OAK & OSCAR - A Decade of Incredible Watches

Earlier this year, I spent a weekend with Chase Fancher of Oak & Oscar in Atlanta for the Fly Fishing Show and during a late night chat, we talked about what was on the horizon that he was excited about.  He mentioned that the 10 year anniversary of Oak & Oscar was approaching and they were hashing out some "Make No Little Plans" to celebrate this milestone with a look back to watches they have offered in the past.  

It all begins this week with a lottery for two limited edition Burnham watches and will be followed by other releases every two weeks.  This is going to be fun to follow along with.

From Oak & Oscar...

"Oak & Oscar started with a big idea and has grown into something truly special. Over the last decade, it’s transformed into a watch company with its own distinctive design language, an incredible community of Owners, some amazing brand collabs, and big plans for the future.

The first ten years have been filled with memorable moments and even more memorable watches. From our first watch, the Burnham, all the way to the Atwood, we’ve maintained our passion for what we do. We’re proud of the watches we’ve made; we’re honored to have worked with so many great people to build our products; and we can’t wait to see what the next decade has in store!

To commemorate this special milestone, we’re dipping back into the archive and offering you an exclusive opportunity to purchase some of your favorite watches that have long since been sold out or retired.

Over the course of the year, we’ll release small batches of everything from the Burnham to the Humboldt 12HR. Each release will consist of only two to five rare examples. These watches will come from either new old stock, pieces we’ve acquired on the secondary market, or watches we’ve built at the HQ. The watches feature the same specs and design cues you know and love but with a couple new details to celebrate our first ten years. Each watch will be available at its original sale price."

Take a few moments to visit the Oak & Oscar website.  Be sure to sign up for their newsletter and follow along on Facebook and Instagram for the latest news.

TOM'S TIPS - Why Dead Drifting a Streamer is Sometimes Best

In this episode of "Tom's Tips", Mr. Rosenbauer gives a lesson on an alternative streamer technique.

See more on the Orvis YouTube channel and check out the latest gear on the Orvis website.

SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE FLY - Issue 55

The latest issue of Southern Culture on the Fly is ready for you to Read It Raw.  Enjoy...

 CHECK IT.

FISH HOUSES - Andy Mill's Florida Home Fully Dedicated to Tarpon

This is a fun one with Any Mill of Mill House walking through his Florida home.  Press PLAY...



This is a great idea for a new video series and look forward to Flylords rolling other episodes out.

D MAGAZINE - Meet the Compleat Dallas Angler

Longtime T.F.M. reader and glass junkie, David Hale Smith, has written a fun article for D Magazine that is worth a read.  It appeared in the printed June issue and is now available online.

 

CHECK IT.

AMFF - Fishing the Collection - Season 2 - Episode 3

The Fishing the Collection film series continues with the American Museum of Fly Fishing with an Austin, Texas warmwater SUP trip with Beth and a vintage bamboo Paul H. Young 7'6" 5-weight.



Visit the American Museum of Fly Fishing website and consider supporting their work of preserving the history and heritage of fly fishing with your membership.

LIFE LIST - Notes on Seeing the Kirkland's Warbler

My spring trips to Michigan are typically a whirlwind of getting somewhere to go fly fishing, meeting up with guides for evening or overnight floats, sleeping in the car, and fetching friends from the airport to get them up to the next airport to fly over to Beaver Island for the week.  The days are always a blur and I rarely take time for anything else.

This year's trip was more of a slow down with me having the better part of a day and a half to find my way up north.  It gave me the opportunity to make an early morning stop at Hartwick Pines State Park to take in the Michigan Audubon Kirkland's Warbler Tour, which had been on my list for years.

 

I grew up somewhat of a "Bird Nerd" and that followed me through college with Saturday morning birding trips all around southwest Michigan, trips to Point Pelee National Park for spring migrations, winter trips to the Upper Peninsula and into Ontario, and I was even was on a team for several years for "wild" 24-hour Southwest Michigan Birdathons.  I've more or less pressed pause on any sort of serious bird watching for the last twenty-five years but seem to be getting pulled back in.

On my "Life List" of nearly 40 warblers already seen, the one that has been missing was the Kirkland's Warbler.  This large warbler is rare since it only ground nests in particular jack pine forested areas, which are limited to areas of northern Michigan around Grayling, Wisconsin, and areas of Ontario.  Numbers of mating pairs have held steady but still not a bird that most have seen. 

 

After meeting everyone in our group at Hartwick Pines State Park, the guide led us a few miles away to a sand road parking lot where the dozen of us went for a walk with jack pine on either side of rarely driven road.  Within minutes, the song of the male Kirkland's Warbler could be heard, followed by another some distance away.  These calls were followed by others and through the morning we heard more than a dozen Kirkland's Warblers sing.  They were here but we needed to wait it out until hopefully one would fly up to one of the many dead trees mixed in above the jack pine forest to sing.  We had some sharp eyes in the group, which was a collection of birdwatchers from the deep south to out east and places between.  

Photograph Provided by Beth Fritts

It didn't take too long before someone from the group found a Kirkland's Warbler off in the distance sitting on a limb but in the morning light, all I could see through my binoculars was the dark chunky silhouette of the bird.  No real field markings.  I really hoped that this wouldn't be the only one we saw as I didn't want to check it off in my field guide by just that look.

We continued to walk slowly down the road with the group spreading out over hundreds of feet.  Stopping.  Listening.  Glassing.  More singing was heard but the birds were near the ground and not up in the trees where they could be seen.  This meant more glassing and listening.  

Patience paid off awhile later when a Kirkland's Warbler flew up to a nearby tree and sang for a few moments to allow most in the group to get an extended look.  One of the birdwatchers had a telephoto lens on her camera and snapped a quick photograph that she graciously shared with several of us days later with an email.  

We saw another for just a moment as it flew from one side of the forest to the other and then one other a bit farther back in the woods.  Certainly not as good of a look as the one that you see in this post.  

By mid-morning I was ready to get on the road to head farther north, but what a neat experience.

Just a couple of gear notes to wrap this up that if you're interested in birds as all, the Merlin app is an essential.  It's really unbelievable how handy this application is with identifying bird sounds, photo, and Bird ID Wizard.  It's free and works worldwide.

I am a huge fan of Maven optics and have been using a pair of B.7 10X50 binoculars since last spring.  They are compact, lightweight, and are perfect to always have along for bird watching, sporting events, hunting, and more.  The optics are super sharp with high contrast and these binoculars may be small but offer a lot being waterproof, fog proof, with multi-coated lenses.  I've decided that after this trip that they will always be tucked in my gear bag for impromptu birding and even looking for fish activity when on the water.

If you are ever in the area of Grayling, Michigan in the spring, the Kirkland's Warbler Tour is well worth taking a morning for.  It only cost $20 per person and was easy to sign up for online.