This week, Mayfly Tackle’s Andrew Summers organised a retailer’s day at Millbrook Lakes to showcase Scientific Anglers’ new range. On hand to help explain the new gear were SA’s two gear gurus from the USA, Jeff Pierce and Andrew Bosway.

The Orvis Company acquired Scientific Anglers nearly 2 years ago and since then they have been busy working on new lines and simplifying line selection. Floating lines have been sorted into three main families – Sharkwave, Wavelength and Mastery Smooth.

As Jeff and Andrew explain it, the Sharkwave lines feature Scientific Anglers’ most advanced taper designs and a combination of three coatings: Sharkskin on the tip for high floatation, textured coating on the head and running line for increased distance without finger abrasion, and a smooth AST Tactile Reference Point that signals by feel and sound, when pick-up and re-cast is possible.

Next on the list are the Wavelength lines, formerly known as their Textured Series. There have been some new taper additions and a couple of deletions here. Scientific Anglers have also refocussed on their range of AST slick coated lines. These fall into the new Mastery Smooth family.

Many of the saltwater lines have been totally revised including lines that features a 100lb core and dense, abrasion-resistant coatings. This will be of interest to anglers targeting reef dwelling species and super hard fighting fish like GTs and billfish.

The range of sinking lines have been placed into their own family called Sonar and you’ll find a sink rate to suit any application. It should be noted that while non-stretch cores have become a popular story for some manufacturers, a Scientific Anglers line won’t stretch until more than 2kg of tug is placed on the line (that’s a lot!). So for almost all trout fishing applications, a Scientific Anglers line is essentially non-stretch too.

On the trout side there are two floating lines of particular interest. The new MPX which replaces the revered GPX taper, and the new Anadro taper. Don’t worry – I tried it at Millbrook and the MPX is only slightly different in design to the soon-to-be discontinued GPX, with a slightly longer head and a small amount of extra mass up front that should help beginner to intermediate casters throw tighter loops. Meanwhile, the Anadro will be ideal for lake fishing and big clear streams like those encountered in New Zealand. The design has a lot of mass in the front and a very short front taper. This will make it a popular line for fishing long leaders and in any instance where close, quick casting is necessary. Both tapers will be available in Sharkwave, Wavelength and Mastery Smooth.

As well as the fly lines, Scientific Anglers are releasing a range of new reels and new tippet material and leaders. The new tippet and leader materials are touted as featuring the strongest knot strength of any in the industry. Scientific Anglers don’t manufacture their own tippet and leaders but they sure have done their homework and found the best fluorocarbon and nylon extruders in the world to make it for them.

Thanks must go to Andrew Summers for organising the Millbrook event, and to Jeff Pierce and Andrew Bosway for sharing and explaining the finer details of their many products. Besides having an opportunity to learn about the Scientific Anglers gear and try them out at a great trout fishery, it was good to catch up with other members of the local flyfishing industry. We all agreed there should be more of it! Business can be competitive but at the end of the day we’re all in the business of promoting what we love – flyfishing – and this resonated throughout the day. It’s been nearly 20 years since Scientific Anglers last visited Australia and it was a pleasure to get together, share stories and learn about their new range of products. Without question SA are focussed on creating the world’s best fly lines. The new lines and other products will be available in September so check them out at The Flyfisher in Melbourne or your nearest Scientific Anglers dealer.