Gear designed for the days at the extremes of weather are given more of an opportunity to show their mettle and prove their worth than gear designed for the in days in between. Let's face it, what you're wearing matters quite a bit less when you're standing on a stream bank, on a bluebird 65 degree with a day pleasant breeze blowing through your hair than it does when you're perched on the bow of a skiff, with the sun pounding down through humid air and the mercury flirting with triple digits or when you're wading through frigid waters, ice flows drifting by and sleet pounding your face.

If you're a trout fisherman, then the fish that draws you to the river relies on cold water. It does't matter whether you're talking about brook trout, brown trout, westslope cutthroat or steelhead; trout need cold water. And in today's warming climate, cold water is becoming increasingly scarce. For those of us that love trout fishing, and want to preserve trout populations, this is problematic. After all, it's not like we can just pick up trout and move them to colder water.