It’s been a busy week. One of those where I’m absurdly grateful for every second of sleep I can get, and have been fueled repeatedly by exceedingly strong cups of dark Irish tea.
That said, it has also been an exceptionally productive week. I’ve been able to wrap the majority of my grant applications, and successfully freaked out the Cascade post office staff when sending out an application dossier to France.
Apparently, I found out yesterday, I’ve also become somewhat of a local celebrity at Tom’s Market in Cascade with the publication of “The People of the Ponoi” in Fly Fusion magazine this week.
Don’t quite know what to say about that one.
I’ve had a nice break from the store, and floated the Missouri Wednesday with Swing the Fly editor Zack, his girlfriend Kelly, and their two dogs Pate and Violet. It was a typical Montana spring day; we had a bit of every kind of weather – calm, wind, clouds, rain and sun.
Zack and Kelly graciously offered to take me along for a day on the river, and I hadn’t quite realized how much I needed a day both on the water and behind the camera.
It was a river day filled with trout, wet dogs and lots of laughter. Productive and relaxing. Thanks, guys!
On Friday, John Arnold of Headhunters offered to pull me out of the shop and head down to do a photo / video shoot with Sweetgrass Rods in Twin Bridges.
That decision, of course, was a no-brainer.
Dave, Luca, Glenn and Jerry at Sweetgrass are bamboo geniuses, and it was fascinating to watch them create rods completely by hand. No machine-filled manufacturing process here. To see the bamboo go from a simple pole to a finished rod is nothing short of amazing. The entire team pitched in to take us through the lengthy process in one day.
As Dave eagerly said, “Cane is cool.”
Speaking from the younger generation in fly fishing, I had always viewed bamboo rods as something of fly fishing decor, a piece to be hung on the wall and admired.
And they are indeed beautiful works of art.
But at the end of the day, these rods are meant to be fished. And fished hard. Used. Loved.
Take a guess at what rod I’ll be throwing at the Craig Casting Club this evening.
