ORVIS - 2020 Impact Report

I didn't get a chance to share this on Earth Day but it's still worth a read and scroll through to see what our friends of Orvis have been done over the last year with their 2020 Impact Report.

 

Jump over and give the 2020 Orvis Impact Report and take a look.  There are quite a few links within the page to dive deeper into what and who they are supporting with non-profit organizations and initiatives. 

Visit the Orvis website to see their latest gear offerings.  I'm a big fan of the Superfine Glass fly rods and everything in the PRO Collection is dialed as well.

HUGE FLY FISHERMAN - 6 Day Raft Trip - Part 1

Ben of the Huge Fly Fisherman fame, and a group of buddies, take on the "Yellowstone River" for a multi-day raft, fish, beer, camp, drift, fish, beer, and more fish trip.  He's breaking the trip up in three videos and I'll likely share them since this is a dream trip for me and it's not bad starting your Monday at the office with a thirty-minute escape.

You'll notice Jerms with his #glassisnotdead knit hat keeping his ears toasty and it's got me thinking it might be time to get Rep Your Water working on a third generation T.F.M. knit hat for this fall and winter.  Who's in? 

Check out Huge Fly Fisherman, subscribe on YouTube, and Ben's a fun follow on Instagram too.

SWIFT FLY FISHING - EPIC APRIL PRIZE DRAW

There's just a few days left this month to get your name in for the Epic April Prize Draw where one lucky angler will walk away with an Epic 476 fly rod, Backcountry fly reel, Epic fly line, fly wallet, and hip flask from Swift Fly Fishing.

 

 

Visit the Epic April Prize Draw webpage, enter your email address, click a few boxes, and be sure to follow Swift Fly Fishing on Instagram as well.  

GOOD LUCK!

C. BARCLAY FLY ROD CO. - Resuming Orders

I guess it was a little over a month ago that I shared that Chris Barclay was pausing new orders and after some serious shop time, along with some day trips to his local brookie haunts, he's opening up the books for orders again.  You can read the update on his "Resuming Orders" blog post.

If you've been thinking that you need a C. Barclay Fly Rod Co. fly rod in your life, you're right.  You do.

Last summer I shared the experience of picking up my fly rod from Chris with a day on the water but I need to circle back and share the photos of my Synthesis 68 being built.  I believe that I'll do that early next week, so look for it.

Visit the C. Barclay Fly Rod Co. website to see his latest offerings, start at the top and scroll down through his blog posts, and follow along with shop news of all sorts on Facebook and Instagram. 

RECYCLED WADERS - The Making of the T.F.M. Zippered Stash Bags

I guess it was a couple of months ago now that I was left home alone for the weekend.  I decided to take advantage of the time and did a deep dive into the gear closet working on getting rid of quite a few things that needed new homes.  During this cleanse, I came across three old pairs of waders that either failed or had enough history of falls, scrapes, or leaks to not trust on my next trip.  I tossed them in the corner and continued working.

It had been awhile since I had last talked to Patrick Jenkins of Recycled Waders but didn't want to toss the waders without talking with him first to see if he wanted them.  I sent a text and he answered back with his mailing address and asked if I wanted to do use them for some sort of collaboration.  That spurred a volley of text messages and phone calls where we hashed out a bunch of ideas even down to tweaking the Recycled Waders logo by tucking the Retro Fly where the "A" should be. 

Every now and then I'd get a couple teaser photos with an update on our project and I'm stoked that a box of Recycled Waders X T.F.M. Zippered Stash Bags are in my hands now. 

I added the Zippered Stash Bags to the T.F.M. Store this morning and I thought it would be fun to share a few images from the Recycled Waders shop showing how these were built and with what.  Everything except the thread and zipper has been upcycled from the three pairs of waders (or something else he had in the shop) that I sent and it's certainly neat to see what was worn now gets a new life. 

If you want your own R.W. X T.F.M. Zippered Stash Bag, jump over to the T.F.M. Store and send me an email.  I have three dozen of the stash bags in stock with another dozen or so coming soon. 

Please note these there were made from worn waders and there's going to be variations in each one.  I can give you a color choice of either a green or gray color from the waders they were made from.   

Have your own pair of worn out waders?  Consider sending them to Recycled Waders for future T.F.M. collaboration gear to be made and maybe we can work out a deal on getting something to you as thanks.

Check out the Recycled Waders website and follow along with the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram.

6 GOOD READS

Here's a six-pack of reads to ease you into your weekend from all over the internet...

TROUTS FLY FISHING - COPI'S BAD RUN

PATAGONIA - MR. DUDA ON THE KLAMATH RIVER DAMS

BOB WHITE STUDIO - BROTHERS

TAIL FLY FISHING - HANDICAPPING OURSELVES

FLYLORDS - REMICK WITH A PYRAMID LAKE TUTORIAL

TROUT UNLIMITED - MR. ROMANO ON RIVER ETIQUETTE

TOM MORGAN RODSMITHS - Meet the Team

Who's making your fly rod at Tom Morgan Rodsmiths?  A recent post on the TMR Blog links to eight different team members giving their background and what they do at the shop.  

 

I liked it and figured that you would too.  No one does it all at TMR and it takes a lot of working together to produce some of the finest fly rods being made today in glass, bamboo, and graphite.

 

 

Visit the Tom Morgan Rodsmiths website (there's still time to get in on a summer delivered fly rod), check out the TMR Blog, and then look for the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram. 

SWIFT FLY FISHING - "Color Pop" in Ready to Wrap Fly Rod Kits

Thinking of building a new fiberglass fly rod?  Swift Fly Fishing has made an update to their popular Ready to Wrap Fly Rod Kits which now include a color matched fiberglass reel seat to match the blank of your build.  Snazzy.

The Ready to Wrap Fly Rod Kits are offered for every Epic fiberglass blank from 3-weight to 12-weight.  Lots of winners in the mix with the Epic 686 and Bandit being my forever favorites.

 

If you've never built your own fly rod before, Swift Fly Fishing has quite a few resources on their website to help you along with videos and tutorials.  Don't forget about the Custom Fly Rod Build Book which is available as a free download whether you're building something "Epic" or not.

A couple of other things to pass along...

First, there are some "Special Offers" to take a look at on the Swift Fly Fishing website and second, look for something fun to be announced in the next week that you'll want to toss your name in for. 

Check out the Swift Fly Fishing website and if you ever have questions about my experience with nearly all of the Epic line up, send an email.  I always like talking glass fly rods.
 

NATIVE FISH COALITION - Raffle to Support Wild Fish Projects

Are you familiar with the Native Fish Coalition?  If not, you should be.  Over the last year or so, they have grown with chapters through the northeast and recently, a new state chapter in Alabama with a focus on native and wild fish.

To support their work, the Native Fish Coalition is raffling off a Swift Packlight 7'6" 4-weight which just happens to be one of my favorite four-weight fly rods.  This is a great progressive glass taper and five pieces makes it a snap for travel. 

There will only be 100 tickets sold and you can play for $20 for a single ticket or $50 for three tickets.  A winner will be randomly chosen when all 100 tickets has been sold. 

 
If I remember correctly, a T.F.M. reader was picked the winner during the last Native Fish Coalition fly rod raffle and it would be neat to see that happen again.

Check out the Native Fish Coalition website for more on their work and get your raffle tickets HERE.

HOWLER BROTHERS - World of Gaucho

It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of Howler Brothers and their limited edition Guacho shirts.  I must have a dozen of them on my side of the closet which started with a Dancing Prawn snapshirt and seem to have picked up one or two each season since.  Side note, can you believe that Howler Brothers is 10 years old?

The folks at Howler Brothers have created a neat timeline that they've dubbed the World of the Gaucho which is a fun trip down memory lane and provides some background and history to their unique and limited edition snapshirts.

How many and which Gaucho snapshirts do you have?  Which one is your favorite?

Check out the Howler Brothers World of Gaucho and keep an eye out for some possible contests, giveaways, and other fun centered around these most famous snapshirts.

Follow along on the Howler Brothers website and Instagram for the latest.

MFFC - Fly Fishing with Fiberglass Fly Rods Presentation

While I'm sure we're all a little (or a lot) fatigued with work or school Zoom meetings, I'm trying something new this week with a presentation to the Metropolitan Fly Fishing Club on Wednesday, April 7th at 7:00 EST.  We'll talk fiberglass fly rods and why you should be using them, touch on some history, buyer's guide, what the future in glass holds, and then wrap it up with some Q&A.

I've done quite a few in-person presentations on fiberglass fly rods over the years so we'll see how the slides and discussion work out online.  Maybe I'll put together a T.F.M. swag package for a random or best chat room question.  

Want to tune in?  You do not have to be a Metropolitan Fly Fishing Club member to join in on this presentation and discussion. 

Visit this ZOOM link to attend on Wednesday, April 7th at 7:00 EST.

PAKMULE - The Rollout of 3 New Products

I am a huge fan of of our PAKMULE and PAKMULE Ridgeline, which we use all the time on our 4Runner, Element and golf cart, and if you've read T.F.M. for any amount of time you likely have already read the gear reviews HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE.  Photographs often pop up on my Instagram too.  The PAKMULE has given us so much more room when packing for trips and always having a cooler (or two) accessible is handy as well.  

 

Over the past couple of weeks, PAKMULE has rolled out three new products to further enhance your overbuilt cargo carrier that are all worth a look.  The Decking would have come in handy yesterday as Finn and I were moving dirt and brush from our spring landscaping clean up project to the burn pile.

PAKMULE TAIL LIGHT

PAKMULE DECKING

PAKMULE STIRRUP

Considering a PAKMULE for your summer adventures?  I'm more than happy to answer questions or talk to you more about my experience for the past several years using ours a ton. 

Expensive?  Yes.  Worth it.  Undoubtedly, yes.  I'd file this under "Buy Once, Cry Once" and rock on.

All PAKMULE products are "Made in the USA", there's free shipping with orders over $150, and use code "FLYFISHING" for a free set of MULESTRAPS with your order.

T.F.M. PATCHED CAPS UPDATE - They Have Arrived!!!

UPDATE - For those of you who placed a pre-order, all cap orders have been shipped and I ran the random number generator last week which picked DAVID HALE SMITH as the winner of the Orvis Superfine Glass 8-Weight, Hydros IV fly reel, and Scientific Anglers Amplitude Bass Bug fly line.  Congratulations and thanks to everyone who made this cap order possible.  It's been great to see these show up literally all over the world over the past few days. 

Folks, my "desk area", which is really like half of the great room of our home right now, is a complete mess with two very large boxes full of T.F.M. patched caps from Asheville Promo, two boxes of Retro Fly koozies, shipping supplies, more shipping supplies, a large box full of Retro Fly golf tees, and a batch of T.F.M. decals should arrive tomorrow which will then mean that I can then start packaging up orders. 

So far, my family is being patient about this mess but that could all (quickly) change...

If you placed an order for a T.F.M. patched cap, they are here and will ship sometime later this week.  It's spring break for our children, my dad is coming down to golf with us for a few days, and I figure that I'll work through packaging orders while watching The Masters Tournament each afternoon.

All in all, not a bad week to look forward to.

I couldn't be more impressed with how these caps turned out and Asheville Promo met and exceeded all expectations even down to the woven tags that we cooked up.  Even if you ordered a Comrade cap, there's a Retro Fly tucked away on the inside tag.  I like it.  

I've received payment from nearly everyone who pre-ordered a T.F.M. cap but there are several who I haven't heard from.  Please check your spam folder and let's work out payment and shipping details as soon as possible. 

Whoever I don't hear back from by the end of the week, I'll likely cancel the order so we can move forward with the random drawing for the Orvis Superfine Glass outfit.  Look for a winner to be picked sometime next weekend.

For those who are interested in a T.F.M. patched cap, there are extras but I need to move through the pre-orders first.  If you want to get in line for one, please send an email and I'll contact you back when I am ready to take new orders.

Thanks to the support of everyone on making these caps a reality.  The pre-order exceeded expectations and it'll be fun to have these in the T.F.M. Store.

MB CUSTOM RODS - Marc Builds Himself an Easter Present

I can tell you that after years of being around and talking to rod makers, their own stash of fly rods is typically meager.  Like you'd expect a rod maker to have all sorts of fly rods that they've built for themselves but in reality they are usually talked into selling whatever they've just built to someone else. 

When Marc Beissler posted on his MB Custom Rods Facebook page this morning of his "Easter Present", I immediately asked if I could share.  First, what he said about McFarland Rod Company Spruce Creek blank is totally true and second, his build on this blank is just stunning.  Right down to his perfect script across the blank instead of along it, the color-match agate guide, and wraps that vanish into the yellow of the blank.  I like his throwback style in penmanship and it's so good to see a rod builder treat himself too.

Marc wrote...  "I treated myself with this McFarland Rods Spruce Creek 6' 8“ three-weight blank for this year's small stream fishery.  To be honest, it's one of my absolute favourite tapers from Mike.  This kid handles everything from dries over nymphs to small streamer patterns. 

Every small stream enthusiast should have one in his/her arsenal.  Go and get your eggs now."

 

Check out the MB Custom Rods website, sign up for the newsletter, and follow along on the latest shop news on Facebook and Instagram. 

LAST CHANCE! Watch the Fly Fishing Film Tour This Weekend

Have you checked out the Fly Fishing Film Tour yet?  If you haven't, you should.

Steaming of this year's films ends on Sunday, April 4th at 6:00 p.m. so there is still time to get in on the epic raffles and giveaways from Costa, Simms, and YETI.

Jump over to the Fly Fishing Film Tour website and get your ticket today.

NEW IN THE TFM STORE - Western Birch "Retro Fly" Golf Tees

Just in time for The Masters week to begin, a big box of Western Birch custom "Retro Fly" golf tees arrived and I'm taking orders through the weekend so that your order would arrive before tournament play next weekend. 

Do you really need a batch of 2 3/4" premium dark koa stained hardwood tees with the Retro Fly logo and striped in the Comrade colors of black, red, and yellow?  Maybe not.  But do you want to play your next round on your local muni with a few of these in your pocket?  Hopefully yes. 

 

 

The Western Birch Retro Fly tees are $15 per box and all orders come with a green Retro Fly neoprene koozie and T.F.M. decals.

And, if you think these are a little expensive, please know that $5 of the cost is wrapped up in shipping.  I'm not getting rich of these and just making back my investment.   

The next trip to the post office is Monday so send an email to place your order.  I can take PayPal, Venmo, credit card, and check as payment.

Check out the T.F.M. Store for these and other stellar offerings.