(^82) FLYLIFE
Reviews & New Products
FISHPOND NOMAD
HAND NET
David Anderson
Being covered head to toe in cameras,
lenses, photographic excuses and a tri-
pod while fishing, has limited the gear I
can handle on the stream. And for rea-
sons of weight, size and tangles, a land-
ing net has been one of the big sacrifices.
Lacking a net is not a big deal on a
small stream most of the time, but I’ve
missed having one on my trips to the
tailrace section of the Mitta Mitta and to
some of the other larger local streams
where a bigger fish is always a possibil-
ity — and of course, on my trips to New
Zealand. Also, whenever I dust off my
kick-boat and hit the lakes, not having
a net out there is nuts. With all this
in mind I started looking around for a
new net...
I first came across the Fishpond
Nomad while out fishing with Snowy
Mountains guide Matt Tripet. I was
shooting a story on the Lower Thredbo
River (FL#84) and I was surprised by
how light the net was, given its size. Matt
had the long-handled ‘Guide’ model (go
figure), which seemed a bit big to me,
but, as he explained, clients paying good
money for a guide don’t exactly like it
when said fish is lost at the net, and a
long handle makes the job a lot easier.
When ordering one for myself, I went
for the shorter ‘Hand Net’ model, figur-
ing it would be big enough most of the
time and any net is better than none.
In use the smallest of the Nomads is
a great thing. Weighing in at only 350
grams and at a little over 66 cm in
length, with a large and deep basket, it’s
more than big enough for anything I’m
likely to catch anytime soon.
The construction of the net is a little
sci-fi: a carbon-fibre and fibreglass com-
posite with a grippy rubberised paint
finish that Fishpond calls ‘RiverKoat’.
The net is both waterproof (really?) and
buoyant (thank you!) while the net bag
itself is a modern rubber material that
theoretically won’t harm fish if they’re
handled carefully. Replacement net bags
are available. The nets attach securely
with a large clip on the end of a short
para-cord lanyard.
Mine has the ‘Tailwater’ (brown trout)
finish, but they can also be found in the
more sedate ‘Original’ finish.
http://www.mayflytackle.com.au ■
Loop’s primary objective with the Q se-
ries was to design a range of high perfor-
mance fly rods that suit a range of angling
abilities. Available at a highly competitive
price point, the series is finished in an
aesthetic cool grey colour and available
in #4 through #10 in single-handed mod-
els, plus two double-handed models.
The Q series surpassed Loop’s own
very high expectations, with each mod-
el’s action being specifically optimised
for its particular line classification — the
rod actions are faster as the rods become
heavier and need to cast bigger flies.
The Loop Q series was developed to
offer user-friendly casting performance
in the hands of a novice caster beginning
their fly fishing journey, right through to
an expert angler looking for a superior
value-for-money fly rod.
The rods excel in all forms of modern
fly casting techniques and feel light and
extremely responsive in the hand. If you
are looking to purchase your first ever
Loop fly rod or to complement your ex-
isting collection, Q is built on the solid
foundation of outstanding user-friendly
performance.
Q rods are priced from AUD$325/
NZ$349 and include Loop’s fast Life-
time Warranty.
More information and retailers can be
found at loopflyfishing.co.nz ■
NEW PRODUCT:
LOOP Q SERIES
FLY RODS
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