Evie Turns 5 Months

My little "distraction" from fly fishing, turned 5 months old on the 22nd of September and she is halfway to having another birthday (6th month). Evie is growing like a weed and is truly an outdoor sports person. She watches intently when golf, baseball or football comes on the television but she really kicks her feet and wrings her hands ( a sign she is excited), when there is fishing on the tube!

She is balancing and sitting up on her own and she actually started "school" today! She started eating solid food over the weekend and she is geared up for fall weather already. Can't wait till she can go fly fishing with me!

Daddy loves his little "distraction" from fly fishing!

Fly Fishing Fishing in Oregon

Fishing at 4,500 feel Mean Sea Level already presents some problems for a few folks. Add a humidity of 15% and the air is becoming a little strain on your otherwise normal respiratory system. Add the 102 degree outside air temperature and the 48 degree water you are standing in and you have come up with the "Ideal fishing in Oregon scenario." And, so it is in central Oregon in August. In this already extreme fly fishing situation, there was an additional issue that had cropped up - a massive forest fire to the west, that was causing more particulant matter in the air but never-the-less, it was still a pristine fly fishing opportunity.

Make sure you have a great guide along to help out too. It matters when you are guided by a professional in an area you don't know and Rodger Carbone of Carbone's Fly Fishing Guide Service came to the rescue.

While we were fishing for smaller rainbows, I had never fished the Crooked River before and it turned out to be a very worthwhile trip. Rodger knows the lay of the land out there and he also inspired my father-in-law to take some great pictures too. Here are a few of the Crooked River basin near Prineville Oregon.

Fishing just above the dam on the Crooked River, in stained water, which was moving at better than the average cubic feet per minute, made for some tougher fishing but the scenery and the company made up for the lack of cooperating fish!

No matter where we stopped and waded in, you had to take a few minutes and look around to take in the beauty and the scenery. Almost forgot a few times while I was there, what I was doing there!

I think next year, we'll build a new fly reel and name it after the Crooked River. Seriously, the place merits a reel named after it and I am gonna see to it that it happens! Stay tuned!

Switching Spools at Fly Fishing Benefactors

As we evolve in the fly fishing manufacturing business, we find an even more demanding clientel watching our every web page. Like a Phoenix, we are born out of the ashes and have changed the face of the company. We sport a new attitude along with a new logo and a new motto.

Everyone expects a better product for a lower price these days and they will work hard to find a bargain. In July of 2010, Fly Fishing Benefactors will switch spools and put on the heavier line for the heavier haul. In 4+ years of business, we have yet to raise prices on any of our equipment. We actually lowered the price of some of our equipment, while other manufacturers raised their pricing. All the while, we have maintained a constant and ever present customer service base. We are proud to announce a new line of rods and reels for 2010, making this the 4th year in a row where we introduced an new piece of gear. We want to fish our way into our 4th year with much fanfare and excitement. We hope you'll join us.

We are making every effort to continue our support for fly fishing organizations that mutually support our target goals each year. I am sorry to say that we will no longer be a Trout Unlimited Guide and Outfitter and we will no longer be a Federation of Fly Fishers Sponsor. Our mutual interests are not tuned well enough to continue down the paths we have ventured in the past. We will continue to support the Virginia and Georgia TU Trout Camps.

Our primary focus for 2010 and beyond is continued support to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Incorporated, the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and with any luck this year, Casting for Recovery.

We look forward to supporting each of these programs with cash contributions and proceeds from sales of gear we brand and manufacture for these organizations. At the same time, we offer a committment to excellence and customer support to our current and future customers. We work on a reputation and we want to be your fly fishing manufacturing company. We build to satisfy the customer and to support our benefit organizations. Fly Fishing Benefactors - Benefiting the sport of Fly Fishing. We are having our biggest SALE ever at the web store now. Come visit us.

Things that make you forget about fly fishing

As I wrote the title of this blog entry, I had to sit down and think about the statement. Depending on your place in life, the list could be very short or in my case, getting longer. It isn't a question about keeping the list shorter because you love to fly fish, it is but a life problem sorting your priorities and deciding what you do have time for and what you don't have time for. My new addition to the list weighs in at about 11 pounds and is 7-weeks old today. Her name is Evelyn and she is my daughter. To be lucky enough to have been blessed with children is a wonderful thing and yes, my first two boys (who are now men at 22 and 25 years of age) made me forget about fly fishing until they got interested in doing it with me. I look forward to the day when "Evie" (that is what my wife and I call her) asks me how to roll cast in a tight stream and we can both enjoy the experiences of catching limbs, getting bitten by bugs, falling down, getting wet, breaking equipment and all the other wonderful things about fly fishing.


This is Evie giving us her "Serious" look. It is usually a pre-cursor to the first squawk of the "I am fixing to get hungry" look.

This is Evie's "My tummy is full" look. Quite content and also a very sweet and cheerful look.


This is the "Mom and Dad are so happy" look. Evie sleeping peacefully.

When looking at Evie in any one of these poses, it is easy to forget about fly fishing. As it should be! Fly Fishing is one of my most favorite passions and yet, there are a few things that can make me forget about it for a while at least, little Evie is obviously the newest addition to my list but hopefully, she will become the master of the double-haul before her 10th birthday and we can, together, find something that might make us forget about fly fishing for a while, like taking the training wheels off the bike. Is that perhaps too early? Not in my mind at least! : )

PHWFF 2-Fly - The Aftermath

Gosh, I just want to grow up to be Douglas Dear! What a fabulous day at the Rose River Farms. Douglas puts on quite the effort to make the 2-Fly successful and this year, surprise, PHWFF set a new record for fund-raising at the event. They eclipsed the 6-digit mark by raising over $100,000 for the PHWFF program at this year's 2-Fly event! The Rose River Farm is quite a wonderful place and if you have never been there, you absolutley have to book a rod permit for a day and check out the action. Go here to book a engagement at the Rose River Farms. I'll post some pics as soon as I can but the action at the Tournament was fast and furious.

The weather cooperated for the most part and I came home with a "Racoon" sunburn because of my sunglasses. The raffles and the silent raffles were amazing as many wonderful artists and supporters of PHWFF donated items to be raffled off to raise money for the program. After all that to report, the most important thing to talk about is that we were all successful in allowing our wounded veterans to enjoy a day of fly fishing and friendship. Ed Nicholson and crew once again, patched the wounds and allowed for a bit of enjoyment and excitement to come into the world of the participating wounded veterans. One troop at a time, one event at a time, PHWFF is making things a better place for all the vets. Support Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing with a donation or buy the FFB gear that generates a donation to the PHWFF program at our webstore!

PHWFF 2-Fly Tournament

The most satisfying event of the season approaches this weekend. Douglas Dear plays host to the Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) annual "2-Fly" Tournament at his fabulous Rose River Farm. Fly Fishing Benefactors will be there to supply the troops with essential gear and support, along with having our PHWFF gear to sell to the public at the event. There are a host of volunteers there to help with scoring and "officiating" the event, including Steve Moore from SwitchFisher. Please support PHWFF by purchasing our PHWFF gear, including; the Limited Edition PHWFF Fly reel (only 3 left), our three different PHWFF aluminum Fly Boxes, and of course, Rick Pope's TFO PHWFF fly rods. Rick Pope and TFO donate $25 to PHWFF for every TFO PHWFF Fly Rod sold and likewise, we at Fly Fishing Benefactors donate $25 for every TFO PHWFF fly rod we sell, thus doubling the donation to PHWFF.

Virginia Fly Fishing Festival - The Aftermath

Well, the big show of the season is over. The weather was highly cooperative except for the wind but that didn't seem to bother the crowd. The turn-out was great for the 10th anniversary of the festival in Waynesboro with some 1,100 visitors on Saturday. The crowd was substantially smaller on Sunday but no less enthusiastic than the big crowd on Saturday. Steve Englund (Headed Out) came over from Blacksburg for the Saturday schedule and he was running the cash register and selling gear in a matter of minutes. We were glad that he was able to come out and enjoy the festival and hang with us for the event. We met some new friends and were able to visit with the old and a good time was had by all! I think the festival is on the right track and with a little tweeking here and there, will be the showcase fly fishing festival on the East Coast for years to come. We are honoring all the specials from the show on the website for the next week so if you were a little hesitant to get that gear from us you really wanted but were afraid to pull the trigger, come visit us at the FFB Website and partake in the goods now. Soon to have ALL HD videos on our site and then some more soon! So, be on the lookout for those new videos.

Virginia Fly Fishing Festival

The peak of the spring show season brings us to Waynesboro Virginia. Waynesboro is a quiet and beautiful little town, tucked in the corners of the Shenandoah mountain skyline and it plays host to the annual Virginia Fly Fishing Festival. This year is the 10th anniversary of the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and we celebrate in earnest on the weekend of the 17th and 18th of April 2010. Fly Fishing Benefactors (FFB) is a Gold-Level Sponsor for the Festival this year and we are proud to be a part of the festival and the 10th anniversary celebration. Come see us in the vendor tent for all the Festival merchandise, including; Great T-Shirts with prints from the Festival Artist over the years; mugs with the festival logo and the new Virginia Fly Fishing Festival aluminum fly boxes made by FFB. Along with the festival gear and merchandise, FFB will bring all our wares to show and demonstrate as well. We always have specials at the Festival and this year we will have a record number of "Good Deals" at the festival and on the web site for those that can't make the festival in person. We are looking for some volunteers to help us at the festival this year so drop us a line if you are interested in hanging with us that weekend.

NCC-TU - The Aftermath

What a great show in Bethesda this weekend! I commend George Gaines and the staff for putting on a such a wonderful show. We got to meet a few of our newest on-line customers, made a few new friends and customers, and we still got to enjoy the scenery and gear available. Some great raffle prizes and silent auction items were scrambled for most of the day, as well as the premium prizes like kayaks and float boats. Venue for the show is outstanding and even the weather cooperated (rainy) for an indoor event. : )

Now we switch gears as the biggest show of the season approaches. The Virginia Fly Fishing Festival is in about a month (17 & 18 April) down in Waynesboro. I hope to see a lot of you there. If anyone is interested in volunteering for the show to help out, please drop us a line, we could use the help.

NCC - TU Show - Bethesda Maryland March 13, 2010

Hi all! Fly Fishing Benefactors will brave the inner-loop of I-495 early Saturday morning, the 13th of March, to attend the NCC-TU Annual Fly Fishing Show in Bethesda Maryland. We will bring all our usual stuff and the new gear for 2009/2010. We hope to see you there. George Gaines and staff put on one of the best shows around, so make an effort and get out there to see the guests, and fondle the gear!

What does it take to make a gear sale?

Almost every marketing plan has a hopeful outcome. From selling multi-million dollar helicopters (like I do 9-5), to selling $15 fly boxes and $79 fly reels, there is a plan established to be successful. Obviously, the consumer wants the "bestest" for the "leastest." A good marketing plan will no doubt tout that premise. However, what if you find many good products for a very good price? The selection process become complicated again. The real difficult part of making a final choice on a product for a price, is the after sale performance of the item. Now that you decided you'll spend X dollars for this product, will you be happy after the sale?

Consumer Reports (CR) does a wonderful job of exemplifying that "post purchase performance." CR is un-biased and accepts no advertisements from industry. This allows them to play the straight and narrow when it comes to evaluating products. The truth is, they just report on a consumer's "after purchase" satisfaction level.

Generally speaking, these after purchase comments are done by us, the average "Joe Citizen." Not necessarily technically correct or accurate, they are mostly subjective and rarely objective evaluations of a post purchase performance level. This means that some of us consumers do not give an accurate evaluation because of our inability to be objective. For instance, I recently read a review of a HD camcorder on Best Buy, where the consumer pointed out his obvious ignorance, by complaining about the product and giving it a rating of Zero out of 5 rating, because the software was too complicated for him to operate. The camera probably worked flawlessly but the knucklehead making the evaluation gave the camera a zero out of 5 because the software was too hard for him to operate. I would like to guess that the camera probably performed at a 5 and the operator performed at a Zero because of their ignorance. Is that a fair evaluation of the camera? No it is not! CR, does wonders to ensure this problem does not happen when the ratings are published.

CR also does a good job by ensuring that certain evaluation criteria have pertinence to the rating process. Like weight of a camera or camcorder is obviously important if you are looking for being light and portable. Not likely you would care as much if they only made the camera in grey or black. Likewise, if a fly reel was light and carried a lot of extra backing, some people would find that a plus. Balancing the fly reel on your rod plays another important evaluation criteria. However, that the reel is blue, green, or red matters probably little. True, some people don't like shiny with a glint, as it may spook the fish. Aesthetics matter little but are always noteworthy pluses when all the mechanical and practical requirements are satisfactory. It could make the difference on your decision to buy or not to buy the product. We try to make it work great first, then we work on how nice it will look.

At Fly Fishing Benefactors (FFB), we pledge to manufacture a quality product, that will be functional and precise. The product will offer value for the price, and a company promise to work as advertised. Additionally, you won't have to spend a lot of money to get the best value for your dollar. And the best part, after you buy the product, we think you will be extremely satisfied with the performance of our products, thus reinforcing your good choice to buy it. Because , we will not only make the product right, we will make it look good and perform well too! You should have no regrets when you buy a product and we have found that many that have chosen us become repeat customers!

Take a look at our gear reviews and testimonials. The proof IS in the pudding and we are happy to say we have lots of different pudding at FFB! Give our gear a try, we think you'll be very satisfied and come back for more.

VIMEO Account

We are excited here at Fly Fishing Benefactors about the recent "discovery" we made about the site called VIMEO. Our buddy Steve Englund, from "Headed Out" told us how we could upload HD video for our customers to view our equipment and post it on the website or embed the files in our blog. Well, we kinda went crazy in doing so but we have a video for almost every piece of equipment we build and sell now on our website and at our VIMEO site.

Not only can you get a great description of the equipment from the verbiage that is already present to describe the gear, you can also download and save a clear video, that gives you a better idea of the precision, quality, and functionality of our gear. Please make use of this opportunity and let us know what you think and better still, what you'd like to see.

We have a wonderful HD video camera and we are willing to create the necessary videos to ensure our customers get what they need! I don't think the Academy will be worried about us for a while yet. To the right, you can see two of our videos. Now, don't make fun of us yet, we are trying hard to get this right. Until then, let's have some fun with this!

The 2010 Fly Fishing Year

I am thinking that it has been a long time since I even thought about the blog but it seems that some things remain constant. That would be the flat economy. It seems that the economy should have had a great infusion from all the pork and programs to help America but I haven't seen a great impact on the fly fishing business. No matter your political genetics, fly fishing is still an expensive sport that requires pristine water and lots of conservation efforts to keep it that way. We are going to do something different this year on our blog. We will start running some videos and other digital information mainlining so we can try and fit into the 21st Century. We are going to support new programs this year too. The first being the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival. We are a Gold-Level Sponsor for this year's event down in Waynesboro. Please visit the site and also plan on visiting Waynesboro in April for the Festival. We have stepped up our support to Project Healing Waters too. We have a new line of fly boxes for 2009/2010 and they we still give the proceeds to PHW form ever box sale. Additionally, we give $25 dollars to PHW for every TFO PHW Fly Rod we sell. This is in addition to Rick Pope's generous donation of $25 to PHW for every rod sold. So, there is no place else that we know of, where you buy a TFO PHW Fly Rod and PHW gets a $50 donation. Go directly to our PHW Web Page to get more details. OK, let's see if we can get this year started off with a Bang!