The Fiberglass Manifesto

Gear Envy - Meriwether Field Gear

2012-02-23T07:00:00.000-05:00

A couple weeks ago I came across Meriwether Field Gear via one of their social media pages and am really impressed with their list of artisan offerings which are handmade in Montana.

Meriwether Field Gear carries fishing, hunting, and camping items which they make along with companies such as Filson, Stormy Kromer, and Frost River in their new store front located in Whitefish, Montana.

Check out the Meriwether Field Gear website for more information and follow on Facebook and Twitter as well.

Tenkara Is Not Dapping

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-05:00

There has been a lot of written about the tenkara lately, a lot of it undue drama, but the latest video from Tenkara USA is a well done reminder that you do actually have to cast the rod to make it work.

I am seriously considering both my Tenkara USA Ayu and Iwana rods to the T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program listing. I wonder if I could squeeze Daniel for a few demo lines to use with them? I heartily say to try the tenkara method before you form an opinion on what it is all about.

DL Smith Fly Rods Co. Demo Build

2012-02-22T08:00:00.001-05:00

Dust Smith of DL Smith Fly Rods Co. just completed a James Green E-Glass 7'9" five weight build which will be a part of the T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program.

Dusty's work looks superb and I am looking forward to casting and fishing this build soon.

Check out the DL Smith Fly Rod Co. website for more information on his offerings and build prices.

Click "LIKE" on the Facebook page to keep up with the latest shop news.

Nervous Water Fly Fishers Goes Video

2012-02-22T07:00:00.001-05:00

No thumping music, no fancy editing, just guide Clayton Yee of Nervous Water Fly Fishers getting it done on a Hawaiian flat with his lamiglas fiberglass fly rod on a variety of saltwater species. Do you hear that wind?

Big Bone. Impressive to say the least.

Check out more of what Clay and the crew have been up to on the Nervous Water Fly Fishers Blog.

T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program

2012-02-21T08:00:00.004-05:00

Lately there has been a bit of a windfall of long slender boxes and tubes showing up on my doorstep and I figured that I should explain why so many most excellent fly rods are showing up.

Even before I began writing T.F.M. (Which is going on four years ago...can you believe that?) I had started collecting examples from several of the contemporary fiberglass fly rod builders. I consider many of them to be taper masters and artisans and wanted to own at least one fly rod from as many builders as I could. As the number of fine fiberglass fly rod builders has grown over the past several years this focus has caused my gear allowance account to take a hit more times than I'd like to remember. Collecting examples from a growing number of the most talented builders is an ongoing process.

Fly rods which show up on my doorstep for one of several reasons. Think "Gear Hoarder" with a twist.

First, there are fiberglass fly rod builders that I greatly respect and support with an order and money from my back pocket. Each year I add a couple fly rods to my own collection this way.

Second, some rod shops have sent long term demos which I use and review, take along to presentations, or are sent to someone who is seriously interested in a certain rod maker or taper and borrowing a fly rod for a couple weeks helps make their decision since most of these fly rods can not be found at a local fly shop.

Third, as readership has grown on T.F.M. it has allowed me to add a limited number of quality advertisers to help compensate for the time spent working on this website. From time to time payment for ad space has been paid with a fiberglass fly rod build and usually comes with the agreement that it will be used for the T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program.

Finally, from time to time I have been surprised by a fiberglass fly rod that has been sent as a gift from a builder as a thank you for T.F.M. and how it has exposed new customers to their work. Honestly, it is personally gratifying to know that this website has helped the small shop builders, the blank makers, and the fly rod companies enough along the way to be noticed. It's really a large part of the reason why I started writing T.F.M. in the first place.

In a week or so I'll be posting up "The List" which will outline the library of fly rods which I have available for loan. I believe that the number of fly rods is pushing two dozen with a couple more in the works. Over the past couple years that I have been doing this in a more or less "underground" nature it has been very successful. Besides a cracked ferrule, which was expertly fixed, there have been no causalities or losses.

The T.F.M. Fly Rod Loan Program is just another way that I hope is spreading the word that "Glass Is Not Dead" and that there are some seriously good fiberglass fly rods for anglers to consider.

If you have any questions please send me an email at thefiberglassmanifesto@gmail.com.

T.F.M. Spotting - Marguerite In Fisheye

2012-02-21T07:00:00.001-05:00

Being that it has been somewhat of a mild winter in the Fort Collins, Colorado area it has allowed Matt and Marquerite of Schliske Bamboo to sneak off to their Cache La Poudre River haunts for some blue bird day fly fishing to willing trout.

Matt sent along a few fisheye (he's officially gone sick with this lens over the winter) photos of Marquerite representing in her shirt for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.

Congrats to Marquerite for recently accepting a position with Costa which means the Schliske Bamboo crew will be soon moving to Florida. Fisheye images of saltwater fish caught on bamboo fly rods can't be to far behind.

A Day At SEWE

2012-02-20T10:00:00.001-05:00

Last Friday I was able to start my weekend a little early and jumped down to Charleston to spend the day at the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition. I have wanted to attend this event for several years now and it was good to finally see what it's all about.

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition is a yearly event which features over 500 wildlife artists, photographers, and exhibitors and weekend attendance usually top 40,000 visitors. SEWE is spread out across downtown Charleston and with temps pushing 70 degrees it couldn't have been a nicer day to walk from hotel to hotel to view artwork and photography. Nearby Marion Square Park was set up with food trucks and outside activities for families and outdoor exhibitors.

Created with flickr slideshow.

I was interested to see the artwork that Paul Puckett had on display and also to put a handshake to artist Mike Savlen and his wife who recently moved to the Charleston area. Paul had a mix of trout and redfish pieces up and I especially liked a small oil original of a redfish tail up in the marsh grass. Mike's paintings were a mix of vivid colors of both trout and saltwater fish. It's neat to have watched his style change over the last several years.

The highlight of the day for me was having Paul Puckett hand me the original cutthroat and redfish images that are on this year's T.F.M. apparel pieces. Both of these art pieces will be off to the framer soon.

SEWE was excellent and next year I expect that our whole family will attend since it is a very good excuse to make the short trip down to Charleston for the day.

2011 T.F.M. Spotting Contest Winners

2012-02-20T09:00:00.000-05:00

For the last two weeks votes have been steadily emailed in for the 2011 T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest which was sponsored by the Scott Fly Rod Company.

Twelve finalists battled it out and rounding up their friends, family, and online contacts to send in a vote.

Over 700 emails were sent in and the top three finalists are...

1. JONI TOMICH - F2 FLY ROD OF CHOICE
2. ERIC HORNUNG - BRING IT ON GEAR BAG
3. MIKE GILLEN - CAP/DECALS

Thanks to all that participated in this contest and all that sent in votes. Thanks again also to the Scott Fly Rod Company for their support for this contest.

Christian's Kabuto Rods 7033 Build

2012-02-18T07:00:00.001-05:00

I've told him over and over but until Christian Hörgren of Sweden starts his own website or blog, I'll happily share his ever interesting collection of fly rods and fly reels on T.F.M.

Christian recently finished building on a Kabuto Rods 7033 blank and it couldn't be more striking and different.

Christian wrote... "Some brief comments on the rod. The blank has a soft and smooth action and balances nicely. It can probably be used for both stoneflies and medium sized caddies, not only dries. I own already two other Kabuto fly rods, and I like his blend of bamboo power and a more subtle, progressive Winston feeling."

"I wanted to build this rod in a classic fiberglass style with spiral wraps and an all metal reel seat. This would actually call for a Mildrum Carboloy stripper guide but I decided to go for a red agate guide I found at home. It is hard to make it sparse without making it boring. This is a challenge I always like in rod building."

"I’m very happy with the grip. It's the only part on a pre-built blank where a rod builder really has the possibility to make a design statement, approaching both formal and functional issues. The rest is decoration - or has already been designed by someone else. I wanted a thin grip allowing a deep flex all the way down to the pinkie. Still I wanted a good rest for the thumb, giving power and control when throwing at a distance."

"I would love to learn how to make the hardware all by myself. It will probably take many years from now, but I can live with that. It’s very inspiring to see the works of great custom builders with metal skills, like Matt Leiderman and Tom Pipic."

Check out the previous T.F.M. posts regarding this build coming together from the start.

CHRISTIAN'S NEXT PROJECT
CHRISTIAN'S KABUTO RODS BUILD CONTINUES

I bet Yasuyuki of Kabuto Rods must really be getting a kick out of seeing so many different variations and styles of builds on his most excellent blanks.

One In Winter

2012-02-18T06:00:00.000-05:00

This short film from Ryan Peterson of The Big Pull is well worth your eight minutes.

One in Winter from ryan peterson on Vimeo.

Check out Ryan Peterson's Vimeo page for a few other videos as well.

The Eagle Creek Special Completed

2012-02-17T06:30:00.000-05:00

Yesterday afternoon I came home to find a box on the porch from JP Ross Fly Rod & Co. which contained the 6'11" three weight Eagle Creek Special build that Jordan has been working on for T.F.M. for the past several months.

When Jordan and I started discussing this build he asked me to give him a short list of likes (agate striping guide and feather inlay) and dislikes (no single foot guides or reverse full wells grip) and over the course of the build I was updated on the progress step by step.

I truly consider rod builders as artists and it is always interesting what they create. The work on this fly rod was very well done and everything fit together perfectly from the wraps to the guides to the hardware.

The presentation of this build was especially interesting for all the things that Jordan does when shipping a fly rod with a waxed seal placed on the grip, a hand drawn fly inked on the exterior of the box, and a couple decals placed on the box as a reminder that this product was "Made In U.S.A.". Every precaution was made to ensure that the fly rod would travel safely to it's destination. It's all of these little things that make a fly rod like this so special. This little three weight will certainly see some time on the water soon.

Please check out the JP Ross Fly Rod & Co. Blog for more information and photographs of this build.

I also want to pass along that JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. has three of these McFarland Rods yellow fiberglass blanks in stock and Jordan will give a 10% off discount to anyone who uses the code "TFM" when checking out online.

Contact Jordan by email if you have any questions.

T.F.M. Spotting - Proving James Right

2012-02-17T06:00:00.000-05:00

(After a long weekend in the company of Adam Tsaloff and James Deloria, I can attest that James is very much a talker and story teller. His accounts of the "Old Days" even seemed a bit far fetched at times but these photos and narrative provided by Adam may have me rethinking all of it. Maybe James was spot on all along.)

I have a fishing friend James who is rarely at a loss for words. We have spent countless hours driving around Northern Michigan in pursuit of its many wonderful fishing opportunities. I have listened to James many times talk wistfully about the great fishing he used to have on one of our local Trout streams in the dead of winter. Frankly, the stories sounded like they had grown a bit over time like all good fish tails do.

Created with flickr slideshow.

This year however, was the magic year, the year that the DNR re-opened our local stream for winter catch and release fishing, after a 30 year hiatus. When James excitedly asked me to go the first time, in early December ,I declined. “It sounds cold” was my response, which by the way is my standard response to any camping or extended outdoor activity from late October through early May. James went alone a few times and the pictures he brought back looked like the greatest hits from Hex week. So, what could I do but put on every warm piece of outdoor clothes I had and take the plunge. He said that the fly that worked best was a Finnish hard bodied streamer. He was right. It is amazing how warm you can become when you see a huge dark torpedo bust out of a log jam and head for your offering.

We have spent the winter re-living James spectacular frosty fishing of years gone by. I am now a believer; oh yes a true believer in his accounts of past piscatorial pursuits.

One by One's Casting For Recovery Build

2012-02-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Yesterday One by One Custom Rods sent an email with images from their latest work done for Casting For Recovery along with the story about how it all came together and who now owns this very unique fiberglass fly rod build.

"We were introduced to Casting For Recovery through a relative of mine last year who had told them about our company and the potential for a fundraising project. At the time of our meeting they had already had their annual fundraiser so we agreed to stay in contact to help them out for the 2012 fundraiser. A few month ago we talked about the event and offered to build them a rod themed around their mission. We immediately knew that we had to weave the "Awareness Ribbon" on the rod. Everyone knows what that stands for and would make for a unique addition to the rod."

"My next thought was what rod blank could we put it on? A white Kabuto Rods blank immediately came to mind. What better to work with than a white blank? We wanted a light lined smooth trout rod that would be user friendly so glass was the way to go. I then reached out to Yasuyuki Kabuto and as luck would have it, he had a white 7033 blank that he could sell us. We then chose a darkened nickle silver Struble real seat along with darkened Snake Brand guides with an agate stripper guide to round out the components. We put very simple guide wraps on in the colors we picked from the Casting For Recovery website banner and added a simple cork and burl ring grip. Then after many tedious hours of weaving, first the cross weave under wrap and then the ribbon as an over wrap, we had the project complete. We handed the rod off to Casting For Recovery and they were thrilled."

"The fly rod sold at the auction on Sunday at a local event. It was purchased by a man who has very recently lost his sister to breast cancer. We have yet to talk with him but understand he was very thrilled by the rod and was pretty emotional. Being able to take something we love doing like rod building and use it to help out charity is very gratifying indeed."

Fine work for a worthy cause and I sincerely hope that the gentleman that purchased this fly rod has warm thoughts of his sister each time he takes this beautiful fly rod to the river.

King of the Herd

2012-02-16T07:00:00.000-05:00

More GoPro goodness from Yukon Goes Fishing.

King of the Herd from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

There is a quick T.F.M. Spotting in the video that you might notice as well.

Three Rocks Rods Lemon Drop Build

2012-02-15T11:00:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the past few years of writing this blog it's been really neat to add new builders to the Rod Shops page. It really has been a surprise to me to see an influx of custom builders and fly rod companies resurrect or even add fiberglass to there list of offerings.

I recently added Three Rocks Rods to the Rod Shops page which features the work of builder Buzz Natzke. I spoke with Buzz a couple weeks ago and he passed on that he hopes to spend more time building fiberglass fly rods as they are his preference when on the water. His last glass build was on a FH Paddock Lemon Drop blank which turned out quite nice and really shows off his workmanship.

Buzz wrote... "I recently finished this build for my cousin. I purchased the Lemon Drop blank as a one-piece from Fred Paddock and cut and ferruled it myself using solid fiberglass rod tapered by hand on the lathe. The reel seat hardware is Bellinger and the flared seat is made from highly figured quilted maple with quilted satinwood laminated on the end for the flare. I also embedded a 1937 (the year my cousin was born) Mercury dime in the butt end of the reel seat. The agate guide is from Struble. The guide wraps are Lemon Yellow with Chestnut trims and are both Pearsall's Gossamer silk. I finished it two coats of Threadmaster Lite. My wife embroidered the rod bag."

Check out the Three Rocks Rods website for more information and follow along on the Facebook page as well.

Acadiana Fly Rodders Conclave

2012-02-15T10:00:00.002-05:00

The Acadiana Fly Rodders Conclave will be held in Lafayette, Louisiana on February 25th and I have been busily preparing my PowerPoint presentation on "The Reinvention of the Fiberglass Fly Rod". It's an honor to have been asked to participate in this conclave and I am looking forward to a trip back to Cajun country.

Other speakers for the conclave include Pete Cooper, Jr., Larry Offner, and Ron Begnaud. The featured fly tiers include Diane and Richard Blair, Marc Pinsel, Kyle Moppert, Fred Dupre, Mike Racca, Fred G. Hannie, and Wayne Parmey.

I will have a small booth at the conclave and plan to carry a few dozen T.F.M. t-shirts and decals with me to sell along with a dozen or more demo fiberglass fly rods for attendees to cast. I will be giving away a South Fork Rod Company on piece "Lodge Rod" and a few Eagle Claw Featherlight fly rods to a few random winners.

If you are in the Lafayette area then plan to attend the conclave which will be from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. with the conclave banquet happening that night starting at 6:30 p.m.. If you'd like to attend and need more information please send an email and I can forward the conclave and banquet flyer to you.

This trip was "properly planned" with a couple days figured in for redfish and warmwater fly fishing and may include a chance at a Rio Grande too. I am really looking forward to attending this conclave, presenting, and spending some much needed time on the water as well.

Glass Versus Steel

2012-02-14T09:00:00.000-05:00

Jerry White of StreamSide Tales spent a recent weekend doing battle with a few Great Lakes steelhead on his vintage Shakespeare Wonderod eight weight and recounted his day in the "Glass Versus Steel" post on his website.

Excerpt from the blog post... "The steel finally surfaced showing his colors. The ‘glass‘, was flexed deep into the butt section arcing like a rainbow towards the fish. With a big push of his wide tail and a twist, he turned and dove deep. The Alpha II reel quickly but quietly let out line. Tightly gripping the cork handle I was able to feel the force of the fish pulling and the resistance of the reel drag as the spool spun."

It certainly looks like a very successful day on the water.

Check out the StreamSide Tales blog for more photographs and narrative.

T.F.M. Spotting - Trout Pond Fix

2012-02-14T08:00:00.003-05:00

Jerry Hamon of Small Water Fly Fishing Experience got a quick fix at his local trout pond and sent in this submission for the T.F.M. Spotting Photo Contest.

Jerry wrote... "Okay...so I went to the Waterloo Pond in Denison, Texas and on this trip I took the TFO SG II glass rod. The pond was stocked last month with rainbows by Texas Parks & Wildlife. I was flinging a variation of a wooly bugger tied on a 1/100th jig head in olive green about four feet under an indicator. The fishing started off a little slow and then I found a pocket of fish and it was on. I fished about three hours and CPR'ed approximately twenty-five fish."

This may be the first time I've seen a trout pond complete with a water feature. I guess they really do everything bigger in Texas.

Nomad Fly Fishing Nets Review

2012-02-13T12:00:00.009-05:00

(You may have already read this review in the latest issue of Southern Culture On The Fly but if not check out No. 2 for a heavy dose of the "Dirty South" angling lifestyle.)

A few years ago I was fly fishing out west with a friend of mine and after a tough morning of seeing fish and somehow not connecting with very many of them, Mike finally put a hook in a good sized trout. In the few rushed moments of netting, unhooking, holding, photographing, and releasing this fish, Mike had somehow stepped down with his oversize wader boot on the wooden hoop of his landing net which had been laid on the river floor and it all but exploded. There was a loud crack and when he stepped back we found the layers of teak were terribly splintered and broken. Though Mike tried in earnest to put the net back together again, first with duct tape and then with wood glue, in the end the net was a lost cause. Since then I’ve been quite a bit more critical about the $150 that hangs from my gear bag or bangs around in the kayak.

Photo By Steven Seinberg

For the past six months I have been using a couple of the nets from Nomad Fly Fishing, namely the Guide Net and Mid-Length Net, and overall I have been very impressed. All of the Nomad Fly Fishing nets are constructed from a lightweight composite which is covered with Rivercoat, a green rubberized paint, which aids in grip when wet and these nets feature a heavy duty black rubber netting as well. Nomad nets are completely waterproof and float when in the water. Since these nets are made from a mix of graphite and fiberglass there is no worry about delamination, swelling, or the separating of layers that may occur with a wood net. This composite construction results in a net that is extremely durable yet weighs a single pound or less depending on the model.

There is a lot being said about all the different types of netting used in landing nets these days and the black rubber netting in the Nomad nets is both strong and lightweight at the same time. I also like that these nets have a flat round bottom so that once you’ve netted a fish, and it’s still in the water, that the fish is not cradled on it’s side but can stay upright while you get the fly out of it’s jaw before release. The fish is in a natural position this way and I find the workspace inside the net more usable than other nets that I have used. Less splashing and flopping around means that the fish is back in the drink a lot quicker as well.

Nomad Fly Fishing currently offers three nets in their line up with the Guide Net, the Mid-Length Net, and the Hand Net. All three nets feature the same 13 inch by 18 inch head which really means that one interested in a Nomad net just needs to figure out what handle length they like best. I personally recommend the Mid-Length Net since it is the perfect mix of an extended handle net that I can jam in the wading belt while on the river but is also handy while in a kayak, canoe, or driftboat for scooping a fish from the water with the extended reach. The Guide Net is almost four foot in length and features 27 inches of measuring marks on the side of the handle while the Hand Net is just 26 inches long, of which most of it’s length is net hoop, and is perfect for large fish waters.

If you are looking for a new net seriously consider the offerings from Nomad Fly Fishing. Their nets are lightweight, strong, and have a durability factor that wood just can’t match.

For more information check out the Nomad Fly Fishing website. Follow the latest shop news on the Facebook page too.

Ghosts In The Rainforest

2012-02-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

Randall Clark, a.k.a. "clarkman23", makes good use of his GoPro this past weekend with this stellar film short and puts a few big bends in his Lamiglas eight weight too.

I dig this a lot and glad that Randall kept the music down so we could hear that clicker scream a couple times too.

How it's done indeed.

Leiderman Rods Launches New Website

2012-02-11T07:00:00.001-05:00

The Leiderman Rods website received a needed refresh this past week and with it added new photos in the gallery, updated information and pricing, and a soon to be content filled blog page as well.

I greatly respect the work of Matt Leiderman and very glad to see that he's decided to step his fly rod building business forward. In my opinion there are just a few contemporary builders who do as interesting and high quality of work as he does.

For more information check out the Leiderman Rods website and follow along on the new Facebook page as well.

The Contemporary Sportsman

2012-02-11T06:30:00.000-05:00

The Winter Issue of The Contemporary Sportsman is up and at nearly 300 pages it is quite a lengthy online diversion. Another Saturday morning lost, eh?

CHECK IT.

Mark Yuhina's Trip West

2012-02-10T08:00:00.003-05:00

(For quite some time I have been looking forward to sharing the photos of Mark Yuhina's trip west and when he said that I could use as many images from his Flickr account for a slideshow I ended up taking almost all of them. Mark certainly has his own style with his photo work and I am also a pushover for fisheye photos too. Enjoy.)

Like many east coasters, every summer I spend a couple weeks to fish the western rivers with my good buddy and photographer Bryan Gregson. We have gone through many amazing trips in the past and it all started from the local small Provo River in Utah. Then our fishing ambitions (more precisely is BG's exploring spirits) has grown bigger and bigger until only the unknown fishing condition and backcountry wilderness can quench our expedition appetite. Something that can't be predicted is always more exciting.

To me, traveling is all about the people on the road; fishing is no difference and I enjoy experiencing the local culture as well as the "Regular Joe’s" fishing spots. Those are always perfect for streamside gossip! A great mixture of mutual friends and ideas storming can stretch our fishing spots out pretty far and wide, from no name backcountry creeks to some legendary holy waters like Henry’s Fork. The spirit is just like Bryan’s idea about the exploratory expedition. I think he meant more than locations per se and it includes inside and outside of our mentality of “Where to now?”

Created with flickr slideshow.

During the trip I mostly stayed in Bryan’s house and used TroutHunter as our “Mother Ship”. We fished the legendary Henry’s Fork, and extended our footprints to the Yellowstone National Park and Bozeman area. Few great friends chipped in our trip and really make it quite unique and special for every one of us. As I mentioned before, that people and culture are the center idea of the trip. Good place attracts good people! Ha…

It's worth mentioning that TroutHunter is an amazing place to stay with a lot of good people willing to share information and help you out. This is what I really appreciated during the past few years. I even spent few afternoons doing nothing but just chatting with people in the shop. I sincerely recommend people to give it a try.

One of the interesting highlights during the trip is a fiberglass fly rod that I borrowed from Cameron and Kabuto Rods. The Kabuto Rods 8053 was really great to experience on this trip. The rod is full flex but powerful and absolutely a joy to fish. It remind me the Meiser MKS spey rod a lot. I am here honest to say, if I only can have one fly rod for trout that this is the ONE. So much fun and so beautiful and it handles a variety of fishing conditions well…included the notorious western wind. I have to confess that I fished this rod 90% of the time during the trip and even some excellent graphite fishing buddies (to name a few...Zach, Grizz and Marc) were all impressed by this little “lightsaber” fly rod. There is at one moment, we all abandon our graphite rods and try to sneak out this little lightsaber.

Follow along with Mark Yuhina on his blog FLYINTROPICAL.

DL Smith Fly Rod Co. Retro Build

2012-02-10T07:00:00.001-05:00

Since the introduction of DL Smith Fly Rod Co. a couple weeks ago on T.F.M., Dusty has been busy in the shop, when not working or fly fishing, to complete a TL Johnson Retro blank build.

Red wraps on a light yellow blank is eye catching for sure.

Next up is a James Green Yellow Glass Series three piece 7'9" five weight that will likely become a long term T.F.M. demo fly rod which will be used at upcoming presentations or to loan out to those seriously interested in ordering a fly rod from DL Smith Fly Rod Co. Send an email for details.

Check out the DL Smith Fly Rod Co. website for more information and to see his complete list of offerings with blanks from TL Johnson, James Green, as well as a limited supply of vintage Lamiglas blanks as well.

Pat Cohen's Super Bowl Steelhead

2012-02-09T08:00:00.003-05:00

While you were settled in on the couch getting ready for the Super Bowl, Pat Cohen of Superfly spent the day putting a bend in his 1960's Fenwick nine weight which is matched with a Pflueger Metalist 1495 1/2 fly reel on his first fish of the year.

Talk about getting it done in old school style. Nice work.

Check out the full commentary with more photographs on the Super Fly and The Rusty Spinner blogs.