We certainly can’t catch a break with these hurricanes. I’ve been writing about them frequently not only because they’re topical, but because they’re in my general neck of the woods.
Fortunately, just like Helene, Jacksonville was spared the worst of the mess that Hurricane Milton brought ashore. But friends on the gulf side of Florida got hit hard by wind, rain, flooding, (and oddly tornadoes), and reporters from all the major news outlets have been in the non-so-Sunshine State to cover the latest happenings.
Enter Isabel Rosales and her Orvis waders…
It’s not uncommon to see the field reporters wearing co-branded rain jackets from The North Face, Columbia, LL Bean, etc… during foul weather coverage. Anderson Cooper was wearing Carhartt as he almost got washed away during his stint in the eye of the storm on Wednesday night.
But it’s not often you see reporters in something fly fishing adjacent, even if the primary use has nothing to do with feathers and fins. I guess that’s why these Orvis waders caught my eye during last night’s coverage.
(A younger, less mature Troutrageous! Mike would make a comment about how good Ms. Rosales makes those waders look, certainly way better than he does. But I’m not that Troutrageous! Mike anymore. I think?)
This also brings many questions to mind… Does CNN furnish Orvis waders for their reporters? If so, does Fox News have a brand preference? Perhaps Isabel enjoys fly fishing when not on camera? Are they rubber bootfoot, or stockingfoot? If the latter, is she wearing some sort of wading boots? Beats me, but I’d love to know!
Anyway, in a week when Orvis has been making the news under more unfortunate circumstances, at least they can rest easy knowing that they not only designed their waders for fly fishing, but they’re also field-tested to be hurricane proof too…