Thursday, May 15, 2025

Western Birch Retro Fly Tees Back in Stock with G&S Giveaway

This is just a heads up that Western Birch Retro Fly Tees are back in stock in the T.F.M. Shop and a box or several would come in handy for after work walks on your local muni or maybe you have a golf trip planned for the summer.  These should be in your golf bag.

The red, yellow, and black striped Western Birch hardwood tees with a red Retro Fly on the tee cup are sturdy and last far longer than you'd expect them to.  Will they help you play better?  Maybe...
 

Now through the end of June, for each box of Western Birch Retro Fly Tees that are ordered, your name will be put in a giveaway with Greens & Streams for a brown trout micarta single prong divot tool. 

The winner will be chosen by random number generator and then contacted by email.


Interested in a box or several?  Send me an email at thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com and I'll get a package in the mail pronto. 

Check out Greens and Streams and follow along on Instagram for the latest garage shop news.

TOM'S TIPS - Different Hook Sets

In this episode of Tom's Tips, Mr. Rosenbauer of Orvis goes over the different types of hook sets.



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

GRAYWOLF RODS - TREK Pack Fly Rod Builds & Blanks Discount

On the way into work yesterday morning, I rang up Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods, since I know that he's up at least as early as I am.  We caught up on a few things to include asking him if he'd like to run a promotion on his TREK 6'6" 2/3 Weight Pack Fly Rods and Blanks that are available in five color choices and he even has a couple of completed builds done, too.  These full-flexing 8-piece fly rods pack down to 11 inches and are made of UNI S-Glass with spigot ferrules.

Now through whenever they are all gone, Shane is offering 15% off everything on this landing page on the Graywolf Rods website when you use the code "TREK".


TREK BLANK IN BLACK

TREK BLANK IN PINK

TREK BLANK IN OLIVE

TREK BLANK IN TAN

TREK BLANK IN RUST

Check out the Graywolf Rods website and use the code "TREK" for the 15% off discount on everything listed on the Graywolf Rods X T.F.M. Trek webpage.

P.S.  Check out the T.F.M. Affiliations page since Shane created ongoing discount codes for several other of his companies.

Wednesday, May 14, 2025

DUCK CAMP - The Guide's Guide: Owen Gayler

Duck Camp is kicking off a new film series and their first episode is with Captain Owen Gayler from Port O'Connor, Texas.  I like this and looking forward to more rolling out.



Visit The Camp Book for a bit more on Captain Owen Gayler and while you're there check out the latest from Duck Camp.

STREAMSIDE - Rainbow Angler No. 71 Panekire Bluff Fly Reel

You may remember a previous T.F.M. post on the Rifleman Viscount 150 Fly Reel that was created by Streamside Bespoke Engraving and we're following that with a story from Nick Hensman on first fly reel that he gave an in depth upgrade to.  Take a moment to scroll down to see this Rainbow Angler No. 71 to go from beat up to beautiful. 

I'm fighting every urge not to send him a vintage J.W. Young fly reel from my collection for the Streamside treatment.
 
 
Nick wrote...  "I was 11 years old when I first watched a friend attempt fly fishing at a school camp near Lake Waikaremoana.  I was lucky that our small rural school had amazing camps in beautiful wilderness areas!  Before I even had the chance to try casting the line, out of nowhere appeared a giant tangle of flies, leader, rod, hat and fly line.  Fishing stopped for the day...but something made me really want to learn.  The idea that we could see and possibly catch these fish with a tiny little fly was quite amazing to me. 

I knew my grandad was a keen fisherman, so after some obsessing and blabbing about it, I was very kindly gifted an old rod and reel for Christmas.  This rod had seen some action...  Miles of trawling on the lake, five kids learning how to fish and loads of casting.  The eyelets were scored from the line and it is now a bit worse for wear.  But I still have the rod which maybe is another project!  It came with a sinking line and felt like I was casting an anvil but I learnt to fish with that!

The reel was this old Japanese Angler Rainbow #71.  I knew nothing about any of the gear, I just fished!  It took two years on our local stream of sight 'fishing', or sight 'spooking' before I finally hooked my first trout!  The rest is history.

When we launched Streamside, I looked at this old reel with fresh eyes.  It isn't a reel I will use on the river, although I think it would be rude not to land at least one fish with it, and is a very special keepsake. From dusty wall ornament to website hero! I'm so happy with how it turned out.

It features the hand carved Panekire Bluff, which breaks the horizon of Lake Waikaremoana.  A lake view and a solid gold hunting Rainbow Trout…not to mention the tiny gold mayfly resting into the film of the water.  This reel took days of work, and I enjoyed every moment of it!  I particularly enjoyed carving the mayfly and trout in gold.

We are really excited to offer our engraving services to fellow fisherpeople who really appreciate the fine detail, craftsmanship and the special sentiment that comes with quality gear.  Maybe you can hand down a special reel to your loved one some day?"












Take a few minutes and visit the Streamside Bespoke Engraving website and follow on Instagram

HOOKSWAIN - Hoping for a Hatch

Substack seems to be opening the door to another wave of writers and creators, many in the fly fishing realm can be found on the T.F.M. Blogroll, and a favorite follow is Hookswain.



I like this quirky little film and look forward to more from Jacob Sotak.  I hope his trip goes well.

You can follow along by subscribing to Hookswain and watching their films on YouTube.

Tuesday, May 13, 2025

LIFE OF BRIAN – Episode 1: DIY New Zealand Lake Fishing

I dig when people in fly fishing link up to do stellar things with companies in fly fishing.  So it is with photographer and "Glass Geek" Brian O'Keefe and Skwala.  He is a recent Skwala Ambassador and together they are rolling out a film series dubbed, Life of Brian, which should be a fun watch.

Check out the Skwala website and follow Brian O'Keefe's latest adventures on Instagram.