So I Went To The Fly Shop Last Week

and I came home with a few things......

All were "needed" items.  Do I have a problem?  I'm not sure.  

I Love Glass This Much

Just a quick post today about my awesome mail day.  I'm sure it won't come as a shock to anyone that I love fiberglass rods.  I made the switch to glass about three years ago.  Love it.  For me its a perfect fit because I enjoy the vintage glass as much if not more than the newer glass rods.  I really do love hunting for these older rods and finding a bargain.  Anyways, I got another box of swag from Cameron over at TFM.  I'm happy to be rocking some of the new click and pawl stickers.  I do love a good click and pawl reel.  It's even better when it's paired with a vintage rod.

Rainy's DINKS Panfish Diver Bodies

Quite a while ago, we picked up a few packages of the Rainy's DINKS foam diver bodies.  These come in four different colors and, according to the Rainy's site, should be tied on a size 10 Mustad 3366 hook.  For around six dollars you get six bodies to a package.  Working on another special order, we put a few of these together in color combos that are similar to the poppers we sell.

A few pros and cons about these divers.  First up, the cons.  I do not believe they will work on a size 10 Mustad 3366 hook without modification to the underside of the body.  By modification I mean excessive sanding.  I simply do not see how, if you use the recommended hook, you would ensure a proper hook set given the size of the gap between the body itself and the point of the hook.  The below photo should illustrate what I mean.  This diver was tied on a size 8 Mustad 3366 hook.

If you use the size 10 Mustad 3366 hook, the body itself takes up the entire shank of the hook and sits directly over the point of the hook.  The problem remains... making sure a proper hook set can be achieved. You could sand down the underside of the foam body but I don't see why you would want to.  We found that by turning the body around and making it a popper rather than a diver, you open up the gap between the hook point and the body of the hook.  We also switched the hook from a Mustad 3366 to a Gamakatsu B10S stinger hook in sizes 6 and 8.  This hook has a wider gap which will aid in a proper hook set.  Using a larger hook does take away from the whole idea of these being marketed for panfish, though.  Here are two photos showing what the diver looks like on a size 10 Mustad 3366 hook.

Another con, for me and only me, is that there isn't a lot of creativity involved in using these foam diver heads.  We enjoy painting our poppers.  When painting poppers, the sky is the limit in what color combos you can create either through stippling.  These guys currently only come in four different colors which are black, white, yellow and chartreuse.  I would also love to see an olive, orange, blue, red, and cinnamon colored head.  I think that would open up the creativity a bit. 

Pro....these bodies are easy and fast to tie with.  Start to finish, one can make a popper in under five minutes.  A quick and easy fix to filling those gaps in your warm water fly box at the beginning of the season.  The only thing you need to wait for is the glue to dry.  We used marabou for the tails, hackle and round rubber legs.  If you are going to go with a size 8 hook, we would recommend not using the round rubber legs.  There really isn't enough space to add legs if you are using a tail and hackle.  This could be solved by threading the legs through the body but we do not like to do this. As for the eyes, we found that the Montana Fly Company 3mm eyes looked the best on them.  This, of course, is really up to the individual tyer.  Add bigger or smaller eyes depending on your preference.   

Overall, we enjoyed using these and I look forward to fishing them when I can.  If you are looking for a quick, down and dirty popper to make, give these little guys a try.  

Approval

It's no secret that I love panfish.  Depending on my mood they tie (with smallies, of course) for the #1 spot of my favorite fish to catch on the fly.  I really think that they are an underrated fish to catch on the fly.  This has always bothered me given that pound for pound panfish fight just as hard as other bigger gamefish like smallmouth or largemouth.  It was great to see the Year of the Bluegill last year. Hopefully we will see the Year of the Panfish in the near future.  Anyways....I digress.

Based on my love of all things panfish, I tend to seek out and buy those rods that were specifically designed to pursue these marvelous gamefish.  I recently shared some photos and knowledge about my newly acquired Wright and McGill quad solid panfish vintage fiberglass rod.  About two weeks ago, I discovered that there was a particular Shakespeare fiberglass rod on eBay that I had been looking to buy for quite some time.  Between 1956 and 1963, Shakespeare made two different fiberglass fly rods called the Panfish Special.  Both models came in two different lengths which were 6'6" and 7'0.  Both were two pieces and designed to cast a DT4F or L5F.  Truthfully there really aren't a lot of vintage fiberglass rods that are rated for a four weight line.  Upon examination of the listing, I knew I had to have this rod.  HAD TO HAVE IT!  Sadly, I had only recently sworn off eBay for a while.  I had been encouraged to slow down my rod acquiring, eBay searching habit by Melissa... apparently there's a premium on space in my house.  I'm unclear on why we can't just buy a bugger house!  When this guy popped up, I was worried I might not be able to bid on it, due to the aforementioned hiatus.  Thankfully, Melissa knew that I had been searching for quite some time for one of the two Shakespeare panfish models.  She graciously gave me approval to ensure my successful purchase of the rod.  If I am being honest here, some spouses do not understand a fisherman's need or desire to purchase fishing tackle.  To them it all looks the same and functions the same which is funny because shoes seem to be collected on a regular basis.  Maybe we should demand to have a rod for every pair of shoes our spouses own?  Last count of Melissa's collection of shoes put it around 55.  Given that I only have 52 rods, I SHOULD be able to grab three more give or take.  No way in hell that ever happens though right?

Well, the rod arrived today and I am thrilled with it.  This one is the 922 model and it was manufactured in Sept of 1962.  Everything appears to be in fantastic shape aside from a small scratch through the decal.  I can live with that though.  I can not wait to cast it.  A DT4F....for real?  Like I said, not many of them out there from the 50s and 60s.  I'm glad to say though, that this one is now mine and I can't wait to put a bend in it with some panfish.

I big thank you to my wife for almost encouraging a purchase of a fly rod!  Now she'll probably want some more shoes.  HA!

Some Wednesday Fly Goodness

Just a little something to brighten up your Wednesday!

A New Shirt For Little Old Me!

A few days ago I received a box from a dear friend.  I had no idea it was coming.  When I opened it, I was very surprised and excited to see the contents.  Imagine my surprise to see a Bluegill shirt with one of our poppers on it.  I was and I am very honored to have received such a special item.  I really love it.  I posted this photo on Instagram and Facebook and quite a large number of people have already asked for one.  I have urged my friend to start making and selling these.  I'm not sure he will though.  Melissa and I have also talked about some J&M Flies clothing.  Right now though the last thing I need her to be responsible for is something else she has to make.  Maybe in the near future.

Some Stuff That Has Left The Shop Recently

I realize that not everyone follows us on Instagram and Facebook and that's OK.  I wanted to share with you all some of the stuff that has left the shop recently.  We actually finished 214 flies in 24 hours which is a record for us.  I was quite pleased to say the least.  Its hard to believe that all of the flies were spoken for and we have nothing left but I am glad to hear that the people who received them are very happy with them.  We did deliver some flies to Beaver Creek Fly Shop up near Hagerstown, Maryland.  If you are in the area, make sure you shop by very soon.  Last week I heard that the owner only had around 2-6 of each color left.  Craziness for sure.  However, we are very pleased to know that so many people enjoy our flies.  It makes it all worth it.  So, here are some photos of what left the shop recently.  Enjoy and thanks for reading along.  You will be seeing more posts in the future.

Cork Sliders

Cork.  There is just something special about it when you are referring to its use in poppers or sliders.  We recently made a few cork sliders for some customers.  For me, cork is the bomb.  Given that I am a huge vintage guy, cork only makes sense.  It can be hard to work with and hard to find in decent condition.  However, it does take one back to the old days and ways of slinging bugs.  Here are some of the sliders we made for some customers up north.  I have to admit that I am a little sad that I couldn't keep a few of these to try out when I am finally able to fish again.  Well, maybe some day!

Comrade in Action

We got an email from a customer the other day showing our Comrade in action.  We wanted to share these photos with our followers and readers.  Glad to see that people are getting out and using them.  It does make us happy to see what others catch using our flies.