YETI Presents | Hungry Life: Yellowstone River

The YETI film series Hungry Life begins with Eduardo Garcia on the Yellowstone River with fellow chef Ranga Perera.  Press PLAY and enjoy.



Jump ahead and watch the rest of the Hungry Life Series or wait for each film to be shared one by one on T.F.M. in the coming days.

TIGHTLOOP FLY RODS - George Builds "Another Yomogi"

It's been some time since I've last shared the work of George Minculete of Tightloop Fly Rods and this latest Ijuin Rods Yomogi blank build that popped up on my social media feed this week was a stunning reminder of his talent which is always shown of perfectly by his excellent photography skills.

I've long thought that custom fly rod builders who are also better than your average photogs (or have a spouse or good friend that is) always seem to be have the most interest in their work.  George nails it every time with both white light studio images like these or natural light outdoors in the elements images.

Lastly before you scroll down, I have a short list of three weights and this 7' Yomogi is just wonderful in every way.  Parabolic and special and if you don't have one, you should figure out how you can.

George wrote...  "The Yomogi Series 7033 (UD Glass) is a popular blank and a very sweet parabolic action from Kazutomo Ijuin from Ijuin Rods in Japan. It is always a pleasure to build and fish this particular one.  There is also another 7'3" 4wt. that I've cast at the London Fair that felt very sweet as well. The translucent lime green color is very fresh and many just love it.

Tomo has another parabolic taper called the E-glass Special Series, or the Hard Para wich are faster actions. These are 7'2" and 7'5"  in 4wt. and 4/5wt. blanks. They are a beautiful translucent black  color with spiral finish and black spigot ferrules. I call them fast-parabolics and I am looking forward to building a first one soon for a friend in Norway and then another one for Mark at Alternative Tackle. And then finally one for me!

I will try to stock some of these blanks soon but the best way to get one is to put in an order now and have them finished over the winter.

Builds like this are special and require time and effort. The special Bellinger & Goldenwitch hardware are not easy nor fast to get.  Bellinger makes these beautiful reel seats on special orders and they will try to match my requirements but the woods are not always the same as on a particular build. They are by far the best in reel seat quality and so far they have been great. Their varnished or stabilized woods are simply stunning.

Here are some pictures of the latest build I've done for Alternative Tackle. This is wrapped in classic chestnut Gossamer silk (my last spool) and has a beautiful stabilized maple burl insert that complements the wraps. Thanks for looking!"

To see more of George's work, please visit the Tightloop Fly Rods website and follow along for the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram.

BAD AXE DESIGN - Japanese Amago Pen Study

It's been awhile since we've last checked in on Jonathan Marquardt of Bad Axe Design and though he's scaled back his art quite a bit over the past several years, he's ratcheted up travel with his ongoing work with YETI as Head of International Sales.

While his global travel doesn't always equate to chances to go fly fishing, while in Japan recently he had the opportunity to pursue Amago and created this notebook sketch to memorialize his first experience with these special fish.

The Bad Axe Design Etsy store is still alive with stacks of linocuts and paintings.  Take a few minutes to check it out and follow along with him on Instagram.

YETI Presents - Hungry Life

This week YETI kicked off a five part series of short films dubbed the Hungry Life and follows chef, hunter, angler and foods forger Eduardo Garcia and friends in creating stories of food and adventure.



Visit the YETI website for more on the Hungry Life Series and look for each film to be shared on T.F.M. in the coming days.

LEIDERMAN RODS - On Making Bamboo Reel Seats

Matt Leiderman of Leiderman Rods is a school teacher and if you follow along with him on social media, he's spent his summer at the family lake house, on a quickie road trip to Colorado and of course, in the rod shop working on a few builds.  He'll be back in the classroom soon enough but until then he's going to keep tinkering away on building a few more fly rods.

The other day Matt posted a few step by step images of how he creates custom bamboo reel seats and I thought the process was worthy of sharing, especially since it really gives you the understanding of the immense amount of work that goes into each of these reel seats.  The other side of this is that Matt started off with two stacked bamboo reel seats in the works and ended up with just one in the end as there was an explosion during mortising. 

To see more of Matt Leiderman's work, please visit the Leiderman Rods website and consider following along on Facebook and Instagram for the latest shop news.

V-STICK CUSTOM FLYRODS - Swift Fly Fishing Epic Packlite

It goes without saying that Vitalini Renato of V-Stick Custom Flyrods is the "King of Color" and his use of vibrant colored fly rod blanks matched with incredibly unique cork work and hardware makes for one of a kind fly rod builds each and every time.  I've yet to see two fly rods built identically that have come from his shop and his work looks to be nothing but top notch.

One of several latest builds that Vitalini has done is a five peice Swift Fly Fishing Packlite 7'6" four weight which is small enough to stow away in your gear bag to always have a fly rod close at hand.  The Packlite is one of my favorite four weights and capable of just about anything that you'd need a four weight to do.

At last check, this fly rod was available for the reduced price of $800 and includes a rod sock and rod tube.  Please contact V-Stick Custom Flyrods to inquire or if you have any questions.

Follow the latest news and see a steady stream of custom fly rod builds on both Facebook and Instagram.

SOUTHERN CULTURE ON THE FLY - No. 28

The latest issue of Southern Culture On The Fly is live and the drumbeat of "Doubling Down on Bad Decisions" has S.C.O.F. Editor-In-Chief Dave Grossman written all over it as we've all likely seen him in various highs, next morning sober(ish), showered or not, clothed, costumed or (if you're really unlikely) donning a surprise Speedo.  You'll get that and a lot more in this issue.   

CHECK IT.