Fishing

A New Ross × Coors Fly Reel With a Built-In Warm-Water Reality Check

Ross Reels, Aspire Fly Rods, and Molson Coors are back with another limited-edition run of Coors-themed reels and a rod.
Ken Baldwin|
Ross Reels, Coors Beer, fly fishing for trout, and snowy mountains. This has Colorado written all over it.
Ross Reels, Coors Beer, fly fishing for trout, and snowy mountains. This has Colorado written all over it. | Photo by Nelson Oxley

The last couple of times Ross Reels and Coors teamed up to do a limited-edition reel with Coors branding, they sold out. They are doing it again.

How This is Helping Our Trout Waters


This is good for trout waters because a percentage of the money from these sales goes to Trout Unlimited’s Embrace A Stream grant program in Colorado. Money that finances real improvement on real trout water.

Add to that the fact that Ross Reels make some of the best fly reels on the market, and this is good for the fly angler and fly fishing all around.

A close-up of the Ross Reels Cimarron with the classic Coors Banquet Beer branding being held by a fly angler.
The Ross Reels Cimarron with the classic Coors Banquet Beer branding. | Photo by Nelson Oxley

Does it Make a Difference?


This is not just hype and marketing. Here are a few examples of real work being done. The Poudre Headwaters Project, reconnecting and restoring roughly 40 miles of habitat for greenback cutthroat trout. I've never caught a greenback cutthroat, but I'd sure like to. With the help of Ross Reels and Coors, projects like this ensure the fish are around for anglers like me to have a chance.

Restoration work was completed on the famous Clear Creek, which focused on stormwater runoff and beat-up riparian habitat. This is good stuff, and we need more of it.

What’s in the Latest Ross Reels × Coors Drop

- the Coors Banquet Cimarron Creek reel
- the Coors Banquet Airlite Aspire 905 fly rod
- and, after a lot of anglers asked for it, the Coors Light Cimarron LT reel

The Coors Light Cimarron LT reel

This reel is what caught my attention when I first heard about Ross Reels' new gear drop.
Ross put the blue Coors Light Mountain on the side of the Cimarron Light fly reel with temperature-reactive pigment. When temps drop below 70°F, the mountain graphic turns blue.

It’s a simple idea, and I like the intent. Warm water is when trout fishing should stop. If you dunk the reel in the stream you are about to fish, and the Coors Mountain doesn't turn blue, don't fish that water.

A Ross Reels Cimarron fly reel attached to a rod, dipped in a river surrounded by snowy mountains an a bridge.
When the water is below 70 degrees, the mountain turns blue. | Photo by Nelson Oxley

At 68 Degrees, Water Starts Becoming Stressful for Trout

What causes the stress:
• warm water holds less oxygen
• Trout need more oxygen as their metabolism speeds up
• Fights wear them down faster, and recovery takes longer
• post-release stress piles up quickly, especially if the fish is handled too much
• Warm water can make them more vulnerable, even if they swim away fine

The reel isn’t a thermometer, and the color change happens at 70—not 68—so you still have to use your judgment. But if the Coors Mountain isn't blue, you know for sure that you shouldn't be fishing.

An Airlite Aspire fly rod with Coors Beer branding, and a snowy creek in the background.
The Airlite Aspire fly rod with the iconic Coors Banquet logo. | Photo by Nelson Oxley

Airlite Aspire Fly Rods

Airlite has a Coors-branded rod in the mix. It's called the Aspire, and it’s a great entry-level rod. I’ve fished Aspire rods and was very happy with their performance on the water. Good action, light-weight, solid build, and at a reasonable price. This would be a fun gift for someone starting out in fly fishing, especially if they love beer.
And again—part of the purchase helps fund TU work in Colorado.

A Win-Win

I like seeing companies tie a product to actual habitat work, instead of just slapping a logo on something and calling it cool. I've been fishing Ross Reels for over 20 years; they make exceptional, good-looking fly reels right here in the USA, Montrose, Colorado, to be exact. This is a good pairing.
If you’re already going to buy gear, and some of that money goes back to the improvement of the waters we fish, that's a win for fly fishing. – Ken Baldwin ~ Follow me on my X account

"Slow down...listen to the hoppers...be patient with yer wife...eat sardines with hot sauce... catch “Gagger” trout!!!" – Flip Pallot

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Published
Ken Baldwin
KEN BALDWIN

Ken Baldwin is a Writer/Editor for Fishing On SI, where he writes stories about fly fishing and the lifestyle that surrounds it. His writing and photography have appeared in Men's Journal, Catch Magazine, Fish Alaska, and the American Angler. He also created and hosted the TV show Season on the Edge, which aired on NBC Sports and in seven countries, showcasing travel, adventure, and culture through the lens of fishing. For twenty years, Ken worked as a fly fishing guide in Alaska, which gave him opportunities to hang out with and photograph the Alaskan brown bear. His experience photographing the brown bear helped him land a job with the Netflix documentary Our Planet 2, narrated by David Attenborough. If you dig deep enough in Ken's resume, you will see that he played the terrorist "Mulkey" in the film Die Hard 2 before fly fishing took over his life. Ken is a graduate of the University of Washington.

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