That was the question, and I guess it has been answered since here we are. For no apparent reason I do not like the word blog so I decided this will be a 'News Feed', but I suppose it still quacks like a duck...
For some time now I have maintained a regular account of what I have been up to with a Facebook page for ACF. That page has housed pictures of events, flies, fishing, and has been a general collection of thoughts as I have time to get them up a few times a week; that site will continue on as it has to date.
My intent for this page is to be a functional sister site to the retail side of the business;
http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/. Here I will be able to explore more pattern designs through discussions and interact with followers in a way not possible on the retail site. To begin with I will ramp up the ACF News Feed by essentially mirroring the Facebook posts, but will be adding a bit more detail about each item or topic as they are posted here. Up to this point all social media has had an expiration date, so my hope is that this Anglers Choice Flies News Feed will provide a place for me to continue to post pictures and interact with customers, friends and followers long after the current FB kick has run it's course.
Thanks for checking this out, and I hope you will be back for more!
-mike schmidt
http://www.anglerschoiceflies.com/
A few Red Rockets that were finished up and sent off today. These are the four most common color combinations. Each has proven themselves successful in different situations, though I suppose a piece of the puzzle is fishing what you have with confidence. The colors are Olive w/Tan, Black, Burnt Orange w/Black, Tan w/Yellow. Looking forward to swimming some of these again myself next week since I have a week off from the shows!
I drove up to Toledo after work on Friday and crashed Greg Senyos place for the evening. Had a feast of a meal and hung out with him and his son. Spent the evening hanging out, going through flies and materials, and finished off watching a movie on fishing in New Zealand for monster browns that should be out some time this year. Long story shot it was absolutely amazing.
Towards the end of the day I pulled out the Pro FlyTyer tubes and played around a bit. The more I tie with them the more I like them. Here is a shot of a back wing Scandi that I tied up with a IC Sub dyed Funky Feather from John McClain. The back of the tube is a little long and will need to be cut down a bit, but I really like the overall effect.
Today I got back to the vice and have been working on orders. One group that held particular interest was a request for mega sized sculpins. I went ahead and tied up half a dozen Conrads that are nine inches long anf an inach and a half wide in the head! Two Daiichi 2220 size 2 with a Beadalon connection; these will be wicked cool in the water.
Getting ready to pack up the shop again to head up to the Huron River Fly Tying Symposium up in Canton MI tomorrow. Got home from work and knocked out a bunch more flies to get in the mail before I hit the road. Also started on an order I will get out on Monday. The flies pictured here are part of that order; they are a 7" version of a Ted Kraimer fly called a Fin Clip...big and meaty. This is a fly best fished on a full sinking line, I like to do so with a SA Long so I have a 50 foot head to help control the fly. Slow down the casting stroke due to wind resistance and bring it back in with short erratic strips between pauses...and hold on.
Took a quick shot of some of the flies I tied up for one of the orders tonight. This particular set is headed east to a guy that is no doubt hoping for some open water to chuck them at soon. With a good range of size and weight this set is begging to be put in a box and walked along the river. Each of these patterns will maintain their profile and allow the fisher to swim them back in either a horizontal or vertical serpentine motion.