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!