EMERGER FLY FISHING - On Craft, Design, Build, and On the Water

One of the highlights from being at the Fly Fishing Show in Denver earlier this year was spending quite a bit of time with Chris and Randi Freeman of Emerger Fly Fishing.  After years of trading emails, text messages, and the occasional phone call, it was good to get to know them both better and to hear their plans for the future.  Good gear, and this is some of the best, means so much more when there are good people behind it.  If you follow on Instagram, we hinted at an upcoming collaboration recently that I hope we can share more on soon.  The Retro Fly stamp came out SO good.  

In the meantime, I thought it would be good to share some past T.F.M. posts that tell the story of Emerger Fly Fishing with background to share the process on how their side bags are made, design updates, and then of course, a couple of favorite fly fishing stories from the Driftless where the updated Cameron Side Bag (and Hybrid Wallet) came along for the trip.

THE STORY BEHIND THE CRAFT

CAMERON SIDE BAG MATERIAL PREP & SEW

LEATHER STRAP WORK & THE BIG FINISH

NOTES ON DESIGNING & REFINING PRODUCTS

A DAY IN THE DRIFTLESS WITH A COUPLE OF FAVORITE 3-WEIGHTS

SNAPSHOTS FROM THE DRIFTLESS BUILT TO DISCOVER TRIP

Take some time to visit the Emerger Fly Fishing website and follow on Facebook and Instagram for the latest shop news and updates.

Hardy - Our 150 Years Documentary

When you've been building fly fishing gear since the late 1800's, you know a thing or two.  This short film from Hardy is wonderful.  Press PLAY and enjoy.



Visit the Hardy website for their latest offerings.  I sure wish they'd bring back a glass fly rod...

OAK & OSCAR - While Fish Dials Are Having a Moment...

While fish on watch dials are having a moment, let's remember that Oak & Oscar did it first and their collaboration with artist Tim Johnson continues to create one of a kind watches for owners to cherish that are not screen printed but instead hand-painted one brush stroke at a time under a microscope.

Thier latest is a Westslope cutthroat painted on a black dial Olmsted for an owner to capture memories of fly fishing trips many miles into the backcountry for these wonderful dry fly sipping trout.  

 

Interested in learning more?  Visit these past T.F.M. posts on Oak & Oscar hand-painted dials...
 
A CLOSER LOOK AT THE PROCESS OF HAND-PAINTED DIALS

WATCHING ARTIST TIM JOHNSON PAINT A WATCH DIAL

 

What fish would you have painted on a Oak & Oscar watch dial?  If you ever have questions about an Oak & Oscar watch, consider reaching out with an email.  I would be happy to discuss my experience.

PATAGONIA - Tying the Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun

One of my favorite books from last year was Pheasant Tail Simplicity and the trio of Yvon Chouinard, Craig Mathews, and Mauro Mazzo teamed up again for this Patagonia paperback which is full of stories, techniques, and fly tying recipes with step-by-step instructions.

In this short video, Craig Mathews ties the Pheasant Tail Sparkle Dun.  Press PLAY.  Take notes.
  

Order your copy of Pheasant Tail Simplicity on the Patagonia website or pick one up at your local book store or fly shop.  

Want to jump ahead and watch other Pheasant Tail Simplicity videos?  You can find them on the Patagonia YouTube channel.  

6 Good Reads

Here is a six-pack of articles to start your day.  If nothing else read the first one from John Agricola.  Then read it a second and third time.  He captured something tragically beautiful, with a level of honesty I don't think I could share in my own writing, in his remembrance of our friend, Dave.

CARPICOLA'S COMMON CURRENT - ONE OF THE MOST HONEST THINGS I'VE EVER READ

THE CONTENDER - COGGINS ON THE MYSTERIES OF MEMORIES

FLY FISHERMAN - DAVE WHITLOCK ON TOPWATER SMALLIES

TROUT UNLIMITED - BOB WHITE ON SECRET POND

CHRIS CLEMES - A RIVER YOU HAVE TO EARN

VINTAGE TROUTS JOURNAL - WADERS & WAX: A CURATED VINYL LIST

I hope you enjoyed those articles.  I sure did.

BUFFET SERIES - The Best Hatch in Fly Fishing?

Gilbert Rowley's Buffet Series continues with five stunning minutes of Brown Drakes.  Press PLAY... 
 

Follow Gilbert Rowley on Instagram and subscribe to his YouTube channel.

Before Superfine Glass, There Was Golden Eagle Glass

The story goes that when Shawn Combs was in the hiring process at Orvis, sometime around 2010, he was asked during an interview what project or idea that he'd like to work on in new product design.  He mentioned that he'd like to bring a fiberglass fly rod series back to the Orvis lineup and that suggestion was met with less than positive reaction.  Nonetheless, Shawn was hired and while poking around the Orvis Rod Factory, came across several vintage light line weight Golden Eagle fiberglass fly rod blanks that he had built up.  Over the next few months he spent quite a bit of time with these fly rods and put them in the hands of a few others who, in time, came around to green lighting the idea of a new generation of Orvis Superfine Glass.  

Without Shawn Combs ending up at Orvis, and finding these Golden Eagle blanks, we might not ever have had several new lineups of Superfine Glass.  The old went a long way to usher in the new.  

An early indication that Shawn might be leaving Orvis came early last summer when a package arrived on my doorstop unannounced with several prototypes, including one of these Golden Eagle builds.  He brushed it off as just cleaning out his office, but I wondered differently.  Fast forward a few months and it was announced that he was headed to Scott Fly Rod Company.  He gets a lot of credit for what he accomplished at Orvis, and for good reason.  I'm glad that Superfine Glass is part of his legacy there.

You can find some fun and interesting T.F.M. posts in the archives by searching "Superfine Glass" and "Shawn Combs" which highlight these Golden Eagle builds and the prototyping process of the first and second generations of Superfine Glass.  It was a lot of fun to be part of the process and stoked to have this little 5-weight Golden Eagle build in my own collection as a piece of history.