A friend of mine sent me this photo & I thought I'd share it here. This has to be one of the best ideas I've seen in a while. It's a metal fly box with a flask for a lid!! Talk about a practical piece of fishing tackle!! Here's his version of the fly / flask wallet. While not as fancy, it will get the job done....& it's a heck of a lot easier than sewing secret pockets into your waders!!! Thanks Jim!!
Many of you, like me, were maybe luck enough to get a brand new fly line for the Holidays. Awesome. The anticipation for next season builds as you unwind the old line from your favorite reel & string it up with your new one. You can't wait to cast this line & get into some fish with it.
When that job is finished & you've exhausted a pot of coffee while daydreaming about the adventures you'll have with the new line, you look at your old line with nostalgia. Thanks for the good times, old friend. Wait a minute. Maybe this isn't the end of the line (pun intended). Don't just throw away that old fly line because there's about a million uses for it. In fact, how you use this old fly line is limited only by your imagination. First, you could easily make a lanyard for hanging all your fishing accessories (like clippers, tippet spools, etc) from. Hey, why buy one when you can make a perfectly good one yourself? What else do you have to do in the dead of winter? How about using a length of it to hang your sunglasses from? Are you or someone you know into making crafts? Well fly line can be used for weaving baskets, bowels, etc. How about making a key chain from it. Craft making folks have vivid imaginations. You might be surprised with the ideas they invent for that old fly line of yours. Of course I haven't even talked about the million uses it could have around the home. In the garage or the workshop I'll bet you could find a lot of uses for an old fly line. How about in the garden? I would think that some of the old line strung between two stakes in the ground would make a good trellis for your cucumbers or other vine-growing vegetables to climb up next summer. So maybe it's not so long for that old fly line after all? Before you just throw it in the trash, stop & think about all the things it could be used for. You'll have the pride of being inventive & know that you're doing a good thing by recycling something that otherwise would have ended up in a landfill. How can you beat that? Custom Series rods - like all other rods I make - can be made to order for your specific requests in both function & appearance. Here is one example of a Custom Series rod I recently completed for a good friend & client. Working with them to create the right rod taper & specific aesthetic features, we were able to make a truly unique rod that looked great while meeting the needs of their particular fishing situation.
This rod is a 6'-4" 2 piece/2 tip, made for a 4 weight line. The taper for this rod is unique, as I worked & calculated it to give them the rod action they wanted. This rod featured: -Darker, richly flamed bamboo (slightly darker than my standard rods) -Titanium line guides & tip tops -Blued, or darkened, ferrules, winding check, & reel seat metal. The bluing was done in my shop to get the proper color to match the titanium guides -Custom engraving on the reel seat end cap & slide band -The stone in the agate stripping guide was chosen to match the color of the brown silk wraps -A custom square rod case with personalized inscriptions This rod is just one example of the possibilities you & I can come up with when we work together to make your custom fly rod. Please contact me to discuss what you want your fly rod to be. For those of you unfamiliar with "classical" music, you are missing out on an entire genre of great music. It's not as stuffy or up-tight as you may have been told. In fact, there is so much variety among the genre, that there is something in it for everyone. Franz Schubert was a composer who, it's very safe to say, was a musical genius. He composed many different types of works, especially short little songs for a singer & piano. Below is a video of one of Schubert's short songs. Entitled "Die Forelle", or "the Trout". It is also the basis of a very famous Schubert string quintet. I'm not so sure about the accuracy of the German translation in this video, but It's good enough to be mostly accurate. Here is a simple, pleasant melody that tells the story of the trout & the fisherman. It's a catchy tune, too. So don't be surprised if you find yourself along the stream, tying on a dry fly while humming this tune. Generally I like all things fly fishing. So, when I read this poem the first time I enjoyed it & thought I'd share it with you here. I think we can all relate to it in some way... The Angler's SongAS inward love breeds outward talk, The hound some praise, and some the hawk; Some, better pleased with private sport, Use tennis; some a mistress court; But these delights I neither wish Nor envy, while I freely fish. Who hunts, doth oft in danger ride; Who hawks, lures oft both far and wide; Who uses games, shall often prove A loser; but who falls in love Is fetter'd in fond Cupid's snare; My angle breeds me no such care. Of recreation there is none So free as fishing is alone; All other pastimes do no less Than mind and body both possess; My hand alone my work can do, So I can fish and study too. I care not, I, to fish in seas -- Fresh rivers best my mind do please, Whose sweet calm course I contemplate, And seek in life to imitate: In civil bounds I fain would keep, And for my past offences weep. And when the timorous trout I wait To take, and he devours my bait, How poor a thing, sometimes I find, Will captivate a greedy mind; And when none bite, I praise the wise, Whom vain allurements ne'er surprise. But yet, though while I fish I fast, I make good fortune my repast; And thereunto my friend invite, In whom I more than that delight: Who is more welcome to my dish Than to my angle was my fish. As well content no prize to take, As use of taken prize to make: For so our Lord was pleased, when He fishers made fishers of men; Where (which is in no other game) A man may fish and praise His name. The first men that our Saviour dear Did choose to wait upon Him here, Bless'd fishers were, and fish the last Food was that He on earth did taste: I therefore strive to follow those Whom He to follow Him hath chose. -Izaak Walton The title, "Trout Dinner", says it all. Norman Rockwell was the master of showing traditional American life & I think this one is no exception. I just enjoy looking at it & it really takes me back to my childhood. It's still a common scene in my opinion, as older fly anglers are always generous & willing to share their knowledge, especially with kids.
If you wanted a copy of this for yourself, you can buy it HERE. I know that many fly anglers enjoy smoking a good pipe from time to time. Pipe smoking & fly fishing have gone together since who knows when. Earlier this year, I had the pleasure to make the acquaintance of Mr. Andrew Marks, Pipemaker. He's a pipe maker of handmade briar smoking pipes from Vermont. I'm always amazed at meeting such talented folks like Andrew. His work is fantastic. Having been making pipes since 1969, Andrew Marks is one of the premier pipemakers in the country. In 2005 he was elected into the Pipe Smoker's Hall of Fame, a group which places him in the company of folks like Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln, Ernest Hemingway, Bing Crosby, Babe Ruth, Norman Rockwell, & others. He is truly a highly respected artist in the world of smoking pipes. There are many parallels to what Andrew & I do. For example, you can order a pipe from him from his many different styles & models of pipes, or you can have him make a custom pipe just for you. His talents, experience, & abilities allow him to create a pipe that you envision. All his pipes are made from the finest materials that he has selected & all hand made by him in his shop. Here's what "Pipes & Tobacco Magazine" had to say about him:
"Marks' Pipes smoke like mellow, broken-in briar friends from the initial smoke. It's truly an amazing experience. Be warned. After an encounter with an Andrew Marks Pipe, the discerning smoker will find it difficult to resist seeking out addition Andrew Marks Pipes. They are that good." Pipes & Tobaccos Magazine 'For the Love of Briar' by Bruce Harris. Spring 2007 So, if you're one of those anglers that enjoys a good pipe along the stream or after a day on the water, then please check out the work of Andrew Marks, Pipemaker. The other day I was watching a re-run of "Antiques Roadshow" on my local PBS station in which they appraised a painting by Philip R. Goodwin entitled, "Landing A Beauty." As I've said before, I'm not an expert of art by any stretch of the imagination, but to me this looked like a nice oil painting to hang on the wall. Well, the owner of the painting did not like it at all - nor did anyone in her family. The painting had belonged to her grandfather who passed away in 1918. Evidently, it has been passed around the family ever since. Through the appraiser we learn more about Goodwin. He was born in Connecticut in 1882 & sold his first work at age 11. He started out as an illustrator. He worked for calenders, did advertising, & even illustrated some books. Most notably he illustrated Jack London's "Call of the Wild" & Teddy Roosevelt's "African Game Trails." He did paintings on hunting & fishing, & many paintings that focused on cowboys & western themes. So the appraiser points out some condition issues with the painting like fading colors in spots, a visible line from the stretcher bar, - but nothing drastic is very wrong with the painting. Then the appraiser informs the owner - who absolutely dislikes this painting - that in a retail gallery it would sell for about $125,000. To which the owner replies, "So where is a retail gallery?"
Well, I like it - even if I don't have $125,000!!!!!! As I've said before, I'm no art expert. Of course any art work that incorporates anything fishing related, I find interesting. This work is called "Trout" by artist Jack Beal. Born in Richmond, Virginia in 1931, Beal lives & works near Oneonta, New York. The fish & the rod together on the table is cool, in my opinion. I like the colors in this work as well. Like I said, I'm not an art expert, but it looks like a good catch to me.
Last year a new fly fishing magazine was launched on line. Not that there aren't new fly fishing magazines appearing or disappearing all the time these days, this one is different. Rise Forms focuses on the more reflective side of the sport. Yup, it's a thinkin' man's magazine. But then again, isn't fly fishing a thinking man's (or women's) sport? From the Rise Forms website: "Rise Forms publishes high-quality, literary work that conveys the passion and contemplative nature of fly fishing." The different departments of the magazine include: artwork, books, fiction, poetry, etc. They also offer prizes for winning contests & they're looking for new submissions. Have you always wanted your writing to be published for all the world to read? well, check out their submission guidelines to find out how to get published in Rise Forms. It might be still too cold to hit the streams & by now, you've tied all the flies this winter you'll ever use this spring. So, sit back with your favorite beverage, click onto the Rise Forms website, & enjoy!! |
The Pliant RodNews from the shop of Chris Lantzy, Custom Rod Maker along with industry news, profiles of interesting characters, reviews, history, & whatever else strikes our fancy. Your comments & feedback are welcome. Please email me your thoughts. Celebrating two decades of making custom fly rods!!
leather accessoriesCases, bags, wallets, & other fine leather angling accessories.
See more photos from the rod shop & stream sides!
SEE MORE ROD PHOTOS!!!Please visit my Flickr pages to see even more rod photos including those available for sale, different rod features, & more. I'll be continuing to add photos there, so check it often.
Watch Some Videos!!Take a look into the rod shop & see some rods in living color motion pictures!! Check out my youtube videos.
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