Choosing one product for my Monday “Smash & Grab Award” (the prize that goes to the product I most want to steal from the floor of the FFR show) isn’t easy.

There are always a few fly rods and reels that are grab-worthy, and for that matter, some interesting accessories too (not to mention a few booth babes).

Still, today’s runner up is unusual in that I actually did spirit one away from the hall — the Fall 2007 issue of the Drake.

For those not familiar with The Drake, it’s fast becoming the fly fishing magazine for those of us who fish instead of worrying if our vest matches our sunglasses.

Like any publication with an edge, you don’t always buy into the attitude, but give Tom Bie credit — the thing’s always been about quality.

And yes, Bie saw fit to recognize my own singular genius by publishing a short piece of mine in the Tippets section, but the real gem in this issue is a brilliant piece by Ted Leeson: Fly Fishing du Jour.

I could bloviate endlessly about this article — its ability wander to and fro across the fly fishing landscape, forcing me to nod my head at every other sentence — but that would be more ego than information.

I’d be using my words to describe what Leeson’s already said — and said better than I could.

I will say this; Leeson harpoons the stereotypes on both sides of the traditional (The Old Guys) vs extreme (The Young Guys) fly fishing debate with passages like the following:

Fly fishing, like almost everything else in America, is being sucked up, stirred and homogenized into the great beige pudding that of contemporary pop culture, just another TV prop for hawking laxatives, retirement plans, and various tonics for the four-hour erection.

Against this backdrop a new angling culture has taken shape, one that we’ll call extreme fly fishing because we can think of nothing better — though already the term shows signs of advanced fatigue and significant tread.

Later, he quietly skewers the posturing that sometimes causes The Old Guys to sometimes relegate The Young Guys to hooligan status:

Every generation reinvents the past under the guise of rejecting it, rediscovers old ideas under the illusion of creating them first the first time. It’s not just a prerogative of the young; it’s their job.

Buy it (unless you can smash & grab a copy like I did). Read it. Tell us what you think.

Runners Up

There were plenty of interesting goodies, and while it’s an odd thing for a mostly dry fly fisher to say, I admit I coveted Ernie Schweibert’s last publication — his two monstrous volumes focused on nymphs.

In a long, rambling discussion with Jeffrey Serena of Lyons Press (more on this later), we decided that Schweibert’s magnum opus on nymphs represented approximately 12 pounds of data, information, stories and memories, and it’s the latter two that interest me the most.

It’s today’s surprise pick.

I also admit coveting a 7wt version of the Orvis Helios I field tested for streamer fishing (damnit, I am going to master that next year), but a fly rod choice is too predictable, and besides, they went with a dark rod blank instead of the gorgeous light olive of my test rod, and the dark rod simply doesn’t match my vest or sunglasses.

Finally, I’ve managed to avoid tube flies thus far in my life, but after John Albright at HMH Vise gave me a demonstration of the things — and explained why you’d use  tube fly for everything from steelies to trout and smallies — the light bulb went on.

I’ve used an HMH Bench Standard vise for years, but now covet his tube fly vise. John’s eyesight was too good for me to swipe the thing, so I’ll have to scare one up another way.

Running Away

I’m facing my always-enjoyable trip to the airport for my always-enjoyable trip through airport security (want a side of cavity search with that?), after which I’ll board the plane for the always-enjoyable cattle car flight experience.

I’ve got a half-dozen articles planned, and at this point, all that remains is my sitting down and writing them.

Still, I think you’ll like them. See you at the keyboard, Tom Chandler.

[tags]fly fishing, fishing, the drake, tube fly, ernie schweibert, orvis zg helios[/tags]

Posted in Underground Entertainment.