T.F.M. at the Fly Fishing Show

Yesterday I took the day off work and zipped up to Charlotte for the Fly Fishing Show. I had a great time shaking hands with Fishy Kid and T.F.M. sponsors, dropping off cards to others, and meeting a few members from the the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum and the T.F.M. facebook page throughout the day.


I wanted to bring back to the T.F.M. readership a few highlights and photographs of products that really impressed me from several of the fly gear companies that participated in the show.

HARDY GREYS
Let's start where I spent the most time yesterday...at the Hardy Greys booth.

Yes, Hardy Greys is sponsoring the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest this year, so I don't want this to come across as lip service but honestly there was no other company that "brought it" like they did to the show. They had a clean booth area with the back wall lined with fly rods each of their series and a glass case filled with the entire line of Hardy and Greys fly reels in all sizes. There were some accessories and clothing but the bulk of their product was like it should be with fly rods and fly reels.

Ben Austin, a.k.a. Mr. Blanco Honky, and John Shaner were manning the booth and great to speak with. I certainly got the feeling that Hardy Greys is making a push to be a significant player of the North America market in both freshwater and saltwater fly fishing market from here on out.


The Perfect and St. George reels are stunning no doubt and I put a couple of them on the long range wish list.

I want...I mean NEED one of these Bougle MKVI for the Hardy Test fiberglass four weight I've got on demo.

I tried to walk away from the Hardy Greys booth with the $8,000 titanium Zane Ti reel stowed in my bag but Ben Austin and John Shaner were ready to put the tackle on me if I would have walked out of their booth. HA...

I took a few minutes to cast a couple of the Classic Lightweight series fly rods which are a mix of fiberglass and graphite and a joy to cast...even indoors. The four weight had a great feel to it and the five weight felt like it could cast streamers and big terrestrials with ease.

I've had an increased interest in the Hardy Greys line over the past year but after seeing everything in person, casting a few rods, and putting a lot of the reels in my hand, I am more than impressed. I may be on the way to a new addiction.

GOERTZEN ADVENTURE EQUIPEMENT
Not five minutes after arriving at the show I met Jon Goertzen of Goertzen Adventure Equipment. Jon is from Missoula, Montana and when not working for the Grizzly Hackle Fly Shop makes hand made leather and canvas pieces of gear for several outdoor pursuits.

Jon had a full display of his leather lanyards and fly fishing bags and I'll admit that I was completely blown away by the looks, function, and quality of his work.

The Fly Fishing Lanyards run $49 and the term "lanyard" might be a little misleading since they are actually a lanyard, large fly patch, tippet holder, and hemostat holder all in one. This essentially could take the place of your vest in many instances.

The Fly Fishing Bags run $350 including the fly boxes in the front pockets and while this system might not be in everyone's budget there is an appeal to these being a one of a kind type product with the differences in leathers used on each bag.

NO-FLOAT STIX
A company I did not expect to see at the show but had a wonderful time talking to was Tom and Joyce Toomey from the wading staff company No-Float Stix.

No-Float Stix's come in five sizes and can be special ordered in camo or fish prints to further personalize your wading staff to your liking.

Tom sent me a No-Float Stix a couple of months ago and I am really impressed with the product so far. A lot of work and testing has gone into the development of this product and it is clearly evident once you get this wading staff in the river.

THE CLASSIC FLY FISHERMAN
I spent some time at The Classic Fly Fisherman booth and spoke to Bob Selb at length about vintage gear, fiberglass fly rods, and fly reels. He had a few things that caught my eye.


This reel display was worth a dozen of my paychecks no doubt.

On display was a series of fiberglass fly rods built on vintage Conolon blanks by the rod maker Walt Carpenter. I am a complete push over for brown woven glass and these were finished out beautifully.

There are five rod models in this series in line weights four, five, and six and they are priced at $850 each.

SCOTT FLY RODS
I stopped in to speak with James Buice of Scott Fly Rods and asked about rumors about what might be coming in the future in the Fibertouch series. All I got as a response was a big knowing smile and the comment that something very special indeed was in the works. It seems like secrecy and hints are all I'm getting out of Scott Fly Rods right now. Darn.

FLYMEN FISHING COMPANY
Out of all the fly tiers that I saw yesterday Martin Bawden of Flymen Fishing Company stood out for the products that he is producing with this growing company. He had an array of tungsten and brass beadheads in various colors and sizes that were very impressive. I picked up a few packs in both brass and tungsten and look forward to tying with them soon.

Keep an eye on the Flymen Fishing Company website in the next month or so since he is going to begin offering a very cool fly tying product that he had at the show but didn't want photographed and shown off to the masses yet. All I can say is that I'm going to need them in various sizes and colors to use on patterns to fill up my striper streamer box with.

Z REELS
Many of you know that I am a vintage reel hound but recently I've been looking at a few of the "new school" reels for a couple of my custom fiberglass rod builds. I was particularly intrigued with the reels at the K&T Equip LLC booth which are made in Germany by Z Reels. K&T Equip LLC is a Greer, South Carolina based company and the only distributor in the United States for these fly reels.

These reels had a wonderful feel and sound to them and the Natural series has a leather pad to use as the drag to slow down a running fish. These reels are priced at special introductory prices from $340 to $430.

The Revolution is the second reel offered by Z Reels and features a disc brake and spools that pop off the center hub with ease. The Revolution is priced at the introductory prices of $380 to $470.

One of the Natural reels taken apart which almost leaves you wondering how these work?

Z Reels can be ordered in nine different colors and the reels are offered in four sizes in line weights four through eight.

Z Reels can be ordered with a distinctive leather case or an extra spool.

I am particularly intrigued with the Natural series and may have to add one of those to the collection soon.


Well...that is about it for the cream of the show in my eyes. I had a great time and glad I took the day to go.

I'd be interested to hear what impressed you at the Fly Fishing Show as well so please comment on this blog post with your thoughts and opinions.

If you have any questions about the products discussed above please feel free to drop me an email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org.

GOT HOPPERS?

Recently I linked up with Juan Ramirez of The Hopper Juan Blog and I traded a few T.F.M. decals for several of his excellent GOT HOPPERS? decals. Juan was gracious and sent along a couple of his foam hopper patterns too.

I am already sporting one of these decals on my badged out Honda Element.

Juan certainly does have skills at the vise and these foam hoppers are a fine example of this. Flawless ties.

Check out The Hopper Juan Blog which is even on facebook too!

First Trip of 2010 and Skunked!

Last week I was able to steal away for a couple of hours to the Saluda River which has been running fast all winter with huge releases. I was hoping that 700 CFS would be manageable but found it to dicey to try and cross the river to access a few of the runs that I really like to fish.

It always strikes me as weird to be trout fishing in a river with Spanish Moss draped off of the trees.

The flies for the day were heavy but still couldn't get them down deep enough through the fast water.

A wading staff was essential just to get to the couple places I did wade to. This was my first trip out with the No-Float Stix and I was very impressed.

I fished the South Fork Rod Company "456 Prototype". I am really liking this rod with a 5DT line on it. I want to put a good fish on it since it seems like a rod that will bend into the cork.

At least on a high water day you can mess around with the camera if nothing else, eh?

Please SCE&G...let the water flows come down! Over 12,000 CFS as I post this and I need to touch a few trout awfully bad.

T.F.M. T-Shirts Sent!

One hour at the USPS and $300 later the T.F.M. t-shirt order has been shipped to all parts of the globe. Check your mail this week since they should be hitting mailboxes in the next couple of days.

Please check to make sure that you received the right size and quantity of shirts. With over a hundred t-shirts ordered there may be a mix up or two. I'll do whatever possible to make it right if there is an issue.

If you have questions, concerns, or just want to let me know that your shirts arrived in good shape drop me an email at heddonpal@fiberglassflyrodders.org.

T.F.M. Spotting - Tim on Hard Water

Tim Jones recently sent along a couple of photographs from a trip fishing hard water.

Tim wrote, "I was finally able to get out ice fishing between blizzards. Not a whole lot to show for it but it was better then not fishing at all."

Tim caught this nice bluegill on a microlight fiberglass rod.

So "cool" to see T.F.M. represented on the ice and I bet that bluegill put quite a bend in that little glass rod.

T.F.M. T-Shirts Ready To Ship!

I came home Friday afternoon to find two large boxes from Rick Marcum of Xdzines filled with T.F.M. t-shirts.

Yesterday I spent the better part of the day packaging up over one hundred t-shirts and plan on dropping them in the mail tomorrow. Please be looking out for them this week.

I was surprised by the interest in the new T.F.M. t-shirts and excited to see the submissions for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest in the coming months.

I'll start another order for T.F.M. t-shirts on March 1st for those that are interested.

T.F.M. Quoted in American Angler

A couple weeks after returning from Colorado this past summer, where I had been fishing my Tenkara Ayu rod, I was contacted by Zach Matthews and Phil Monahan and asked to provide a few lines of copy to be used in an article they were working on about tenkara angling and equipment for American Angler magazine.

(Click photo to see article scan larger)

I was honored to be a part of this article and it is exciting to see the interest in tenkara style angling increasing.

For more information about fly fishing without a reel check out the Tenkara USA website.

The T&T Heirloom is Back!

Recently I received a press release from Trevor Bross of Thomas & Thomas stating that they are bringing the Heirloom series back to their fly rod line up.

Similar to the previous issue of the Heirloom, although they are now fitted with a carbide stripper, earth tone cloth bag, and aluminum tube.

Rod lengths and weights:

FR763-3
FR764-3
FR765-3
FR804-3
FR805-3

MSRP is $650.00 for completed fly rods and blanks are available as well.

I have long thought that the look of the Heirloom series is striking and several have passed along how wonderful the casting ability is of these rods.

Check out the updated and excellent looking Thomas & Thomas website to find the dealer nearest you.

T.F.M. Spotting - YETI's Wall of Love

Rick Wittenbraker of YETI Coolers sent along a photo from his iPhone of their "Wall of Love" at the warehouse.

Great to see T.F.M. included on the wall and thanks for passing along a photo.

This post reminds me that I still need to order my Roadie for the kayak!

T.F.M.'s Gone Legit

With plans to attend the upcoming Fly Fishing Show in Charlotte, the Fly Fishing Film Tour in Charleston, and over a hundred T.F.M. t-shirts getting dropped into the mail next week I thought it would be nice to have a business card to present and send along with packages.

Next Day Flyers made it easy and affordable to upload my card designs and within a week 500 shiny T.F.M. cards were on my doorstep.

Keeping the look of the card uniform to the T.F.M. blog.

In case anyone is wondering...it's not DEAD!

M.F.C. Thread Midges

Last Sunday I spent the day knocking out midges on the vise with a new threads from Montana Fly Company. I had ordered a mess of Midge Thread and Oval Thread and have found that they make really flashy looking midge bodies. Toss a little black dubbing on the top and they're done.

A days worth of work and five dozen midges later.

The Midge Thread is full of flash and gives the bodies a neat look. The Rainbow or Dark threads with black mixed into the flash color are especially nice.

The Oval Thread lays down nicely on the hook shank for a very even midge body. The Black/Color threads reminded me very much of twist threads used for wrapping fly rods.

I am looking forward to tying more midges and then doing some "field work" on a midge friendly stream I fish in North Carolina.

Check out the Montana Fly Company website for more information on the threads along with a host of other innovative fly tying materials, tools, and accessories.

The Hobbyist - Dane Fuller

Over the course of the past few years I've watched Dane Fuller, aka beauglass, take up rod building in his down time and become totally captivated by every part of it. Recently Dane on his blog, The Dusty Fly, wrote that he's in development of his own line of glass blanks which would make him the first "The Hobbyist" turned "Glass Builder" that T.F.M. has highlighted.

I thought it would be interesting for Dane to write about his start in rod building and show off a few of his latest build photos.

I’m not like most of the builders that T.F.M. has spotlighted. I don’t have years of experience. Although I’ve fished all my life I really have only been into fly fishing for the past five or six years. Everything changed for me when I caught a bluegill on the fly at my local city park lake. I’ve been addicted to fly fishing and everything related to it ever since.


I first got interested in building rods when a good friend and rod builder, Barry Evans, showed me the steps he takes when building a rod. I was intrigued but just wasn’t sure I could do it. Another great friend and rod builder, Gene Bethea, is really the one to blame. He sent me one of his books on rod building and told me that I’d never know if I didn’t try. Both of these guys have taught me a lot.


Another person that I learned from is the late Dave Lewis. Dave was a master at the craft and, although we only corresponded thru emails, I count him as one of my mentors. His guidance helped me understand more about the way thread types and colors react with different finishes and probably shortened what would have been a costly trial and error learning curve. I miss him a great deal.


I don’t know that I have a style other than to say I try to make my builds look good without being too flashy. Personally, I don’t want to have a rod that I’d be afraid to fish. However, there is no reason it can’t look nice. The one thing that I find myself doing on every build is putting a spiral wrap on it. I suppose that’s as close to flashy as I get.


Like I said earlier, I don’t have a ton of experience doing this, but I love to work with my hands and have a very strong urge to create. I suppose that’s why I dove headlong into rod building. My dream is to one day build rods on blanks I design and roll myself. Mark Steffen is someone I admire a lot. If I could, I’d camp out on his porch until I learned everything he knows. Until I’m able to start rolling my own, I’ll be content to build rods on blanks made by other hands.


Dane, best wishes as you begin the process of having your own blanks produced. I will certainly be interested in how it all falls into place and D.F. Fly Rods is born.

T.F.M. Spotting - Christian in Sweden

A few weeks back Christian Hörgren of Sweden sent along a iPhone photo of him donning his T.F.M. skully cap at the office.


When Christian showed up on the Fiberglass Flyrodders forum he brought with him an impressive ATH reel collection. Little did he know that there were so many bad influences and temptations and since then he's added a several very desirable glass rods and fly reels to his arsenal.

Thank you Christian for flying the T.F.M. flag over there. It is much appreciated.

Sunday Cinema - The Season

I have long been a fan of Fitz Cahall's The Dirtbag Diaries podcasts and this web series looks well worth watching...

The Season Trailer from Fitz Cahall on Vimeo.

Rocky Maley's "As Smooth As Glass" Fly

Recently I approached Rocky Maley and asked him to tie a fly for me. Rocky's first question was what did I want. I asked him to look over the T.F.M. blog and tie a fly that was more or less inspired from what he saw there.

A couple days later Rocky posted a photograph on T.F.M.'s facebook Fan page of what he had done. I found it nothing short of stunning.

Rocky provided me a stack of photos that I organized into a slide show showing the making of his T.F.M. inspired creation he dubbed "As Smooth As Glass".

Since this fly will never see water I dropped it off at the frame shop with a T.F.M. decal to be matted up and framed. I can't wait to get this up on the wall in the office.


Thanks again Rocky! If you'd like to discuss having Rocky tie up something special for you email him at maleyqh@ortelco.net.