Simms Pro Dry Gore-tex Jacket preview

For me, there is nothing worse than bad weather cutting a days fishing short. A bit of rain might not stop you from fishing, but it definitely puts a dampener on the day, excuse the pun.

Simms Pro Dry Gore-Tex Jacket is here to fix that problem. The Pro Dry jacket has been extensively tested in some harsh conditions including some field testing by the worlds best Bass Anglers at the Bassmaster Classic.

This jacket is certainly not the faint hearted, featuring 100% waterproof & windproof state-of-the-art GORE-TEX® it is guaranteed to keep you dry even during the wettest of wet. Rated up to a whopping 22″ of rainfall per hour. This jacket is not for the light-walleted either, with a RRP of $499, but you get what you pay for in the world of so called “waterproof” jackets.

For those extra dollars though you get a exceptionally designed jacket, with stretch fabric in the shoulders and elbow for superior comfort, 2 low-profile large capacity chest pockets & 2 zippered microfleece-lined hand warmer pockets with built-in heat pack pockets. A 3-point cinch, stowable storm hood, watertight adjustable cuffs, adjustable waist and full length waterproof center-front zipper. That was a mouthful!

Ok so it’s not really suited to the occasional angler, but for those of you who like to stay dry, fish often and can appreciate the quality and workmanship that’s gone into a piece like this, I’m sure it will tick all the necessary boxes.

For more info check out http://www.simmsfishing.com/site/prodry_gore-tex_jacket_12.html

New 2012 Shimano Calcutta

Shimano Japan recently announced the new 2012 Calcutta series at the Osaka tackleshow. From all reports at the show the reel was well received and it has since started popping up on reputable JDM tackle stores online.

Much like the DC Model from a years back, they have opted for the silver body over the gold. The reel itself seems to have lost a few millimetres on each side, creating a smaller, compact, palm sized body. This compact design is sure to help the overall control and handling of the reel. There is nothing worse that a large, bulky baitcaster stuck on what would otherwise be a ultra light graphite rod.

They have also designed the new model for Saltwater use. While I know for a fact the old models still stood the test of time in the salt, its good to know Shimano is continually steering their ranges away from solely freshwater/bass fishing and into the mainstream Salt angler market.

The star drag has been replaced with with the new Shimano X-drag, a lower profile graphite drag knob with click adjustment. Looks simple enough, but I’m sure anglers with larger digits might find it a bit cumbersome. Drag capacity is much the same as the older models, running in at 4kgs and 5kgs respectively. The wiffel spool is a welcome addition and no doubt will assist in casting those lighter lures.

Priced above the old B series but below the DC, these are retailing currently in Japan for approx $420AUD. For the extra money you are at least getting a few more features including a new look, additional bearings a reduced body size.

Available in 4 sizes, the 100, 101 Left hand, 200 and 201 Left hand models. Not 100% if these will be released in Australia just yet, but there is the possibility of a slight variation of it being released for the Australian market later this year at AFTA but time will tell.

Sunline Momentum 4×4 PE review

After a last minute decision to update some braid before a recent trip North, I was on the search to find an affordable japanese PE line to replace the existing US Spectra on my old faithful Stella 4000FB. While I use PE braids on the majority of my outfits, I had always found the US made spectras such as Fins and High Seas suitable for lighter tackle fishing around Perth and cheap and easy to replace.

Sunline Super PE sprung to mind, but after using that before I thought it was time to try something different. I called up my local tackle store and got hold of some Sunline Momentum 4×4 PE line. I had heard nothing but good things about the Momentum PE. Word on the street was that Momentum PE was very similar to the cult favourite Sunline Castaway, but with one less coating process. Castaway has long been a popular PE line amongst anglers, in both lighter and heavier tackle fishing, so it was reassuring to hear such a rumour.

The 4×4 construction “Hybrid 8 Ply” creates a round and relatively smooth profile. I had picked out the PE2 as its a great allround size. The PE2 Momentum had a breaking strain of 30lb. Out of the box we found it to be a bit coarser than expected. This did not deter us and gave it the benefit of the doubt. Knotability wise, Momentum PE was impressive. The Momentum PE tied very well and came on a 200m spool; perfect for spooling a 4000 sized spinning reel.

One the first day of water testing I found the braid did have a tendency to wind knot, but this sorted itself out by the next trip. One would assume the dye/coating process just needed a bit of use to soften up. No doubt any rods using the new Fuji K guides would almost eliminate any wind knots.

The braid itself was super strong. On this particular trip we were fishing some heavy structure. I had the drag locked up hard a number of times on a few small GT’s, and the Momentum PE didn’t miss a beat. Even after chaffing along the edge off some coral bombies, it held up long enough to get the fish out of the structure and back into the open.

I won’t spend too much more time on this review, but our initial impressions are that the momentum had out performed our initial expectations. Landing a number of decent fish on this trip, hopefully we re-visit this braid after a bit more testing.

Watch this space

Z-Man 5” Grass KickerZ

Z-man continues to expand its soft plastic empire with the release of the 5″ Grass KickerZ. They have added this oversized paddle tail to their range, no doubt due to the increasing popularity of similar sized baits. 5″ soft baits have always been a favourite of mine, great for catching just about anything.

The new Grass KickerZ have a tapered nose and a slimmer profile that previous 5″ paddle tails, creating a rather unique silhouette. These two design features have obvious benefits when fishing around weed and heavy cover. The opportunities to fish these plastics weedless will be a big drawing card for anglers. Z-man recommends the rigging with TT SWS or Snakehead hooks. They can always be fished with a standard jig head too for those wanting to get some into some deeper water.

As always Grass KickerZ are made from ElaZtech, which is upto 10x than standard plastic material with out compromising on the action of the soft plastic. The Grass KickerZ comes in a pack of 4 and is available in 8 colours including Opening Night, Redbone Glow and Houdini.

www.z-man.com.au

Petzl NAO reactive automatically adjusting Headlamp

Until now, head lamps have been only able to adjust to the lighting conditions when the user instructs it to with the push of a button. If you are reading a map, you set the head lamp on low, if you are trying to see a fish washing up on the beach ahead, you set the head lamp on high beam and so forth.

Petzl has created the worlds first smart head lamp. The NAO is a reactive automatically adjusting headlamp, and it uses some pretty exciting and innovative technology to do it. While it still may require the odd button push, the two high powered LED’s are designed to adjust for current light conditions and needs almost instantly.

Using a sensor, the headlamp measures and analyzes the ambient light, and the inbuilt microprocessor tweaks the head lamp to output just the right amount. This has obvious battery life implications, by saving power where it can. Combined with the fact that LED’s use very little power means this unit could effectively have one of the most efficient battery drain times on the market.

Another handy feature is the fact the unit has a lithium Ion rechargable battery. Everybody hates getting ready for a fishing trip last minute, only to find the head lamp batterys have died.

The unit also comes with operating system software, downloaded for free at the Petzl website. You can fine tune your NAO’s performance and personalise it to suit your needs. This giant leap in headlamp technology will be available for purchase around July 2012.

http://www.petzl.com/us/outdoor/headlamps/nao

Is there a new Saltiga Dogfight on the horizon?

In 2011, Daiwa Australia took its infamous Dogfight off the market. No longer available, anglers are still frantically calling around tackle stores trying to chase down one to call their own. While some might say Daiwa is crazy cutting such a popular reel, it’s worked before and no doubt they will do it again.

Daiwa loves to get every drop out their new ranges before bringing in additional “tweaked models”. This is reminiscent of their 2001-2002 release of the original Z series Saltiga’s. It took quite a few years before the limited editions such as the Dogfight and the Oz exclusive S-extreme series were released.

Anglers buy up the original release, get their value out of the reels, and a few years later comes an urge to buy again. It makes perfect business sense to keep something up their sleeves for later. Daiwa’s done this before with their Millionaire series, bringing in the cult favourite Black Sheep after the success of the rest of the range. Again the black sheep is still a highly sought after reel.

So can we hope to see a new Dogfight at some point soon? Probably not. At the AFTA trade show in August 2012 there always a chance of a new release, but considering it took 4 odd years before we saw the last one then it’s unlikely we will see any new limited editions this year. After all, the 6500 sizes didn’t arrive in Oz until the later half of 2011, so much for “2010 Saltiga”.

Realistically we can’t expect anything until 2013/14 so let’s hope the mayans got it wrong. Until then, Daiwa fanboys will have to keep their fingers crossed and eyes open for what Shimano might have to put on the table first.

Shimano Tropical Tackle System

After working in the industry for some years, I’ve seen many a customer bring back hardbody lures that have “exploded” in the Australian heat. Whether it’s been sitting on a dash when its 40 degrees celcius out,and double that in the car, or on just sitting the deck of a boat up north, lures and soft plastics can be annihilated by the heat. The lures are more often than not made overseas, and aren’t designed to cope with such extreme conditions. So until the lure manufacturers start taking this into account, it’s up to the angler to keep their tackle boxes at a reasonable temperature.

Shimano Australia seems to have solved this ongoing problem with their new range of protective tackle bags. Shimano’s Tropical luggage. The body is made from a tough tarpaulin to keep the sun out and your gear cool and dry. Waterproof zippers and heavy strapping is standard on all Tropical Tackle models.

Shimano have integrated leader dispensers into the Tropical tackle series, no more tangled leaders is always a welcome bonus. The bags will fit Shimano’s 360 or 370 size boxes, which is roughly the same as Plano’s 3600 and 4000 size trays. More at http://www.shimanofish.com.au

Samaki Zepplin and Hummer Deep Water Jigs preview

Samaki are relatively new on the Australian fishing tackle scene, but in a short time Samaki has made a name amongst anglers for producing quality products that don’t blow the budget. The range of deep water jigs are no exception. The two latest additions to the family are the Hummer and larger Zepplin jigs.

Both Jigs are great for the gigantic seriolas such as samson and kingfish and come pre-rigged with heavy duty assist hooks. The Zepplins and Hummers overall finish is superb for a jig in this price bracket. This is thanks to the high quality Japanese reflective wrap which is protected by extra tough clear coat. So realistic infact that even fished next to jigs twice the price, the Hummers produced more consistant hook ups, but more on that in a later review.. Stay tuned

More info at Samaki’s website:

http://samaki.com.au/fishing-tackle-outdoor-products/deep-water-jigs/index.html

Mieho Versus Shoulder Bag VS-B6069

As a shore based wading angler, finding a tackle bag that is easily accessible when you are waste deep in the wet stuff is always a challenge.

There are literally hundreds of options out there for tackle bags but not many catered to anglers who fish on the move. Backpacks are the obvious solution and great for storage, but impossible to access quickly.

Waist/bum bags are great for access in shallow water wading, but if are feeling brave and venture a bit deeper then before you know it your gear going to be submerged. Of course there is shoulder sling bags that don’t offer much security for your gear.

The Meiho Versus VS-B6069 shoulder bag seems to have solved all my problems. The over shoulder-across the chest design allows the bag to be rotated around with ease. The zips are positioned so that you have direct access to all the pockets from top down.

The bag contains 3 pockets and 3 meiho/versus tackle trays. The build quality is exceptional and this follows through to the high quality japanese moulded plastic trays. Meiho has hundreds of tackle tray designs available. They are one the largest, if not the largest, manufacturers of fishing tackle trays in the world. If the three trays that come with the bag don’t suit, then no doubt there will be another one available.

The bags over the shoulder straps are held together by an large easy  to use buckle. Keeping the bag securely on your back but quick and easy to take off after a hard days fishing. It’s simple black and grey design is sure to suit many anglers and the back of the back and straps are all padded for comfort.

All in all, the Mieho Versus VS-B6069 shoulder is the bag that all us waders have been looking for. High quality, comfortable and most importantly designed with anglers in mind. These bags are available from Japan for around $80AUD.

The japanese manufacturers website Meiho Gaku http://meihokagaku.co.jp/

Gary Howard North Fork custom rods

Well known Australia rod build Gary Howard has been hard at work recently creating new ranges of custom rods, built for Australian conditions. The North Fork range are custom built on the US-made North fork blanks and feature superb componentry and build quality.

The high quality mid-modulus graphite North Fork blanks are matched up with Fuji Ti guides on the spin models, and Amtac guides on the baitcasters. Cork grips all round keep weight to a minimum and increase sensitivity.

As the name suggests, each rod is hand built in Australia and built to a standard so that you can rest assured, your Gary Howard custom will last you many years to come.

The four models available range from 4-8lb right up to 12-25lb. For further information check them out at the link below

http://www.jarviswalker.com.au/gary-howard-north-fork-custom-spin-rods.html/

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