GAME CHANGER BY JOHN BERRY

I have been involved, with the sport, of fly fishing, for four decades. I am an angler, fly tyer, guide, fly fishing instructor, fly fishing writer and now manage Blue Ribbon Fly Shop. During this time, I have seen a number of technological breakthroughs, some of which have been game changers. By game changers, I mean things that have had a fundamental impact on the way that I fish.

My first game changer was my first graphite fly rod. At the time, I was fishing a Fenwick eight foot five weight fiberglass rod. I was catching trout and was perfectly happy with it. My brother, Dan, bought a Sage GFL580 eight foot five weight graphite fly rod. He let me cast it. It was a game changer. The rod was a full ounce lighter, was easier to cast and easily added twenty feet to my cast. I immediately went out and bought one. I fished it for years and I eventually gave it to my daughter, who still fishes with it.

I have noticed that all of the major fly rod manufacturers advertise their latest model as a game changer. They drop an eighth of an ounce in weight; add a new secret proprietary process, create a new exciting name for it and add one hundred dollars to the cost. The only problem is that it doesn’t really change the way I fish like that first graphite rod did. As a fly shop manager, I see and cast a lot of new rods every year and cannot see much difference in them from year to year. I know that in my business this is nothing short of blasphemy.

The next game changer that I noted was breathable waders. I was fishing in Simms neoprene waders at the time. They were all right in the winter but in the summer you would sweat like a pig, when you were not in the water. The new breathables were much lighter and more comfortable, in warm weather. In cold weather, you could wear a pair of fleece pants underneath them and be toasty warm, when the weather turned cool. Now I wear them whenever I am wading and they are the only type of waders that we sell, in the shop.

The latest game changer is the Fish Pond Nomad net. They feature a frame that is a composite of fiberglass and carbon fiber and a clear rubber bag. They are so light that they float. Previously I used a really nice Brodin net that had a frame of fine hardwoods (walnut and elm burl) and had cotton bag. I found that over time the frame on the net that I used in the boat would delaminate from constantly being wet. I noted that flies would easily get caught in the cotton bag particularly, if they had a barb. It was very difficult to remove the hooks on some occasions. In addition, the cotton bags would eventually weaken and rot.

I bought my wife, Lori, and I the biggest boat nets, in the Nomad series, to use, in the boat and on Dry Run Creek. We both love them. They feature a long handle (with a ruler built in) and a huge bag that makes netting the largest brown an easy task. Flies do not get caught in the bag even when fishing double fly rigs. I also bought a smaller one for me to carry, on the back of my vest, when wading. I like it as much as I do the big boat net.

If you are looking for a new net, check out the Fish Pond Nomad. It is a game changer.