Fish Alaska Magazine

2010 Best New Gear

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Okuma Trio Spinning Reels $74.99 to $89.99, www.okumafishing.com The new Trio spinning reels from Okuma feature a unique crossover construction, pairing a solid one-piece stamped aluminum reel stem and rotor arm with lightweight graphite side plates and a rotor housing that provides the strength where it’s needed. The drag system utilized in the line is Okuma’s Dual Force Drag, which generates tension on the spool from both the top and bottom.
Shimano Baitrunner Spinning Reels $159.99 to $179.99 fish.shimano.com A modern, compact design and new, cold-forged aluminum spool are the new updates to the Shimano Baitrunner, a reel line that’s already lasted for 23 years.The Propulsion Line Management System, Varispeed Oscillation, S-concept rotor and arm cam all combine to make casting with these reels a pleasure.
Penn Conquer Spinning Reels $199.99 to $219.99 www.pennreels.com Ten stainless steel ball bearings and an additional roller bearing make the Penn Conquer among the smoothest operating reels on the market, and with the Penn anti-reverse system, hook-sets are stronger than ever before. The reel also features a patented, one-piece machined-aluminum gear box that provides a rugged housing without added bulk or weight.
Abu Garcia Soron STX Spinning Reel $129.95 to $149.95, www.abu-garcia.com Providing outstanding smoothness during casts and retrieves, eleven High Precision Corrosion Resistant bearings highlight the features on the new Soron STX spinning reels from Abu Garcia. Duragear gears made of heavy-duty and corrosion-resistant brass add to the reel’s durability and long life, and with Abu Garcia’s Carbon Matrix drag system, Alaska’s anglers can feel a solid and smooth line drag during those long battles with the state’s hefty gamefish.
AFW Titanium Single-Strand Leaders $5.99 to $8.49, www.americanfishingwire.com Made with AFW’s special blend of titanium alloy wire, engineered to deliver tremendous strength along with dramatic kink resistance, these new leaders also offer outstanding stretch properties while retaining all the power principles necessary for solid hook-sets.
Seeker Hercules Rods $225, www.seekerrods.com Combining the construction technology that made the Super Seekers some of the toughest, most powerful blanks on the market, the smaller-diameter Hercules rods offer unparalleled strength and durability, though the blanks weigh only 8 ounces. The new Hercules blanks are available now, while factory complete Hercules rods will be available in late Spring 2010, perfect timing for Alaska saltwater anglers getting ready for a season of working the depths for barn-door halibut. Five models are available in this line.
Lamiglas Certified Pro XCC 934 and XCC 1064 Casting Rods $280, www.lamiglas.com Blending the technology that made the Certified Pro Graphite and Certified Pro Fiberglass premier performers, Lamiglas has unveiled the all-new Certified Pro XCC 934 at 9 feet, 3 inches and XCC 1064 at 10 feet, 6 inches in length. Providing the small diameters and lightweight handling of premium Certified Pro graphite with the ultra-smooth fishability of Certified Pro fiberglass, these composite rods will lend themselves to nearly all of Alaska’s power-fishing applications.
Berkley Amp Casting and Spinning Rods $29.99, www.berkley-fishing.com These new spinning and casting rods from Berkley feature an Armadillo Hide finish that eliminates cut fibers from the blank, ensuring a stronger, more durable finish. Another fine addition to this line of rods is the X-posed reel seat. Engineered for maximum energy transfer, it allows the angler’s hand to remain in contact with the blank without added weight.
Lamson Vanquish $799 to $899, www.waterworks-lamson.com Designed for total victory, the new Waterworks-Lamson Vanquish fly reels start with an incredibly smooth and powerful drag system and end up delivering twice the torque of the company’s previous saltwater design, the conical drag generating no stick-slip even at the speeds commonly encountered with renegade saltwater fish.
Scott S4S Series Saltwater Fly Rods $725, www.scottflyrod.com Designed with a combination of high- and low-modulus materials to offer greater durability, more sensitivity and greater responsiveness, the all-new Scott S4S Saltwater Series fly rods are unbelievably light and yet still present all the power needed to fire lines great distances.
Sage 99 Series Fly Rods $699, www.sageflyfish.com For that extra little bit of reach, whether for a longer roll cast or those more difficult mends, here’s the new Sage 99 series—four-piece rods that are all 9 feet, 9 inches in length. The 99’s unique taper is loosely based on the hugely popular Sage Z-Axis series and loads lower on the blank to generate open loops, helping avoid tangles with indicator rigs. This is an ideal rod for fishing egg-imitations to Alaska’s monster trout.
Scientific Anglers Spey Skagit Deluxe $162.95, www.scientificanglers.com Named for one of the most famous big-water, big-steelhead rivers in the Pacific Northwest, the Skagit Deluxe from Scientific Anglers provides a versatile, great-casting multi-tip Spey line that’s equally suitable for long and short fishing distances and comes with four interchangeable heads (floating, Type I sinking, Type III Wet Tip and Type VI Wet Tip).
Ross Reels Journey Youth Fly-Fishing Outfits $199 www.rossreels.com Instead of taking an adult-sized outfit and trying to fit it into a youth-sized package, Ross Reels has designed the new Journey outfits from the ground up, reducing handle size and incorporating a shorter-length rod. Included in each outfit is the four-piece, 4-weight fly rod, a Flystart large arbor, disc drag reel, a custom Cordura rod-and-reel case and an instructional DVD.
Ross Reel Reach Spey Rods $369 to $389 www.rossreels.com New from Ross Reels for 2010, the Reach series of Spey rods was designed to handle a full range of fly-line types and successfully execute all types of traditional Spey and Skagit casts. The four-piece fast-action rods are made from the company’s proprietary R-4 graphite design.
Cortland Precision PE+ Crystal Fly Lines $80, www.cortlandline.com The all-new Precision PE+ Crystal is designed with a proprietary blend of polyethylene and special copolymers. Built on a nylon monofilament core, the PE+ Crystal’s patent-pending crystal-clear jacket is lighter than water, eliminating the need to make it float. The hard, ultra-smooth PE+ line jacket finish has a lower coefficient of friction than any production floating line ever built, so it shoots silently through the guides and casts faster and farther than equivalent PVC-coated floating lines.
Scientific Anglers Spey Line Individual Tips $21.95, www.scientificanglers.com Designed to match the Spey Skagit Deluxe Shooting Tapers and Spey Shorthead lines, also from Scientific Anglers, these individual tips are ideal for excursions to fish Alaska’s steelhead and salmon, when one might encounter a variety of water conditions. The tips also feature a welded, streamlined loop for easy connections and seamless fishing.
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