White Poppers

Prior to my injury I was working on some new popper colors. By the way I am still injured and cant work....been two months and no fishing or tying.  Specifically I have been working on a white and black popper.  Here in Maryland during the summer months we get a crazy white fly hatch.  The smallies go crazy over them.  Here are the two different versions.  Which one do you like?

Time To Vote....Please!!!

Well folks its time to vote again!  This time its for Melissa.  She is a finalist in this contest.  The photo we entered is one of Melissa being pissed at me for my lack of planning.  I promised her I would not drop any last minute "things" on her that required money before Beaver Island.  Twelve hours before I was to board the plane, I realized I didn't have anything to wear while fishing.  So, we had to run to the store.  She was pissed.  I would also point out that Cameron was kind enough to remind me to pack early...often.  I didn't listen.  Anyways, please send an email to Cameron at tfmcontests@gmail.com and let him know you are voting for Melissa please.  Thanks~Jeff

http://thefiberglassmanifesto.blogspot.com/2013/09/vote-augusts-finalist.html

Fly Line...How Important Is It To You??

So fly line....does it make the outfit complete?  How important is it?  I recently had a discussion with a friend of mind regarding the purchasing of new fly line.  I have a 4wt rod that needs line.  Right now I under-power it with some 3wt line.  So we got to talking about fly lines and he suggested I look into purchasing some factory seconds fly line.  He explained that they are around 10 dollars a line which is certainly lower then the 50-70 I usually spend on fly line.  This got me thinking a little about fly line in general.  How important is it really?  I must admit that while I do have a fly fishing and tying blog, this is something I have never really thought about.  I am not a gear head by any stretch of the imagination.  Truth be told, I have never really paid attention to rod action or fly lines.  When I first started fly fishing, I tended to just pick a rod, a fly line in the weight to match the rod, and then I hit the water.  It wasn't until much later that I started to really understand the mechanics involved in fly casting and why it is so important to make sure all the components of your outfit fit well together.  Many people I speak with are surprised to learn that there is a difference in cold water and warm water fly lines.  Using the wrong line at the wrong time can be disastrous not only for you but for the line as well.

As technology advances, new fly lines are constantly being introduced.  These fly lines are more specific in their application.  We now have access to fly lines that are specifically designed for Carp, Striped Bass, Smallmouth bass, Panfish, Redfish, etc.  We also have access to fly lines that specialize in streamers, dries, bass bugs, nymphs and such.  Rio, Airflo, Cortland, and SA are all fly line manufacturers that I have used in the past.  Some I have liked and some I have not.  Fishing poppers and throwing flies into a 20 mile per hour wind while at Beaver Island reinforced the importance of a decent fly line.  So my question is, would you buy a factory second fly line?  What if the only difference in the second fly line from the "good" one was line color or a small bump on the line itself?  Thoughts?

No Carp at Beaver Island but My Smallie Won Something!

Back in July I entered the big fish contest that Stream and Brook Fly Fishing has each month on Facebook.  For those that don't know, Stream and Brook Fly Fishing is a guide service based in Vermont.  They have access to water for those that want to pursue brooks, browns, and rainbows as well as large and smallmouth bass and pike all on the fly.  I have had the pleasure of speaking with Brian Cadoret a few times via Facebook and email.  Nice guy.  Anyways, I entered the big fish contest in July with a photograph of the biggest smallie I landed while I was on the carp trip that wasn't at Beaver Island.  I was using a Steffen Brothers fiberglass 8/9wt rod loaded with Rio Redfish 9wt line. My fly was picked by my guide that day, Steve Martinez. It was a small crab pattern that worked like a charm. This fish went 18.5 inches and was 4 pounds. Quite the little piggy. My biggest smallie ever. I asked our fans, followers and friends to please vote for me, which they did.  Much to my surprise, I won!!  Brian contacted me shortly thereafter and told me that I had won Fly Waters Near & Far by Barry & Cathy Beck.  Awesome!

Well I got the book the other day and all I have to say is damn!  This book is amazing.  It has some stunning photographs in it.  The book must weigh like 5 pounds and has over 300 pages with over 400 photographs.  The chapters cover the following destinations: The Beck's home waters, New England, The American West, Alaska, Mexico, The Bahamas, Belize, Los Roques, Venezuela, Patagonia Argentia, The Sea Trout of Argentia, Christmas Island, New Zeland, and Russia. Without a doubt this is a very cool book and I am going to enjoy reading it.  Well maybe not since I will get sad at not being able to fish and/or at not being able to visit these places.  But that's just me!  Thanks to all who voted and many thanks to Stream and Brook Fly Fishing for holding the contest each month.  I do appreciate it.

My Big Fish Entry

What...poppers!!! 

Smallies in the book too!! 

I really want to go out west to fish 

Shipment Of Flies Out The Door

Admittedly, things have been rather slow around here since July.  It was then that I was injured at work and lost the use of my right, dominant, hand.  Since that time, Melissa has had to pick up the slack with the flies.  She is going as fast as she can and I am watching her like a hawk.  Our process takes a while to begin with but now it seems like it is taking forever.  I know the season is going to end soon and I know people want their orders.  Please be patient with us.  For us, this has always been a part time job.  We both have full time jobs and two children (one of whom is special needs).  We put a lot of time and effort into these poppers.  I refuse to sell something that I wouldn't use myself.  We have received many comments from those that have ordered from us before stating how these poppers are better in person, they are little works of art, durable, and extremely well crafted.  We love making these flies but we love it even more when our customers share their catches with us.  This might really be a labor of love.  Rest assured we are still filling orders but please understand they may take a while.  We are going as fast as Melissa can!  HA!

So with all that being said, we sent 5 dozen size 8 poppers to Hunting Creek Outfitters yesterday.  The 5 dozen included Purple Night Stalkers, Fire Tigers, Grey Ghosts, Fish Foolin' Frogs and Retro Lime-As.  If you are in the DC Metro area check Murray's shop out and pick up some poppers while you are there.  The popper season is really heating up now (from what I have read) so get out there and sling some bugs.

Monday Was An Amazing Mail Day!

I am a little late getting to this but I still wanted to share it with you all.  Monday was a most amazing mail day.  I have been talking with Jonathan Marquardt of Badaxedesign recently.  During our conversations, I managed to secure two of his prints.  I have been a fan of his work for some time now.  For those that don't know about Jonathan, I highly encourage you all to check him out.  He was recently featured in American Angler magazine.  He has a Facebook page which can be seen here as well as a website which can be found here.

Jonathan's art is different than most.  He uses linocut printmaking instead of traditional paint brushes.  According to Jonathan's website "Linocut block printing is akin to Japanese woodcuts and intaglio.  I use two gouges to carve the surface of my linoleum covered blocks upon which I sketch reverse images for my final pieces."  I like this style of print.  Each one is special, done by hand, and original.  Jonathan's art is also very reasonably priced which makes it affordable for blue collar fly fishing enthusiasts such as myself.  What's not to like??

I am very happy with my two prints.  I have already been asking Melissa for frames for them. They need to be properly displayed in the tying room.  

Storage for Tying Materials

I'm a fly tyer and as such I like shiny, new toys.  They catch my eye and make me want to buy them. They call out to me saying things such as "buy me!!!!" and "Melissa won't notice!!!!"  How wrong they are...  I am sure I am not alone in my lust for all things shiny within the fly tying world.  I know others have this addiction as well.  I mean, it really can't be helped can it?  How hard is it for you, dear reader, to walk into a fly shop and not walk out with something that you (a) didn't go there to buy and (b) don't need.  You bought it because it looks great and you felt as though you needed it.  At least that's what happens to me.

As a fly tyer, I am always looking for things to hold my materials.  A while back I got an Oasis portable tying station from Melissa as a Christmas present.  I love it although I rarely use it nowadays.  I also received the Oasis Chenille Center as a gift one year from a friend.  Awesome piece of equipment.  I could not wait to load it with chenille as soon as I got it.  Like an idiot, I loaded it with chenille, didn't mark what they were, and then immediately threw out the packaging.  That, however, is a story for a different blog post.  Since I feel the need to have name brand stuff for my tying stuff, I started lusting after the Oasis Hook Hotel.  The problem is I am already on thin ice with Melissa regarding my "outlandish spending" (her words, obviously) and I can't really justify spending $125 with hooks or $80 without them on this fine piece of storage.  Don't misunderstand me, I have nothing against Oasis or their products.  I own a few and like them very much.  I just can't pay that much money for a storage container simply because it is specifically designed for fly tying.

So, I needed some major hook storage but didn't know where to look.  While the family and I were strolling around Walmart, I discovered these in the craft section of the store:

Pardon the feet.  This box contains 52 other, smaller boxes and sells for a solid 10 dollars.  This thing is designed for beading but I figured it could double as something to store the hooks in as well. So I bought a few of them.  Since that time, I have added more to the collection.  I find that they work perfectly for storing hooks.  For me, I write on the outside of the container as to what they are such as wet, nymph, dry, streamer, or warm water.  Looks like this:

Here is a photo of the inside of the container:

Here is a photo of one of the boxes filled with hooks:

One of the things I like to do is to cut the size and hook info out of the package and store it with the hooks (see, I learned a lesson after the Chenille Center).  Some people may prefer to write on the outside of each box or even make labels for them.  I found that there is a drawback to doing it this way.  If you need to change boxes for the hooks, it can be a problem to change the name.  Just something to think about.

Overall I like these containers/boxes,  but there is a con to them.  Sometimes the lids for the smaller boxes are either broken or cease to work over time.  It hasn't happened to me a lot yet but I know it is a possibility.  I am OK with it though as I have a ton of spares and for the price, you can't beat it.