The Legend of Eddie Rivard

I had the pleasure of sitting in on the Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast while they interviewed fly fishing Legend Eddie Rivard.  This had to be one of my favorite podcasts that the 3BT crew has put out.  Eddie is great fly fisher-person, canoeist, adventurer, drive thru orderer, and blogger.  Here are some photos from the night.

The Legend Eddie Rivard.

Eddie talked about brown trout, musky, and how he used all of his free time exploring new water with his canoe.  He also talked about how he and Eddies Army regulate the internet and social media platforms for the #muskyonthefly hashtag.  If you're using it, you better be using it right, because, Eddie is watching.

Grant in his 2nd natural habitat.

Matt Ebbers amongst the Hamms.

The Legend Eddie Rivard

LINKS

- Eddie Rivard Instagram

- Eddie Rivard Fly Fishing Blog

- Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast

- Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Instagram

- Grant Meyer Instagram

- Matt Ebbers Instagram

Final Hops & Hoppers of 2019

Tuesday December 17th marked the last Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop Hops & Hoppers open tie night of 2019 at Lake Monster Brewing in Saint Paul.  The turn out to these open fly tying events is usually good, and there's a lot of diverse fly Tyers that attend to tie flies, drink craft beer or soda, and talk about past and future fishing trips.  It's also a great excuse to escape the house and shake off the cabin fever if ice fishing or winter trout fishing is not your thing.

Lucas Gluesenkamp aka Strange Bugs sits amazed that a ziplock baggie appeared on Jim's vise.

Lucas Gluesenkamp whipping up some bass bugs that are not strange.

Bobby Regan lining up some feathers 

I cannot remember the last time I brought my vise to an open tie.  I've learned over the years, that I never tie flies at these things, and I spend more time taking photos and talking to others.  I'm okay with that.  I prefer to tie my mop flies in the comfort of my own home, so, no one can steal my secret mop fly recipe.

Mike and Sam focused on their bugs.

Micah Crider tossing the whip finish on a winter trout streamer.

Micah Crider getting ready to start another fly.

All kinds of flies were being tied.  Trout flies, musky flies, dry flies, and streamers.  The only consistent thing I noticed on this night were the laughs.  There were a lot of them.  I think we all need to get out and fish.

Driftless Drew whipping up a bug the same size of a Driftless brown trout.

Armone Vang tying a chironomid that ended up in one of my fly wallets.

Looking forward to future open tie night, but more importantly, I'm looking forward to 2020.

Cheers to all of you!

Top 4 Fly Fishing Accessories Under $25

Here's a list of my Top 4 fly fishing accessories under $25 that are made in the USA.

Rising - Work 6" Pliers: Made in Utah, these have been my go to pair of pliers for the past 2 years now.  It's one of those tools that has multiple uses that come in handy on the water.  Not only do they help you remove  your hooks from a fish, but they can cut your line, smash the barbs on your hooks, and be used to tighten those knots on your hook (Keep the pliers closed, put the hook through the circle opening and this allows you to pull on the hook end without the risk of driving that hook in to your finger).  Rising  tools and nets are all made Utah.

>>LINK TO PURCHASE<<

Vedavoo - Wader Wallet:  Made in Massachusetts, these wader wallets are one my absolute favorite pieces of gear this year, not only because I helped design it, but because, they're simply awesome.  I typically have a backpack full of camera gear and to me, it's sort of a pain to change out flies because I hate a rigid rectangular boxes in the pouch of my waders.  Now I can simply clip my wader straps through the back of this fly wallet, and wear it.  It has a thin profile and plenty of space for a days worth of streamers on the water.

>>LINK TO PURCHASE<<

O'Pros - 3rd Hand Rod Holder:  Made in Wisconsin, the O'Pros knocked it out of the park with their updated 3rd Hand Rod Holder!  It now has the capability to rotate to whatever angle you want your rod to be at when changing out flies.

>>LINK TO PURCHASE<<

Cliff Outdoors - Days Worth Fly Box:  Made in Wyoming, these are the perfect fly box for your sling or hip pack when fishing for trout or small fish.  It's the perfect fly box for a bunch of mop flies and nymphs...all I need when trout fishing.

>>LINK TO PURCHASE<<