John Simms, pioneering fly-fishing innovator, entrepreneur, and founder of Simms Fishing Products, died on the morning of June 3, 2026, after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 89.
Born April 26, 1937, and raised in the Allegheny Mountains of western New York, Simms developed an early love for trout streams, skiing, and figuring out better ways to do things—an instinct that would define his life's work.
A Navy veteran who served as a radarman in the late 1950s, Simms carried a technical mindset into the outdoors, approaching problems analytically and rarely accepting the status quo. His career began in the mountains of Colorado, where as a ski patrolman at Arapaho Basin he helped pioneer avalanche safety and develop life-saving equipment.
Simms moved to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the early 1960s, continuing his work in snow science while guiding anglers and running rivers. It was here that his instinct for invention took hold across multiple disciplines. Frustrated by his sunglasses slipping during ski patrol, he helped create what became known as Croakies—a simple neoprene eyewear retainer that slides onto the arms of glasses and keeps them secured behind the head or around the neck.
On the water, Simms again saw problems others accepted. Early wading gear allowed sand and gravel into boots and offered limited protection in cold conditions. His solutions evolved into Simms' neoprene waders, which used insulating synthetic rubber to keep anglers warm and dry in cold rivers, dramatically extending the fishing season and improving comfort for guides and anglers. Simms is widely credited with introducing and popularizing neoprene waders.
He also created a casting aid known as the WristLok, a simple brace-like device designed to limit excess wrist movement during the fly cast, helping anglers develop proper mechanics and improve accuracy. Devices of this type prevent overuse of the wrist in the casting stroke and promote a more efficient, controlled motion.
In 1980, Simms founded Simms Fishing Products with a simple goal—to help anglers stay on the water longer, safer, and more comfortably. The company helped usher in a new era of technical fishing apparel and quickly became synonymous with performance-driven design. Simms sold the company he founded to Life Link International in the late 1980s.