Hey there fellow fly addicts. I was recently blessed to continue doing what I love to do(only second to fishing)and received a commission for a trio of custom fly fishing nets for a fellow avid flyguy named, of all things, Noel Trout! Seriously, that’s his real name! He saw the blip in cyberspace that was my net on Moldy Chum. He wanted 3 heirloom quality custom fly fishing nets for himself and his two teenage sons.
He also wanted a very specific set of criteria to be met:
a.) He wanted a bloodwood stripe in the handle of the custom fly fishing nets to signify the blood of Christ.
b.) He wanted a cotton net indicative of a timeless piece of fly fishing memorabilia (as opposed to the rubber fly fishing nets that I offer)
c.) He wanted their monograms on the custom fly fishing nets
He wanted on the custom fly fishing net, the scripture name and chapter with verses, “Matthew 4:18-20.” (It reads: 18)And Jesus, walking by the sea of Galilee, saw two brethren, Simon called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. 19)And he said unto them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. 20)And they straightway left their nets, and followed him.)
d.) He wanted specific woods on the handles
e.) He wanted Sierra Nets integrated magnetic catch system on all of them. (see the video of how it works here)
This has been a great commission to work on and Noel is a great client. Not to mention that I’m sure I’ve made a fishing buddy as well. I got to meet him at the L.B. Fly Fishing Film Tour for the first time.
All finished net pictures were shot on a Nikon D40-FINALLY A GREAT CAMERA THAT DOES WOODWORKING JUSTICE. I am currently borrowing my Bro’s camera and am looking at a Nikon D3100. If anyone has any comments on this, I would like to hear them.
Here are some pics of them along the way…
Setting the inlay of Bloodwood
The handles ready for a hoop
Glue up
Removing excess glue & wood
Pre shaping the handle
Final handle shaping
Shaping complete
Marking the holes
Drilling the net holes
My favorite part- Bringing out the grain
Tying up the lanyards
Tying on the bag
The magnetic catch
The inscriptions
Hope you enjoyed the pics.
BTW, I just received an fantastic opportunity and an invitation to join a show at Silver Creek Outfitters in Sun Valley, Idaho in August. The owner is a fan of hand crafted FF wares, and somehow, I got invited! It's being dubbed a Classic Fly Fishing Festival, and it's on Saturday, August 13, 2011. Some of you might know that I was planning the dream 2 weeker to Montana, Wyoming, Idaho area this summer, but my friend backed out. Now, I'll use this golden opportunity to head up north, do the venue, then go East to stay in Driggs and fish the Henry's Fork. Not a bad deal if you ask me!
Peace
But I might be bias, as a fly fisherman and an old custom woodworker I can appreciate what you are doing. Keep up the good work.
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