FFR Streamer Contest!

Only TWO DAYS remain to cast your vote for your favorite streamer pattern submitted in the Fiberglass Flyrodders Streamer Contest.


These twelve flies leave a tough decision on which one to vote for since they are all such amazing ties. Take a minute and cast your vote for your favorite.


The winning fly tier will receive a custom "Fiberglass Flyrodders" leather wallet created by Marc Crapo of www.flywallets.com and all twelve flies. Quite a prize.

Thanks again Marc for sponsoring this contest!

Troutaholic Goes LIVE!

What does a fellow do after driving a big brown parcel truck for over a dozen years on the back roads of Montana and all the while wishing he was doing something else?

Well, Joel Thompson took a chance and walked away to became a full time "Trout Bum" working as the Director of Outdoors Activities at Rock Creek Cattle Company and in the past year formed Montana Troutaholic Outfitters as well.


I have known Joel for a few years now and it has been very exciting to watch him build a fly shop at the ranch and more recently put his guide business together. Joel's attention to detail and commitment to the client having the best experience possible on the water has been impressive.


Montana Troutaholic Outfitters website recently went live, so check it out if your travels are taking you to the Missoula, Montana area anytime soon.

The Heddon Project: Fly Found!

A few posts back I talked about "The Heddon Project" which was to use a Heddon Pal Pro Weight #8383 fly rod and a Heddon Imperial 125 fly reel, but I needed to find the missing component...a vintage Heddon fly lure.

Well, the ebay seller might not be to happy to know that his near mint (and boxed) vintage fly lure will be fished, but if any of the Heddon lures will take a bass out of the Family Pond, it will be this Heddon Pop Eye.


With all parts complete for "The Heddon Project", I am just waiting for the pond to warm and the largemouth bass to start looking up.

T.F.M. Spotting - Thom on the Metolius

Thom Smith (flynbird) was one of the first to don his new T.F.M. t-shirt and go fishing. He and a friend did a long day hike into the reaches of the Metolius River and found some amazing winter redsides that fell over their fly offerings.


Thom wrote this of their day,"The Lower Metolius is an amazing place. It is a designated wilderness area and an eight mile hike to the upper Bull Trout holes. The area is choke-full of wildlife...elk, mule deer, cougars, bobcats, and FISH! Yesterday there were no bull trout for us. However we did have the best rainbow fishing I have ever had on the Metolius. Because of the effort you have to put in to get to these fish, they are fairly untouched. These are wild, native redsides that fight like miniature steelhead and they are gorgeous!"

For more on the Metolius River and his growing obsession with H-I fiberglass fly rods, check out Thom Smith's blog Glassy Waters. He's got me thinking about bull trout and redsides!

Fly Art Studio - Valentine Edition

As long as we're spreading some "love" around on this long Valentine's Day weekend, I thought I'd give a mention to Neal Osborn's fly tying and photography website, Art Fly Studio, which is destined to be a hot spot to follow.


Check out Neal's Valentine Edition of Art-Fly which is a monthly slide show giving you a glimpse into the photography techniques Neal is experimenting with and flies he has been tying.

I am impressed.

She Knows Me Well...

Yesterday morning I opened my Valentine's card from the wife to find a folded up piece of paper which ended up being a gift certificate to River Runners Outdoor Center in Columbia. This is the official start to the "Native Ultimate Kayak Fund" and I couldn't be happier.


The wife knows me all to well and gift certificates are the way to go since I fall to temptation easily and end up buying other gear. I've supposedly been saving for this kayak for some time...but had little to show for it.

The goal is to purchase the Native Ultimate 14.5 Tandem kayak by mid June and I can't wait!

Thank you Melissa. Will you be my Valentine?

Good & Plenty!

Jon Barnes (Creationbear on several of the fly fishing forums) continues to fuel my interest in long hikes to the back country to chase trout that may never have seen a fly.


Recently I received a package from Jon and upon opening the metal tin I was immediately struck with the thought of the licorice candies "Good & Plenty". The pink dubbed bodies and the black and white hackled wings...all tied together to make a beautiful and uniquely different set of dry flies that I know would rise a native trout in far away pools.

With the edges of spring already in the air down here in the South...now is the time to plan on where to go.

Spooled and Schooled To Start 2009!

It's a little embarrassing that it wasn't until last week that I finally went fly fishing in the new year. My resolution for 2009 is to "Fish Local" and the Saluda River is a mere ten minutes from the office. After years of taking day long road trips to North Carolina for a trout fix I've decided to spend the new year exploring the local waters for trout, bass, bream, stripers, and anything else that will snatch a fly.


Gear of the day was the newly acquired Heddon Superlative #770 matched with a J.W. Young Condex and a 5DT line. Splendid. I am really impressed with this Heddon and the faux bamboo look is so beautiful. As much as I like the contemporary glass out there...admittedly I am still a push over for vintage sticks.


The first trout that I hooked up with ran me downriver causing the old clicker reel to scream and the rod bent double under the weight of a sixteen plus inch rainbow trout and the heavy current. I about got spooled but ultimately was left schooled when the fly pulled free after a five minute fight. I did however pick up a few smaller trout which got the skunk off.


Did I mention that it was a little cold? Started the morning with a few snowflakes in the air and the rest of the day chipping the guides free of ice. Not a usual occurrence when fly fishing in the "Dirty".


Large heavy bead head nymphs in shades of green were the ticket. Peacock herl is always a favorite on this river and green dubbing worked too.

It was really nice getting acquainted with this river and getting schooled by the holdover rainbow left a smile on my face for the rest of the day.

Sunday Cinema - The Pirate Brown Trout

Yet another video from the boys at Schliske's Bamboo Fly Rods and this time they're fishing fiberglass on Rattlesnake Creek! Chip Guthrie takes on a truly unique and impressive brown trout on his old Wright & McGill brown glass fly rod.



Brown trout, big dry flies, and fiberglass fly rods on a hidden away stream...certainly gets me thinking about summer fly fishing out West!

"Old School" Thread King!

Mike Carlson, of Mountainshark Rod Company, has been winning a few interesting auctions on ebay lately to amass quite the collection of new old stock spools of Gubebrod threads in various colors.


These spools range from strikingly vintage to a bit on the gaudy side but Mike Carlson has a long list of projects and various blanks to give these threads a try on.


Mountainshark Rod Company will soon unveil a website but until then if you'd like to talk with Mike Carlson about a possible custom build, he can be reached by email at mike@mountainsharkrods.com or by phone at 307-880-3331.

T.F.M. Spotting - "Law & Order"

A long time friend of mine, Mike Boward, sent this photo of his police detective cubicle in Colorado repping a T.F.M. decal at his office space.


You can tell by the stack of files in the background that there is work to be done and "bad guys" to catch. Be safe my friend...be safe.