The Weekly Five - 27
And then there were Skwala Wading Boots
Welcome to The Weekly Five Episode 27. There’s been some phenomenal rain over New Zealand during the past few weeks, with lakes filling fast and regional flooding in the north of the South Island. Let’s hope the spawning trout are biding their time and hunkered down deep in pools.
With the Northern Hemisphere summer season pumping, new toys are on offer amidst the chaos of reciprocal tariffs. Alongside wholly imported goods, expect prices for US-manufactured fly fishing tackle to rise 20% after the northern summer to absorb tariff costs of raw materials.
Boseman-based Skwala Fishing announced a new range of wading boots for the Northern Hemisphere Summer 2025, sold out almost immediately but have restocked. Their rugged RS boot & Carbon mixed use hiking/wading boot aligns with their apparel and wader ranges of the same name. I wonder how a pair of Carbon’s would run in the New Zealand wilderness streams?
The new RS Wading Boot by Skwala Fishing. Photo Credit: Arian Stevens
Anglers heading south to Chilean Tierra del Fuego can now fly DAP Airlines from Punta Arenas to Pampa Guanaco to access the fabled Rio Grande and tributaries. The route runs from October 2025 to April 2026 with Friday and Sunday flights. Schedule: Punta Arenas – Pampa Guanaco: 6:00PM Pampa Guanaco – Punta Arenas: 7:00PM. You heard it here first.
Epic’s new Ti-Series saltwater fly rods are making waves. Pictured in the video below is a peak at the Epic 890Ti paired with the Epic’s Backcountry sealed-drag reel – the perfect setup for stalking bonefish on Paris Flat, Christmas Island (Kiritimati).
The acquisition of TroutRoutes by OnX signals their expansion into the business of exploration angling. By making streams even more accessible to the masses, will OnX Fish help or hinder fly anglers across the USA? Give us your view.
If you’re consistently catch large Steelhead, salmon or sea-run Trout, consider changing out your landing net to a Cradle from McLean Angling in New Zealand. Mclean’s Cradle will help you land, measure and simply release big fish without handling or removing them from the water.
Photo Credit: McLean Angling, New Zealand
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The Weekly Five - 26
Welcome to The Weekly Five Episode 26. The drought has broken in New Zealand’s South Island. Heavy rain is freshening up rivers as the trout start to aggregate at river mouths, but it’s not so good for the bumper grape harvest that’s underway across the country.
Stalk Southflyfisher
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