2009 Classic Fly Reel Calendar

For the past couple of years Mark Baker (turtledoc) has been putting together a high quality classic reels calendar. Over the course of the year Mark chooses reel photos from the Classic Fly Rod Forum to fill it's pages. Having gotten my copy a few weeks ago I can tell you that it is a beautiful way to look at the upcoming year.


I was honored to be able to contribute a photo for July 2009 of a J. W. Young Valdex that I fished in Wyoming this past summer.


If anyone is still looking for 2009 calendar, Mark Baker is willing to do another batch of orders. Please PM him through his Yuku account if interested.

T.F.M. - Now On facebook!

The Fiberglass Manifesto is now on facebook...so if you are around...we'd sure like to know you're out there. Be a Fan!


Check us out here!

Rep T.F.M. in 2009!

We're entering into the final week of ordering for this batch of T.F.M. t-shirts. We're offering these shirts in black and dark red and also in both short or long sleeves.

Please email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org if you'd like to place an order or have any questions.









The cost is $20 for short sleeve and $24 for long sleeve. Cost includes shipping to the lower 48 states.

Merry (Fiberglass) Christmas!

T.F.M. friend, Kevin McGuire, spent Christmas Eve morning sipping mimosas while readying the house for a busy holiday...and then the video camera came out...



Merry Christmas from The Fiberglass Manifesto!

"The Drift" Helps Save The Poudre!

A long time friend of mine, Mike Boward, sent this dispatch about his night out to New Belgium Brewing in Fort Collins, Colorado to check out a showing of Confluence Films, The Drift which benefited SaveThePoudre.org.

As I looked to the mountains to the west from my home in Northern Colorado, I could see the clouds of winter gathering strength. As Christmas lights come on house by house, I welcome the snow and cold as it ushers in the season, but it also reminds me that dry fly season is done, and the ice is starting to inch its way across the remaining water in the river.

I stopped by the fly shop on that gloomy day to talk to the guys and pick up some tying materials to keep busy during the coming winter nights. Glad I did, because they told me about the Ft. Collins premier of "The Drift", a feature length fly fishing movie produced by Tom Bie of the Drake Magazine, along with Warren Miller Productions. The showing of the movie was supported by St. Peter's Fly Shop, and was to be hosted at New Belgium Brewery, pretty much the perfect storm. This was the perfect remedy for a fly fisherman suffering from end of season malaise.


On the night of the movie, I found that the viewing room at New Belgium was packed with fly fisherman. Freshly brewed beer was flowing from the taps, and anticipation was in the air. It seemed that I was not the only person who needed to be reminded of the fly fishing season so recently enjoyed. After a brief update from the Save the Poudre Foundation, which the event raised money for, we settled back to enjoy the show.


We watched several film clips that were winners of the Drake Movie Awards, then started "The Drift". I won't spoil the plot for those who are going to watch it, but suffice to say it was a great film that takes you to many fly fishing locations across the world.

I left the film ready to head to the canyon to fly fish, snow and ice be damned.

Thanks Mike and I wish I was there to raise a glass of brew with you to celebrate the holidays!

Drifter's Trout Truck

Steve Keeble (Drifter) on the Itinerant Angler website has been working the past several years to put together the perfect "Trout Truck". This all began since Steve has retirement in his near future and he already has numerous trips planned with this truck and a drift boat in tow.


"My goal was to build a low-cost, dependable, self-sufficient rig. Good on gas mileage with the ability to "camp" at any location (Walmart parking lot or streamside pull-out) without drawing any attention."


"I chose the Toyota Tacoma and A.R.E. fiberglass cap because of their reputation for quality and the Win-Door option. I added a sleeping platform with storage underneath and a rod rack."


"So far it's worked great and save me some coin....no campground fees or hotel rooms. I cook on the tailgate and stay away from restaurants."


For those that are wondering, Steve Keeble built his own drift boat a few years ago and after spending a day floating the Toccoa River with him last winter I can tell you that it looks every bit as good in person as it does in these photos.


Drifter...the truck looks great and I hope to tag along with you on an upcoming adventure soon!

Strong Wading Feet

Yesterday the wife had an ultrasound and besides determining that we are having a little boy...I also noticed some strong wading feet developing.


There is a lot to do between now and this coming May...but we are already getting excited to meet this little fellow.

Step Lightly In Pisgah!

Kevin McGuire (middlemac) wrote and provided photos for the following article, and even though the Forest Service has postponed the controlled burn of the area, there are some good points to ponder as we hike and fish the backcountry since isolated areas sometimes hold more than just those that are using the area for recreation.

What is it with Western North Carolina's Pisgah National Forest, a nationally-recognized pristine trout stream, and nutcases?


(Map of the Pink Beds area)

Today's Asheville paper reports that up to 400 acres between the Pink Beds campground and Forest Road 476 (the South Mills trailhead) will be the site of a prescribed burn this week to ensure any hidden caches of ammunition or explosives possibly left by a recently arrested fugitive can be destroyed, and the area safely searched. John Joseph Hiles was arrested in late November while hiding in the area since August, meaning those Fiberglass Flyrodders Forum members camping and fishing along the river during the Autumn Clave in October might have said "Howdy" to him along the trail, never knowing his camping gear included a whole lot more than pork & beans, Clif Bars and maybe an overrated graphite rod. The area has been closed to visitors since his arrest.


(Custom McFarland build on the South Mills River)

A hike-in feeder of the region's mighty French Broad River, the South Mills has previously figured on TU's Top 100 list and offers abundant wild rainbows, browns and brookies to anglers willing to hike.

The lonely and beautiful South Mills trail (FS 133) was also the location two years ago of the abduction and murder of local hikers John and Irene Bryant. The prime suspect, a drifter named Gary Hilton, is currently in a Georgia jail convicted of the murder of a 24-yr-old woman hiking on a section of the Appalachian Trail. And who can forget ol' Eric Robert Rudolph, who eluded capture for years hiding out in the region's National Forests?


(High Falls on the South Mills River)

With due care by the Forest Service, a prescribed burn should have limited effect on the streams except as to short-term aesthetics... explosives, that could be a whole different matter.

Glass rodders- step lightly in the Pisgah!

To follow what happens next with the Pisgah National Forest prescribed burn visit www.citizen-times.com.

McFarland Taking Orders!

Mike McFarland of the McFarland Rod Company has announced that he is again taking orders and now will offer three different grades for the Spruce Creek fiberglass fly rods.


Stream Grade: $395
Pretty much the same rod as last year with a small price increase. I really wanted to keep this rod under $400.

- Standard seat is a nice aluminum downlock with cocobola wood insert. Can also do aluminum cap and ring seat with cork or wood insert.
- H&H ceramic or Perfection stripping guide
- Cordura covered, clip top case with built in divided liners

Options:
- Dark anodized reel seat and dark snake guides add $25
- Rods over 3 piece add $25 per section

Classic: $539
New model to allow great looks and features similar to the Presentation Grade, but at a lesser cost.

- Up or downlocking nickel silver seat with cocobola insert (other woods available)
- Can also select NS cap and ring seat with cork or wood insert
- H&H or Perfection stripping guide
- Green powder coated aluminum tube with McFarland logo
- Handmade cloth bag

Options:
- Dark NS seat and dark guides N/C
- Agate stripping guide add $30
- Rods over three pieces add $25 per section

Presentation Grade: $675
- Best quality NS reel seats available in up or downlock engraved with McFarland logo
- Hand turned inserts of the finest burled and figured woods
- My own design cap and ring seats in NS, brass, or bronze are also available
- Real agate stripping guide
- Choice or wraps including trim wraps
- Bronze tube with polished brass hardware engraved with McFarland logo
- Handmade cloth rod bag

Options:
- Blued reel seat hardware using original a classic bluing solution that produces a nice deep blue (not black) finish add $25


I own one McFarland Spruce Creek and have another being built. They are beautiful fly rods and Mike McFarland's tapers are really impressive. Estimated delivery time for a rod build is a year but you'll soon forget you waited that long once your Spruce Creek arrives in hand.

Tiny Stingaree

This past weekend we were guests of Kevin McGuire (middlemac) and his family at their home in Asheville, N.C.
While there I came across a Heddon Tiny Stingaree lure sitting on a shelf in the living room that reminded me that there are so many interesting items of fishing history still to be found.



Thank you Kevin for hosting us this past weekend...and of course starting me on a whole new collecting bent.

Howard's Quest

One of the fellows on the Fiberglass Flyrodders board, Howard Levett (cofisher), has spent the last few years putting together a very impressive Wright & McGill collection. It is always neat to see someone delve into a certain fly rod or reel maker and gather up quite a collection as well as a living history in the process.

"I’ve had a lot of people ask why I collect and fish Wright & McGill fiberglass rods. At first I didn’t know all fiberglass fly rods weren’t created equal and they were the best known fly rod builders in Denver. (Excuse me Phillipson owners.)"


(Wright & McGill catalogs 1954-1980, two Trailmasters, a deck of W&M playing cards (thank you middlemac), Wings Upon the Water: the Wright & McGill story, and a Wright & McGill Autograph fly reel.)

"I owned a Trailmaster, knew W&Ms customer service as excellent, and thought why not. When I started to really get into collecting it opened the door to a lot of questions that I thought would be easier to answer because I could be at W&M in twenty minutes. My first purchase was a 1954 3A complete with Trevarno blank, red aluminum reel seat and multicolored wraps...which no one thought could be original, so I stripped it.
What has become my passion is collecting the old tobacco brown Trevarno glass rods made in the 1950’s. Before I could get too involved I found it necessary to start another collection first...the W&M catalogs. They showed up often enough on eBay to have a nearly complete collection from 1954 to 1980 in a fairly short time. That’s when I found that the “clown” wraps on my 3A were original. Doh!"


(Left to Right: Sunrise, Sweetheart, Green Hornet, Symbolic, 3A, Dandy, All American, Holiday, Ambassador and Sweetheart. Missing are two Trailmasters and the Peter Pan.)

"I now have thirteen Wright & McGill fiberglass rods; the 3A, Sunrise, Holiday, All American, Ambassador, Symbolic, two Sweethearts, Green Hornet, Dandy, Peter Pan and two Trailmasters.
Wright and Mcgill rods aren’t terribly expensive and are still fairly available. (Although I won’t say how much I paid for the mint Symbolic.) Many of the rods I’ve purchased are mint or near mint. These rods, from the oldest to the newest are known as tip heavy and somewhat awkward due to their weight – both physically and line weight. Balance any of them with the proper weight reel and they cast as well as any other rod I’ve used."

Heddon Pal Superlative #770

Yesterday I received a wonderful Heddon Pal Superlative #770 in the mail sent by CrustyBugger from the Fiberglass Flyrodders site. He recently listed a stack of very fine fiberglass fly rods and this five weight with the faux bamboo finish just spoke to me.
I have a small Heddon Pal collection and this one, along with a #8381, may end up as my two favorites.




Now the difficult part...to figure out which reel to pair this with?