The Fly Fishing Show Denver Edition

Wherein we learn that the good folks @Patagoniaflyfish bring out the big guns to staff their booth. Bill Klyn, Patagonia's International Fishing Development Manager.

 

Found at #IFTD

Patagonia's Stealth Atom Sling pack incorporates a waterproof pocket for your cellphone etc.

Patagonia launches Fly Fishing E-Catalog

Our friends over at Patagonia sent us this release, which since they are our friends, we decided to publish in it's entirety. In the interest of full disclosure, these guys have bought us an adult beverage or two in the past. Notwithstanding their plying us with alcohol, an e-catalog that won't end up filling up our landfills remains pretty darn cool.

PATAGONIA FISH LAUNCHES PAPERLESS E-CATALOG e-Catalog Saves Almost 200 Trees and Eliminates Almost 8,300 Pounds of Solid Waste

www.patagonia.com/fishcatalog

VENTURA, Calif. (March 29, 2010) — Patagonia, the fishing and outdoor apparel manufacturer, launches its first-ever Fish e-Catalog – an online, interactive, 52-page flipbook. With a feel that’s more “magazine” than “catalog,” readers will be able to watch embedded videos, read unique Ambassador commentary, click on technical product information and provides avenues to purchase. The catalog will be distributed via e-mail and social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, blogs and certified Fish dealer websites. The user-controlled e-Catalog replaces the company’s traditional paper-based catalog this Spring, as it is easier to find and is a small step toward permanently eliminating a paper catalog for Patagonia’s Fishing line.

“We’re a catalog company at our core, so a non-traditional e-Catalog is a huge move for us – but a step in the right direction environmentally,” notes Casey Sheahan, Patagonia’s angling CEO. “This is a greener way to be in the catalog business. Our hope is that anglers are psyched to get product information this way so moving forward we can try to avoid sending catalogs to individual mailboxes.”

By eliminating the paper catalog, Patagonia saves about 74,826 gallons of wastewater, 8,279 pounds of solid waste, 176 trees and almost 16,300 pounds of Co2. The company hopes that anglers will take note and embrace the new e-Catalog model, "The success of this experiment depends largely on the fishing community's response. If they like it and it goes viral then the next one will be bigger, better, and even more interactive."

“The fishing market is the right place to launch an e-Catalog. Anglers are online, engaged, and we’re hoping they will help us get the word out on their own Facebook and Twitter pages,” continues Sheahan. “Anglers have turned to the internet to review water conditions, hatches, plan trips, research product news, blog, and more, making them the perfect customer for an online, interactive e-Catalog that feels more like a magazine or multi-media site.”

Readers will also enjoy new features such as “product system recommendations,” where one can learn about which products best suit different types of fishing and environs. Some examples include wet wading for backcountry trout, dry wading for backcountry trout and classic steelhead/salmon fishing. With the new e-catalog, Patagonia now has the luxury of providing its fans and customers more in-depth and individualized product recommendations. Patagonia encourages all bloggers, journalists, websites and anglers to post the e-Catalog link on their pages to get the word out.

Patagonia's World Trout Initiative Grants

WORLD TROUT ISSUES FINAL GRANTS FOR 2009

Eight Global Grassroots Groups Receive $75,000 for Fish and Habitat Enhancement

Ventura, CA (January 12, 2010) Patagonia, Inc, the outdoor gear and technical apparel company announced today their World Trout initiative has issued eight grants totaling $75,000 to global grassroots groups whose diverse efforts to protect and enhance fish and their habitat around the world exemplify the philosophy of World Trout.

Grant recipients include the Wild Salmon Center at $10,00 for their Koppi River Salmon Diversity project; Pacific Rivers Council at $8,000 for their Umpqua River Legacy Program; Truckee River Watershed Council, who’s efforts on Lahontan Cutthroat Trout Restoration received $15,000; Takshanuk Watershed council was allocated $10,000 for completion of their water rights reservations initiatives; Bahamian-based Friends of the Environment was the recipient of $8,000 for their sustainable crawfish campaign, Henry’s Fork Foundation’s film, Watershed, which is about impressive hands-on projects completed over the past 25 years, was allotted $3,000 to help distribute this informative film to anglers and other grassroots groups in the hopes these efforts can be replicated; Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s research on critical tarpon habitat received $15,000 and Italian group Societa Valsesiana Pescatori Sportivi was sent $8,000 for enhancement of their threatened grayling habitat.

World Trout was founded by Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard and author/artist James Prosek, who believed that immediate, hands-on action through local grassroots groups can begin to address multiple threats facing our fish and their habitat. Educating the public about these groups’ efforts and raising money to support their vitally important activities was the goal. As a result, original artwork by such renowned artists as James Prosek, Tim Borski and Alan James Robinson, has been used to create unique t-shirts, with $5 from the sales of each shirt set aside to fund these groups. Since 2005, World Trout has successfully generated over $400,000 that has been allocated to 30 local grassroots groups.

Because of increasing requests for support and the significant amount of dollars that have been raised, Patagonia has made the World Trout Grant application process easier. Go to www.patagonia.com/worldtrout and the grant guidelines in the lower left corner will walk you through the process. "This grant process allows us to receive applications from groups worldwide, allowing us to react more rapidly to fund those working tirelessly to protect and enhance fish and habitat," noted Bill Klyn, Patagonia’s international fishing development manager.

About Patagonia
Noted internationally for its commitment to product quality, Patagonia’s Environmental Grants program has contributed over contributed over $35M to grassroots environmental activists since the program began in 1985. Patagonia, with sales last year of $315M, is noted internationally for its commitment to product quality and environmental activism. Its Environmental Grants Program has and its Environmental Internship Program allows employees to work for environmental groups while receiving their full paycheck. Incorporating environmental responsibility in to product development, the company has, since 1996, used only organically-grown cotton in its clothing line, and is noted world-wide for using recycled soda bottles in many of its polyester fleece garments.

www.patagonia.com

About Patagonia
Noted internationally for its commitment to product quality, Patagonia’s Environmental Grants program has contributed over $35M to grassroots environmental programs since it first began back in 1985. Since 1993, Patagonia is noted world-wide for using recycled soda pop bottles in many of its polyester fleece garments. Raising the bar even further, our Common Threads Recycling Program takes back ours and our competitors’ polyester underwear and specific Malden Mills fleece, along with organic cotton t-shirts, to be recycled into new fibers. The company has paved the way for others to get on the garment recycling bandwagon. In addition, Patagonia initiated the Footprint Chronicles, a unique, transparent insight into the impact a product generates from its sourcing of materials until it is delivered to our warehouse. For further information on these programs, visit www.patagonia.com/recycle.

Snowshoes of the Flats

One of our ever alert readers was watching Pirates of the Flats on ESPN and caught a glimpse of some orange snowshoe like foot covers that the famous fly fishers were using to aid wade fishing on the marls. Our reader left us a comment asking if we knew anything about them and we, recognizing the guy holding them in the 3 second clip, used our substantial fly fishing clout emailed our pal B2 at Patagonia to find out the story behind this innovative new product. It turns out they were snowshoes: Here is the email we received from Bill Klyn , Patagonia product Guru.

These were just cheap plastic snowshoes that you can buy for $20 at an Ace Hardware. Not a product we are doing. Just trying to find a better way to wade soft, muddy flats where you usually sink up to your knees.The Marls are famous for these bottoms. More fun to wade fish for bonefish that fish out of a boat. The problem was these are too short so it did not distribute the weight enough. There are longer snowshoes made and will use those next time...

Argentina's Pata-variety

Note from Hilary: I figured since my fishing pal Chad is in so many of my Patagonia pics, he'd better pull his blog weight and write a post. So...here's his quick rundown of the past two days.

From Fishing Pal Chad:
Yesterday the alarm jarred me awake at 5am, stealing away my strange dream. I hit snooze twelve times and stumbled down the stairs for a great breakfast and another day in paradise-- Cholila Valley, Argentina.

If one had to sum up the waters here in a word (besides beautiful, fishy, perfect...) the word would be variety. Every river has a drastically different character and there is a lake around every bend. Throw in a spring creek or two also.

We kicked the day off yesterday hike-wading to a public spring creek near Murmullos Lodge. The fishing was tough, but unforgettable. Large brookies, browns and rainbows cruised a rod length away in gin-clear water, unimpressed with our efforts. We did manage to net a few, including the most beautiful 18" brookie I have ever seen.

After lunch, we trucked over to Nico's (our groovy Argentinian guide) private lake on Murmullos Lodge property. It was somewhat of an exploratory trip since it hadn't been fished in eight years. We decided collectively on the name Crapshoot Lake. It turns out Nico has a lake full of feisty rainbows with unlimited growth potential. Pretty cool.

Today consisted of a seven mile zodiak trip to the inlet of Cholila Lake. We cruised upstream on foot-to-spot sippers. The rainbows we found were tucked up under the banks under thick mats of Chihue Bamboo; safe as a baby in Jesus's arms, so I thought. Hilary managed to wiggle her way through a bunch of bamboo and hook a rainbow by flipping/dapping a beetle. We later landed another by setting up in a tree twelve feet above the river. Exciting stuff. Those pics from up in the tree are still in the camera at the bottom of all of our nasty gear, so Hil will post them tomorrow. You'll want to check back to see them because it's hard to believe the story without the proof. Oh, also, she will probably post that pic of me sleeping next to a cow pie.

More to come!
Pulling my blog weight, Fishing Pal Chad

Heaven in High Water

I'm told it was a colder-than-normal November here in Patagonia, southern Argentina, which slowed down the end of the spring run-off. And it's been warm and sunny for the past week, so the rivers have suddenly gone up quite a bit. They're pretty clear, but high. Since we're at the base of the mountains, we can actually see the run-off happening in the form of long, plunging waterfalls. The high water added a bit of a challenge, but wasn't at all discouraging. We had a wonderful day chuckin' new MFC streamer patterns like Weise's Love Bunny and Yost's Hot Ass Sculpin. I've never thrown streamers for eight hours non-stop before. Right now I am typing with my left hand only, because my entire right arm hates me. We caught some really nice big rainbows and browns, but we also missed a lot because we got too excited watching the beasts chase tail, and ended up yanking the bunnies way too early. Today we'll be fishing a more technical river, and our amazing Argentine guide and fishing program manager here at Murmullos Lodge, Nico, says we'll be changing flies a lot more often. "I am going to ask you to use your brains," he said. Okey doke then. Hilary

And The Latest Fly Fishing Industry Rumor is....

Industry insiders have reported that Outside Media PR Guru, Hilary Hutcheson (who provided coverage of this year's Fly Fishing Retailer show for our readers) is heading to Patagonia next week . We asked her to pick up one of those righteous SST wading Jackets for us, only to find out at the last minute that she is not going to the famous apparel store but rather going to visit geographical area of the world famous for trout fishing and known by the same name.

Since we didn't get our jacket we have told her that she could make it up to us by providing regular updates about her fishing adventures. Be sure to watch for them here next week and also on her blog aptly named "Holler." You can also follow her exploits via twitter @OutsideHilary.

Patagonia Supports Stripers Forever

Via Patagonia fly fishing gear guru Straq and his Way Upstream blog comes news of an inititive by Patagonia to fund the activities of conservation group Stripers Forever. The funding will come from a portion of the proceeds from the sale of snazzy looking tee shirts.

From the Way Upstream post:

Stripers Forever is an organization working to have striped bass designated as a gamefish. This designation will stop commercial exploitation across the Eastern Seaboard. Patagonia will make a five-dollar donation to the group for every purchase of the Striper T-Shirt. Renowned artist and angler, Alan James Robinson created the original artwork (back graphic) displayed on this soft, 100% organic cotton tee. The neck rib contains a touch of spandex to help retain its shape. Check with a Patagonia dealer or retail store near you or click on the striper t-shirt link above to make a purchase.

You may remember that Stripers Forever was one of the groups highlighted in the FlyFishMagazine.com 2007 annual charitable giving guide.

Patagonia's World Trout Success Story

Photo: Patagonia's Bill Klyn addresses fly fishing industry insiders at last year's FFR Show in Denver.

WORLD TROUT FUNDING SURPASSES QUARTER OF A MILLION DOLLAR MARK
CREATION OF GRANTS PROGRAM EXPANDS SUPPORT FOR ALL SPECIES OF THREATENED FISH

Ventura, CA (July 28, 2008) Patagonia, Inc, the outdoor gear and technical apparel company announced today their World Trout initiative, has generated over $333,000 since its inception in 2005.

World Trout was founded by Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard and author/artist James Prosek, who believed that immediate, hands-on action through grassroots groups can begin to address multiple threats facing our native trout species. Educating the public about these groups’ efforts and raising money to support their activities was the goal. As a result, original artwork by such renowned artists as James Prosek, Tim Borski and Alan James Robinson, has been used to create unique t-shirts, with $5 from the sales of each t-shirt set aside to fund these groups. Patagonia’s Website brought awareness of each group’s effort, and summarized each season, how those funds had been used.

"We cannot depend on the government to address threats facing our fish populations. So we look to specific groups actively and passionately working to protect their fisheries, providing them with funds to get things done" commented Patagonia owner Yvon Chouinard. "We are committed to World Trout, and have made this a long term initiative for our company".
Because of increasing requests for support and the significant amount of dollars being raised, Patagonia is creating additional funding opportunities for both fresh and saltwater grassroots groups working to protect threatened fish. Beginning in August, interested groups can go to the Patagonia website (www.patagonia.com/flyfishing) to apply for funding through a special online grant process.

"Seeing the hands on success of these groups, plus the global support from all our customers buying t-shirts and recommending worthy organizations, Patagonia wanted to provide an avenue for additional funding. This new World Trout Grants Program allows us to hear directly from grassroots organizations worldwide, allowing us to react to emergency situations and alternative funding strategies", stated Bill Klyn, Fish Marketing Manager.

About Patagonia
Noted internationally for its commitment to product quality, Patagonia’s Environmental Grants program has contributed over $26M to grassroots environmental programs since it first began back in 1985. Since 1993, Patagonia is noted world-wide for using recycled soda pop bottles in many of its polyester fleece garments. Raising the bar even further, our Common Threads Recycling Program takes back ours and our competitors’ polyester underwear and specific Malden Mills fleece, along with organic cotton t-shirts, to be recycled into new fibers. The company has paved the way for others to get on the garment recycling bandwagon. In addition, Patagonia initiated the Footprint Chronicles, a unique, transparent insight into the impact a product generates from its sourcing of materials until it is delivered to our warehouse. For further information on these programs, visit www.patagonia.com/recycle.

Save Patagonia

The younger, much cooler, Murdock (my son) dropped me an email postcard today from the BioGems website. He has been following our coverage of the Pebble Mine issue (and sports a No Pebble Mine pin on his school backpack) and wanted to remind us of another issue going on South of the Equator in Patagonia. He remembers those rivers he saw in the original Trout Bum Diaries I video and was rightly concerned by what he read.

Today, though, two energy companies, Endesa and Colbun, are pushing to build hydro-electric dams on at least half a dozen rivers in Patagonia. The scheme would lay waste to this thriving region, flooding thousands of acres of irreplaceable wildlife habitat. As part of the same plan, Brookfield Consortium, a Canadian company, would clearcut a 1,400-mile swath through five national parks and two wilderness reserves to make way for the world's largest transmission line.

I also pointed him to our friends at Patagonia (the company) who are also involved in this fight. Here is a link to their page about the issue.

2007 Gift Guide Part III: Editor's Picks

It is still very much a work in progress but I have posted the third segment of FlyFishMagazine.com's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide. For my personal picks, I have tried to choose items that represent an excellent value for the fly angler regardless of price point. So far this includes luggage and gift items for the fly fisher from Filson and a very nice wading jacket from Patagoina.

Look for more "Editor's Choice" items tomorrow.

FFR Show 2007: Reflections from the casting pond

The wife and I just got back into town from the retailer show in Denver, Colorado where we were able to look at copious amounts of new fly fishing gear, hang out with old and new friends, and get a general feel for the direction of fly fishing as an industry from folks who make their living at the sport we so enjoy. We will have more detailed postings about gear and such later on but for now here are a few of our impressions from this year's show:

Patagonia Pals

First things first, we have to mention Patagonia, Inc. For the past two years they have acted as our host at the show and thanks to folks like Brian Bennett and Steve Stracqualersi we have always been made to feel very welcome. They are a great organization that makes excellent fly fishing product and more importantly does a great deal of good for the environment. A few of their programs that deserve mention are 1% for the planet, Common Threads Garment Recycling, and supporting the World Trout Initiative. A few their products that caught our eye include the combination FishingVest / PFD , and their Pack Vest which combines a fishing vest and back pack in one package. We will be posting about additional Patagonia products in the near future.

New Rods

On the upper end of the spectrum we got our hands on the new Orvis Helios and can say that it has to be the lightest fly rod we have ever held. It will be available in 2008 for around $755.

The big news from Sage was their new line of bass rods. We didn't get to try one of these at the casting pool but with their old school yellow finish they sure did look nice. Their 7'11" length might just allow Sage some inroads into the world of competitive bass tournaments.

Brad Beefus of Ross Worldwide took us through the paces with their Mel Krieger endorsed Essence fly rod series. The rods come in three levels of "trim," with slightly different actions, the FC, FS and at the top of the line the FW. With rods from $99 to $199 and complete outfits from $199 to $249 these rods are an affordable option for anglers. Ross designed these rods and their tapers from the ground up and it seems to have made a difference in the end result. We test casted a 3 weight from each of the three rod classes and found each of them to have a very nice feel. The rods and outfits will hit the market in October of this year.

Reels

Ryan Harrison, managing partner of The Waterworks /Lamson sat down with us and took us through his line of super light weight reels. He explained the company's revolutionary drag design featuring a completely sealed conical clutch as well as their almost bomb proof hard alox finish. The company's big news was the introduction of $120 price point reel called the Konic. The Konic features the same drag as their $400+ models but is die cast and has a salt water safe polyurethane finish.

Polarized Eye wear

We will have more detailed posts on this later but we were able to spend time with three of the players in fly fishing eye protection and fish spotting.

Smith Action Optics - Long time friend of the fly fisher. Tons of anglers wear them.

Panoptix - Started in Cycling - Flip Pallot wears them.

Kaenon - Italian design - proprietary lens material. Conway Bowman wears them.

Waders

Seattle outfitter Filson debuted their new five layer fishing waders which will be available March 1st, 2008 at a $310 MSRP. I can say that they look and feel just like what you would expect in a Filson wader. They have built in gravel guards, wool lined hand warmer pockets with brass buttons.

We will continue our coverage with additional products from the show in these and other categories so be sure to check back often.

Show Update: Patagonia Store Reception

Three guys with cool jobs, Casey Sheahan - CEO Patagonia, Inc, Bill Ritter - Governor of Colorado, and Yvon Chouinard - Owner of Patagonia, Inc. (apologies to Mr. Chouinard for the poor photo composition)


Two guys with jobs that are slightly less hip but cool none-the-less. Tom Chandler - Czar of The Trout Underground and Brian Bennett - Newly promoted to a soon to be announced job at Patagonia, Inc.

Aside from eating and drinking on the dime of large corporations I did manage to get my hands on some new fishing gear. I'll post more about it once my feet and head stop hurting. So far the oddest item of schwag that I have received would have to be my new ExOfficio boxer shorts.

If these are Nomads....

When I think of nomads, typically I think of wandering folk, tending herds and living in yurts. However, "The Nomads of the Sea" gives a whole new meaning to the term. The Nomads of the Sea is a live aboard fly fishing mother ship that allows its anglers to access remote parts of Chilean Patagonia.

The Atmosphere has a steel hull, twin engines and twin propellers with variable pitch to be able to maneuver easily no matter the current or sea conditions. It also provides the ability to deploy the jet boats and/or our Bell 407 helicopter.

Our Mother Ship is reliable and possess unique characteristics that provide comfort to our guests. Among them we must point out our spectacular cabins and a Spa service that pampers the guests like no other. Like if this wasn't enough, the Atmosphere has developed a Chilean Cuisine menu that includes typical dishes in a modern and fresh way.

Perhaps the crew of the Nomad would be interested in having us join them on a trip so that we could write a proper review for our popular fly fishing website. We won't be holding our breath.

Link via American Fly Fishing Travel

La Ruta Del Salmon

I got this photo via e-mail this week along with an ad for Entre Aguas Lodge in Chile. Along with the fish porn, the ad included this link which caught both my eye and my imagination.

BUSCAS TRABAJO COMO GUIA DE PESCA CLICK AQUI

Made me want to ask the wife if she was feeling up for an adventure!