Thomas & Thomas Fly Rod History & Q&A with Tom Dorsey & Mark Richens
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of touring the Thomas & Thomas factory. During the walk through, I found myself getting emotional and I regularly had to fight back the tears welling up in my eyes. At first, I didn’t understand why I was feeling these sad emotions, and then it hit me squarely in the chest, and it became crystal clear. The sadness I was feeling was coming from all the past memories of my peers badmouthing and writing off the Thomas & Thomas brand. It made me think about all the great fly fishermen out there not fishing T&T rods anymore, and it wasn’t because the T&T rods lacked performance or quality, it was rather that T&T no longer carried that “popular appeal” in the eyes of the everyday angler. Walking around with watery eyes, I heard the negative voices saying comments like, “Who is T&T, haven’t they closed the doors?” or “The T&T craftsmanship isn’t what it used to be, and I’ve been burned one too many times by their customer service.” What bothered me most, is all of those negative comments that I’d heard over the years, clearly didn’t match up with what I was seeing in person at the T&T factory. There was an overwhelming pride that was genuinely displayed on the eyes of every single T&T employee. And I thought to myself, “If only the naysayers could be walking in my footsteps right now, they’d understand the real truth about this fly rod company’s journey, and the beauty and uniqueness of its products.”
There’s no question that Thomas & Thomas has lived through some tough years in the past, and many of its loyal customers have suffered from the turmoil created by the company changing hands. That being said, the company and staff deeply regret the tarnish that’s been attached to the T&T name in recent years. Every day that goes by, the T&T staff is working hard to make things right moving forward, and they’re doing it by winning back one fly angler at a time. One thing everybody in the fly fishing industry needs to understand about T&T, is they’ve never changed the quality of their craftsmanship or the philosophy of how they design and manufacture fly rods. And I think it’s equally important that the T&T history and story be told, that way each and every fly fisherman can be educated on the company’s roots, what caused the troubled years at T&T, and where the company stands today. I’m honored to be associated with Thomas & Thomas, and I’m proud of the solid group of employees (all passionate fly fishermen) that are bringing T&T back to the glory days.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Tie The Freak
When your looking for that little something extra to motivate that big Bonefish, you may be looking for The Freak. Bruce Chard shows you how to tie this crazy looking but very effective fly.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Long Shot For Carp
THIS WEEKS SHOUTOUT OFFERS SOLACE FOR THE CARP JUNKY.
“Long Shot” a film by The Fly Collective features two of my favorite Colorado anglers, Erin Block and Jay Zimmerman. Erin and Jay do more than philosophize on the nature of carp fishing in this film, they lay a healthy smack down on some nice Colorado carp. If you are a carp junkie, this film will get you through some cold winter nights.
If you are not familiar with Erin and Jay you should check out there work. The each have their own fly fishing site. Erin’s “Mysteries Internal” is quite possibly the best written fishing site on the web and Jay’s “Colorado Fishing Reports” is a must read for anyone fishing the square state.
Read More »2014 G&G Calendars Arrive and 40% OFF T-Shirt Coupon
It’s been quite a while since Louis and I added anything fresh to the Gink & Gasoline online store. This past year, many of you took the time to contact us about putting together a 2014 fly fishing calendar. We’d like you to know that your requests have been answered, and we’re excited to announce that our 2014 Gink & Gasoline Fly Fishing Calendar is available for purchase. Louis designed and hand picked each of the 13 fly fishing photos used in the calendar, and he also upgraded the print medium so you’ve got top quality from cover to cover. We hope that many of you will pick one of these great calendar’s up for either your personal enjoyment or provide it as a holiday gift for that special fly fisherman in your life.
We’re also currently offering our Gink & Gasoline Inferno Tie-Dye T-shirts at 40% OFF for a limited-time. If you’ve been wanting to tout your support for G&G, here’s your opportunity to do so at a very nice savings. Just enter the Coupon Code: 40TIEDYE
Read More »The Orvis Helios 2, The Big O is Back
EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE A ROD SURPRISES YOU.
I think it’s fair to expect that in over a hundred and fifty years of making fly rods there will be ups and downs. Orvis has seen its share and they get a lot of trash for it but when you look at their record there have been far more good years than bad. I like Orvis as a company. I always have, but I admit that when I picked up the new Helios 2, my expectations were limited.
I’ve owned a few Orvis rods. Some better than others, but it’s been a while since I had one I really loved. I think that’s just changed. My new Helios 2- 9′ 4 weight mid flex is, in my opinion, the best rod Orvis has produced recent memory. I had the chance to fish it for the first time on the Delaware and it proved itself on the first fish.
Most readers will know the Delaware’s reputation as one of the best and most challenging dry fly rivers in the east. It’s well deserved. I fished it with Chris Budro from Orvis and our guide put us on rising fish less than a hundred yards from the launch. My first shot at a Delaware brown trout was not an easy one. A sixty foot backhand cast from the back of the boat to a trout sipping BWOs in the soft current on the far side of a seam.
The only way to get him was to throw a backhanded curve cast, landing the fly downstream of the leader, giving me a good six feet of drift. He was a picky fish but I worked him and he eventually ate. The Helios 2 performed flawlessly, landing cast after cast with delicacy and accuracy. I would not have caught that fish with a lesser rod.
I’ve fished it extensively over the last couple of months. Having had the opportunity to fish it in a variety of conditions I have to say,
Read More »Deneki Outdoors Moves On Under New Owners
A FRIEND TOLD ME ONCE, “IF YOU THINK YOU HAVE A GOOD IDEA, ASK ANDREW BENNETT. IF IT’S A GOOD IDEA HE’S THOUGHT OF IT AND IF IT WORKS HE’S DONE IT.”
It’s now public that Andrew Bennett has sold Deneki Outdoors to Amy and Dan Herrig of Dallas TX. The Herrigs operate several well respected lodges in Alaska, Chile and Baja and for now have no plan to change the operations at Deneki. True to his character Andrew has found buyers who respect the brand, the staff and the spirit of Deneki Outdoors.
I would like to reassure our readers that nothing will change regarding the Gink and Gasoline hosted trips. Our relationship with Deneki remains strong.
Andrew Bennett is a very good friend of mine. I would love and respect Andrew if he had never picked up a fly rod, much less bought a fishing lodge. He is one of those very rare people you run across who combines intelligence and drive with compassion and generosity. He’s a hell of a lot of fun to hang out with and even better to fish with.
Andrew’s decision to sell Deneki Outdoors was a personal one and we will leave it at that. I will tell you this, it was not
Read More »Sunday Classic / Saltwater Fly Fishing: Don’t Get Mad, Get Even
Five long years had past, since I’d last set foot on a flats boat in the Florida Keys. After my previous trip, I had left the keys vowing to not return, until I was a more capable saltwater fly fisherman. Good news for me, a few things were going to be in my favor this time around. First, the five years of time that had elapsed had allowed me to drastically increase my fly casting skills. Second, I wasn’t worried anymore about making quick backhand casts into the wind, to tarpon trying to slip out the backdoor. Third, targets at eighty feet no longer seemed an impossible distance for me to reach, and most importantly of all, I had permanently imprinted in my brain, “Thou shall never set thy hook like a trout fisherman on the flats”. There was no doubt I was going to be much more prepared this time around, but even with all the drastic improvements in my saltwater game, I’d still have to cope with being rusty as hell, and controlling my nerves as 100 plus pound tarpon cruise past me on the bow.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Fly Tying: FlyFishFood
This week’s Saturday Shoutout is for all you fly tiers out there. Flyfishfood.com is a fantastic place to learn about new fly tying materials and a great resource for learning to tie up new fly patterns for both freshwater and saltwater. Best of all, this fly tying website stays fresh with multiple posts a week. If you don’t happen to tie your own flies you can buy fly patterns directly from Fly Fish Food. Check it out and show them some love by visiting their website.
Have a great weekend everyone. Get out there and enjoy the last few weeks before the cold sets in and the rod guides start freezing. Thank you for tuning into Gink & Gasoline.
Read More »The Simms GT Tri-Comp Fishing Shirt
One of the coolest new products I saw at IFTD this year is the Simms GT Tri-Comp fishing shirt.
Apparently, I was not the only one who thought so. The GT Tri-Comp won best in show for its category. And it’s no wonder, it’s an amazing design.
The GT Tri -Comp uses three different technical fabrics for zone specific performance. Surfaces that are heavily exposed to the sun utilize Simms Solar-flex sun protection while areas that can constrict the motion of casting are made of stretch nylon. Cool control panels under the arms are infused with pulverized jade to pull heat away from your body. I don’t know whether to wear this shirt or fly it!
There are lots of other smart design features in the GT Tri-Comp, including one they’re calling the “Louis Cahill feature.” Watch the video to see what it is.
Read More »Fly Fishing Guide Referral Gone Bad
I’ve been very fortunate to have had the opportunity to guide lots of wonderful clients over the years. A large portion of those clients, that I now call friends, originally came to me through referrals from other fishing guides. When I get a client referral from another guide, I always make a point to take extra care of the client, and I do that for two reasons. First, because a referral by one of my peers is an honor, and second, it’s not just my reputation on the line, it’s also the reputation of the guide who recommended my services. The reason I’m bringing this subject up today, is because not too long ago, I had one of my favorite clients ask me to recommend a redfish guide to him for an upcoming vacation with his wife. The only two guidelines he gave me were that the guide needed to be based out of a specific city on the Georgia coast, and he only wanted to focus on fly fishing. I let my client know I’d be in touch with him shortly with a credible redfish guide.
The first thing I did was get on the internet and google redfish guides in the area. One thing that I made sure to steer clear of, were guides that marketed conventional tackle first, and fly fishing gear second. If you’re wanting to book a guide solely for fly fishing, it’s usually a good idea to search out a guide that focuses primarily on fly fishing. In the past, I’ve found out the hard way, that fishing guides that market both types of gear (especially in saltwater and warm-water lakes), sometimes end up keeping the fly gear locked up, and out of reach. I don’t mean this literally, of course, although I’m sure it happens, I just mean those guides tend to push fishing with conventional gear over fly gear, because it’s less technial and easier for them to put clients on fish. So keep that in mind next time you’re looking to hire an inshore saltwater or warm-water lake fly fishing guide.
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