ECHO FLY FISHING - Replacement Rod Tip Sections Are Genius

A couple of months ago I was down in Florida for a work conference and on the way back I had a chance to spend some time on the pointy end of Steve Seinberg's skiff.  I still need to tell that story with a blog post since we had a stellar time looking around for juvenile tarpon but there was a moment of "tragedy" striking when the tip of my ECHO Bad Ass Glass Quickshot eight weight was snapped off in a boat mishap.    Boat hatch doors love to eat tips for snacks and this was a good reminder that rod holders are there for a reason.  Lesson learned...

Sending off a fly rod for a warranty repair is never fun and when I finally got around to sending off an email to ECHO Fly Fishing to figure out the process, I almost instantly received a response back pointing me to the Replacement Rod Tip Sections webpage.  A scroll trough the drop down box, a couple of clicks, $17.50 (plus shipping) on the credit card and two days later a new tip arrived putting the Quickshot was back in service. 

While I haven't talked about them much yet on T.F.M. but the ECHO Bad Ass Glass Quickshot fly rods are everything that I hoped this series would be when Tim Rajeff and I started talking about them a couple of years ago.

Short (this series are all 8' in length) heavy line weight fiberglass fly rods are made with big flies and big fish in mind.  Inevitably this can mean a broken rod every now and then from the abuse and the possibility of a fix that is both inexpensive and quick brings a lot of piece of mind.

Visit the ECHO Fly Fishing website to learn more about the Bad Ass Glass Quickshot line up along with how they approach warranty and repairs.

Whiskey Leatherworks X Casey Underwood Collaboration Belts

Longtime readers will hopefully remember the past T.F.M. posts which highlighted the work of Daniel Earnest of Whiskey Leatherworks (see the making of the West Fork Wallet HERE) and the artistry of Casey Underwood (the most recent T.F.M. posts are HERE and HERE).

Over the past several months these two have been working on a belt collaboration that went live last week on the Montana Trading Company website and features seven different fish skin choices carefully sewn into a handmade leather belt.  A lot of work has gone into making each of these turn out just right and when given the choice, I had a hard time picking out a favorite.

Visit the Montana Trading Company to check out this collaboration and be sure to also visit the Whiskey Leatherworks and Casey Underwood Artwork & Design websites.  Christmas is just around the corner and one of these belts would be the perfect choice for gift giving.

SWIFT FLY FISHING - Packlight Special Offer

For all you Epic fans (or people that wish and hope that they will be soon) last night Carl McNeil and I traded a couple emails where he passed along that Swift Fly Fishing will be offering a new sale each week through Black Friday. 

First up?  The take anywhere do anything that you'd want a travel four weight to do, the Packlight.

For the next week, the Packlight will be offered at a discounted price and this special offer applies to the Epic Blank, Epic Ready to Wrap Kit and Epic Studio Built Fly Rods.

If you did not know, I have an ongoing affiliate relationship with Swift Fly Fishing and this post is a good reminder that each purchase made from the links in these posts puts a few dollars in the T.F.M. piggy bank.  If you do place an order, please let me know by sending an email with your address to thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com.  I'd be happy to send along a T.F.M. swag package as thanks.

BUFF LIVE MORE NOW - Paul Rich

Buff recently kicked off a new shortie film series and the first highlights the life and work of Paul Rich of Brothers Rich of Charleston, South Carolina.  Press PLAY and enjoy.



Take a few minutes to check out the latest offerings from Buff as new offerings abound and look for future "Live More Now" episodes in the coming weeks. 

A Pup and Brook Trout

No doubt today is kinda heavy for a lot of us with an oppressive all day news cycle that will stretch into the late hours of tonight with political conversations and then polling results.  And let’s not even discuss your Facebook feed.

Make sure that you go get your “I Voted” sticker and then take a few minutes to just stare at this photo (click it to see full screen) and then take a few deep breathes.  Let it take you away to some place wild.  Hear the water tumbling over the rocks.  See a brook trout rise to a bushy dry fly in the current seam.  Feel the bend of the fly rod and the wet splashes as another brookie slides from your hand back into the creek.  You needed that, right?  I sure did.

This photo was snapped a few weeks back by Dave Fason as he’s been tagging along with famed fly rod builder Chris Barclay and his pup, Stella.  These three have been hanging out a lot lately in the public lands mountains and woods of North Carolina and Virginia where native brookies thrive carrying with them light line glass rods and of course way too much camera gear.

How did Dave make this photo?  He’s working on a tutorial to his DIY dome rig that he’ll share soon on T.F.M.  Until then, follow along with his imagery on Flickr and of course, Instagram.

Do you need a custom fly rod that is perfect for these kind of waters?  Look no further than the C. Barclay Fly Rod Co. website and keep up with the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram.

RENT THIS ROD

Longtime readers of The Fiberglass Manifesto will remember the somewhat ill-fated T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program (which I still get emails about) that I had to sunset a few years ago for a handful of reasons.  So when Rent This Rod launched earlier this year, I started following along with interest as I've always felt that a program like this can be important for quite a few reasons and that with the right mix of hand picked offerings along with accountability, this should be a success and a win for anglers wishing to demo or carry along a new fly rod a planned trip.

Last week I traded emails with David Moore of Rent This Rod and he and his business partner are seeing a lot of positives with their business so far and they look forward to growing their stable of fly rods (with the option of matching a Ross Reels fly reel with a fly rod rental) in the coming months.

The Thomas & Thomas Lotic fly rods are the only glass fly rod in the mix but will certainly not be the only offered as this company grows.  Standby for future glass additions to the line up.

Check out Rent This Rod if you haven't and be sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram to keep up with the latest news.

British Columbia Whispers

Sage is back with yet another solid story that is set on the two hander waters of British Columbia. 

Click PLAY...



Visit the Sage website to check out the tools used in this video.  I'm crushing on that new Spey Full Frame fly reel big time...