The A.D. Maddox Canvas Arrives!

I guess with all the excitement of our newborn son, Finn, arriving a few weeks ago I forgot to mention that the "Brook Trout" series oil painting which was done by A.D. Maddox arrived. What an exciting day it was to receive a large well packed box sent from her studio in Jackson, Wyoming.


(Unwrapped and ready to hang on the wall in Finn's bedroom)

A.D. Maddox's oil work is really impressive and I could not be happier with how it looks now that it's up on the wall.


I can't think of anything more visually stimulating for the growing mind of a newborn than to see the swirling and vivid colors of this painting as he gazes up from his crib bed.

He may have a natural unquenchable urge to chase brook trout from the blue lines of the the upper elevations of the South, the hallowed rivers of Northern Michigan, or the backcountry of Canada, but there are certainly worse afflictions for a young man to have.

T.F.M.'s Now On Twitter!

In my (often feeble) attempt to stay up caught up with the whole online "social networking" scene, I recently put The Fiberglass Manifesto on Twitter.


I have been very surprised how many in the fly fishing community is on these social sites and it has been neat to meet and exchange information with anglers all over the world.

If you are on Twitter than look us up. I'd appreciate the Follow!

T.F.M. Spotting - Pond Fishing in Malaysia

Riki Rahman, one of the notorious "Malaysia Boys", sent me an email last week with photos from two days spent at the Air Kuning Reservoir in Shah Alam, Malaysia sporting his T.F.M. t-shirts chasing Pacu and Sultan Fish.


Riki has a serious affliction for vintage glass and old school clickers and on these trips used his six weight Hardy Smuggler, seven weight Phillipson Royal Wand, and for reels his Ted Williams 3 Crest, and South Bend Finalist 1144.


That Pacu looks like a dinner plate with fins to me. I bet it can make a fly reel scream.


The beautiful Sultan Fish.


Seems like the same things that catch fish here will work in Malaysia waters too. White and pink Zonkers, Breadfly, Adams, and a Minx-Tail Caddis took these fine fish.

Thanks Riki...always neat to see T.F.M. repped someplace so stunning.

The HOBBYIST - Pete Emmel

Every so often one of the members of the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum will post photos of a rod build that they've done that will strike a cord with how all the elements come together.

Pete Emmel (pemmel) recently posted photographs of a Steffen Brother's eight foot three piece 3/4 weight fiberglass blank fly rod build that he completed. This build spoke to me since I'm also a pushover for twist thread, spiral wraps, and agate stripper guides which this build has all three tastefully done.

Pete Emmel sent an email where he explained his start in rod building, style, and his soon transition from hobby builder to custom builder.


"I built my first rod about twenty years ago. It was a Sage blemish kit. I got back into rod building after a long layoff. I've been rod building with a vengeance and went straight to building bamboo rods. I built a Lamiglas Spring Creek glass blank for a rod swap in our club. Seeing how nice it was it got me hooked on glass. A big plus to glass is the action is as close to bamboo as you can get."


"As far as my "style" goes, I am more of a traditional builder. I am not attracted to fancy inlays or handles and I prefer the retro/traditional builds. Aside from the components and colors I don't really plan every detail of the rod. The spiral wraps just show up. No two rods have ever been the same."


"I am planning on starting up a part time rod building business. I am calling it "Renaissance Rods" and will build bamboo and glass rods. I am going to cater to custom rods. What you want is what you get...up to a point. In my opinion, there are some things that just don't look good on bamboo or fiberglass. For example, I am going to draw the line at putting Flex Coat on bamboo. For bamboo and glass I feel the varnish is the finish that belongs on the rod."


Look for Pete Emmel to soon unveil a "Renaissance Rods" website at some point but in the meantime if you'd like to contact Pete Emmel, he can be emailed at p_emmel5@hotmail.com.

Daddy's Got A New Water Ride

Yesterday afternoon I picked up my Native Ultimate 14.5 Tandem kayak at River Runner in downtown Columbia. It didn't take but a few minutes to strap it to the roof basket of the Element and we were rolling home with a new vessel atop the car.


I am going down to the Family Pond in a few minutes to do my first float in the Ultimate. It is a warm foggy morning and hope that a few of the bass are looking up around a lily pad.

T.F.M. Spotting - The Cork Bench at Scott

Former Alaskan fishing guide, Itinerant Angler contributor, and employee at Scott Fly Rod, Ian Crabtree, snapped this photo inside Scott's Montrose, Colorado rod shop.



Ian Crabtree wrote, "You're looking at the cork bench in this photo. If I recall correctly, Jake had just finished corking some A3 753/4's (sorry, no F's going through that day), and had just finished installing reel seats. It looks like some T2H's were probably wandering around that desk based on the lower grips on the table."

Psssst...Ian, put a bug in their ear at Scott that we'd like to see an eight foot five weight Fibertouch again.

South Fork Rod Company Does It Again

The Fiberglass Manifesto is excited that the South Fork Rod Company is offering 25% OFF all of their rod series through June 10th to those that mention T.F.M. with their order.

This discount includes their Classic fiberglass, Pioneer and Saltwater graphite, Bamboo, and even their Blackfin Inshore/Offshore series of rods.


With five different two piece models in the Classic series ranging from a two weight to five weight you can surely find a fly rod to fill a gap in your fiberglass collection. Take special notice to the nine foot five weight and look for an upcoming review on T.F.M. about this unique glass offering.

To make a T.F.M. discounted purchase of a Classic series fly rod please use this LINK. Once you press submit the price will be discounted on the next form. Remember to chose from one of six different thread colors for your rod wraps.

To place an order for any of the other rod series please contact Margot Redington through her email at redingtonm@bellsouth.net or by phone at 772-288-3067.


After demoing one of their rods I can attest that the Redington's build a very high quality rod for an extremely reasonable price...with or without the T.F.M. discount.

All, take advantage while you can.

"Don't Hate Me 'Cause You Ain't Me"

You know you're going to take notice on the Fiberglass Flyrodders board when a thread, written by Dave Elkins (a.k.a. delkins), is titled "Guess Who's Going to Look like a Pimp on the Stream"...

"Don't hate me 'cause you ain't me. I had to pick up a jelly cupboard that my wife and I purchased this weekend today and I stopped by a shop with some old inventory...and look what I got for 5 bucks."


"When I fish with my bamboo, I prefer to sneak up on wary trout in my well-camouflaging Filson; however, when I fish with glass, I'm-a gonna pimp-slap me some wary trout. The label reads "100% Cotton Walker The Ultimate Fishing Vest Hong Kong" The rod is a J.C. Higgins, the reel a Pflueger Trump, and some of my wet flies."

Take that twenty-two pocket, made in a rainbow of tan and green, space-age fabric, uber technical vest. Denim is back!

T.F.M. Spotting - Finn in Room #221

The Fiberglass Manifesto is excited to announce the birth of his son...Hayden Finneus Mortenson a.k.a. Hadyen Finn a.k.a. Finn.

Finn was born Sunday afternoon weighing in at eight pounds ten ounces and twenty-one inches in length. Ten fingers. Ten toes.

It didn't take to long before a T.F.M. decal was slapped to the wall of his bassinet to style up the joint a little.


Over the past two days The Fiberglass Manifesto has had a chance to give his newborn son a good once over finding keen eyes to pick up distant riseforms and flashing trout beneath the surrface, nimble fingers for tying flies at the vice and threading midges onto 6X, and strong legs for wading big heavy water and hiking long miles to reach untouched places.

In a word...perfect.

Offer of the Month - The Alaska Chronicles

Late last year I was tipped off on Fly Fish Chick's blog about about Tosh Brown, the founding of Departure Publishing, and the future release of Miles Nolte's first book, The Alaska Chronicles.

Fast forward a couple of months to Tosh Brown and I linking up through facebook and I was able to get an advance copy of the book. This was the first time I've read a book by PDF file and while it certainly doesn't replace a hardbound book I greatly enjoyed reading this screen page by screen page.


The Alaska Chronicles, in short, is the other side of the backcountry Alaska fishing experience. Miles Nolte artfully recounts his season as a fishing guide, the preparation for clients, the highs and lows of running "sports" up and down river every day, and though out weaves a candid narrative of his four months at camp.

The Fiberglass Manifesto will be putting together a group book order for The Alaska Chronicles which run from today through May 24th. On May 25th I'll be placing the order with Departure Publishing and your copy of The Alaska Chronicles should arrive sometime the first week of June.

The price for a copy of The Alaska Chronicles will be $27.50 with FREE SHIPPING and a few T.F.M. decals tossed in to use as a bookmark or slap them on your boat, car, or fly box.

Please send me an email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org if you're interested a copy of this book.