My Favorites
The following links are to businesses, individuals, websites, and other resources that am convinced are of special value to most people who find this website on purpose.
www.raptorrodworks.com Jim builds all the rods for Hexagraph, but he is also the preeminent custom rodmaker on the West Coast. He was the rod finisher for Powell Rod Co. when the Powells sold it. That's when he left to start Raptor. This guy is the real deal! He's not cheap or fast, but he's a true artist both in skill and passion. www.davewhitlock.com With the passing of Lee Wulff, Dave and Emily Whitlock became the "first couple of fly fishing" to my way of thinking. The have a relaxed country charm and manners about them born of a life lived in the Ozarks, but they are well-traveled and very intelligent. Emily is a botanist. Dave is, of course, a famous artist. They are both consummate fly anglers and teachers. And Dave is simply a master at the fly tying vise. If you're going to pay money to go to someone's commercial fly fishing school, this is the one. And if you get invited to two or more cocktail parties and the Whitlocks are going to be at one of them, that's the one you go to. Dave's books and videos are available via his website. www.grasshopperproducts.com The Monomaster is an incredibly important environmental tool that every angler should be required to carry and use. And they only cost $12. It is a very small, lightweight, easy-to-use receptacle for waste tippet, leader material, and monofilament fishing line. There is no excuse for dropping waste line into or alongside our lakes, ponds, streams, and rivers. Anglers have been doing this for decades now and you can hardly go anywhere without encountering tangled wads of the trash. Birds, fish, and other animals get tangled up in the stuff and suffer and die needlessly. And it messes up other anglers' fishing, too. Sometimes, that other angler is YOU and you know it! Get one...use it. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
www.rockinglflyfishing.com Jeff W. Loftin can catch trout in a mud puddle with a pheasant tail nymph. If you are going to East Tennessee or Western North Carolina, pack a fly rod and give him a shout. You will be very glad you did!