Image courtesy of Mayfly Outdoors
The Coors Light Cimarron LT doesn’t look like a revolutionary piece of fly fishing equipment. At first glance, it’s simply another beautifully machined reel from Ross Reels, finished in a luminescent silver with the familiar Rocky Mountain silhouette that has adorned Coors beer cans for decades.
But dip it in cold water—or wade into a trout stream on a crisp morning—and something unexpected happens. The mountains turn blue.
It’s a visual trick borrowed directly from beverage marketing, the same thermochromic technology that tells beer drinkers their Coors Light is “as cold as the Rockies.” But in the hands of Ross Reels, that marketing gimmick has been repurposed into something the company claims is an industry first: a passive conservation tool built directly into the tackle.
The reel’s frame uses temperature-responsive pigments that shift the mountain graphics to blue when temperatures drop below 70°F. If the mountains aren’t blue, the water is too warm for ethical trout fishing.
“If the mountains are blue, you know the water is cold enough to fish responsibly,” said Jeff Patterson, Brand Manager at Ross Reels. “If they’re not, it’s a visual cue to check your thermometer—or reel it in.”
The Science Behind the Gimmick
The 70°F threshold isn’t arbitrary. Trout are cold-water species that become stressed when water temperatures climb into the mid-to-upper 60s. When temperatures exceed 67-70°F, the reduced dissolved oxygen in the water means hooked fish may not recover from the fight, even when properly released.
Conservation organizations have long advocated for anglers to carry stream thermometers. Trout Unlimited, Yellowstone National Park, and numerous state wildlife agencies recommend stopping fishing when water temperatures hit 65-68°F. Some Western rivers implement “hoot owl” restrictions during summer heat waves, closing waters to fishing during the warmest hours.
“For most trout, water temperatures that approach 70 degrees prove troublesome and often fatal,” notes Trout Unlimited on their website. “Water temperatures that rise into the mid-60s can make trout listless and sluggish. It’s up to us to know when the waters we fish might be working against the trout we’re after.”
The Ross reel won’t replace a thermometer—it measures ambient temperature, not water temperature directly. But as the company acknowledges, it serves as a “visual reminder” to check conditions before fishing.
The Trade Show Buzz
The January 2026 announcement has sparked considerable discussion in industry circles. The third iteration of Ross’s collaboration with Molson Coors, the thermochromic Cimarron LT represents a departure from previous releases, which focused primarily on aesthetics and nostalgia.
“Cue the Coors Light jokes. Cue the corporate collaboration shade,” wrote Hatch Magazine in their coverage. “Fly anglers love their purity tests and Ross Reels’ latest collaboration is bound to fail several of them. However, what it will also do is raise an estimated $100,000 for Trout Unlimited.”
That conservation commitment is central to the partnership. Since 2024, Ross Reels and Coors have raised over $200,000 for Trout Unlimited’s Embrace A Stream grant program, which funds local river restoration projects. The 2026 collection aims to bring that total to $300,000.
The money has supported concrete projects: habitat restoration for greenback cutthroat trout in the Poudre Headwaters, stormwater runoff mitigation on Clear Creek, and conservation work on Montana’s Big Hole River, Utah’s Provo River, and Wyoming’s La Barge Creek.
Conservation Tool or Marketing Gimmick?
Critics might argue that any serious angler already carries a thermometer and doesn’t need a beer-branded reel to remind them about water temperatures. The 70°F threshold, while meaningful, is also slightly higher than what many conservation organizations recommend—Yellowstone closes fishing at 68°F, and some experts advocate stopping at 65°F.
But defenders point to the reel’s broader impact. The partnership raises significant funds for conservation. The color-changing feature creates conversation, potentially reaching anglers who might not otherwise think about water temperature. And the collaboration between a beverage company and a tackle manufacturer around conservation messaging represents a model that could be replicated across industries.
“Rocky Mountain water is central to how we brew and to Coors’ story,” said Candace Hancock, Field Marketing Manager at Molson Coors. “It’s also why this partnership with Ross Reels and Trout Unlimited matters so much to us.”
The Collection
The 2026 Ross x Coors collection includes three products:
Coors Light Cimarron LT — The thermochromic reel, limited to 2,000 units. Built on the redesigned Cimarron LT platform with aggressive porting to reduce weight, refined aluminum drag knob, and premium in-house anodizing in Montrose, Colorado.
Coors Banquet Cimarron Creek — A click-and-pawl reel limited to 1,000 units, finished in “Coors Banquet Buff” gold with a red center hub mimicking the classic bottle cap. Available in 2/3, 4/5, and 5/6 sizes for small stream fishing.
Coors Banquet Airlite Aspire 905 — A 9-foot, 5-weight fly rod in a custom combo case, designed to pair with the Cimarron Creek reel.
Pre-orders opened January 15, 2026, with shipping through February. Previous Ross x Coors collaborations have sold out rapidly.
Looking Forward
Whether the thermochromic finish represents meaningful innovation or clever marketing may ultimately be beside the point. In an era of warming rivers and increasing fishing pressure, any tool that prompts anglers to consider water temperature—even a color-changing mountain graphic—has potential value.
The reel also signals something broader about the direction of fishing gear. As smart technology proliferates in tackle, the industry will face ongoing questions about where innovation adds value and where it merely adds complexity.
For Ross Reels, the answer appears to lie in simplicity. No apps, no batteries, no data tracking—just a quiet visual cue that the water might be too warm, delivered in the language of a familiar advertising campaign.
When the mountains turn blue, it’s cold enough to fish. When they don’t, maybe it’s time to crack open a beer instead.
The Ross x Coors 2026 collection is available through rossreels.com and authorized dealers. A portion of proceeds supports Trout Unlimited’s Embrace A Stream grant program.
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