By Ray Schmidt - Schmidt Outfitters

What's this? It's the sound of Scientific Angler's exciting new fly line racing through the rod guides. Zing and Zowie! Sounds like something from an episode of Batman and Robin. So does the name: Shark Skin!

Bruce Richards, my friend at Scientific Anglers, brought a new fly line for me to check out this summer. I was sworn to silence; my life was threatened, I had to promise not to breathe a word. We headed to the pond. Zing! Zowie! This Shark Skin fly line flew through the guides like the Caped Crusader racing to save Batgirl from the Joker.

All silly metaphors aside, this Shark Skin fly line is simply amazing. It floats higher, casts further and has little to no memory. Bruce claims it will outlast his best fly lines by 3 times. Three times!

Here's the real zing. Utilizing a new, patented process, Scientific Anglers has embossed the surface of this line with a sharkskin pattern that interrupts the drag. This is why the line flies further than any other I've cast. The line sits on the surface, not in it. It sheds water, making pick-up a breeze. Previously, other manufacturers have tried to deploy similar technologies, but the performance of Scientific Angler's Shark Skin is in a league of its own.

Now, the price: $99.95. Yes, $99.95. Expensive and worth it. You'll thank me later. We'll have the product in stock in a few weeks once Scientific Angler introduces it in Denver next weekend at the industry trade show. Schmidt Outfitters will carry weight forward 4 through 8 in two colors: chartreuse (sharktreuse) and blue heron.

If you want to be the first on your block with Shark Skin, you'll have to call us and reserve one or place an order on our site. First come first served.

Scientific Angler will undoubtedly deploy this new technology for other lines, so stay tuned! We'll report it here first.