Monday Morning Lockdown
Another Monday Morning on lockdown here in North Texas, and I would say that besides the obvious mental gymnastics to stay limber, the most strange thing – harkening back to my early childhood – is the losing track of what day it actually is and just how little it really matters now.
The other thing that amazes me is the speed at which these fly operations that have been slow to adapt to my antique ideas of how to put-and-do all these gatherings online. At least five years ago, I was promoting live streaming of fly fishing club meetings – directly to the clubs – as a way to attract people who, like me, hate driving the dangerous DFW roadways, and as a way to attract younger people to the sport. At that time they had no interest. Now? There’s this mad rush to get everything streaming, to find a way to sell with no one in the brick-and-mortars, and basically redefine themselves. Me? I was pushing farther and faster the whole time. My arm aches … patting myself on the back can hurt my casting!
Don’t get me wrong. What’s not to like about seeing the faces of flesh, shaking hands, and the un-buffered (chopped, sliced and digitally diced) jokes with punchlines delivered with perfect timing. So where do WE – you and I – GO FROM HERE?
It used to be for me that streaming live was a function of which platform did it best – YouTube was behind for the longest time, and they were at the front of the pack. We had to use codecs, and jump through a lot of hoops. The great leveler – the phone – changed the landscape just as Bill Gates said it would (Steve Jobs was listening and a bit more nimble though).
There is virtually no limit to the ways to skin this cat now, and only my own technology gets in the way of the ease of streaming. I even see “rigs” that allow for the big time maven market movers to mount several phones to stream to different platforms at the same time. So … why can’t I? I don’t have much to move in the market, but the fresh information made even fresher with your participation. Stand By …
Fly Tying Materials
I don’t know about you, but I am whittling down my white bucktails again (among other things), and I had to put an order in for more of my “secret weapon” hooks (no, I really don’t keep fly tying secrets) the 413 Eagle Claw yesterday. When they will arrive is anybody’s guess these days – all bets are off. I switched to the Mustad 39994 D for a few dozen, but for the LMB’s I feel more confident NOT using a smaller jig hook in a circle.
FLY TYING TIP
There is a great way to put the real finish on your flies, like the Clouser fly which has a premium on durability. Of course finish with a coat of LOON UV Clear Flow, and hit it with your most powerful UV light. Secondly, go ahead and mount those flies on a slit piece of foam and put them on your dashboard, or somewhere exposed to UV light for an extended period. The LOON certainly does not gas-off like the old Clear-Cure-Goo, but that extra time (yes I know the UV rays are mostly blocked by the glass) in the Texas heat and some rays? That’ll do a fly good. Call it vitamin D for a fly.
WHAT TO DO?
So once you have tied hundreds of flies, what next? If you are weathered in, like we are here in North Texas today, be sure to crank up the porn – the FISH porn. Check out Waypoints TV, YouTube and don’t forget podcasts, like the Captain Scott Null – John Lopez Bite Me Podcast. You can thank me later for that little gem. And it’s a gem brought to my attention by friend CSK – where credit is due …
You could also, and I say this with great hesitation as you click off this post in droves, read a book? My stack of books is approaching three-feet high now, and I am waiting to pull my “publish” trigger on my review of the best book I have seen in a long while – “Fly Fishing Austin & Central Texas” by Aaron Reed. I know Aaron is hunkering in place with his family right now, and by my thinking that is a good place to be.
How about building a rod? I never dreamed I would have enough time to actually think of doing such a thing, but since I have had this fancy-schmancy electric rod-wrapping machine for several years and never used it? Yes, I am thinking about it at least! My biggest “problem” is having a space large enough and clean enough to undertake such a task. The videos by Mud-Hole make it look about as difficult as tying a (somewhat complex) fly. Maybe they are leading me down the garden path … wouldn’t be my first walk down that path!
Stay safe! Is anyone interested in a non-medical mask made from fish material? That brainstorm just struck me, and I know someone …
Category: Body-Mind-Soul, Book Reviews, Event Podcasting, Fly Tying, Store Merchandise
