MooseKnuckle Lanyards

Last week a package arrived in the mail from Jeremy Barnes at MooseKnuckle Lanyards.  I ripped the envelope open to find a very well done lanyard with yellow fiberglass pieces mixed into the design.  I like. 

Who says a lanyard can't perform and look good too?

Though the MooseKnuckle Lanyards website hasn't launched yet, you can follow on the Blog as well as the Facebook and Twitter pages too.

Off To The Pisgah National Forest

This morning has been a mad scramble to get the Element properly packed for a long weekend trip to the Pisgah National Forest for a one part family camping experience and one part fly fishing excursion. 

I'm driving ahead of the family this morning to secure a campsite, set up, and then spend the reminder of the next day or so fly fishing before they arrive tomorrow night.

The past few weeks have been pretty wicked at work and it will be nice to have a break.  T.F.M. may or may not get updated until the weekend is over.  It all depends if I have a signal (not likely) or if I am enjoying sitting by the fire with a tin cup in my hand more than blogging (very likely).

A full report, photographs, and maybe a couple gear reviews to follow upon my return.   

Shane Gray's Salmon Trip Rod

As is typical of many rod makers I know when it comes to their own personal fly rods they usually don't have but a couple.  For a rod maker, a fly rod that's not being used is one that can be sold and also during the course of casting many different blanks the builder's tastes change as well.

As Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods began prepping for his yearly salmon trip to northern Michigan, he realized that he didn't have a fly rod to use.  He soon started scheming a glass build and had just enough time before leaving to get it finished.

Shane wrote...  "This fly rod is a Yellow Glass Series four piece eight foot eight weight.  The all metal seat is a prototype from Joel Lemke with a threaded metal fighting butt.  The build also includes a modified flor grade full wells grip, titanium snake guides, tip top, and a blued agate stripper.  The wraps are clear yellow silk tipped with chinese red silk."

Shane and his family are heading north today and I am already looking forward to his post trip photos and report.

Check out the Graywolf Rods Blog and Facebook page for more photographs and information.  While on the Facebook page click "LIKE" to keep up with the latest news from Shane's shop.

PUNK ROCKER

I arrived at the office this morning and noticed a few presentation flies that I have on a shelf which includes a Punk Rocker from Pat Cohen of Super Fly. 

Seeing the Punk Rocker this morning was a good reminder that I hadn't put it up on T.F.M. yet.

This is a fly I will never fish and it's just wild to look at.

To see more of Pat's work check out the Super Fly website.  

T.F.M. Spotting - Grass Carp = Permit?

Thomas Harvey of Carolina Fly has been going round and round with his local grass carp this summer and finally put his hands on one while incidentally wearing his T.F.M. t-shirt.

Great to see another big fish T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest entry. 

Thomas wrote...  "Lets play a little game of SAT Prep shall we?  Common Carp is to Freshwater Bonefish like Grass Carp is to...Freshwater Permit?  Yep, I said it.  These triploid terrors are more picky than any fish I have ever targeted and have led to more sulking, cursing, and rod throwing then I'd care to admit to.  But sometimes...sometimes you get lucky.  Yeah, it's gotta be the T.F.M. shirt."

While T.F.M. can't take all the credit, I've always said these shirts have a certain mojo to them.

Follow Carolina Fly on the website and on Facebook as well.

Croff Craft Custom Driftboats & Oars

This past July Jason Tucker of Fontinalis Rising invited me on a float with Phil Croff of Croff Craft Custom Driftboat & Oars to toss mouse patterns at night on a northern Michigan river.

When I arrived it was already dark and by headlamp I could see that Phil's drifter was just beautiful and well laid out too.  If I hadn't just meet both Jason and Phil (I didn't want them to rethink the invite and figure I was just to weird) then I would have taken five minutes and taken a few photographs from the tripod to capture in focus photos of the boat in the low light. 

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

I was first impressed with how Phil's driftboat looked but even more impressed how it handled on the river over the course of the night.  We were on a relatively small river with enough corners and weird currents that it would have been difficult for most boats to maneuver during the day let alone in the dark.  Phil's unique driftboat handled it with relative ease.

After the trip Jason sent along a stack of photographs that he had taken for his own blog post which really show off the workmanship of Phil's driftboat and oar builds. 

Croff Craft Custom Driftboats & Oars are built one at a time order by order.  If you have questions or would like to speak to Phil about a possible order please contact him by telephone at  231-330-5762.

The Kodiak Project

LDR Media released a trailer for The Kodiak Project which looks like a hell of a good time.  


The Kodiak Project_Trailer 1 from LDR_Media on Vimeo.

A cool cast of characters, an out of the way location, and epic steelhead conditions make this look more than worthy and it's only half shot. The crew is going back in October to collect more footage.

Follow along on the LDR Media Facebook page as well.

Fish Itch (Finally) Launches

It's been a few months coming but the Fish Itch website officially launched last week with their first online deal and followed it up with a second offering that went up today.

Fish Itch gives anglers opportunity to purchase fishing gear at great prices, with a new product going up every few days, and these purchases will support Recycled Fish with a donation as well.

This video explains the focus of the Fish Itch website better than I can.

Interested?  Follow Fish Itch by subscribing for a once a week email and on Facebook and Twitter too.

T.F.M. Spotting - Bow To The King

As summer has turned to fall the Pere Marquette in Michigan has seen wave after wave of king salmon flooding into the river system with fish over thirty pounds commonplace.

Kevin Morlock of Indigo Guide Service and Third Coast Fly was snapped last week wearing his T.F.M. hoodie while releasing a client's king and sent it in as a submission for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.

The fellows at Indigo Guide Service still have some open dates over the next few weeks if you're interested in booking a trip.

Kineya Tackle Model 301

My thirty somethingth birthday was last week and was further celebrated when a little white box arrived on the doorstep which inside held a Kineya Tackle Model 301 fly reel.

What a wonderful surprise since I had been waiting for this fly reel to be made for quite a few months and it was well worth the wait.

Masatoshi Okui is a masterful craftsman and offers fly reels, fly rods, and a few accessories as well through the Kineya Tackle website.

The Spool Removal Tool may not be totally necessarily but is certainly a neat accessory on to use with these fly reels.

What interesting timing and the perfect match for the Leiderman Rods Kabuto blank build which arrived a few weeks ago.

Visit the Kineya Tackle website along with Masatoshi's Blog for more information and insight into the very excellent work that he is doing.

Christian's Kabuto Rods Build Continues

Christian Hörgren is still working on his white blank Kabuto Rods 8053 build and it looks like he's already made a fly reel change as well since the initial post went up on the build a few months ago.

Besides being quite a fiberglass fanatic Christian also has an always growing collection of Ari t' Hart fly reels.

Grip done and I'm looking forward to see what Christian does next.

Trout Dreams

Brian Schiele, a.k.a. "The Holga Master", is at it again with his plastic toy camera with a new image from a series that he is starting called "Trout Dreams".   

Brian wrote...  "I don’t know about you, but I sometimes dream about fishing, and while I don’t remember a lot of my dreams the ones about fishing are very vivid. They are so vivid that I feel compelled to recreate them as photographs, and using a Holga I able to do so.

My dream photographs are usually a double exposure, in the case of the Trout Dreams photographs they consist of one of the angler and the other of the fish he caught.

I normally try to make two separate photographs of the same scene, making one exposure of the first element and then the other, and then reverse the order of the two elements in the second photograph, but it’s a little hard to do so, I think that this particular photograph the angler was the first exposure.

Since I have this one of a cut throat and second one on my blogsite of a brown, I’d like to do a whole Trout Dreams series with all of the species of trout that are in Utah."

Check out Brian's Blog and Flickr for more images and requests for prints can be ordered through email.

T.F.M. Spotting - Carping With Kids

John from One by One Custom Rods recently sent in this T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest entry of a carp caught while fishing with his nephews at their camp. 

Great to see families spending time together on the water and passing on fly fishing to the next generation.

Check out the One by One Custom Rods page for examples of some high end wrap and grip work as well.

Nomad "Guide Story" Contest Ending

Just a quick reminder that there is still a week to send in your entry for the "Guide Story" contest.  Stories have been streaming in all month and are an interesting mix of broken bones, epic fish, fishermen overboard, and first experiences fly fishing.  

This contest is sponsored by Nomad Fly Fishing and a random winner will receive a Guide Net as their prize.

Just for clarification you DO NOT have to be a guide to submit a "Guide Story".  As with all contests on T.F.M. the focus is on participation and it's no matter if you are a full time guide, parent taking a child, friend taking a friend, or spouse taking their spouse, all stories work for the contest.

The "Guide Story" contest ends at midnight on September 30th, 2011.

WNC Fly Fishing Expo

To my fellow fly anglers who reside in the Western North Carolina area, you may want to pencil in your calendar that the Western North Carolina Fly Fishing Expo will be held November 5th and 6th, 2011 at the WNC Agricultural Center which is across the street from the Asheville Airport.

The weekend will be full of gear to check out, seminars, demos, and more.  

My plan is to attend the WNC Fly Fishing Expo for the day on Saturday and should have a stash of T.F.M. decals if anyone would like a few.  Look for the fellow in the T.F.M. t-shirt and camera.

For more information check out the WNC Fly Fishing Expo website.

Eric's T.F.M. "Double Deuce" Artwork

It started late last year when Eric Hornung of Anti Hero Electric Tattoo emailed to ask if I'd mind if he worked on some T.F.M. inspired artwork?  Of course I didn't but really had no idea what Eric might send.

I didn't have long to wait before Eric started giving me glimpses at what he had in mind.  Immediately when I saw the design it reminded me of a microbrew label and thus the T.F.M. "Double Deuce" was conceived.  

The design coming together.

I really liked the addition of the mayfly and felt that it really completed the design.

The "Double Deuce" was near perfect but the blue sky and clouds had to go.  I routinely work on T.F.M. very late at night and those big mayflies don't dance in the daylight either. 

The final cut of the "Double Deuce" artwork and I dig it a lot.  Thanks again Eric for taking the time to work this out over and over until it was completely right. 

I'm working on a couple possible projects to use with the "Double Deuce" artwork so stay tuned for that.

Follow Eric Hornung on his website and the Art of Eric Hornung Facebook page as well. 

James Deloria's "TraverTried'nTrude"

When walking out of James Deloria's house to head off to a stretch of brook trout water this past summer while on my angling sabbatical to parts all over Michigan, he placed a couple flies that he had tied in my hands and assured me that they would do excellent where we were going. 

What I didn't catch during our short conversation was that James had designed years ago and dubbed it the "TraverTied'nTrude" in honor of John Voelker, a.k.a. Robert Traver, and his much documented brook trout addiction.

Several have emailed and asked for the recipe and James graciously provided the original recipe for this pattern.

"TraverTried'nTrude"
Hook - Mustad 94842 (Or Equivalent) - Sizes 12-16

Thread - Red - Gel Spun 70

Tail - Golden Pheasant Tippets

Butt - 1.5-2mm Red Petite "VeryVelvet"  Vernielle

Rib - Peacock Herl - Palmer Hackled

Body - Lime Green Petite "VeryVelvet" Vernielle 

Legs - Any Small To Medium Rubber Variegated  

Wing - White Calf Tail

Hackle - Olive saddle - Wound/Trimmed Flat Underside

I used the "TraverTried'nTrude" all that afternoon and I can agree that brook trout certainly take note.

James...thanks again for the flies.

Confluence Films - Connect

Confluence Films will soon be releasing Connect, which follows their previous films, Drift and Rise.



I am especially interested in the Japan cut of the film since it features Jim Bartschi from Scott Fly Rod Company angling for native Yamame with fiberglass fly rods with light tippet and miniscule flies.

The DVD release is scheduled for November 4th, 2011.

Three Years And 1,000 Posts

It's well into September and with it The Fiberglass Manifesto has stuck the three year mark and over one thousand published blog posts over that time period.

It hardly seems possible that another year as passed.  I've had a great time over the past twelve months putting content together daily and everything else that T.F.M. entails to keep it running moderately smooth. 

I sincerely appreciate the feedback that I receive through comments, emails, phone calls, and the interaction on the T.F.M. Facebook and Twitter pages as well.

Thank you for your readership and support.

Postscript...the apple pie is courtesy of Mrs. Manifesto who lovingly baked it in celebration of my birthday last week.  If you were wondering...it was tasty.   

Stormy Kromer Waxed Cotton Cap

This past weekend we finally got our first touch of fall here in South Carolina and with the cooler temps arriving I'll be breaking in a new Waxed Cotton Cap from Stormy Kromer.

Cold days on the water can't come fast enough.  I thoroughly enjoy fly fishing through the fall and winter in the mountains and this cap will be a good way to keep my head warm and dry.  

All of Stormy Kromer's products are made in Michigan in their Ironwood factory and this tag sewn into each cap reminds customers of this commitment to produce gear there.

Check out the recently updated Stormy Kromer website which is complete with new products for fall and winter.

Follow Stormy Kromer on their Facebook page to keep up with contests, giveaways, and new products.

JP Ross Eagle Creek Special

It has been exciting to see custom builders introduce and even expand their fiberglass fly rod offerings over the past several years and JP Ross Fly Rod & Co. has decided to not only offer the Reuben Wood fly rod but also a new offering that is called the Eagle Creek Special fly rod.

The Eagle Creek Special is a 6'11" 2/3 weight three piece fly rod which can be built to each person's exact specifications with various options to further personalize each build.

The Eagle Creek Special fly rod is priced at $369.00 and blanks are available for $169.00.

Check out the JP Ross Fly Rod & Co. website for more information.

Follow JP Ross Fly Rod & Co. on Facebook as well for updates and build photographs.

T.F.M. Spotting - Big Nipigon Brookie

Jason Tucker of Fontinalis Rising recently returned from a trip to the Nipigon area where he and his brother fished for big Nipigon brook trout in the Ontario wilderness. 

Jason sent in this T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest submission and video of a large brook trout caught during the day on a mouse pattern while wearing his T.F.M. hoodie.  Though the T.F.M. logo isn't visible in the photograph, it is clearly shown in the video. 

Jason wrote...  "I went with my brother in August to Nipigon in search of its legendary brook trout.  We weren't disappointed.  While we didn't catch a lot of fish, the ones we caught were in the 16-21 inch range, and I broke off one that was at least 5 pounds.  The scenery was incredible, the weather beautiful, we saw bears and moose, and the loons serenaded us every night.  While it's located on Highway 17, Nipigon is still one of those quiet small towns where the locals are friendly, and you can go and lose yourself in the back country.  The standard fly patterns- big sculpin streamers and cone head woolly buggers- weren't producing at all that week and so I used some of my favorite patterns- Au Sable skunks, and mice, to take some pretty nice fish.  I'll definitely be going back."

Check out Fontinalis Rising website for more on the Nipigon trip and other goodness as well.

Carpenter Bros. Fly Reels

Cris Carpenter of Carpenter Bros. Bamboo Fly Rods is offering fly reels that not only compliment the bamboo fly rods that he is building but also available for anyone that is looking to add a classic styled fly reel for their collection.  

Cris wrote...  "These fly reels are made of aluminum frames and delrin side plates.  They have a nice dark champagne gold anodized finish with a fixed classic click-n-pawl drag.  They are available in either LHW or RHW.  These fly reels are 2.85 inches in diameter with a spool width that is 1.18 inches wide and weighs a modest 5.05 ounces."

"This is a collaboration between myself and John Paullus.  John has been working on making a replica of the classic Phillbrook marbelized reels and is almost done.  One nice feature about the Carpenter Bros. reels is that the owner can have their name engraved on the reel for a small fee.  Right now I am giving away a free t-shirt to anyone that buys one.  The price is $475 and also includes a custom made leather "hitchhiker" case for the reel."

Cris Carpenter can be reached through email if you have any questions or inquires regarding these fly reels or his excellent bamboo builds as well.

A Tight Loop - September 2011

The September 2011 issue of A Tight Loop went live this past week and besides looking quite a bit cleaner than the first issue it also contains more video content as well.

Enjoy.

Graywolf Rods Six Piece Yellow Glass

Over the past several months Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods has been working to expand his Yellow Glass Series blank offerings which now include eight foot six piece fly rods in five or six weight.

The Yellow Glass Series are rolled by Mike McFarland and all blanks offered are exclusive to Graywolf Rods.

In my mind this six piece offering may be the ultimate travel trout fly rod since with a tube that measures just nineteen inches it would easily stow in a carry-on or checked luggage for airline travel.

An eight foot five weight bridges the gap of a fly rod that will be comfortable to use on most water a traveling angler may encounter.

Shane completed the first six piece Yellow Glass Series build this week and it is offered for sale on his website.

Please check the Graywolf Rods Blog for more photos and information.  An album has also been uploaded on the Graywolf Rods Facebook page as well.

Kevin's First Fish On The Kabuto

Do you remember the post from earlier in the week of Kevin Stull's eight foot five weight Kabuto Rods build?  Well, he had a chance to get out on the water and broke it in right on a mix of native cutthroat and rainbow trout on the Yakima River.

Kevin wrote...  "Here is one of the beautiful Westslope Cutthroats I landed today on the Yakima River.  We were fishing only dries all day long.   I landed about eight cutthroat and two rainbows with about the same in long distance releases.  What a first outing for my new Kabuto build.  I was using a five weight Wulff Long Belly Line which is a perfect match for the rod."

Officially jealous and that Saracione Mark IV reel looks like the perfect compliment to your build.

Leiderman Rods Tom Morgan Build

There continues to be a lot of anticipation for the Tom Morgan Fiberglass Series blanks to arrive in the hands of those that have placed orders and then for others it's of interest to see how these blanks are being finished out by the various rod builders.

Matt Leiderman of Leiderman Rods is one of several builders who have been scheming their build plan for these blanks since there was first discussion of them several years ago.  This eight foot five weight is the first to leave his shop and arrived in the hands of a pleased customer this past week.

Matt wrote...  "I finally had a chance to finish out a new Tom Morgan blank.  Asthetically speaking, the blanks are quite lovely and really shine in the sunlight.  They have a nice reddish brown color and have much more visual depth than the Winston's I've handled (especially my S.F./Montana 805).
 
This was built for a Fiberglass Flyrodders forum member and friend.  A promise made years ago that if and when Tom got blanks rolling out the door that I'd gladly finish one out for him.

The reel seat is stabilized redwood burl (I went through four or five woods until I finally found one I liked) and the fly rod in general has a bit more flair than I usually do but still pretty subtle."

Quite a sharp build and it's neat to see the weave of the fiberglass lit up in the sunlight.

Visit the Tom Morgan website for more information on the Fiberglass Series.

Matt can be contacted through the Leiderman Rods website to answer questions or to discuss a possible build.

Sage CLICK

While at IFTD last month I mentioned to Kara Armano of Backbone Media that I had a soft spot for clicker reels and would like to review with one of the Sage Click reels if possible.  Kara said she would see what she could do. 

Kara came through and a box arrived late last week which contained a Sage Click IV to play with over the next couple trout trips.

The Click fly reel has what I'd consider a bit atypical drag since it is not internal like most clicker fly reels and instead the clicker touches against the teeth on the large arbor spool to slow it down.

Look for a T.F.M. review as I get some time with the Click IV on the water this fall.

Now to decide which glass fly rod to put it on...

Of Grayling And Brown Trout

While going through an email folder yesterday afternoon I came across a stack of photographs and copy that Christian Hörgren had sent after a trip for grayling and brown trout in his native Sweden a couple months ago.

Christian wrote... "In July two friends and I made a trip to a small stream in midwest Sweden. This water used to be known for it's population of large arctic grayling. The word spread and in 1990's everybody went there. Finally the authorities decided to let the water lie fallow for a few years. Last year it opened to the public again but very few know about this thanks to weak marketing. We decided to give it a shot. When we got there, it took us three days to break the code. We finally found the fish in the bottom of the stream feeding from free living caddis larva and caddis flies in broad daylight."

 
Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR

"The nature is spectacular in this part of Sweden. The moraine terrain is very demanding, both when moving along and wading in the stream. The small size of the water and the fact we could fish dry flies made it perfect for my Larry Kenney 7'9'' four weight. This rod is a fantastic tool for short distance roll casting, which is the best way to explore a water of this size. I also brought my new old friend Orvis Far & Fine 7'9'' five weight. This is a graphite rod but it's a smooth caster and a charming stick. It's considered to be one of the best graphite rods ever and I understand why. Despite it's humble length and weak blank, it has the ability to roll cast large caddis flies over sixty feet. Over here in Scandinavia, people tend to prefer nine footers. Maybe it has to do with our casting tradition and the fact many of our rivers are wide and windy. I have come to the conclusion however that eight foot long is a sweet spot for almost all kind of fly fishing in smaller streams and rivers. It gives you a closer feel to the line, the fly and the fish, and it makes it easier to move and cast. Why make it complicated?"

I really enjoy the content that Christian sends along not only for the locations but also for the fly gear that he uses.  Everything is top notch.

T.F.M. Spotting - Dragonfly Angler

John Wood of Dragonfly Angler was recently caught representing for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest while knocking out yet another order of flies.

John also has his Ford Explorer badged up as well with a Retro Fly vinyl cut and T.F.M. logo decal.  Looks great.

If you are looking for high quality flies look no further than the Dragonfly Angler website. 

Kevin Stull's Kabuto Rods Blank Build

You may remember Kevin Stull's F.H. Paddock build that he did earlier in the year and he has followed that excellent build with an eight foot five weight white blank Kabuto Rods build that he finished last week.

Kevin wrapped this blank with white silk tipped in black and used a black agate stripping guide.  Kabuto Rods provided the hardware, bamboo reel seat, and cork grip along with the blank order.

After finishing the wraps are nearly invisible with the black tipping really show up against the white glass blank.

Kevin...sharp build and certainly a different take on how to finish out one of these white Kabuto Rods blanks.