http://www.simmsfishing.com/

http://www.realearthproducts.com/

http://www.gloomis.com/

Angling Publications - Index

Angling Publications - may2008 - Index

Simms Rivershed
Wading Boots
A few years ago I encountered
the toughest wading
conditions of my life. We
were on Maine’s Kennebec
River filming a TV show with
then-Governor, Angus King. I
told the TV weenie that this water
was a bitch to wade, but he insisted I
take the Governor out to mid stream to get the “right”
background, probably figuring that footage of a drowning
governor would bring big bucks. The Kennebec is a big river—200+ feet
wide, three to four feet deep, and with a 2- to 3-knot current where we were filming.
It was a flat-light day with an invisible bottom, and about 50 feet out we hit a field of
submerged boulders covered with the slipperiest slime you can imagine. Sure enough,
within a minute the Guv took a dive, and while the TV guy was
pissed that it took an hour to dry him out, at least the 275-pound
Maine State Police body guard didn’t rip his head off.
What the Guv needed was a pair of Simms Rivershed wading
boots with studded Aquastealth soles, designed specifically for
surviving the worst wading conditions on earth. Constructed
of synthetic leather and quick-drying, rubber-coated ballistic
nylon mesh, Riversheds feature full neoprene linings, speed
laces, dual-density EVA-foam midsoles, hard toe boxes, and
full perimeter rubber chafe guards. Their sticky-rubber
Aquastealth soles with imbedded tungsten studs provide the
best rock-crawling traction available . . . period. See them
at your local fly shop ($189.95), or for more information
contact Simms Fishing Products, Dept. FFA; Tel.: (800)
778-4778; Web: www.simmsfishing.com—Bill Battles
Real Earth Bug Away Lotion
Our local stomping grounds—Maine and New Hampshire—are
the biting-insect capitols of the world. Clouds of
black flies come in May, quickly followed by legions of mosquitoes,
then the no-see-ums. Black flies and mosquitoes are bad
enough, but pound for pound there’s nothing on earth more
toxic than a northern New England no-see-um. As a result, we’re
always on the look-out for new types of bug juice that won’t melt our fly lines, take
the finish off our gun stocks, dissolve our vehicles’ vinyl door panels, or cause our ear
lobes to rot away from malignant melanoma.
The best new bug juice we’ve found is Bug Away Lotion from Real Earth Products.
This 100% natural formula is made from essential oils of organically grown grape seed,
lavender, cedarleaf, pennyroyal, lemongrass, eucalyptus, rosemary and citronella, and
contains no artificial fragrances or preservatives. And it works—big time. Four of us
have been testing it for over a month now, and none of us has experienced an insect
bite anywhere we’ve applied it. Bug Away Lotion comes in a 2.5 fl. oz. aluminum
pump bottle—enough for several seasons—and sells for $13. Real Earth also makes
100% natural Lotion Bars and skin Protection Balm made from organically grown
comfrey root, goldenseal, slippery elm and St. John’s wort, which are known for
their anti-inflammatory skin healing properties, plus essential oils of eucalyptus,
lime, lavender and clove. See them all online at www.realearthproducts.com,
or for more information contact Real Earth Products, Inc., Dept. FFA; Tel.:
(888) 761-7333; E-mail: info@realearthproducts.com—Chris Major
G. Loomis
EastFork 3-wt
The new EastFork Series
from G. Loomis is a range of
performance fly rods at less
than premium prices. Designed,
rolled and built entirely
in G. Loomis’s Woodland,
Washington factory,
EastForks are “fast-taper,
stiff-action” rods that generate
maximum line speed
and very tight loops.
If you think that “fast-taper,
stiff-action” can’t possibly
translate well into a
3-weight, you’d be wrong.
The EastFork 7-foot, 3piece,
3-weight is an absolute
delight to cast, and is
prime evidence of our assertion
in this issue’s Buyers’
Guide to Ultralight Rods
that “today’s 3- or 4-weight
will throw as much line as a
6-weight of 30 years ago.”
The rod’s action is smooth
and progressive, with the
stiffness being limited to the
tip. It’s not stiff in the sense
of “10-weight stiff,” but it’s
stiff enough to produce line
speeds like we’ve never seen
in a 3-weight.
The thin-profile, extra
high-modulas blanks are fitted
with tip-over-butt ferrules and
get a rich, full-body cabernet
satin paint job. The ported
reel seat has a burl cork insert
engraved with the G. Loomis
skeleton fish logo, and is anodized
in bronze to match the
company’s EastFork reel. It
comes packed in a Corduracovered
rod tube, and includes
an original-owner lifetime
warranty, plus G. Loomis’ exclusive
Xpeditor Program that
will put a brand-new replacement
rod in your hands in as
little as two days. Test cast one
at your local fly shop ($385), or
for more information contact
G. Loomis, Dept. FFA; Web:
www.gloomis.com; Tel.:
(800) 456-6647—Bill Battles