but surely you've seen that all the hype is on longer sticks - and that's not spey/switch or Euro-specific stuff. There's more new 10 footers than sub 8 footers coming out.

Hype - that's what leads me to purchase new equipment. Just imagine if there were a bunch of fly fishing pros wearing Nascar looking shirts competing in tournaments every other week with live coverage. Where would this sport be? just kidding of course...

Sort of off topic but I still haven't figured out what Euro specific fly gear is all about.

It's definitely not tweed jacket type stuff, but if you want to kill it on some rough pocket water, Euro is *the* game.

I may have to check out the Mojo. And the Sage.

For me, personally, the rod gets the fly line out wherever, but it's the reel that's the real business of landing the fish. The more time spent casting, the better one becomes at casting, but having a fish explode and fight and pull and jump, the reel, not the rod, has to bring that bad boy to the boat/net. Creating a setup that pairs a line and rod well, is also paramount, but it's the reel that is the workhorse tool.

I feel that way for anything used for saltwater fish. You need corrosion resistance, a drag that comes on smooth, finishes strong, and has the fortitude to not go up in smoke when you latch into the back in of a runaway Ferrari. Most of the stuff you hook in freshwater, though, never sees the reel. At least for me it doesn't. Sometimes I'll put a fish to reel just for the fun of it, but it's by choice, not because the circumstances dictated it.

A nice reel, however, is something you'll keep and use forever. I've had several "latest and greatest" rods that I just don't fish anymore because they got supplanted by newer "latest and greatest" rods. My nice reels, though, were more an investment in perpetuity. I keep using them, and if I were the kid-having type, they're the type of thing that could be passed down. A bunch of graphite rods, not so much. I hate to think of a high end rod as a disposable tool, but that's about what they all are.