Salty Saturday - Dean Silvester talks Simms
As I sit here on a chilly Saturday morning looking out across Western Port Bay, I am reminded by the plethora of fishing boats dotted on the horizon, just how much opportunity there is for fishing here in Australia. I'm also reminded that out of all these boats frothing to get some action after so many weeks in lockdown, it's likely they aren't flyfishos. At least not today.
The questions that quickly pop into my head are; what are they wearing? (Yes I know, that sounds weird) Are they warm? Are they dry? Are they protected from the sun? Are they prepared if the weather changes?
A number of years in the industry has me trained to think about fishos as a community and whether or not they are getting the most out of their valued time on the water. What hurts the most is thinking that what they are wearing is inhibiting their enjoyment on the water, whether it be sunburn, windburn or being cold and wet. After all, most of us only get a small window to fish so why would we compromise on clothing when we could be fully immersed in the fishing and not worrying about the elements?
Dean Silvester is one guy who literally lives and breathes fishing. The man commonly known as Hollywood lives on the Gold Coast and fishes day in, day out. A competitive angler of 14 years up to 2019, Dean's tournament career consists of 28 wins, 4 Championship Titles and 4 Australian of the Year Titles.
He is the only angler to win Professional BASS Tournaments across all three Australian Eastern states, as well as the only Angler to win a BASS Nation AOY title and BASS Championship in the same year.
I told you, lives and breathes fishing.
Now on a little hiatus from tournament fishing he spends the majority of his time traveling up and down the east coast of Australia creating a tonne of fishing, camping and hunting content for a number of clients and his own YouTube channel. He'll fish for anything that swims, and actively targets everything from a mullet to a black marlin.
Dean was brought up fishing, with almost all of his earliest childhood memories being outdoors with a fishing rod in hand. His parents fostered this until he was old enough to get on his bike and then he would be gone for hours on end.
I asked Dean what he thought of the Simms apparel and how it has changed the way he fishes.
There are passionate people that go fishing and then there are the crazily obsessed ones, I definitely fall into the latter category. Obviously being on the water and exposed to the elements for long hours I look to my clothing to keep me protected. The last thing I want to do is come back early from being uncomfortable, burnt of even worse cold and wet. I usually start the my day in my Simms Challenger Bib and Challenger Jacket to keep me warm and dry, then once the sun is high and warming things up I keep myself fully covered with a Simms Solarflex Hoody, Sun Gaiter and Sun Gloves. The Solarflex Hoody is a game changer as it keeps my ears and neck covered as well as adding a little coverage to the sides of my sunnies when sight fishing. As I said, I like to fish from dawn till dusk, no matter what the weather throws at me and it's amazing how much better you feel when properly protected from the elements.
I predominatly fish with lures and I am constantly chasing something bigger or better, whether that be a new personal best of just a new species all together. I think the best part about fishing is the challenge of finding the fish and then figuring them out. No two days are ever the same, just when you think you have it all figured out, they change their habits and you're back to square one. All part of the wonderful game of fishing!
Check out Dean's YouTube Channel for some epic fishing and hot tricks and tips.