In February...

We've started getting our spring tackle shipments and we've got some surprises for you. Monday the Farbanks (think Sage, Rio, Redington) cartons arrived. I let them sit until Tuesday when Gabe came in to work. I had him open the rods first so he could check out the new ONE rod from Sage. Then I sent him outside to cast one of them and when he came back inside this is what he said.

"Wow!" The first thing he noticed it that it was "dead accurate." There was no tip wobble and no target was out of reach. The second thing he said was that he could not remember a five weight casting the entire line effortlessly.

What's new two...

In the next couple of days we'll be getting our initial shipment of Nautilus reels. These reels are machined in Florida of bar stock aluminum with not one shred of plastic on them. We'll be carrying the FWX,  a freshwater reel suitable for saltwater and weighing less than any reel in it's class. The engineers love this reel.

What's New three...

We have a fair number of stoneflies in our local trout streams and while some of them start emerging in January, the activity really picks up in February and March before dwindling in April. These are variously referred to as Winter Stones, Black Winter Stones or Tiny black Winter Stones. Next time you're in the shop take a look at the special nymph dubbings I blended to meet this stonefly activity. They come in dark or light and are blended with real seals fur...very buggy and a terrific addition to your nymph dubbing collection... RT Stonefly Dubbing.

What's New four...

Part of the fun of fishing is the experimentation...new rods, new lines, new flies, new places to fish, new leader designs, etc., etc. This year we're introducing a new hand tied leader body we'll call the Driftless. It comes with a loop at both ends so you can loop it to your line and then loop whatever tippet material you want to it. Imagine switching from dries to nymphs to streamers without tying three or four knots? Imagine a leader with a hi-vis butt to help you detect a pick-up while nymph fishing; no strike indicator required. And the same hi-vis butt section will help you track the drift of your dry fly. And the only knot you need is a double over-hand loop, like tying your shoes. The Driftless Leader Body.

Fly Fish U: fishing classes.

Our continuing ed program for fly anglers or prospective fly anglers has been in full swing for over a year with a full schedule of hands-on classes to get you started or improve your skills. Classes you can expect to see are:

Beginning Knot Tying: learn to rig from the reel all the way out to the fly

Practical Casting I: featuring anchored line casting...roll cast, switch cast, spey

Practical Casting II: featuring aerialized casting...elliptical and pick-up and lay-down

Rigging for Big Gamefish: special knots for pike, musky, barracuda and the like

Leader Construction: part knot tying and a whole bunch of design theory

Advanced Knot Tying: useful alternative knots for rigging

Trout Fishing Schools: four hours on the stream with a guide at your elbow

Fishing Dry Flies: identifying the emergence, choosing an imitation, adjusting leaders

Fishing Streamers: adjusting for depth and drift

Fishing Nymphs: adjusting for imitations, depth and current speed

Fishing Emergers and Soft Hackles: learning to recognize the opportunities

Aquatic Entomology: identifying invertebrates, learning about life history, finding imitations

Bass/Panfish Schools: learning habits and finding the cover

Fly Fish U: fly tying classes.

Beginning Fly Tying: Dry Flies. This three week, six hour class will cover almost all of the necessary techniques while you learn classic dries, hair wings and no hackle styles.

Beginning Fly Tying: Streamers. Besides the basic techniques students will learn to tie streamers, bucktails, buggers and muddlers in this three week, six hour course.

Beginning Fly Tying: Nymphs. In three weeks you'll cover all the immature forms of the major trout food insects plus learn all your basic techniques in this six hour course.

One Nighters: These classes are organized around a single issue and range from tying bass flies to tying winter nymphs to tying all the patterns you need to cover Baetis from the nymph to the spinner.