STEFFEN BROTHERS - Usually a "This or That" Conversation

I get a handful of emails each week where glass aficionados (or soon to be ones) are working out the details of their next fly rod to have built and the conversation is usually "Do I want this or do I want that?"  More times than not, if they are looking at a premium option, one of the two blanks being discussed is from Steffen Brothers.  And, for good reason.  Steffen Brothers tapers took Mark Steffen years to refine, with field testing on weeks long camping trips, and he took his time to make sure each taper felt right and fished exceptionally.  

While other fly rod companies roll out new generations of glass, Steffen Brothers tapers stand the test of time.  They were great and they continue to be great.  There is something very cool about that.

I've long said that everyone should have a Steffen Brothers 8' 3/4 weight but really any of the blank offerings should be considered.  The dual line weights give them the ability to be "sped up" in feel with the lighter line weight or "slowed down" with the upper line weight.  There are nine blank choices in the rusty brown glass and four blank choices in black glass.  I still need to pull the trigger on an 8' 6/7 weight for my warmwater fly rod needs.  Maybe this summer...

I checked with Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods and Steffen Brothers to make sure the 15% off promo code still works, and it does.  Use code "TFM15" on your online orders on Steffen Brothers blanks and more.

Lastly, considering a new fiberglass fly rod?  I am always happy to field emails with suggestions to point you in the right direction.  Begin the conversation at thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com.

YETI - FOUR LETTERS

This is a very cool new anthem film from YETI.  Press PLAY...



It looks like they are using this "Four Letters" theme to tell some social stories, which is genius.

 

See the latest YETI gear on their website.  The Summer Anthem Collection might be the vibe for America's 250th anniversary over the coming July 4th holiday.

VEDAVOO - Big News for Existing Customers

Scott Hunter of Vedavoo and I have a few neat things to talk about on T.F.M. in the coming weeks but in the meantime, his announcement on Instagram this week should interest existing customers.  

Maybe it's time for you to carefully snip the Vedavoo patch off a favorite piece of gear to see what the upgrade MARK-2 version would be like...

I've known Scott for over 15 years and he's always thinking about new ways to make his gear better through new fabrics and materials, buckles, handles, straps, reinforcements, sewing techniques, and fit with an ongoing mission of building "Better American Gear".

 

Visit the Vedavoo website to see the latest gear offerings and reach out to Scott via the contact page to start the discussion on your next favorite piece of kit.

P.S.  Don't forget that Vedavoo has a stock of Comrade and Retro Fly patches to jazz up your order.

THE MISSION - Issue 57

The latest issue of The Mission in live and ready for a weekend flip through.  Enjoy...

CHECK IT.

In a Ford Escort Down By the River...

I came across this photograph the other day and a flood of memories came back of being a twenty-something rambling around northern Michigan on solo fly fishing and camping trips in a less than reliable Ford Escort.  I was a poor college kid with a couple of part-time jobs, not doing too great in classes, and when I read my journal from back then, I couldn't have been happier.    

On this trip, I had spent a few late summer days camping outside of Grayling, and this photo was taken on the South Branch of the Au Sable River from a sandy pull-off on the Mason Tract.  This was long before digital cameras or mobile phones with a camera.  I had a pager, which should put into perspective of where in the digital age we were back then.  We barely had the internet.  To get this image, I had to set up a tripod that I traveled with to my film camera, and used the timer to capture this still life of sorts.  One film capture and I hoped that I got it right.    

The two page journal entry that I penciled from this trip was dated September 7, 1996, and it had been an overcast day and though I had seen fish rising, I caught one smallish brook trout.  That didn't stop me from casting a small hopper or caddis flies into likely places on the river throughout the afternoon.

A few gear items that I wish that I still had from this photograph are my first "expensive" fly rod with the two-piece Orvis Rocky Mountain 8'6" 5-weight fly rod, which was paired with a Battenkill Disc 5/6 fly reel.  The entire outfit might have cost me $400, but that was months of me saving for it back then.  It's tough to see but on the hood of the car is a Wood River Sidekick gear bag that was just big enough for everything that needed on the river.  I believe I ordered it from one of print fly shop catalogs, maybe Kaufman's Streamborn?  And, as I noted at the end of my journal entry from this day, I had purchased the Filson Tin Cloth Packer Hat from Ray's Fly Shop in downtown Grayling on this trip and felt like it "completed" my look as a fly fisherman.  That is a smart looking fly fishing guy in that photograph...

 

I kept a hardbound handwritten journal from 1995 until 2000.  I started to be active on a handful of online fly fishing forums which replaced journaling with online posts (now mostly long gone) and since 2008, I have used The Fiberglass Manifesto as an online dispatch of sorts.  There's a list of advantages in keeping a fly fishing history on T.F.M. with photographs and hyperlinks but it still doesn't replace the notes made by pencil or pen.  I should get back to carrying a trip journal again.  They are a lot of fun to look back on and I'd like to get back to the places that I used to frequent in the 1990's.  I'd find these places with paper maps, notes on napkins or scratch paper, or directions from a guy at the fly shop.  I got lost more times than not, but always found my way back to the campsite.

PATAGONIA - Tying the Pheasant Tail Trico Spinner

One of my favorite books from last year was Pheasant Tail Simplicity and the trio of Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews, and Mauro Mazzo teamed up again for this Patagonia paperback which is full of stories, techniques, and fly tying recipes with step-by-step instructions.

Order your copy of Pheasant Tail Simplicity on the Patagonia website or pick one up at your local book store or fly shop.  

Want to jump ahead and watch other Pheasant Tail Simplicity videos?  You can find them on the Patagonia YouTube channel.  

TIEMCO - Fenwick is Just Teasing Us Now...

Yesterday this image popped up on the Tiemco Instagram page and while I try to run down some additional information to share on the latest generation of Fenwick Yellow Glass, you can visit the Tiemco website to sort out some of the basic information.

This 5th generation of the Fenwick Yellow Glass, available in Japan, has five fly rods in the collection from a 6'6" 3-weight to a 7'3" 5-weight.  All of the line weights and lengths look very interesting to me and when doing a YEN to USD conversion, they are priced at $300 or less.  Getting one stateside might take some doing but would be worth the trouble if they cast anything like previous generations.  

If you get into the "wayback machine" you'd find an early T.F.M. dispatch where I took a Japanese Fenwick Yellow Glass pack rod to Wyoming and caught a banger Bonneville Cutthroat on a dry fly.  I guess sepia tone filters were the rage in 2008 and I should try to hunt down the originals from that trip on a long lost external drive.  That fish really started it all here almost 18 years ago.  Crazy.  

Visit the Tiemco website for more info on this yellow glass collection.  Which one(s) would you order?