Fly Fishing Retailer Wrap-up – Ross and More

The next few reviews wrap up our coverage from the 2009 Fly Fishing Retailer show. Thanks for checking it out! Over the next few months we’ll be putting a lot of the gear we’ve seen to work, and we’ll follow up with some more detailed reviews.

Ross Balance
This is a pretty cool idea. The Ross Balance is an adjustable reel arm that allows you to change the position of your reel relative to the rod. Why do you care? Moving the reel can change the balance of the rod significantly. Depending on the size of the reel relative to the rod, and also depending on angler preference, different positions might work better than others.

Besides being adjustable, the Balance differs from the Abel Arm in that it’s got a normal, built-in reel seat that fits any fly reel. No need to bust out the screwdriver to change reels – nice. $139.

Ross Evolution LT
Ross has updated their super-popular Evolution reel with the release of the Evolution LT. The LT has a larger arbor than the original Evolution. The spool cap and the drag cover are now aluminum instead of plastic, as is the escapement cover (sorry, we don’t know what an escapement cover is, but we know it’s metal now). The spool and frame are more ventilated than they were in the past, and the machining is beautiful. The drag is unchanged.

This is a really good looking reel. $245 – $315.

Sage TXL 000710-3
This rod isn’t new, but we just had to mention that we got to cast the Sage TXL 000710-3, otherwise known as the ‘Triple Ought’. That’s right – two sizes lighter than a 0 weight.

Our impression? It’s really, really, really light and really, really, really cool. $560.

Simms Flats Boots and Sneakers
We knew that Simms was coming out with new boots for the flats, and in fact we used a test pair on South Andros this past winter. They were great, but to be honest we really liked the old Flats Sneakers. We got some good news this weekend – the Flats Sneakers are sticking around in a revised, lightweight version, and the Flats Boots are being added to the lineup.

The Flats Boots are your hard core flats boot, with more ankle support and a more aggressive sole pattern. The Flats Sneakers are your lighter-weight, mellower-looking option, and we still like ’em. Both will be out in November. $149.95 for the Flats Boot and $99.95 for the Flats Sneaker.

And now, back to your regularly-scheduled Deneki blog.