Offer of the Month - SFRC 25% OFF!

The South Fork Rod Company has been very generous with The Fiberglass Manifesto readers over this past year and is again offering 25% OFF all rod series for the entire month of November. This offer includes their new black fiberglass series, that is in the final prototype stages as well.


I am still waiting to get a discount code from Margot Redington but in the mean time you can either place your order and you will be refunded with a check when the rod is sent or call South Fork Rod Company at 772-288-3067 to place your order over the phone.

There will be more information about the black fiberglass series as the month goes along. For now I can tempt you with a photo of an eight foot "456" Prototype demo that I received a couple of weeks ago in the mail.


This rod flexes really nice and I am a pushover for unsanded fiberglass. This series will be quicker in feel than the Classic Series and will be offered in several different lengths, line weights, and number of pieces.

If you have any questions please feel free to email the Redington's or give them a call.

T.F.M. Spotting - Rich Schaaff on the "D"

Rich Schaaff of East Fork Fly Photography had some fun with timed exposures and then went fly fishing on the Deschutes River while donning his T.F.M. t-shirt for good luck.


Cool effect with the T.F.M. logo arching over the fly box. I like.


STEELHEAD ON THE FLY!


One cool fly fishing photog fellow looking pretty sharp in that black t-shirt. I can't wait to see where T.F.M. shows up next in your travels.

First Issue Review - The Flyfish Journal

There has been a lot of hype the past couple of months over the premier issue of The Flyfish Journal online on various websites, blogs, and the networking sites as well.
So when a white plastic envelope arrived in the mailbox recently I eagerly opened it to find a glossy covered magazine that I am still working my way through.


I was impressed that The Flyfish Journal took the extra step to ship each issue in the protective envelope. At $12.99 an issue the plastic envelope will help ensure that copies arrive in good condition.

Overall I am very impressed with The Flyfish Journal. I look at as parts Grey's Sporting Journal, Catch Magazine, This Is Fly, The Drake and then many parts all it's own. This magazine has a lot of personality and it's going to be fun to see where they go from here.

Whoever says that the print magazine is dead needs to have a copy of The Flyfish Journal placed in their hands.

T.F.M. Spotting - Lou in the P.N.W.

Lou Unkeless snuck out of the house again and this time headed north to British Columbia for a nine day adventure. The photos he returned with are a sure reminder that there is magic in the forests and waters of B.C.


Lou sent along an email about his trip...The pics were from the nine days I spent in British Columbia. I first fished with my buddy Doug Mooring, an outfitter up there, for a day on the Horsefly River, and a day on Forest Lake. I then went west through Houston (town with the biggest fly rod)and fished the Zymoetz River for two days which is near Terrace, the mainstream of the Skeena for a day, and then two days on the Stellako River on my way back. So the route was Northern California up to Prince George, West to Terrace, then retrace my steps. Almost 2000 miles each way.


I was hoping to catch some nice steelhead on the Zymoetz River and caught two, but I also caught six coho salmon. That was unexpected.


It was also my first fish on my spey rods, which was cool and a nice validation.


The Stellako runs between two lakes and gets sockeye from the Fraser river run. So I was fishing for rainbows but ended up catching a couple of hot sockeye as well. It was one of the only rivers that had a good return of Salmon this year. Caught quite a few rainbows, the largest being sixteen inches.


I wonder if the next time Lou packs up the camper if the wife would notice if I wasn't around for a couple weeks in a row? Not likely.

T.F.M. Skully Cap Order

With fall already fading into winter in a lot of places I thought I'd set up a T.F.M. skully cap order for those that are interested. It's a good idea to keep that head covered and you might as well be representing T.F.M. while doing it.


The skully caps come in two colors, black or brown, with the T.F.M. logo embroidered across the front in a light gray thread.

The price is $20 shipped to those in the United States and I will gladly calculate shipping for elsewhere.

I will be taking orders through November 15th.

Please contact me at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org if you are interested in a T.F.M. skully cap or have any questions.

F3T Coming to Dallas, TX

Fly shop dude, photographer, web designer, and soon to be clothing entrepreneur, Matt Jones tipped me off that the Fly Fishing Film Tour will be making a stop in Dallas for a show at the Magnolia Theater in West Village on Wednesday, November 11th.


Tickets are $15 and all proceeds go to Project Healing Waters.

Sounds like a great time and supports an excellent cause as well. Get out and see some unreal fly fishing footage.

For more information check out the Tailwaters Fishing Co. website.

T.F.M. Spotting - Szofi Crib Casting

Fiberglass fly rod fanatic, T.F.M. reader, and new parent, Kenneth Lokensgard sent along a photo of their four day old daughter, Szofi Maria Theresa Lokensgard, crib casting vintage glass already.


The proud father writes "Szofi was eight pounds five ounces at birth, twenty and a half inches short, and clearly ready to fly fish with glass! Here, she tries out an old Abercrombie and Fitch (Philipson) 4'4" Banty with a Forbes reel. A good friend already bought her an Abel TR2, to be set aside for when she is ready to graduate to a bigger rod. Granted, that may be a while."

Congratulations to the Lokensgard family. Enjoy the wonders of raising a "Fishy Kid"!

Speckled Trout - 12. Redfish - 0.

I spent a day this week down on the Wando River outside of Charleston in my kayak looking for redfish with a couple of the fellows from the South Carolina Kayak Fishing website.

The tide was high and we didn't even see redfish until the creek flushed out late in the day.


Casting a tan over brown Clouser Minnow yielded a dozen speckled trout so the day was not lost.

I'll catch the tide right one of these days and figure out this redfish game before long.

More photos and narrative of the day can be found on the Fiberglass Flyrodders website.

T.F.M. Spotting - O'Keefe in the Field

With deer season going on in all parts I thought it fitting to pass along a photograph of Brian O'Keefe after a successful hunt in Oregon sporting his T.F.M. t-shirt as "camouflage".


Brian emailed a couple lines about his trip..."The photo was taken Oct 7th on the last day of my deer hunt. I passed up three or four small mule deer bucks then came across this medium four point near the upper North Fork of the John Day River, in Oregon."

If you haven't, check out the latest issue of Catch Magazine.

Sweetgrass Fiberglass Rods

Just prior to the trip out to Colorado this past August, Sam Drukman sent along one of the newly designed fiberglass builds from Sweetgrass Rods. One of the gems in Sam's mind is their 8'3" four piece six weight. The rod is beautifully appointed and certainly has a lot of power for a six weight. This fly rod can do work.

The Gunnison River and East River were great places to give this rod a flex. Big water with the possibility of large fish.

The Sweetgrass rod balanced nicely with a 3 1/2 inch J.W. Young Beaudex from my collection.

This rod is both form and function. A quality build that can perform.

The best fish on this rod during the trip was a kokanee salmon from the Roaring Judy section of the East River.

My thoughts, which were confirmed after speaking with Sam Drukman, is that this rod is really quite capable of handling anything that you'd expect a six weight to do. The rod also takes a seven weight line nicely as well. This is a big fly/big fish rod that would be well suited for big dry flies like fishing hexagenia in the dark, heavy nymph rigs, and stripping streamers. The rod is smooth casting and a delight to fish.

Sam Drukman sent along an email which broke down the entire Sweetgrass Rods fiberglass line up which includes these blanks:

7'3" - Three Weight
7'6" - Three Weight
7'6" - Four Weight
7'9" - Four Weight
8'3" - Six Weight

All of the above are currently available in a two piece configuration. Delivery is about 6-8 weeks from date of order. I will take orders for any of these models in a four piece configuration as well, but will not promise delivery until early 2010.

Prices for the two piece builds are $795.00 and $845.00 for a four piece build.

All rods are available with uplocking or downlocking nickel silver reel seats with a variety of hand finished hardwood spacers. (I recommend cigar grips on the 3 and 4-weight models and half-wells on the 6-weight.) All rods are outfitted with black nickel plated snake guides and an agate stripper guide which are the same guides that are used on the Sweetgrass Rods bamboo.

I will be adding a number of models which should be available starting early 2010. These will include a couple of five weights as well as a steelhead model or two.

I spoke with Sam Drukman a couple weeks ago and he was saying that the 7'9" four weight really has a nice feel to it and might be worth considering if anyone has been looking for a very special rod to add to your collection.

Sam Drukman can be contacted at Sweetgrass Rods by email, samdruk@yahoo.com, or at the shop by calling (406) 684-5440.

T.F.M. Spotting - Pretty In Pink

T.F.M. co-founder, Mike Carlson (also known as Mountainshark), has an unrepentant thing for pink and purple. He's been known to thread wrap fiberglass, graphite, and even bamboo (EEEEKKK!) in various shades of purple and pink.

I thought it would be a humorous to do a run of "Limited Edition" T.F.M. t-shirts in pink and pass them along to the Carlson family.


Sometime later Mike emailed a stack of photos showing the whole family donning the T.F.M. "uniform" while doing some rod work.


Pink is the new black...right?


Mrs. Mountainshark dropping some ink on a rod blank.


Rocking her rod building "glam" look.

Last fall Mike Carlson completed a build for Jeff Solderholm, who is a member on the Fiberglass Flyrodders website.


Jeff wanted a fly rod built for his daughter and of course Mike was happy to oblige with some pink and purple wraps.



To inquire about a build with Mike Carlson please feel free to email him at mike@mountainsharkrods.com.

S.F.R.C. at the Florida F.F.F. Conclave

David and Margot Redington of the South Fork Rod Company will be on hand with rods from all of their rod series at the Federation of Fly Fishers Florida Council Conclave that is coming up on October 23rd and 24th, 2009.

This two day conclave is being held at the Ramada Orlando Celebration Resort.


So, if you want to check out their new fiberglass series this will be a great opportunity to cast a few rods and meet the makers as well.

T.F.M. Spotting - BG Everywhere

I can't tell you the last place that I haven't seen Bryan Gregson lately.

To name a few, his mug or his photos have appeared in The Drake, Catch Magazine, TROUT Magazine, American Angler, and most recently in the first issue of The Fly Fish Journal.


I'm just glad that he likes T.F.M. and slapped a couple chopped up decals on his fly boxes which made it into the latest issue of This Is Fly. Check out his article and photos in Mini Monsters on page 39.

Great article and made me want to sit down at the vise with a couple pages of 2mm foam and pile of hooks.

To see more of BG's work visit his Flickr site and also his blog, Where To Now.

iPhone "The Hatch" App

For all the T.F.M. readers out there that are carrying an iPhone around I wanted to pass along a cool app that I downloaded this week on iTunes called "The Hatch".

This iPhone application will be especially useful for anglers that are on the go and would like basic hatch information for 35 states and nearly 300 rivers within those states. More states and rivers are being added to this application.


Pick the month, state, and river and this app will give you a breakdown of flies you're likely to see on the water.


Search the database for photographs of the flies as nymphs, emergers, and adults.

.99 cents is certainly worth it for this cool application. It will be neat to see it continue to develop and grow with more states and rivers added in the future.

T.F.M. Spotting - Hannu in Finland

Hannu Pakarinen sent along a few photographs of his properly badged fly box and sharp fly ties just before a big trip to chase trout.




I see glass sticks, a classic reel, and a full fly box. Trip ready for sure.

Christian's Ari 't Hart Collection

Christian Hörgren recently posted a string of photographs of his Ari 't Hart reel collection on the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum.

These reels speak to me on a couple different levels and thought that others might enjoy seeing his photos and hear what has inspired him to collect and fish these reels.

I’m Christian Hörgren, architect and fly fisherman living in Sweden. I fell in love with the ATH reels on a fly fishing fair in Stockholm, back in 2004. I actually don’t see my interest in ATH reels as collecting. The reels inspire me in my work as an architect. They are examples of how you can solve different problems technically in a new poetic way, without losing the functionality. They inspire me in the same way that Japanese handicraft can do, Scandinavian stoneware from the 60’s, or a well baked artisan bread. It’s how you do it. How you take care of the details that matters for me. Besides all this, they fish outstanding. I’m not a large arbor guy, I prefer to keep the reel close to the hand. The treatment of the material is outstanding, and they look cool. Of course.

There are smaller and there are bigger reels from Ari’t Hart. I’m only interested in the reels suitable for creek fishing, because that’s what I do most. My favorites are the reels with a cantilevered construction, the Remco for example, which is the only fly reel in the permanent design exhibition on MoMa in New York. I use the Remco when I fish for Arctic Grayling with my Sage 490 LL rod. When I go fishing for small Fario, I usually grab my Scott F703 with a small, black F1. For streamer fishing with glass rods and cane poles, the Aras reel is perfect. It’s a bit heavier and balances these rods in a good way. For the smallest rods, I use my Mach 0, which is almost weightless. There is a reel for every day of the week, for every colour of my shirt.

There is so much to say about all these different models, but I think the pictures speak for themselves.

Needless to say...I want a ATH reel more than ever now.

Glass Builder - F.D. Lyons

From our history comes the future and more than one fly rod builder I know has referenced the work of F.D. Lyons as someone who has inspired them in their rod building method.

I am honored that Mr. Lyons took the time to complete this interview.


I know that you have a long history in fly rod building and restoration. Can you tell the story about how you started building fly rods and where that journey has taken you?

I started building fiberglass rods in 1969 (I think). I purchased an 8 1/2 two piece yellow fiberglass rod, along with a Japanese knock off of a Pflueger Medalist model 1994 reel. A fly line was included in the "package". The total cost was $11.95 on the 6th floor sporting goods department at Meier & Frank Co. At about the same time, I purchased the book "A Primer of Fly-fishing by Roderick Haig-Brown. It contained instructions on how to cast a fly line. I practiced in my front yard with taunts from neighbors and family, "Are you catching anything?" Persistence paid off and the rest is history.

I began building fiberglass rods a few years later, after I had converted my father-in-law from bait fishing with a fly rod to fly fishing. Flies being less messy than worms. It was during this time that I also became enamored of split bamboo fly rods, but I could not afford the ones I wanted.


Who would you consider your mentors as you were learning this craft?

I did not have any mentors for building fiberglass rods. I was pretty much self-taught.


How would you describe your build style and what sets your builds a part from other builders?

I am not sure how I would describe my "build style". I purchase the blanks in one piece. I cut and ferrule them according to the customer's preference. I then select the cork rings. I cut the holes in the cork ring to fit the blank at the grip station. I then glue up the cork rings on a bolt using Elmer's wood glue. This process allows me to get a very tight fit, which eliminates glue lines. After the glue has dried overnight, I remove the glued-up cork rings from the bolt. Then I ream out the inside of the cork rings with a tapered reamer to fit the inside of the blank. Next I whip up a batch of two part epoxy, saturate the inside of the cork rings, and the station for the cork grip. Next I slide the cork rings down over the blank. This is messy but I have a paper towel on hand which is saturated with acetone to wipe the blank down after wards. I wear latex gloves during the whole operation.

When the glue is dry, I mount the butt section in my special little lathe and turn the cork to shape, using different grades of sand paper and different speeds. I learned this process by trial and error! All wraps are 00 nylon. I use Snake Brand nickle colored snake guides and a dark red agatine stripper. The color of my rod bags were chosen to match the color of the wraps. The gold thread used to sew the bags matches the antique gold in the signature or border wrap. The rod tubes are from Landmark. The label is my own design.


What fiberglass blanks do you build on? What lengths and line weights do you offer?

I use Lamiglas blanks that were designed exclusively for me. I initially offered line weights two through five weight and rods lengths from seven to eight feet in length. I have offered these rods in two or three piece. I can no longer offer all of these lengths and line weights.


For custom orders what is a typical build time that a client should expect?

Typical wait times are six months to a year from when the order is placed.


How would you like someone interested in contacting you about a possible fiberglass fly rod build?

I can be contacted by email at fdlyons@comcast.net or by telephone at 503-0760-3933. Please also check the F.D. Lyons website for more information.