Central Lake Fly

04/03/2026

My mind’s been much more focused on baseball than fishing lately with my son’s Little League season approaching, baseball being his favorite sport, and enjoying every second of playing ball with him in the backyard and helping coach his team. I dig vintage baseball equipment almost as much as fishing gear, and starting to play around with restoring it as I do fly rods. Re-laced and conditioned a vintage 1940s-50s Rawlings “Larry Jansen” model lefty mitt tonight. He was a pitcher mostly for the New York Giants 1947-1956.

12/21/2025

MOWA member Jon Osborn penned an excellent profile of Michigan-based Scientific Anglers, including input from fellow MOWA member Erick Johnson, in the latest issue of Trout Unlimited’s TROUT magazine (which was also founded in Michigan).

12/15/2025

I’m fascinated by vintage flies. It’s one thing to see them in a book. It’s another to feel them, inspect them, see how they were tied. And in a collection, how did they complement each other in that angler’s fly box? Of note in this batch that came with a small display box I wanted for my flies - a deer hair Black Drake and two deer hair mice.

12/12/2025

Crunchy blues John Cleveland

12/12/2025

My buddy John Cleveland makes awesome cigar box guitars, and I was lucky enough to get one he made for the Michigan Outdoor Writers Association conference this year. I’ve had some fun with it but finally got an amp from C. B. Gitty Crafter Supply to really make it hum. I see some similarities in cigar box guitars, fly tying, and restoring blue collar bamboo rods from the Depression era. I may expand on that later but for now I’m just having fun making some gritty sounds on this.

12/10/2025

Excellent news for public land, wildlife habitat, and angler access!

Showcasing the DNR: A landmark investment in public land Michigan Department of Natural Resources sent this bulletin at 12/10/2025 01:33 PM EST Share or view as webpage | Update preferences Showcasing the DNR Showcasing the DNR: A landmark investment in public land Over 8,800 acres added to the Pige...

12/03/2025

I’m looking forward to reading this book!

11/30/2025

For sale: Excellent condition South Bend 359, 9’0” 3/2 vintage bamboo fly rod for HDH or D (6wt) line. Likely built late 1940s-early 1950’s. All sections straight and even, windings in great condition. Label intact. I replaced a tip-top winding using original matching jasper silk. It has the “Comficient” style grip with a thumb groove and the dark flaming finish developed by Wes Jordan, who designed South Bend fly rods before taking over the Orvis rod shop. The 359 was South Bend’s “Dry Fly” taper. This rod casts a DT6F line beautifully and is a joy fighting smallmouth bass and panfish. It would make an excellent trout rod for large dry flies and small streamers, as well.

Excellent condition South Bend 359, 9’0” 3/2 vintage bamboo fly rod for HDH or D (6wt) line. Likely built late 1940s-early 1950’s. All sections straight and even, windings in great condition. Label intact. I replaced a tip-top winding using original matching jasper silk. It has the “Comficie...

11/29/2025

Small Business Saturday is a day to shop locally-owned businesses for gifts crafted by hand. (If every day was like this, I suspect we’d have stronger communities and fewer bazillionaires). If you have a fly angler on your gift list, the local fly shop is your best friend.

Fly shops are owned and staffed by local people working hard to live a dream who know the waters, the fish, and the tackle. You don’t have to know much about how your angler fishes: Walk into the shop, tell them what you know (generally where/when your angler fishes or what fish they try to catch) and the shop can help you find perfect gifts within your budget. And when in doubt, we can always use more leaders and flies as stocking stuffers.

For the flies I tie, the only place to get them is at Bachmann's Store in Central Lake. Without a fly shop nearby, I chose Bachmann’s Store because it’s a family-owned business in Central Lake since 1942. They have a little bit of everything from locally-crafted gifts, toys, clothes, sewing supplies, candy, camping gear, and books.

The flies I stock there are a classic variety of trout and panfish dry flies, small streamers for trout and smallmouth bass, and a few large streamers for pike and musky - fish caught locally around Central Lake. They’re all hand-tied with lead-free and mostly natural materials, with many of the patterns originated by northern Michigan anglers. Ask for the printed fly guide to peruse when selecting flies, but don’t worry if you don’t know the name of the pattern. Just pick out a few that look buggy; after all, that’s what the fish do.

11/26/2025

Fly rod for sale:

This 9’0” 3/1 Pioneer bamboo fly rod casts a 6 or 7wt DT line well and is in very good condition except for a slight set in the tip. It has three even length sections, and the varnish and windings are in excellent shape. Its intermediate wraps and components evoke the classic bamboo fly rods of a century ago, but Pioneer rods were made in the later part of the 20th century by Paul Hightower, who had worked at Phillipson. The reel seat appears to be early 20th century Chubb/Montague, so this could be either a restoration by Pioneer of a Chubb/Montague rod, or a rod Pioneer built new using Chubb/Montague components.

This 9’0” 3/1 bamboo fly rod casts a 6 or 7wt DT line well and is in very good condition except for a slight set in the tip. It has three even length sections, and the varnish and windings are in excellent shape. Its intermediate wraps and components evoke the classic bamboo fly rods of a centur...

11/26/2025

Cool old 4/1 7’ bamboo pack fly rod. No maker id’d, but Chubb/Montague reel seat used by lots of trade rod makers in the early 1900s.