The melting of the last high-alpine ribbons of snow in late spring and early summer leaves a massive void in the hearts of skiers and snowboarders. They instinctively look to non-snow outdoor activities to fill that emptiness. Since snow melts into running water and some ski towns double as world class fly fishing destinations, fly fishing is a natural choice. And this Signal Snowboards prototype board with integrated fly rod could be the natural weapon of choice.
In northern climes, August is the perfect time to unleash a snowboard that doubles as a fishing rod. It's close enough to the fall to get the hearts of skiers and snowboarders thumping, but it's still far enough away that they'll need to focus on different pastimes. Signal Snowboards chose the fly board as its first project board of a new season.
The prototype snowboard, which we're officially calling Fly Board because it doesn't appear to have a name, is a true hybrid through and through. Signal cut out a swallowtail, a feature common on powder boards, to simultaneously make it look more fishy and accommodate a fish net. A thin insert was then sliced a out of the meat of the board to serve as the fishing rod handle. A few fish-shaped plates lock the insert in place for snowboarding. The two pole segments are also mounted to the board. After finishing off the main board, Signal got some help from Abel Reels in equipping the handle with a fly reel.
Not only is the Fly Board a fully functioning snowboard and fishing rod, but it's dressed to play the part. It uses a cork top sheet as a nod to the cork handles common on fly rods and includes a fish graphic and intricate fish scale base.
You could think of the board as two separate parts for two separate seasons, but the snowboarding and fly fishing could be combined into one spring trip. Instead of hiking to your favorite backwoods fishing spot, you could be riding to it (though there would probably be a little hiking involved, too).
We're guessing that, while there is probably a decent market of fly fishing snowboarders that would love the novelty of the Fly Board, the combination of awkward-handled fly rod and snowboard with a large slit in the center and net on the tail might dissuade those masses from actually buying it. We don't expect to see this one show up at snowboard or tackle shops anytime soon.
You can check out the video for the full build plus a snowboard/fishing test trip to Mt. Hood, Oregon with Olympic snowboarder Kazu Kokubo.
Source: Signal Snowboards