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YAMAME FLY RODS – 5th Anniversary Fly Rod Blank Offerings

by AdiantkuMarch 4, 2021

It’s been really neat to see the list of Fiberglass Fly Rod Shops continue to grow over the years and for many of these builders, their following amongst anglers continues to grow as well. Because of this, they continue to come up with new offerings which is exciting as well.

Nico Vreugdenhil of Yamame Fly Rods is celebrating the 5th anniversary of his shop in Holland and has unveiled a handful of new blanks which are being rolled for him to his specifications by the McFarland Rod Company.

I reached out to Nico and asked if he’d provide some information about these new blanks that are offered and he shared some notes along with saying that due to the coronavirus pandemic, there are a lot of restrictions for him but he’s still able to continue building fly rods in his shop.

THE PURE – 6’6″ 1/2-Weight

“This is

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T.F.M. Patched Caps Pre-Order & Orvis Superfine Glass Giveaway

by AdiantkuFebruary 20, 2021

For years, T.F.M. readers have asked for a brimmed cap and I’ve held off until I could find the right one. I’ve been looking for a cap that would appeal to most everyone in looks and fit but also be comfortable with the durability to last. I believe I’ve found it with these poly quick-dry with nylon mesh hats, and matched with the two-inch Comrade and Retro Fly patches, they look damn sharp. You can keep the brim flat or give it a bend to your liking.

I’ve been wearing these “prototype caps” in the photo below over the past couple months and I’m really impressed. I believe you will be too.

The process of getting this order off the ground is in motion. More Comrade and Retro Fly patches are on order and the woven “GLASS IS NOT DEAD” labels are in the works as well which will be … Read the rest

2021 FLY FISHING FILM TOUR – THE STOKE REEL

by AdiantkuFebruary 18, 2021

Over the last year, we’ve all had to get really good at navigating life through the coronavirus pandemic and the folks at the Fly Fishing Film Tour, along with the many filmmakers featured within this year’s show, have been working hard behind the scenes to make this all happen.

The virtual event is just a few weeks out and the stoke reel was released yesterday to get everyone excited about the 2021 Fly Fishing Film Tour that you’ll be able to watch from the comfort of your easy chair.

From the Fly Fishing Film Tour presser…

“The cast was on point, the hook set was good, the fight was tense, and now… the 15th annual Fly Fishing Film Tour is almost in hand. Featuring exclusive films from the Guyana rainforest to Utah’s Flaming Gorge and beyond, we’ll tell the stories from fun loving steelhead die-hards to Russian oligarchs and … Read the rest

BEN’S OF HOLLAND – New Translucent Amber S-Glass Blank Series

by AdiantkuFebruary 12, 2021

I would have thought that we would have gotten to some sort of end of the road with contemporary glass where there just wasn’t new things. Instead, new ideas, new blanks, new fly rods, new sourcing, and new collaborations continue to abound.

Yesterday, I received an email from Benno Bron of Ben’s of Holland with an announcement of a new series of Translucent Amber S-Glass Blanks that are available through his shop and for customers in the U.S.A., these blanks can be purchased through Graywolf Rods.

Benno is very much into light line glass fly rods and I’ve heard nothing but positive feedback for those who have one of his fly rods or builds on his blanks.

The 7′ three-weight in this series in five-piece has my eye and $155 certainly isn’t too much to pay for a blank with this much thought and experience behind it.

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MCCALL ANGLER – A Different Kind of ‘Fly Fishing Guide School’

by AdiantkuFebruary 9, 2021

Have you ever thought of becoming a fly fishing guide? Are you leaving college soon and thinking about the few decades of your life? Maybe you’ve lived work life in a cubicle and the pandemic has you rethinking what you want to do going forward? Maybe it’s time for a change. Or maybe it’s something you’ve always wanted to do but didn’t know how to do it.

Enter the McCall Angler Guide School.

Think of this as a small group experience to teach you everything that you need to know to begin a career in guiding with instructors with decades of experience. Scroll down to read more…

From the McCall Angler’s presser…

“The best fly fishing guides, the ones that really rise to the top, are the ones that can acknowledge their client’s expectations, the daily conditions and adjust accordingly, on the fly. They

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STRUBLE – A New Beginning and How They Got There

by AdiantkuJanuary 14, 2021

The name Struble should resonate to everyone from hobby fly rod builders, custom builders, and to long standing fly rod companies. They have been on the map for decades and what began in 1974 with Glenn Struble, and continued with Jeffery Pentecost, is now in new hands with Steven Van Winkle (who you may know from Shopkeeper Fly Rods) and his partner, John Smith.

As I was putting this T.F.M. post together, I asked Steven if he had a shop photograph of he and John together and he responded back that “Everything has been such a whirlwind and we’ve known each other forever, I guess we never even thought to take a picture yet.”

I guess that’s a good place to be at when you’ve taken over a heritage shop with a longstanding history of excellence and many exciting developments to come in the future.

There’s a lot … Read the rest

A Walk on the Beach with Vince & Podcast You Should Listen To

by AdiantkuJanuary 8, 2021

My iPhone is full of several thousand photographs and more than a few forgotten T.F.M. posts that I intended to write but never got around to it. Sometimes, like in this post, something recent will spark a memory and I’ll scroll back in my phone to find photographs of a day on the water with a friend.

Ten years ago, I started trading messages with Vince Stegura of Skinny Water Culture on Facebook and that was followed with the odd text message exchange or phone call every now and then over the years. I’ve always admired the community that he’s built with SWC and we finally had a chance to fish together a couple summers ago when I was down in Clearwater, Florida on a work trip.

Vince and I met on a side street south of town and walked out to the beach looking for snook. Like many impromptu

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NIGEL NUNN – Fly Box Holy Grail & Sketching Through a Pandemic

by AdiantkuDecember 31, 2020

It was sometime in March of this year when I saw Nigel Nunn’s inspired sketch “2020 Fly Box” and reached out to him asking if he’d mind sharing that piece and maybe a few others in a T.F.M. post. He agreed but said he was pretty busy at the moment and when I circled back on our email conversation the other day, he said that he had a story to tell now that brings even deeper value to this sketch and his others.

Longtime readers should know that I have a real soft spot for artists and Nigel’s work is just so fun with a style that slightly cartoons the realisms of a hand-tied fly. It’s great to hear that he’s been well through the pandemic, his eyes are working again, and he’s back at the vise too with his sketch book nearby.

A little voice inside my

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Jeff Kennedy on the Retro Fly

by AdiantkuDecember 24, 2020

The other day, artist Jeff Kennedy posted the Retro Fly template art on his Facebook page that he created years ago while on his Drawing Flies 365 bender. I thought it would be neat to get take on what inspired it and I don’t think either of us anticipated all the different places over the world that the Retro Fly would pop up when he said that I could use the design as a logo for The Fiberglass Manifesto.

I have long appreciated his generosity in being able to use this piece of art over the years and want to say thank you again.

Jeff wrote… “I am a product of the 60’s and 70″s. No internet. No computers. Do not get the wrong impression, I am not a Luddite. Actually quite the opposite. I rely on my computer, 32” Wacom Cintiq Pro drawing display and an iPad

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GRAYWOLF RODS – Steffen Brothers "Milestone Trio" Builds

by AdiantkuDecember 19, 2020

One of the neat things about writing The Fiberglass Manifesto is that I get to talk to a lot builders that are listed on the Fiberglass Fly Rod Makers page and over the summer, Shane Gray of Graywolf Rods mentioned that he was approaching 1,000 numbered fiberglass rod builds that have come out of his shop over the years.

He went on to talk about trying to make this build even more special by handpicking three favorite Steffen Brothers blanks and creating a set with builds which would be numbered #900, #950, and #1,000 that would be offered as a trio. We talked about chronicling these builds with a T.F.M. post and maybe rolling it out on both of our websites on the same morning.

Fast forward to 7:30 a.m. (I worked until 3:00 a.m. and was already up) this morning and this post was supposed to be synced with

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Category: Animal Fish