Dive Into 2025
We’re nearly one quarter of the way through the 21st Century. If you’re grown enough to remember the Y2K freak out, that sentence may make you feel, um, not young. But while the current century has been old enough to legally drink for several years now, Skwala Fly Fishing is just about to complete our third trip round the sun. We’re certainly not new anymore, but we’re also not old and wizened, stiff or cranky.
Some well-intentioned friends asked us why we would start a fly fishing brand. Appealing to a subculture inside a subculture isn’t exactly the Amazon model, but we’re proud of what we’ve accomplished. We really feel like we’re hitting our stride, thanks—in large part—to you. So, before we go further, thank you. Seriously, thanks to all of you who took Skwala gear fishing last year. We hope you had as much fun as we did.
We’re struggling a little to remember exactly what went down in the past year. Our focus has already shifted to what’s next, all the good stuff we’ve got coming this year (more on that soon), but also the plans we’re laying for '26 and '27. Meticulous design takes time, and some ideas don’t pan out. Only the gear we consider good enough to carry the Skwala name ever reaches fly shop shelves.
That said, we’re proud of what we released last year. We dropped the Backeddy Collection—wader, jacket, and vest—burly, functional, deceivingly intricate, and extremely comfortable. If you’re looking for gear that will shine in just about any fishing conditions, you got it.
If you haven’t seen the Carbon Pant yet, stop by a Skwala dealer and check them out. They’re not just another pair of waterproof pants: they breathe, they stretch, they’re unexpectedly comfortable. We wanted to transform rain pants from something you hoped to avoid wearing into something you would look for an excuse to put on, and we nailed it.
Did you catch the Fly Fishing Film Tour this year? We hope so. 2024 was our first year as the title sponsor of the premier celebration of our culture. The films were excellent, and the camaraderie flowed even more freely than the beers. We’ll be back to do it all again this year as the flagship sponsor of the F3T, and we have our own films to debut. We’re pretty sure you’re going to dig them.
Speaking of road trips, we took a sweet one last summer—the Tour de West—with our friends from Drift West Outfitters and Trout Routes. Towing a beautifully restored antique camper, we brought the party to a dozen fly shops in Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, and Washington. At each and every stop, we fired up the grill, handed out beverages, and met great people. Hopefully you experienced the Tour in person. If not, no worries. We’re hoping to make it an annual event.
The Skwala Squad assembled last year, our version of the Avengers, or Regulators, or maybe Garbage Pail Kids, depending on your preference for cultural touchpoints. Every company has Ambassadors, but we want to work with people based on who they are and what they do instead of their follower counts. We wanted anglers, not influencers—people we enjoy spending time on the water with and think you would too. You may not know their names, but we highly recommend checking them out and learning what they’re up to.
Okay, let’s talk fishing.
Kevin, our founder and fearless leader, once again made us all extremely jealous. He started the year swinging for steel on the OP, hopped down south in the spring to fish redfish and snook in Florida, then went to Cuba for tarpon and bonefish, circled back closer to home for June salmon flies and green drakes on the Henry’s Fork, then took his first trip to the Bolivian jungle for golden dorado and paku, and closed the loop on the year by once again swinging for steelhead in BC.
“What stood out the most was the experience with the Tsimane. It is one of the most untouched places in the world and essentially has not changed in 100’s if not 1000’s of years. Fishing dorado in the headwaters is akin to fishing for giant trevally in a spring creek. Targeting paku is like permit fishing on a trout stream with hoppers. It was a fishing experience unlike anything else I have experienced.”
Rich, our head of marketing mostly kept it local enjoying the fantastic rivers right here in Montana, but he did manage a couple of trips. He fished the Great Lakes, targeting carp and smallmouth in shallow water, and learned that weather can be as fickle on inland seas as offshore. Days off happen on fishing trips, it’s part of the experience, making the most of those days is up to you. Rich also returned to Alaska, where he rediscovered mouse fishing.
Ryan, the brains of this place, builds and maintains all our systems. He’s a man of action, not words. He really is into the whole brevity thing.
“Two highlights for me: Chasing redfish and snook in Tampa Bay, casting off a skiff next to the interstate (quite the juxtaposition). Then, taking my 10-year-old nephew out on Rocky Creek this summer to catch his first fish on the fly.”
Scott joined the Skwala Crew this year, taking over customer relations, social media marketing, and internal media production. It seems like he goes permit fishing every other month or so. Maybe the shock of his first Montana winter forced him to make regular pilgrimages south.
“In '24, I wrapped up my 2nd tour with the F3T and fished all over the country, from the OP to the Florida Keys, chasing all my favorite fish along the way. From trout in Montana to smallies in the Midwest, then down to Texas for redfish, and finally over to Florida to wrangle some ocean-side migratory tarpon. Upon starting at Skwala in July, I took my last freelance gig to Belize and sealed the deal on a pair of permit. With all that said, exploring all the water around my new home in Bozeman has been the highlight of my fishing year.”
Miles, our media lead and wordsmith, still lives in New Zealand, which is why we started our own internal office hashtag: #FMiles. Yes, he once again caught giant trout, and we’re all very happy for him. We’d prefer to talk about Miles’ trip back to The States, though, where he got to experience a fishery that made him question his life choices after he discovered that he might like smallmouth more than trout. No smallies in New Zealand, bud.
We’re not gloating; we were product testing. Never buy fly fishing gear from people who don’t fish. This begs a question, though: What were we testing? Of course we can’t tell you exactly what’s coming out this year, but a few hints can’t hurt.
Winter seems to have finally arrived, and we’ve got just the thing coming. It kept one of our testers comfortable in conditions he described as “a hurricane—with snow.”
Do you like Skwala Waders? You’re going to like them even more once you pair them with our newest big launch.
Are you thinking about summer fishing yet? When daydreaming about summer fishing, we conveniently forget one thing about it that’s consistently annoying. We have a solution coming for those pesky summer irritations.
Last year’s recap letter closed with the recognition that all is not well in the world, and that’s also true for some of our most cherished fisheries. That letter said, “We expect more of ourselves in the year to come and you should too.” This past year we put our support behind the fight to maintain stream access here in our beloved home state of Montana. With the help of our good friend Jake Keeler, we profiled the restoration work TU’s doing on the Brule River in Wisconsin. We also donated to the Wild Steelhead Coalition and helped spread the message that this year’s improved returns are not likely to last and certainly not an indicator that steelhead recovery is underway. If anything, this year’s numbers remind us what might be possible, but only if we set aside our differences and get to work. We remain optimists, because pessimism is just an excuse quitters use to justify giving up. We will report back in one year’s time on what we accomplish in 2025.
We said it at the start of this letter, but we’ll say it again to close. Thank you. We love fly fishing—the culture, the people, and the sport itself. We’re damn sure not in this for fame or fortune, but we know how lucky we are. We genuinely hope that Skwala enhanced your fishing in some small way this past year. If you’re so inclined, reach out and tell us about it.
Happy New Year,
The Skwala Crew