T.F.M. Spotting - At The Ball Game

Longtime readers of T.F.M. may remember Mike Boward's "Proud Uncle Mike" T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest post from early last year. Well, Ella Kay's grown up a bit and enjoyed her first Rockies ballgame a few weeks back against the Padres.

Uncle Mike, wearing his T.F.M. Hoodie, and Ella Kay singing along to America the Beautiful.

I see a devoted Rockies fan in the making.  

End Of Month Reminders

This is a quick reminder on a couple things that wrap up today on T.F.M.

Today is the final day to get your submissions in for the Blue Ribbon Nets Giveaway.  So far I've received over two dozen emails with some very neat stories, photographs, and even a couple videos.

It should take you just a minute to submit your experience so please do.  A Blue Ribbon Nets AquaFade Ultra Light Oval Net will be sent out later this week to a random winner.

Don't forget to place your vote for April's T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest Finalist.  Poll on the right hand side of the page.     

Also, I am wrapping up this month's T.F.M. Apparel order as well.  If you'd like a T.F.M. cap, t-shirt, or hoodie please let me know today by email.

Soccer Field Carp

Paul Christensen of Huron River Fly Fishing decided to get his carp fix even though the river was raging at flood stage.  He set his sights on Fuller Park in Ann Arbor with his vintage Fenwick FF807 fiberglass fly rod and found hundreds of carp in the soccer fields.  

(Photograph - Angela Cesere)

Reporter Cindy Heflin and photographer Angela Cesere were at the park and submitted this report on AnnArbor.com.  This is a fun read along with a video and photograph slide show of Paul's soccer field experience.

If all goes right and the Huron River gets back in shape, I'll be spending a day looking for smallmouth and carp with Paul in July.     

Off Work. Off Call.

I've spent all of this past weekend either at work or on call and when I woke this morning I was done with both. 

I had just a little over an hour to get out on the pond before other obligations were to fill my day and decided to take advantage of it.

I busted a few largemouth bass on the Idylwilde Flies El Raton pattern in black.  I had two fish take it in the first six casts so I'm figuring that this fly has definite appeal other than just looking cool.  

I processed all of these photographs through the iPhone application Instagram which is a neat way to tweak and share photographs though the app itself and it will also push your photographs to all the popular social media platforms as well as email.

Follow me on Instagram under the profile name "thefiberglassmanifesto".

T.F.M. Spotting - Oatka Creek Project

A couple weekends ago photographer Grant Taylor, Dean Milliman, and writer Matt Smythe met up to continue working on their Oatka Creek project for the local Trout Unlimited Chapter.

Matt Smythe was wearing his T.F.M. t-shirt which Grant caught in several of the images of the day and submitted for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.  

Grant wrote...  "On the morning of Saturday, May 14, I met up with good friends and fellow creatives, Dean Milliman and Matt Smythe (aka Fishingpoet,) for what would be our fourth outing in recent weeks on Oatka Creek in Western New York. The three of us are collaborating to create an advertising campaign for the Seth Green Chapter of Trout Unlimited. This local chapter is one of the oldest in the country, and is one of just a handful in the Finger Lakes Region of New York State.

Since our initial scouting day on April 2, we've been on The Oatka capturing still images and video for the campaign, all of it related to fly fishing for trout - one of our greatest common passions. Aside from the one morning I had been out shooting video on my own, all of the other days we've been on the water have been pretty consistent - that is, cold, dark, and rainy!"


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

"We'd received plenty of hard rain the night before, and when we hit the creek on Saturday morning, the USGS Hydrologic Unit on Oatka Creek in Garbutt, New York was pumping out readings that hovered just over three feet. In Dean's experience, the creek starts to get unfishable when the waters are that high. As the day progressed, though, those levels would rise further, the water turned brown, and the fishing would become exceedingly unproductive. And yet, we kept at it!

Midday, we had decided to change locations a bit and try out nearby Spring Creek, whose gin-clear waters would not be affected by the rains and runoff as Oatka Creek had been. Dean was able to catch and release a gorgeous brown trout in Spring Creek, and we likely would stayed and caught more if we hadn't been craving cheeseburgers and cold beer as much as we had been.

In the afternoon, Dean made a phone call to a friend of his whose property, a few miles downstream, would allow us to access a stretch of The Oatka that is known for the larger brown trout we were all itchy to hook up with. While I photographed, Dean and Matt attacked the swollen section of creek with weighted buggers and nymphs. The guys had hoped for a decent spinner fall, one that they could have fished with dry flies, but the day's weather hadn't been favorable enough for that to happen. Judging by the forecast for the next ten days, we won't likely be back out on the creek terribly soon. We'll certainly look forward to the day when we are, though, and in the meantime, will be at the computer editing these hundreds of photographs and video segments. Our project for Trout Unlimited is off to a great start, despite the weather, and it's been really exciting to see what great ideas Dean and Matt have brought to the table with their design sense and writing style that will accompany the imagery."

To see more of work of Grant Taylor and Matt Symthe please visit their websites. 

Departure Publishing Releases Keeper

Departure Publishing has released it's second book, Keeper, which arrived this past week in the mail and is in my short stack of summer reading. 

Keeper was written by British writer Martin Donovan and tells the story of his years of travel and life as a river keeper in England.       

This is Departure Publishing's second book release since The Alaska Chronicles and will be followed by The Blitz (which I am stoked to see) in September. 

Tosh Brown of Departure Publishing is being very picky about the books that he puts on paper and that quality is showing.

Graywolf Rods - Glass Blanks In Stock

Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods recently updated the blog of his website with a listing of the fiberglass blanks that he has on hand or that soon will be arriving to his shop in Michigan.

The following blanks are available for order:

Fenwick Blanks

McFarland Rods - Custom Rolled Yellow Glass
7' Four Weight Four Piece
8' Five Weight Four Piece
8' Six Weight Four Piece
8' Four Weight Three Piece
8' Five Weight Three Piece

South Fork Rod Company
7' Two Weight Three Piece
7' Four Weight Three Piece

Steffen Brothers
8'3" 5/6 Weight Two Piece
7'9" 3/4 Weight Two Piece

Vintage Scott Fly Rod Company
6'6" Four Weight Two Piece
7'0" Four Weight Two Piece
8'0" Six Weight Three Piece

If you have questions or would like to place an order Shane can be contacted by email or by telephone at 517-902-3158

Look for a full length "Glass Builder" interview with Graywolf Rods on T.F.M. in the coming weeks. 

Welcome To Cliff Outdoors

Yesterday I checked out the Cliff Outdoors website and found that they have added a few videos to their website starting with this four minute video, Meet Cliff Outdoors, on their homepage.

I've known Cliff for a couple years now and found that he's one of the nicest fellows in the fly fishing industry.  All of his products are made in the U.S.A. and he has focused his business to only supply independent fly shops.

Check out the Cliff Outdoors website for this video and others in which Cliff explains feature by feature some of the specific products that they offer. 

Leiderman Rods - Steffen Brothers Builds

Custom glass and cane builder, Matt Leiderman, sent along a few photographs of a matched set of Steffen Brothers builds that he recently completed. 

These photographs are a good example of Matt's work in creating one of a kind fly rods for his clients.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Matt wrote...  "Months ago, I was contacted by a Fiberglass Flyrodders friend about working on a few rods for him.  He supplied a variety of basic components and I was simply asked to piece together a few rods.  The blanks are both four piece Steffen Brothers.  The cigar gripped rod is an 8' 3/4 weight and the Ritz gripped rod is Mark's new 8' 4/5 weight blank.  Both feature bubinga Lemke seats and bronzed components throughout.  A fairly simple build but I set out to make a matched set that were close but not exact.  As many glass fishers know, Mark's 8' 3/4 weight is a modern classic but the new 4/5 weight fly rods are a nice addition to his blank series.  It is a bit more full flexing and has some reserve power in the lower sections.  On paper, the 8' 4/5 weight may look similar to the 3/4 weight but they are two totally different fly rods."

For more information and photographs of Matt's work check out the Leiderman Rods website.

A True Story

T.F.M. Swedish Correspondent Christian Hörgren sent this report in on how having a stash of T.F.M. decals in his briefcase saved the day.

Christian wrote...

"Here's a true story from today.  When I was riding my bike from a morning meeting, all of a sudden I heard a rambling noise. The cable tie holding the bicycle lock was gone and the lock was hitting the spokes. The only thing I found in my briefcase was some stickers from you-know-who.  Thanks T.F.M. for being there!

Your Pal, Chris"

Christian...always happy to help...even in the unusual ways. HA...

Leland Reel Company B.C. Steelhead

The Leland Reel Company Vintage Series is ever closing to being released and this is a close to final production photograph of the large two hander worthy British Columbia Steelhead model. 

Burke White of Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters wrote...   

"This is a photo of our pre-production British Columbia Steelhead reel.  Although our reels look old-school, they are up to snuff in manufacturing, materials, and technology.  Fully machined, Teflon anodized with brass components, these reels will perform for many years to come.

It comes with two handles.  However, one handle can be removed and a brass counterbalance weight (supplied with reel) can take its place.  This has an adjustable click and pawl reel and sized for standard two hand rods"

This reel looks pretty sharp to me and I really like the two handles if nothing else but for aesthetic reasons.  

 

This fly reel should fall somewhere in the mid $300 mark as far as pricing goes.

 

Remember that if you enter the Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters website and make a purchase via their advertisement badge on the sidebar of T.F.M. that it will help me continue the process of becoming a fly fishing "hundredaire".   

T.F.M. Spotting - The San Diego Flats

Scott Donaghe and Conway Bowman recently took the flats boat to a San Diego reservoir for a day of casting to carp tailing in inches of water.

Scott was wearing his T.F.M. t-shirt and sent in these photos for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.

 

Check out Flipping Bugs At Sea Level for more on this trip.

T.F.M. 2,000 Fans Scavenger Hunt

A couple weeks ago a post went up how the T.F.M. Facebook page had not yet reached 2,000 Fans and it took just a day or two to make that mark and blow right past it.

Now the T.F.M. Facebook page is steadily approaching 2,100 "LIKES" which is really quite astounding to me.  Thanks for being a Fan.

Before covering the rules for the scavenger hunt let's outline what everyone is playing for. The sponsors of this contest really stepped up and I am very appreciative of their support. The combined value of all items given for the three prizes are worth well over $1,000.

There will be three prize packages given away with winners chosen randomly from those that complete the ten question scavenger hunt correctly.

GRAND PRIZE PACKAGE:
Costa Del Mar Sunglasses Promo Card
Howler Brothers $100 Gift Certificate
YETI Coolers Roadie 20

TWO SECOND PRIZE PACKAGES:
Anglers Choice Flies Custom Dozen Flies
Blue River Fly Company UPG Streamer Fly Box
Diablo Paddlesports Swag Package
FishingPorn.com Retro Fly Etched Glasses
Skinny Water Culture Cap
William Joseph Tech Series Chest or Hip Pack

It is certainly worth your time to play along for a chance to win one of the three most excellent prize packages.

THE RULES:
You will find all the answers for the scavenger hunt on the following Facebook pages...

THE FIBERGLASS MANIFESTO
ANGLERS CHOICE FLIES
BLUE RIVER FLY COMPANY
COSTA DEL MAR
DIABLO PADDLESPORTS
FISHINGPORN.COM
HOWLER BROTHERS
SKINNY WATER CULTURE
WILLIAM JOSEPH
YETI COOLERS

Answers can be found on the Wall, Info, or Photos pages of the Facebook pages from posts made during the last thirty days.

Completed questionnaires for the scavenger hunt must be received by midnight Sunday, June 12th, 2011 by email.

I will randomly chose three winners from those that answer the questionnaire correctly for the gear giveaway prizes.  Winners will be posted on Monday, June 13th, 2011.  

THE QUESTIONS:
1.  Who just had their 3rd Annual Tarpon Season Kick Off Party?      

2.  This company hails from Durango, Colorado?

3.  Which company has walls of stickers in their office representing all the guides, fly shops, outfitters, bloggers, and anyone else who will send them decals to post up?

4. Who found a fish in the bottom of their glass?

5.  What day did the T.F.M. Facebook Page strike 2,000 Fans?

6.  Which company's gear went bungee jumping in New Zealand?

7.  Which company and country singer are working together on a line of gear offerings which support C.C.A.?

8.  What are the names of the two kayaks that this company sells?

9.  Which sponsor just had his one year wedding anniversary and which state were they married?

10. Which company had "spy photos" posted up of a possible future pack design complete with a masked marauder?

Please email to submit your answers for the scavenger hunt or if you have questions at all.

Good luck to all those that take a few minutes to play along.  I think this scavenger hunt will be a lot of fun.

Thank you for reading T.F.M. daily and being a part of the T.F.M. Facebook page.

36 Seconds Of Sweetness

Brian Kozminski, newly minted Ambassador for GreenFish, spent a day swinging flies to steelhead in the Bear River in northern Michigan with his recently passed father in mind. 

Brian took a bit of video and a photo of one of the steelhead that was caught which I wanted to share here.  



Brian wrote...  "This fish is for my Dad, who passed the day Before Easter.  May he be fishing some quality water now.  The male steelhead smashed the Greased Lightning fly tied by none other than Mike Schmidt from Angler's Choice Flies (awesome flies).  Also, I had my first experience trying to hold a large fish underwater, set up my Gorilla-Pod and my FujiFilm XP waterproof camera, and figure out how to do the self portrait.  Next time more practice at home before fish is at hand."

Brian...fine fish and your father would be proud, no doubt.

T.F.M. Spotting - Maddie On The Guad

Cliff Graham and his daughter Maddie recently spent an afternoon on the Guadalupe River State Park in Bergheim, Texas looking for a few interested bluegill.  

Cliff was representing his T.F.M. t-shirt on the trip and sent in this submission for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.

Great to see fathers taking their daughters fishing.  Maddie didn't catch any fish but waved "bye-bye" at the end of the trip so I'm thinking she'll go again.

Inside Leiderman Rods

Matt Leiderman of Leiderman Rods sent a link this week to his Flickr account and I copied over this gallery to a slide show to give everyone a glimpse of where his excellent custom fly rod work gets done.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

There is a seven and a half foot white fiberglass Kabuto Rods four weight blank with my name on it in the Leiderman Rods basement shop and I can't wait until it gets the treatment.

The Circle Spey Reel

Tim Pantzlaff of The Spey Company has released a new four inch fly reel to his line up of spey and trout reels and has called it The Circle Spey.


Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Tim writes this regarding The Circle Spey...

"Like all The Spey Company reels, I first looked to the anglers to gather ideas about what direction they would like the reel company to go. Here was the out come; an affordable, simple, two piece, fully machined, light weight work horse. There are no bearings in this model, just Teflon Impregnated Hard Coat III on 17-4 PH stainless steel. Simple, durable, effective.

Featuring the new six point HEXAD Checking Option, the drag is something that will need to be felt and heard to truly appreciate. Just all purr. 84, 112, 140, and 168 clicks per revolution with a very low smooth start up yet stout outgoing click. With the load dispersed in this way over many clickers instead of on one pawl, the start up is almost on the ready. The possibilities are almost endless with the different drag configurations available to the angler."

The Circle Spey is available in two finish choices and priced at a very reasonable price of $375.00.  All T.S.C. fly reels are made in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Check out The Spey Company website for more information and if you have any questions or would like to place an order please feel free to contact Tim by email.

Kevin Stull's First Glass Project

Kevin Stull recently sent along a full set of photographs showing how his FH Paddock Fly Rods Lemon Drop blank build came out.  It's interesting to see how the white thread wraps turned clear when finishing was complete.

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

Kevin wrote...  "Here are the shots I took after wrapping and then after finishing.  Fred Paddock turned the grip for me.  The stacked boo reel seat is from Kabuto that he purchased as one to model his seats from.  Chris Carlin up in Anchorage was nice enough to give me the instructions on how to do transparent wraps correctly.  The yellow blank turned the blue tipping a little green but it looks pretty sweet none the less.  I'm really pleased with the final product.  Now it's time to fish it!  Hopefully the Yakima will come back into shape soon otherwise my annual trip to the Beaverhead River and Big Hole River next month might be where I remove it's skunk." 

I think that Kevin is officially on a glass bender now since next up for him are fiberglass builds on a Tom Morgan Rodsmiths blank and then a Kabuto Rods blank as well.

Sleeping In The Dirt - Issue 7

The latest issue of Sleeping In The Dirt is live and the most polished and well rounded issue yet.

Nice work Aaron and the SID crew.

T.F.M. Spotting - Swinging The Farm

Mark Yuhina of the website FLYINTROPICAL recently spent the day on the Farmington River with a friend swinging soft hackles and catching their fair share of trout.  Mark was wearing his T.F.M. t-shirt and was able to create a fine looking T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest entry from the day.

I've always appreciated Mark's fine photography and he makes good use of his fisheye lens to the point that I think I'll have to add one to my own lens kit soon.

A Father's Gift

Recently Memo Stephens of The Patagonia Journal forwarded several photographs of a custom made Lamiglas fiberglass fly rod that was passed on to him from his father.

Cameron,

Hola from Argentina! After our chat on Facebook the other day, I took my father's old casting rod out for a few quick snaps in the yard. One day perhaps, I'll rig it up and take it for a spin on some landlocked salmon here in Patagonia; just for fun.

Reading through The Fiberglass Manifesto brought back a lot of memories, and even though my father was never much of a fly fisherman, it was his enthusiasm for fishing in general that influenced my life and ultimately, my desire to move to Argentina. Thanks for reminding me...

Saludos,

Memo Stephens

A father's gift is not always the possessions left behind but the inspiration and example of a life well spent in the outdoors.

Ten & Two - Summer 2011 Issue

The Summer 2011 issue of Ten & Two Magazine went live this week and full of excellent photography and stories.

I especially like the heavily color saturated photographs and also the articles on the cuisine since that is certainly part of the angler's experience.  At least mine.

Ten & Two Magazine also has a good looking Blog to give a look to as well.

T.F.M. Spotting - Inside Ross Reels

Last year I sent a stack of T.F.M. decals to Geoff Samples of Ross Reels to spam the factory with.  Recently Geoff sent a couple photographs from his iPhone of where these decals have started showing up.

Geoff wrote... "T.F.M. Spotting in the Ross Reels  "handwork" department.  Handwork is where all Ross aluminum parts (frames, spools, and drag knobs) go to be tumbled to create the smooth finish on all Ross reels.  This is the final stage before the reels go through the color anodize treatment."

How they all begin their journey in becoming a fly reel made in the Ross Reels factory in Colorado.

Geoff...thanks for representing T.F.M. at Ross Reels.  I am looking forward to seeing where the other decals end up.

The El Raton Maker Speaks

I'm really dialed in to spend a lot of time this summer pursuing warmwater species on various ponds, lakes, and rivers locally.  Call it $4 a gallon gas making a trout trip to North Carolina costing about $100 there and back, a needed return to my personal fly fishing roots, or the fact that I live just through the woods from the family pond.  This summer is all about warmwater. 

I fished a few of the Idylwilde Flies bass patterns last summer with great results and was especially impressed with Signature Tier Kevin Price's Mississippi Mudflap pattern.

New from Price's vise is the bass worthy El Raton mouse pattern.  The El Raton is available is two colors (Black/Natural) and in size 4.  This pattern was designed as a top water heavy vegetation bass pattern.

I recently sent Kevin a few questions through email asking about the development of the El Raton pattern which he graciously took the time to reply to. 

Where did the inspiration come from in the design of the El Raton?

My inspiration with the design from the El Raton comes from trying to truly be innovative and progressive in my designs. I look at what's out there which always inspires me to try and raise my personal bar and push the boundaries of common fly tying design, whether that be materials, application of those materials, or function on the water.

What is significant in the hook up orientation of the fly and the materials used?

The significance of the hook up design is simply to keep the hook away for debris on and around the water's surface.  The non-fly fishing bass market has lots of lures with this hook point up style and fly fishing doesn't have many.  Most top water flies have the typical mono or hard mason weed guard so I wanted to try and get away from these types of guards for this particular fly and in order to do that the hook had to ride up.

During the testing phase of refining this pattern where did you fish the El Raton and what was the response?

During the testing phase, I first look to test the function, and see if the fly is doing what I want it to do. The key here was finding a balance to make sure the fly landed correctly, without that, the fly was not going to work well.  For this I used a strip of leather shoe string that took on water and created a buoyant side of the fly and a weighted side of the fly.  The leather worked perfect due to the fact that it took on water weight, but didn't loose much of that weight while being cast back and forth, keeping the fly continuously balanced after several back casts.  (Note: The angler must soak the fly for about 20 seconds before casting the EL Raton. This sets the balance.)  Once I had completed this phase, I took it to the water to test different sizes and colors and to fish it through a variety of weeds, reeds, and other types of cover.  I also wanted to see how effective the hook would be at sticking fish with so much material around it.  All this is done in heavily fished local ponds or lakes, I wanted to make sure that in the end, my flies are going to fool the educated bass.  I'm not looking to test private water and then hand my flies to customers who can't access those spots.  I test where they can fish and I put my flies in the water and situations those consumers will be in.  In the end, the response to all these tests and research was very positive and not only was the fly very weedless but it was productive.  I was finding myself pinning a lot of bass with very good percentage of those fish coming to hand.

Besides bass, what other species have you and others taken on this pattern?

You know, I have to honestly say that the El Raton was only personally tested by me for bass.  A big part of this is due to the size of the hook, which in my mind is far to big for trout.  For this reason I have also brought out the Five O'clock Shadow to the consumer.  The Shadow uses a similar design but has a trout friendly stinger hook on the back.  I tested that fly on the aggressive trout of Alaska with very good results and even manged to raise a few local trout here in California as well.  Bottom line, for me right now, bass is what I see The El Raton being most productive for, but who knows, it's all in the eye of the beholder.

What's next for this pattern or is it time to move on to the next creation?

What's next for this design is possibly a smaller size and a maybe a new color or two.  I am already playing around with some new designs that are more a spin off of this design and they have me excited.  Look for more flies from me in the future that use this type of hook up, no weed guard design, that's where I see myself gravitating to down the road.

I have a dozen El Raton flies on order and looking forward to working this pattern out on the family pond on it's resident bass population.  

I am also planning on taking a half dozen Five O'Clock Shadow flies with me home to Michigan this summer and hope a large brown trout will come up and eat one at night.

S.W.C. Marsh Dawn Cap

Hardly a day goes by that I'm not wearing a cap and my favorites seem to change week to week.

The top spot for the dome goes to Skinny Water Culture and their Marsh Dawn Pro Style Trucker Hat which arrived with my order earlier this week.

Besides the trucker hat, the Marsh Dawn artwork is also offered as a decal and soon to be on a S.W.C. t-shirt as well.

Check out the Skinny Water Culture website for some new threads for summer.

Seth's First Fish On Glass

Every few weeks I find an email in my inbox with a short story, and sometimes even a photograph, telling the story of their first experience with fiberglass and how they were inspired by reading T.F.M. to give glass a try. 

There have been few things as gratifying in writing this website for the past few years as receiving these emails.  

Recently Seth Harpster dropped a line about his first experience with a vintage Fenwick and Pfleuger outfit that he put together and sent along a photograph of the first fish that he caught as well...

"I was introduced to the The Fiberglass Manifesto by my brother and because of the website I had to go out and find a glass rod for myself.  I was given an old Fenwick 605 as a gift from a friend which I paired with a Pfleuger Medalist 1494.  It casts beautifully and is totally different from my graphite fly rods. Honestly, I would not have this new found love for glass had it not been for your website."

Posts like this make me smile since it's neat to bring another convert into the fold.

Cheeky Fly Fishing - Mojo 425

Yesterday afternoon I received word from Ted Upton of Cheeky Fly Fishing that they have just released their first fly reel, the Mojo 425.

The Mojo 425 is the first out of a series of five fly reels which will range in sizes to target bluegill to shark.  

The Mojo 425 falls in the middle of the series pack and has a diameter of 4.25 inches, a weight of 7.1 ounces, and priced at $690.  (No doubt that the price is up there but it's also important to remember that these fly reels are being made in the U.S.A. which will always affect the MSRP.)

The Mojo 425 was designed and sized to match fly rods to use for steelhead, carp, redfish, and bonefish.

Ted had this to say about their fly reels and launch...   

"In short, we’re about three things: unparalleled fly reel performance, design/aesthetics that will knock your socks off, and superior customer service – direct from the manufacturer."

The blue and gold anodizing might be a little to much flash for my fiberglass sticks but these fly reels are lookers nonetheless.

Look for the other four Cheeky fly reels to be released later in 2011 and into 2012.

For more information check out the Cheeky Fly Fishing website.

BushLifeFilm.com

Moldy Chum put this up earlier in the month regarding Ryan Davey's next proposed film project, BushLife: Documenting Life In The Alaskan Bush, and he still needs quite a bit of funding to get off the ground.  I thought I'd post it on T.F.M. as well for a few more looks.

Ryan Davey is working on raising funds for this project through the website Kickstarter and $5,000 needs to be committed to by May 29th or it's a no go.

T.F.M. committed $50 to the project yesterday afternoon and hope that Ryan gets to his goal by the end of the month. 

Flymage - April 2011

I don't know why it took me so long to come across the English version of Flymage but I leafed through the April issue this weekend and was quite impressed.

Check out the Flymage Blog and Back Issues as well.

WOODSTICK

The Woodstick event will be held this Saturday and Sunday, May 21st and 22nd, at the Catskills Fly Fishing Center and Museum in Livingston Manor, New York. 

Fred Paddock of FH Paddock Fly Rods has been instrumental in organizing this event which celebrates classic fly tackle being made by modern rod builders and gear makers.

Fred wrote...  "The CFFCM is a fifty-three acre property bordering the Willowemoc Creek.  The fly fishing museum is on the grounds and worth a look.  The event is themed as classic tackle by modern makers.  Craftsmen from the United States, Japan, and Holland will be in attendance.  These are makers of bamboo and fiberglass fly rods, reels, and classic tackle.  Their work will be there for sale and display.  

The event is held in a relaxed atmosphere.  There will be a donation to the CFFCM, 100% of the collection of tables fees.  This will be presented to the director of the CFFCM as a donation to preserve the traditions of fly fishing.

Hardy will be introducing the Hardy Cup, a casting competition for bamboo rods.  The course will be there for practice and there will be judges (for those who cannot attend the Summerfest) there for a certain time."

ROD MAKERS:
RICK ROBBINS BAMBOO FLY RODS
PENTALUX BAMBOO
L.J. DOWNES
DENNIS MENSCER/LITTLE RIVER RODS
FH PADDOCK FLY RODS
MCFARLAND FLY RODS
LEIDERMAN RODS

FLY GEAR AND TACKLE:
JORDAN MILLS RODS
CLASSIC FLY FISHERMAN
PERFECTION REELS
BELVOIRDALE
KINEYA TACKLE
SCHUKKEN DESIGNS

Woodstick looks to be a very excellent time for those that will attend.  I wish I could find my way up there this coming weekend and look forward to hearing the reports from those that do.

Rise Forms

The latest refresh of Rise Forms went live late last week with new articles, artwork, photography, and a contest giveaway as well.

I especially enjoyed the piece that Sam Snyder, of Headwaters, wrote called "For The Love Of History" and also the artwork of Japanese artist Yoshikazu Fujioka which is featured through out the website.

Pre Order - No Shortage Of Good Days

John Gierach's next book, No Shortage Of Good Days, will be released later this month and T.F.M. friend and artist, Bob White of BobWhite Studio, brushed the most excellent cover art of John on his home water in Colorado with a painting called "Close To Home".   

BobWhite Studio has just one hundred autographed copies of No Shortage Of Good Days available for order, with half of those already spoken for with pre-orders.

I placed my own order on Wednesday morning after receiving the weekly BobWhite Studio newsletter which keeps all up to date on what is going on with Bob and Lisa White.

If you were going to purchase John Gierach's new book then you might as well have it autographed with his signature and I'm sure Bob wouldn't mind autographing the book as well for his part with the cover art as well. 
 

Leland Reel Company Vintage Series

Along with the fiberglass fly rod prototypes sent from Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters/Red Truck Fly Fishing, Burke White also sent along a near to end stage prototype fly reel from their soon to be released Leland Reel Company "Vintage Series" for me to look over that has since been shipped back with the prototype fly rods.

Burke sent this information in a recent email explaining the thought and design process of the new series...  

"At Leland, we noticed that there were very few options when it came to aesthetically matching a fly reel to a vintage bamboo, fiberglass, or two hand fly rod.  So we started to research the reels from the past. Reels that spoke to us about a more simple time when fly fishing wasn’t about the latest technical features, but instead reels that focused on quality, simplicity, and function in the field.  Cosmetically we wanted to design a fly reel that looked like the one you hoped one day to find in your grandfather’s sock drawer."

There will be four fly reels in the "Vintage Series" with two reels covering the trout weights and then two reels made specifically for two hand and switch type fly rods.

I am impressed with this fly reel and with a price point starting at the $300 mark it looks like it will draw a lot of interest for those looking for a well made clicker type reel with classic styling.   

Look for further updates and information on T.F.M. regarding the Leland Reel Company "Vintage Series" in the coming weeks.