More than a rooting interest | The Wading Room

The country’s largest fishing tournament kicks off and Simms is there for the ride.

The 2012 Bassmaster Classic will be held Feb. 24-26 on the Red River in Shreveport, LA, and Simms will be there in a couple of ways.

First, Simms will have a booth at the Bassmaster Expo (free and open to the public) this Thursday-Sunday. Fans can check out the new ProDry™ GORE-TEX® Suit. We will also have WINDSTOPPER® Jackets and technical sportswear that looks great and is made just for anglers. We’ll also have accessories to cover the extremes, from cold weather to sun protection. Did we mention our line-up of GORE-TEX® footwear and the new Guide Flips?

Second, a number of Simms sponsored anglers (OK, three) will be there, competing for the $500,000 that comes with winning. And they’ll be sporting some Simms products, too, including rain gear and sun protection.

You might remember that last year, we announced a series of partnerships with anglers, the B.A.S.S. Federation and the National Professional Anglers Association. We also introduced a bigger line of fishing gear, including the award-winning ProDry™ GORE-TEX® Jacket and Bibs.

But while we’ve worked with the bass guys over the last little bit, this is officially the first time we’ve got more than rooting interest in the BASSMASTER Classic. Here’s a quick look at our our guys who will be competing on the Red River.

* Shaw Grigsby: Grigsby, of Gainesville, Fla., gained the first Classic berth from an Elite victory, winning the season-opener on the Harris Chain of Lakes. Among his 13 Classics, Grigsby was runner-up in 1993 and third in 2000. He finished 19th in the 2009 Classic.

* Aaron Martens: Sitting in 16th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings, Martens makes his 13th appearance in the Classic, where he has been runner-up in four and has three other top 10 finishes, including a ninth on the Red River.

* Ish Monroe: Currently 20th in the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year standings. The Hughson, Calif., angler’s best finish in his six previous Classics was 14th in 2007.

We’ll be watching the tournament unfold. Reports (good Bassmaster blog here) are the fishing is going to be tough.

We wish the three anglers in the Simms stable the best of luck.

Ish Monroe will fish on the Red River this week.

Aaron Martens takes his skill to Shreveport.

John

When you folks gonna sponsor those Nasss-Cars

http://www.simmsfishing.com/ Simms Fishing Products

Thanks, John. Please know these anglers are serious anglers who spend their lives pursuing fish in some very challenging conditions. That’s why Simms is there and that’s why many of the world’s top anglers rely on our gear. Especially when there’s a large purse on the line!

Chris Hurst

It’s not about who’s fishing in what. It’s about Simms turning into a corporate sponsor sell out. I heard Simms is going to start selling factory direct. After all the crap you made fy shop owners go through to become dealers. What about this snowboarding gear I’m hearing about. You guys are slipping and you’re gonna loose a lot of loyal customers because of it. I guess that doesn’t matter to you anymore now that you’ll be selling to the masses.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/ Simms Fishing Products

Thanks, Chris, for stopping by the Wading Room and for your comment. You are correct that customers will be able to purchase through our specialty retail partners and from Simms on our website. As far as selling snowboarding gear, unlike a lot of our competitors, we do not live in the general outdoor space as well. We have always only sold FISHING gear. We live in fishing country, live the fishing lifestyle and produce gear that allows anglers to pursue their passion. And we are sorry that you don’t share with us the desire for more people to fish. We think a world where more people spend more time on the water is a fine world indeed. And more people that fish means more people who are committed to conservation.

Chris Hurst

Nowhere in my comment did I say that I wanted less people to fish. Not sure where you pulled that from. I do like how you eloquently side stepped the comment about fly shop owners that had to jump through hoops to become dealers. This will hurt fly shops in the worst way. You want to sell to the big bass market, that’s fine. Make them purchase their gear through a fly shop. I’m not sure if you noticed, but it’s tough out there right now. It’s especially tough for fly shops that sell high dollar items on smaller margins. You may reply back that this will open up the fly fishing world to some new people. Yea, you might get a few converts, but I would bet that the guys buying $1000 foul weather jackets and bibs are not gonna be throwing a fly rod in their local bass club tournament. Don’t make me out to be the bad guy that hates all things non-fly fishing. You could not be further from the truth. I fish for evrything that swims by any means possible, I just prefer to do it with a fly rod.
Justin Waters

Chris, first let me start by saying that I am very loyal to my local shops, I am a dedicated fly fisherman and I work at a fly shop so I hear where you are coming from with your frustration. But try to be resonable with this one, look at it from both ways with no biases and you could probably understand why they are doing this. I’m not exactly thrilled but i read an interview recently that simms did and i could see why they started selling direct. Not one fly shop ive ever been to sells all of simms products. That seems to me to be the number one reason they are doing this. Not only that but I would guess if your already ordering a pair of waders from simms, it might inspire you to jump the gun and get those customizations they were trying to push last year. Or Womans waders, not to many shops cary a well stocked inventory of Womans waders.

That being said, support your local fly shop and if you can buy your gear there, do it. Thats the same with anything in your community, its hard out there right now, buy local. The Walmarts of the world are only hurting in the since that instead of buying 3 jets this year they can only buy 1.
Simms in a good company with great customer service who stands behind there products with gust-o. If you live somewhere without a local fly shop, order your waders from simms.

john trask

simms products are the best.
Nikky6

Go Shaw! Tournament bass fishing is awesome talk about pressure $500,000.00 on the line, It’s the Superbowl of bass fishing. Glad that Simms is a part of it.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/ Simms Fishing Products

Thanks, Nikky6. Based on word from the Classic, lots of people in Shreveport are also glad we are there!

http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1251278698 Sam Jean Samaha

love my G4Z waders.. but for God’s sake, why not make a few more items in the US? Gloves, vest, and maybe some bags? It’s not that much more expensive, and the quality will be better as will the brand prestige and reputation world wide.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/ Simms Fishing Products

Hi Sam, thanks for the note. We take great pride in having the only domestic wader facility in the country. We are constantly evaluating what we can manufacture in the USA. For now, check out all of our Made in the USA products here: http://ar.gy/madeinusa.

Mike George

I am a fly rodder for bass and I think this is really cool.
Guest

Love my Simms gear but I don’t care for the bassmaster pursuit. Seems like a sell out to me.
Martin5166

How about selling some of those posters to your clients? Hate to see that great work locked up in a digital world.

http://www.simmsfishing.com/ Simms Fishing Products

That is a great idea. We have thrown that around as a possibility and if it comes to fruition, we will let you know. Thanks!

Caviahueflyfishing

No more products from CHINA…! SIMMS must be USA… hello every one!, PATAGONIA ARGENTINA.
Luis Sepulveda

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