News

Wader and apparel expert Simms Fishing Products has launched its limited-edition Dead on The Water collection in collaboration with the famous Grateful Dead band.

At its surface, it’s a line of technical and lifestyle pieces – t-shirts, hats, sun hoodies alongside a special limited-edition G3 Guide Wader – but at its core, it’s something deeper.

Some things don’t need to be explained — they just feel right. The flow of water, the pulse of great music in an idyllic setting, and the way time seems to stretch and dissolve when you’re deep in either one. That’s where Simms and the Grateful Dead meet.

In essence, music and fishing ask the same thing– presence, surrender and the willingness to embrace what comes next.

Head of Simms, Ben Christensen, said: “This collaboration was born from feeling, not formulas. Fishing and music are both immersive experiences. They quiet the noise. They shift your focus from the outside world to the present moment. Dead On The Water is our effort to capture this state of mind and an invitation to our community to join us on this long, strange trip.”

For decades, the music of the Grateful Dead has echoed across rivers, drift boats and streamside hangs - the unofficial soundtrack of the angler’s pursuit. Improvisational, raw, and emotional, it mirrors the experience of fishing itself. No two days, no two casts, no two moments ever the same. You don’t control it, you accept, enjoy, and immerse yourself into it.

That spirit is present and alive in every piece of Simms’ collaboration. It’s the melodic meander of a float down your home river. It’s the wader built by hand, heart, and soul in Bozeman, Montana. And it’s the belief that gear, like music, can do more than just perform – it can move you.

Ben added: “What we’re tapping into is that egoless state both artists and anglers chase – a place where instinct takes over and connection becomes everything.

“For the Dead, it was the music. For us, it’s the river. But the reward is the same – you get lost in the moment, and that’s where the magic lives.”

The centrepiece of the collection is the GD Guide Wader. Made in Bozeman, Montana, it is based on Simms’ renowned and multi-award winning G3 platform and trimmed with Grateful Dead-inspired detailing.

www.simmsfishing.com/pages/grateful-dead