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.
Ross Reels and Abel Reels have taken on a new approach in design and a physical transformation over the past several years with a move into a new facility in Montrose, Colorado and this short brand video by Manufacturer's EDGE gives an inside look to where they work in creating lineups of damn fine "Made in Colorado" fly reels.
Take a few minutes, if you haven't lately, to check out the latest award winning fly reels from both Ross Reels and Abel Reels.
Over the past several weeks the Carr Fire has been burning through Shasta County, California and The Fly Shop, along with several partners, are working to raise $50,000 for victims. A website for donations has been set up and for every $20 donated, you will have a chance to win a fly fishing trip raffle to Golden Dorado River Cruiser in Argentina or Tarpon Caye Lodge in Belize.
Please visit the Carr Fire Fishing For Relief website for more information and take a moment with your credit card in hand to make your donation.
The drawing date for the trips will occur on August 20, 2018.
I say it often but Instagram has been a very neat way to follow a plethora of both custom and hobby fly rod builders and recently came across the work of Christian Graham of Onesimus Fly Rods with this CTS Quartz 476 build. This build featuresa dark walnut stained Ritz style grip, Lemke LC1 reel seat hardware, Snake brand guides and 10mm stripping guide from Perfect Agate Guides.
Christian wrote... "While I am not sure of my thought process on the color scheme on this build, I just kind of get it going and follow that through. I am all about contrasts when it comes to color schemes in order to make each color pop. The action of this fly rod is a dream and it's beyond smooth compared to multiple others that I've messed around with."
Follow Onesimus Fly Rods to keep up with the latest builds and shop news.
John wrote... "I hope this finds you well and you are having a great summer.
Thought I'd send along a few photos from up North as I just
finished eight weeks on the upper Nushagak River guiding for rainbows again
this season. It's been a cold and wet season up here but the fishing
has been stellar. The other guide at camp with me, Mark Ross, is a fellow glass geek and on Saturdays we go throw mouse patterns all
day. Mark's big fish of the season is a 22" Rainbow we sight fished on a five weight Echo Small Water Glass fly rod."
See more photography excellence on John Smolko's website and Instagram.
The crew at TroutHunter recently released the next generation in tippet with the EVO Nylon. I've been a long time fan of their Nylon and Flouro tippet and the 5.5X and 6.5X spools always came in handy when fishing fussy trout who are focused on way too small midges.
This TroutHunter EVO Nylon looks very interesting and I might have to order up a stack.
EVO Nylon is an improvement over our existing Nylon achieved
through the proper application of our proprietary organic coating to our
existing Nylon material. By applying the coating in our unique
process, much stronger knot strengths are achieved with no noticeable
increase in diameter. The coating also adds a measure of durability in
combating abrasion.
The coating repels water so the nylon will float better than
previous nylons. In addition, once the package is open the coating will
protect the material from water and humidity that will enter the spools
from normal use adding to the useful life of the purchase.
Greatly Improved Knot Strength (comparable with that of Fluorocarbon)
Higher resistance to abrasion and impact.
Improved Flotation
Longer Life
Very little memory
Visit the TroutHunter website for more information or to place an order for the good stuff.
What is now going on twenty-five years ago (I don't like that math at all) I learned to fly fish on the lake of a Christian camp that I worked summers at that was just outside of Grayling, Michigan. After that first summer of teaching myself how to cast a fly rod and catching way too many bluegills on foam spiders, the following summer I arrived at camp with a thrift store bamboo rod, a box of dry flies and started venturing across the street to the Au Sable River any time I wasn't tied up with something at camp. I would try to skip out on dinner dish duties and sometimes could hear my name being called on the loud speaker as I drove out of camp with the windows down. Those evening mayfly hatches and sipping trout were just too much. I never caught anything big that first summer fishing the river but every night would make it back to camp just before lights out and would crawl into my bunk with a smile on my face. Damn, those were good times.
The Au Sable River was my teacher and I'll always feel a connection to that entire area of northern Michigan. This latest short film from Pure Michigan really captures the magic and pull of fly fishing on that hallowed river.
