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RIO Products has signed an agreement with C & F Design of Japan to be the exclusive distributor for C & F products in the United States and Canada. The long term agreement gives RIO Products the distribution rights for the well known brand of fly boxes, fly tying equipment and accessories. This agreement will result in a broader range of C & F products being available in the U.S. and Canada. C & F Design spokesman, Takashi Nakajima, stated that the new distribution agreement will help further grow the C & F Design brand – by offering a greater range of products, sizes and colors to be available to the US and Canadian fly fisher. Takashi says; “We are very excited to have this contract with such a great company as RIO. We know we will have strong sales growth together and look forward to establishing a successful and long term relationship in North America!” RIO distributes the C & F range of products through its network of sales reps, domestic distributors and authorized retailers. To check out the C&F product range available in the US click here.
Ask anyone who has competed for his or her country at any event & they will tell you that it is one of the proudest moments of their life. In Europe, competition fly fishing is very popular and has many thousands of participants and nothing is more certain to get a patriotic fervour going than the “Home International” - the fly fishing competition between England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. The recent “Loch Style Home International” took place on Grafham reservoir in England on the 1st June 2007. 54 competitors from all over the UK had fished many tough rounds of elimination to get to this prestigious International event and each competitor awaited the starting gun with a mix of anticipation, confidence and nerves - after all, no-one wants to let their country down. As is usual, each angler was paired with a fly fisher from a different country, who would act as judge and jury to their opposite number. One boat had Rob Sosbe from England and Tony Bevan representing the Welsh team. Little did these two competitors know, but from this boat the eventual “Individual International Champion” would emerge. After the event, Rob wrote a report on how the day unfolded:
“As the gun signalled the start of the match, I watched the boats head off and decided that I should try my luck in Church bay. Setting up my drift in front of the church, I cast out a MidgeTip line and four nymphs into the water. After nearly half an hour of fishless activity, it was obvious that the fish we had found whilst practicing with the England team were no longer in residence. It was time for a move! As I had the first two hours in control I decided upon the point of East creek to be our next destination. After a brief five minutes of motoring, we arrived to see three of my fellow England team in residence on various drifts across the lodge bay to East creek. Andrew Green signalled to me that he already had three fish when I arrived and Chris Bobby had also managed a couple of fish on the method we had come across during practice. I quickly swapped my nymph on the point of my 2x Fluoroflex cast to a booby and cast out, more confident of getting a take. In no more than five minutes of fishing, I had my first fish safely in the net after it had taken a plain cruncher on the top dropper. Three casts later I had my second, and quickly my third fish came to the net, both fish falling for the small cat booby on the point. Two hours in to the match and I had 5 fish in the boat with my 4th and 5th fish coming to the Diawl Bach on the 2nd dropper and the Buzzer fished three feet from the booby. Takes were now becoming very finicky and Tony, after taking his first fish of the day from the point of East creek suggested a move to the sailing club. Arriving a short while later in sailing club bay I found two boats already drifting. I set up our drift in the middle of the bay and after a quick chat with Paul Shaw who was ghillie for one of the other boats in the competition I was confident that a few fish still remained in our new destination. On my first cast I had a solid take that didn’t stick, my second cast produced somewhat better results & my 6th fish came to the boat after taking the booby on the point. As the rules of the competition dictated, I was now on catch and release and all of my flies now had to be de-barbed before I continued. Also, as I was fishing a MidgeTip line, I was not allowed to fish a buoyant fly on my cast. On my next drift a further fish took the new point fly and upped my tally to seven fish. The next drift provided yet another solid take to the Diawl on the top dropper and I now had eight fish. Towards the end of the day we motored back and passed East creek and I managed to convince Tony that it might be worth another drift where we had caught fish earlier in the day. A deal was made & I agreed that if he or I had no action on a short drift in East creek, we would head off to the blue pipes on the Normanton bank. Fortunately for me I managed two further fish on our first drift and this convinced him to stay in East creek for the final three quarters of an hour of the match. With half an hour to go I had ten fish, and Tony two. Setting a drift next to15 buoy in the creek proved invaluable as my next two casts resulted in two takes but no fish. Third time lucky it proved to be again as a rainbow followed up my point fly and promptly swallowed it on the hang! Within seconds it was in the net and I had eleven fish for my efforts on the day. Time was quickly up and the weigh in drew ever closer. As I arrived back at Rutland lodge, I quickly began to realise that our team had done very well with the whole squad managing to catch on what had proved to be a very tough day on Rutland. As I left my boat and headed for terra firma with my catch, little did I know that my 11 fish was the best that any of the 53 other competitors had managed during the day!”
The final results of this Loch Style Home International were: Gold Medal: England with 84 fish
Silver Medal: Scotland with 65 fish
Bronze Medal: Wales with 54 fish
Wooden Spoon: Ireland with 51 fish Best Bag & individual Gold medal: Rob Sosbe – Team England with 11 Fish for 22lb 8oz.
Successful Tactic: Boobys, nymphs and buzzers fished on a RIO MidgeTip fly line and 2x (8lb) Fluoroflex tippet. RIO Products would like to extend their congratulations to Rob Sosbe and the successful England team on their fine achievment. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RIO joins the fight against Pebble Mine RIO has joined forces with a growing number of companies to support the fight against the Pebble Mine development in Alaska's Bristol Bay The fight for the survival of this premier of fisheries has resulted in an unprecedented alliance of companies. Trout Unlimited, AFFTA, Sporstman's Alliance of Alaska and Renewable Resources Coalition spear-head the fight against the Pebble Mine development. In addition, 37 member companies of the fly fishing industry, including RIO, support a lobbying effort against the development and destruction of this natural wonderland. Read an open letter to the governor-elect of Alaska, Sarah Palin, from this alliance. Go to Trout Unlimited's information page on the Pebble Mine development. Alaska Renewable Resources Coalition - All the most recent developments and informative videos. Sportsman's Alliance for Alaska - Excellent information about the rivers and streams around Bristol Bay. Northern Dynasty Mines - The Pebble Mine project homepage.
OFFICIAL! RIO tippet is Number 1!
RIO Products received the award for the most world records in the fly tippet category from the International Game Fish Association (IGFA). This annual award re-inforces the reputation and reliability of RIO's leader and tippet materials. RIO offers two different IGFA materials: RIOMax and RIO's Hard Saltwater Nylon, to overcome ever likely fishing situation for the fly fisher. 1: RIOMax is a medium-stiff nylon and is ideal for bonefish, salmon, steelhead, bass and fishing streamers for trout. It is available in spools ranging from 1 kg (2.2 lbs) to 50 kg (110 lbs). 2: RIO's Hard Saltwater Nylon is the most reliable saltwater tippet material and holds the majority of RIO's world records. This hard, abrasive-resistant material is ideal for big flies and tough fish and is sold in spools between 1 kg (2.2 lbs) and 20 kg (44 lbs). In the 12 months between 1st October 2005 and the 30th September 2006, RIO's IGFA tippet materials broke 37 World Records, making RIO the number one brand and with the most confirmed world records. This award betters the "runner up" award received by RIO in the last three years in the same category. The award was presented to RIO at the annual IGFA World Record Achievement Award Banquet held on the 28th April 2007 at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum. Mr. Raz Reid, RIO' South Eastern representative (pictured on the right) accepted the award on behalf of RIO.
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