A Day in the Buff

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Last week on my way home from the CNY Fly Tying Symposium my wife and I stopped at the Bass Pro in Auburn NY. It was my first time in the shop, and I did pretty well getting out without paying too much.

We checked out most of the store and even the fish tank....full of fat fish with all kinds of physical deformities.

The fly shop part of the store was nice and I almost got out without buying anything. The only thing we bought at the shop was a Buff. It's one of those fancy fabric things you see often on people fishing the saltwater flats just before they rob a bank.

Wooly BUFFer

Having worn mine only a few times, I have to say I like it. I often wear a hoodie under my jacket since my jacket doesn't have a hood. The hoodie helps keep my neck and ears warm on the walk in to work from the car. The last few days I've left the hoodie at home and worn the buff. Even worn just around my neck it helped to keep my neck warm enough not to cry about leaving my hoodie at home. I've even pulled it up around my lower face and ears and looked ready to rob the gas station after pumping my gas.

The real (reel) test will be to see how freaking hot it gets when I wear it in the summer time for sun protection.

It cost about $23 at Bass Pro.

JP Ross Fly Rods

By now I'm sure you've heard of JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. but just in case you are hiding under a rock without internet service (wait, then how are you reading this?) let me fill you in.

JP Ross fly rods was started by JP Ross himself after years of owning his own fly shop (which he opened at a young age of 20.) Driven to fish from a young age (often bicycling to the water with worms in tow) he aims to not only build quailty rods, but provide a way for kids to get into fishing at a young age just as he did. Checking out his staff list just a few minutes ago, showed that he's got kids on the list. This can only be good for us old geezers since kids minds are so imaginitive and they can provide some great insight, wether it's on fishing, conservation, or rod design. Not just on the staff, but at the fly tying symposium they dedicate a few tables just for kids to learn how to tie. In addition to the kids on the list, he's got some well known and busy fisherman too. No doubt these guys are helping develop better and better fly rods! Also, check out the blogs on his site for some great fishing stuff.

About the rods. JP Ross offers a nice selection of rods to choose from, too many to note here, but details are on the site. Here's what I will share. These rods are well designed and look amazing. I got to check them out and cast a few and I was impressed. I love the detail that's put into them and the little things like laser engraving or grips with inlays that make these rods really stand out from other companies.

JP Ross Fly Rods will even work with you to bring your rod from average to something that's uniquely yours. Recently they put a beer cap on a grip for a customer, and the results turned out great.

If you own a business and are looking for a gift to give your your employees, JP Ross Fly Rods will work together with you to build rods for the whole group, and even add your company logo to them. (As a side note, if you do get corporate rods from JP Ross, let me know.....I want to work for you!)

....and how about this....JP Ross Fly Rods has an incentive discount. Basically, once you are a customer, repeat business by you gets you a discount, even more of a discount if a friend buys a rod from JP Ross and says that you sent them. Not a bad deal considering none of us can resist owning more and more fly rods.

So, where from here? JP Ross is planning on being at Guys, Flies & Pies in a few weeks so you'll have a chance to ask him directly about his rods, and maybe even check a few out if he brings them. If you're not at GFP, he's no doubt going to be running around the symposium in March and have his rods and maybe even have some of his Blue Line Boats on display! Yes, that's right...he even makes boats!

$50-$100 Nippers: Update

Thanks to Buster Wants To Fish, we now have learned that Abel offers their $50-100 nippers in multiple colors and fish prints.

They look sweet enough to carry every where, not just on the water. (but, they are still $50+)

Check 'em out!

 

 

LINK to Abel

Custom Wooden Reels

This Just In: I got confirmation from John this morning that he will once again be displaying his custom made reels at Guys, Flies & Pies next month! Many people were able to check them out last year before he had to leave, don't miss them this year! 

Custom Reels by John

FYI: The event is 6 weeks away! It's a good time to decide what patterns you need to stock up on and start organizing materials to bring. Might also be a good time to start doing your honey-do list so you can build up some free time for yourself.

TFM Shirt Spotting Contest Announced

Recently I decided that I'm going to try and only buy fishing related shirts...because let's face it, they are just way cooler than any other shirt out there. A few months ago I purchased a shirt from The Fiberglass Manifesto to add to my wardrobe. The cool thing about getting a shirt from TFM is that you then have an opportunity to photograph yourself in the shirt and submit it to the shirt spotting contest. I submitted for November (and not enough of you voted for me, but I'll let that slide for now). Even though I submitted once, I still have the shirt, new photo ideas, and I'm going to submit some more for 2011.


Check out yesterdays post were TFM announced the prize for 2011's contest. Scott Fly Rod Company has offered up a F2 fiberglass rod for the winner. 

There's a few options for you here. The Fiberglass Manifesto is a sponsor of Guys, Flies & Pies and will be sending some coupons for shirts for our raffle. So, you can either order up a shirt today and get in on the contest a few months early, or win a shirt at GFP. Or better yet, do both since TFM offers different styles, colors, and designs. Either way, where else do you get a great shirt that allows you to get into a contest to win a free fly rod. Rumor over at the post on TFM shows that there are only about 500 shirts out there, so your only up against 500 people....which is a small number of people considering there are only a few submissions each month. Get a shirt and get in on the contest!

LINK

Doubling Up The Gear

As some of you know, my awesome wife got me a new (to me) car for Christmas! But, with this new car comes the thought that I need to double up on some of my gear.  Based on the stats I see on the GFP Facebook fan page it appears that most of us are middle aged men, and I can assume many have families and therefore more than one vehicle. So you probably have the same problem in your life. I now have the opportunity to figure out how to store or divide up my gear not only in the "soccer mom" minivan, but also in the "coolest dad on the planet"'s awesome used car!

My daughter got the first test drive with me

First - I think I'll give it some stickers this weekend if the weather gets warm like it has been forecasted. This not only gives me some street cred while on the water, but allows me to find my car in the lot when I forget what it looks like. Hey, we are all old men according to the medicine commercials that show fly fishing, and it's not easy to remember what our wheels look like.

Second - I do have 2 5 weight rods. So for starters 1 rod will go into each vehicle. The downside of that, is I have to decide which vehicle gets my favorite rod, the one I built, and which one gets my Orvis. Fortunately, I should have parts for a new rod coming in January so I will have 3 rods to chose from.

Third - I will have to start tying twice as many flies to fill twice as many boxes.

Fourth - Get a second mortgage on the house to buy a second pair of waders, boots, fly boxes, etc, and a dvd player to watch fishing videos on lunch while in the car to warm back up!

So, do I get another tweed coat or just move the one I have back and forth between the van and car? I'll have to consider my tweed options.

Maybe this concept of dividing up the gear seems a little out there to you, but for me it sounds like the best deal. See, I can always go and swap gear around for an official fishing trip, but with the summer time being so crazy shuttling the kids back and forth places, I often pull over and take as little as 15 minutes to fish a spot, and you can't do that if you are in the soccer mom van and your gear is not.  

Jesse James Reel Company

How about a reel with a spider web frame? The Jesse James Reel Company sells reels made in the style of Jesse James choppers. Take a look and check them out...then order one to be delivered to my house!

LINK: Jesse James Reel Company

Perfect Cast

So, I got an email from Ross Reels and they want to sell me the following product:

The Perfect Cast fly rod casting aid is a comfortable strap that easily attaches to your wrist and secures your fly rod. It eliminates the "loose wrist" problems that plague most fly casters. The casting aid will train you to hold you rod properly and will immediately improve your fly casting distance and accuracy. The Perfect Cast is great to use for both practice and while fishing.

The Perfect Cast fly rod casting aid - Fly casting made easy!

One size fits most.
Price $14.95

Contact your local Ross dealer to reserve yours today! www.rossreels.com

But, I gotta ask....does anyone actually use these things? Sure, I've had the thought to tuck the end of the rod into my shirt sleeve, but honestly I fish in t-shirts more than anything, so I rarely have the chance to try it. Plus, when I read that they wanted $14.95 I thought that's a bit pricey. So, if you want one of these things, check out there site....and if you want one for $10 (sure, still a rip off), let me know and I'll stitch one up for you tonight! 

FTF Shirt Order

Fly Tying Forum is doing a shirt order right now. Will has designed a new back and it's pretty slick!

You also get to pick from a bunch of colors:

Here is the price breakdown
1 Shirt: $17.00 each
2 Shirts: $16.00 each
3 or more: $15.00 each

Shipping
U.S. $3.00
Canada $5.00
All other international $10.00

The shirts are made from 100% preshrunk heavyweight cotton.

So, if you prefer to fish in shirts and ties head over to The Mens Wearhouse otherwise check out the Fly Tying Forum and order up a dozen or two!

LINK

MidCurrent's 2011 Fly Fishing Gear Guide

MidCurrent just posted their 2011 Fly Fishing Gear Guide and it's got some great stuff in it!

The fly tying section has some cool stuff worth checking out.

(I have found the pages load slowly, but worth the wait.)

LINK