Anglers Of The Au Sable Fly Reel

Chris Reister of Willow Classic Reels sent along information recently of a special edition fly reel that he helped create for the 25th Anniversary of Anglers of the Au Sable.

Chris wrote...  "Since you are originally from Michigan, I know you are aware of the organization Rusty Gates along with several others founded called Anglers of the Au Sable.  Well this past Trout Opener was the 25^th Anniversary celebration.  I was not able to attend as I had other personal commitments but I was told the banquet was a huge success and raised a lot of money for this very worthwhile cause.  Anglers of the Au Sable is about protecting our local cold water resources, namely the Au Sable River and the Manistee River.  Both of which are some of the best trout fishing you will ever find.  I know the South Branch is what hooked me forever."

"Willow Classic Reels donated this reel to help them raise money and also wanted to pass along that we will build up to twenty-five of these reels on a first come first serve basis.  The reel has a black lacquer back ground with the authentic 25^th Anniversary pin placed in the back face.  It can be ordered in size 4/5 or 5/6 which best fits most of the need in this size range.  

This is definitely a collectors must have.  The cost of these reels is $800 each and Willow Classic Reels will donate $200 from the sale of each of these reels to Anglers of the Au Sable."

If you are interested in ordering one of these very special fly reels please contact Willow Classic Reels by email at chris@willowreels.com or by telephone at 248-672-5712.

Skagit Master - Volume 3

This will definitely be added to the T.F.M. fly fishing film library.

For more information check out the Skagit Master website.

A Long Weekend On The Water

This past weekend was largely spent at home and in the kayak on the family pond.  It's good to have a few days where I was able to watch the pond wake up with the sun rising and go to bed with the moon over my head as I loaded the kayak into the back of the Element in the dark.       

My intent for the weekend was to target largemouth bass but it might have been a little bit early for the top water bite.  I had a few boil on surface flies but they weren't as interested as I had hoped.

 

We did end up catching a few very large bluegill which the children really enjoyed.  They really put a bend in that custom Lamiglas Spin/Fly.

Hadley has decided that she is a solo paddler now and takes off on her own with the Versa Board.  It's pretty neat to see her so comfortable and independent on the water and t won't be long before Finn will be on his own as well.

It's good to realize that it's a short week and the weekend will be around again before we all know it.

T.F.M. Spotting - Yellowfin Tuna Ink

Some time ago Eric Hornung of Anti Hero Electric Tattoo posted a sketch of a yellowfin tuna that he was planning to tattoo on a client and I asked if he would photograph the project step by step for a T.F.M. post.  This image set also includes a couple T.F.M. Spotting photos as well with Eric wearing his Comrade t-shirt while at work.

Eric wrote...  "A friend referred Jon to me as I had done a small tattoo on him a few years ago. It started with a conversation about his desire to get a tattoo of a fish of some sort.  Maybe a koi or perhaps a tuna.  While I appreciate traditional Japanese koi fish, they really are not my “thing” as a tattoo artist.  It wasn’t tough to persuade him to do a yellowfin tuna and Jon fondly recounted tuna fishing with his father his entire childhood and having caught several 300 plus pound yellowfin.  He said he’d prefer more of a specimen layout than an action shot and kind of like it would appear hanging at the dock. 

Maybe it was wishful thinking, but I pictured the tattoo going down the front of his shin.  When he arrived at the shop to get started, I think he was planning on getting it on the back of his calf.  We both agreed that the shin would be cooler.  When Jon’s fiancé, Nicole, joined us after we started we both kinda got a “Oh…(long awkward pause)...you got it on the front of your shin?”  Jon assured me she’ll come around, but he’ll be wearing pants at his wedding in Jamaica this October.   HA..."





Created with flickr slideshow.
"I got a text from Cameron after sharing a photo of the sketch on Instagram asking if I would chronicle the progress of this piece.  Jon took most of the pictures while I tattooed, which offers a customer point of view to the images.  I did my usual chit-chat, bullshit, philosophy, unrelated anecdote, anything to distract the customer from the fact that I’ll be drilling their shin for a few hours thing.  Total time tattooing was about seven hours over a couple appointments.  I had to contend with some Tough Mudder damage and a stretching a double into a triple softball slide scrape on the shin.  I’m definitely pleased by the results and it’s gratifying when I finish a piece and think to myself “Damn, I wish that was on me.” 

I took a lot of shit from haters and non-fisherman when I was getting started tattooing about wanting to do fishing themed tattoos.  I haven’t ever cared about doing the “cool”stuff.  I don’t concern myself with trying to do photo-realism, stylized, or painterly stuff.  I like the graphic look of a clean black outline on the very outside of the subject with as few black lines within the tattoo as I can get away with.  I try to create depth with shading and contrast.  Any time I get to combine fishing with tattooing I feel like the luckiest guy in the world."

Check out more of Eric's work on his website and follow on Facebook as well.

Memorial Day

I have been more or less offline this long weekend but wanted to wish everyone a good Memorial Day.  Please remember to take a moment to reflect on those that have given their lives for the freedoms that we have, and sometimes take for granted, here in the United States. 

Jeff Kennedy of Drawing Flies 365 certainly captures a patriotic feel within the brush stokes of this painting.

Enjoy your Memorial Day.

Free Fly Apparel T.F.M. Sun Masks

A small package arrived in the mailbox Friday afternoon from Free Fly Apparel with four prototype T.F.M. Sun Masks inside.  Tanner Sutton, of Free Fly Apparel, and I have been working on these sun masks for several weeks now, first with finalizing artwork and then making time to printed up the prototypes amongst much larger orders that they have been swamped with.  I am stoked to be offering these sun masks as new additions to the T.F.M. apparel offerings.

The T.F.M. Sun Masks are available in both the Retro Fly and Comrade artwork.  The Retro Fly sun masks can be ordered in Bleached Teal, Blue Current, or Titanium while the Comrade sun mask is offered in Titanium only due to the full color artwork. 

Macro of the Retro Fly artwork.

The Free Fly Apparel Sun Masks are made from a soft bamboo/poly blended fabric which excels in breathability, tends not to pick up odors, and most importantly protects from harmful sun exposure. 

These sun masks are flat out comfortable to wear and the stitching at the top and bottom of them helps hold them in place on your cap or against your nose where other masks might roll out of place. 

Macro of the Comrade artwork.

The T.F.M. Sun Masks are priced at $24 each with shipping included to U.S. addresses.  International shipping is available and should run only a couple dollars extra.  As with all T.F.M. orders I'll also include a couple T.F.M. decals as well.

The first sun mask order will be sent in on June 6th with delivery a week or so later.  Let me know soon if you are interested in ordering one or several.

To place an order please send an email to thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com. 

Thank you for the continued support.  I appreciate it greatly.   

Jungle Fish

Check out the latest Costa Sunglasses project which highlights an emerging fishery in Guyana for arapaima on the fly but more importantly explores a sustainable fishery deep in the lush rainforests.

The full length film arrived late last week and I'll post a full review once I've had a chance to watch it a couple times.

You can purchase your copy of Jungle Fish online for $14.95.