Category Archives: DIY

DIY, Film, fly fishing, Fly Fishing Film, Friendships, Lifestyle, Local, Podcast

Producing the film: “A Ride With Clyde”

Without a doubt, Andrew Gilbert and I have had an attachment with Clyde since he visited Oak Hill and the images that were created during the time we spent with him found their way into the Summer of 2018 “20th Anniversary Edition” Drake Magazine.

Late in the fall of 2022 after learning that Clyde was languishing in a pole barn outside of Birmingham, we set a plan in motion to bring him to east Tennessee with the idea of creating a fly fishing film centered around the car and cast of Tailer Trash Fly Fishing‘s personalities and friendships.

It wasn’t until late spring and a little arm twisting later we were able to get Clyde to Bluff City, TN. Instrumental in the task were our friends Cody & Kyle who trailered him there from Chattanooga where they met Sam Bailey for the pass-off.

Clyde arrives late spring 2023

When Andrew and I set off on the project we had a basic idea of how we wanted the film to look and feel. As we started working our way through our shot lists, we found out we may need to pivot on some of our ideas.

Our Key Technical Consultant for Clyde – Howard O.

By my count, I think we changed directions around three times. Some of the changes were a result of difficulties in the story arch, others were due to getting permission to include some of the locations featured in the film.

Director of Photography & Editor – Andrew Gilbert

By the end of the summer of 2023 we had what we needed for footage and Andrew began the heavy lifting of editing them together to bring the story to life.

Our partnership ultimately lead to being selected for the 2024 International Fly Fishing Film Festival.

A Ride With Clyde – Official Selection 2024

The entire experience was one that lead to an even tighter knit relationship between all of us.

Tiller enjoying a Ride With Clyde

We’re already looking for another project to team up on.

Adventure, DIY, Explore, Film, Friendships, Lifestyle, Stories

Tailer Trash Fly Fishing

Presents:

The 2024 International Fly Fishing Film Festival

Join us again at The Marine Discovery Center for an afternoon tailgate with friends new and old before we all enjoy the latest films selected for the IF4 are shown at the amphitheater once the sun goes down.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the IF4 website.

This years exhibition of the International Fly Fishing Film Festival will be a special one for the podcast. We cant wait to see you there!

Conservation, DIY, Ethics, Everglades, Local, Mosquito Lagoon, New Smyrna Beach, Social Media

Make An Impact

There are a broad array of issues swirling throughout social media these days regarding conservation.  Whether it relates to Everglades Restoration, Opposition to Pebble Mine or improving water quality in Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River Lagoon, we can all agree on something; each issue is important.

Too often there are bombs being thrown by advocates for what many of us perceive as the right side of the issue.  The bomb throwing serves little to change minds or create solutions, yet the air raid sirens sound almost daily.

Much of the rhetoric comes from charity organizations, 501 c (3) designated companies that are “not for profit”.  Don’t lose sight of the fact that they are companies. It matters.

Choose Wisely

While we all very much want to do something to improve our environment, we should make reasoned decisions  on how its being done.

One of the best things you can do in life is be involved in causes you care about.  The simplest, and often most effective is through personal action.  

One of your choices is to invest in a company that you believe will give you the best return on investment towards the goal you value in conservation efforts.  The second, is rolling up your sleeves and creating some sweat equity for your cause the good old fashioned way, with boots on the ground.

Direct action is often the most impactful.

Making an Impact is the Goal

Simply writing a check, swiping a credit card, plastering a sticker on your rear window of your truck or re-posting the latest shocking post on social media may be all you have time to do if that’s all you have to invest.  If you’re confident in the company you’ve invested in is making every dollar count, go for it.

There in lies the challenge.  Do some due diligence before you invest.  If you were buying stock, you would want to know how revenue was being spent.  What does the “leadership” make?

Has this “not for profit” business simply become a source of income for a couple of individuals?

You might be surprised if you looked at salaries in the “not for profit” space.  Very surprised.

If you’re the sweat equity type, its easy to provide real results that are meaningful.  Volunteer to join a clean-up group, commit to cleaning up a section of your neighborhood or a shoreline and make it yours.  Often the larger conservation companies are only interested in broad strokes at the policy level and their impact may happen, if ever, in timelines measured in decades.

A completion timeline of 28 years provides lots of fundraising opportunity.

Projects like The Everglades Agricultural Area Storage Reservior have been in planning since around the year 2000 and won’t be completed until 2028 at the earliest.

Thanks for wanting to be part of the positive solutions for coastal conservation issues.  Now, make an informed decision on how you’re going to do it and make an impact!

DIY, Lifestyle, Local, Mosquito Lagoon Fly Fishing Guide, New Smyrna Beach, Space Coast

CHARCUTERIE 101

CREATING A POSITIVE HAPPY HOUR VIBE

Create an inviting spread of meats, cheeses, crackers and pickled goodness to share over drinks with family and friends.

It is not hard to do. If you’re not sure where to start, this how to video will walk you through the steps needed to create a basic board.

Adding charcuterie to your casual afternoon happy hour can be the spark for great camaraderie and conversation.

Happy Hour Vibe

Adventure, Aviation, Bahamas, Bonefish, Catch & Release, DIY, Explore, Friendships, Lifestyle, Stories

Flying Below The Radar

For a couple of years, I would get a call from time to time to fly right seat over to the Bahamas with a good friend who was working in South Florida as a charter pilot.

We would take folks over for the day and while they did whatever they were there to do, we would harass the local bonefish on the “airport flat”.

Getting there and back was also a lot of fun.

Get out there and seek adventure, even if its just for a day, or a few hours!

3D Printing, Act Locally, DIY, Flybrary Project, Instruction

3D Printable Flybrary Project

Thanks to Paul Edmons, an Asheville, NC Flybrarian for getting creative with a 3D printer & sharing its goodness with the world of fly fishing.

There’s nothing better than good old fashioned innovation!

If you have a 3D printer or access to one, the file is available for free, drop an email in the Saltbum inbox and it will be sent to you free of charge.h

Request File

Act Locally, DIY, Explore, Flybrary Project, Friendships, Lifestyle, Space Coast

The Flybrary Project

In February 2019 I was minding my own business, gassing up my skiff and slapping a couple of stickers on Pump 1 at the Oak Hill Sunoco (The Meth Lab), when I noticed an old strip of double sided foam tape that was stuck in the middle of the sticker collage. My first thought was to scrape it off to make room for more stickers. As I contemplated it, I looked in my Whipray’s aft locker and saw a fly box laying there and decided to stick a couple of clouser minnow flies on it instead. I posted a story on my Instagram profile, @saltbum, offering them to a good home.

Over the next few weeks, the two flies disappeared and miraculously, new ones appeared from other fly anglers who frequent the store. After visiting Castaway Customs to order fly patches for the Tailer Trash Fly Fishing Podcast, I stuck a 239 Flies patch on the pump to see if something a little more formal would inspire even greater participation.

We later talked about the number of stickers that had been accumulating on the gas pump as well as the addition of the fly patch on an episode of Tailer Trash. Thats when it really started to take off.

Carl Granger and I needed fuel before heading out to watch one of the rocket launches that frequently happen here along the Space Coast and while we were there, we posted another story featuring the fly patch with the “Need one, take one – Have one, leave one” mantra that is often associated with a cup of pennies alongside a gas station cash register. During the next podcast, the term Flybrary was used for the first time to describe it.

We sent a couple of our new Tailer Popper fly patches to our good friend Ben Sittig in Colorado so he could put them up, creating the first two Flybrarys outside of Florida. When he did, he posted a story on his Instagram and the response was HUGE.

Since then, the Flybrary Project has taken on a life of its own, creating a sense of community and a positive vibe within the fly fishing community nationwide. Flybrary Projects come in all shapes and sizes. The spirit of the movement is to create a community of sharing and collaboration amongst anglers. get out there and found a Flybrary in your neighborhood.

Trailhead Flybrary
Mobile Flybrary
Riverside Flybrary
Riverside Flybrary

Learn More about the Flybrary Project by reading about it on Fly Lords. Click Here

Adventure, Catch & Release, Conservation, DIY, Ethics, Explore, Film, fly fishing, Friendships, History, Lifestyle, Mosquito Lagoon, Podcast, Social Media, Space Coast, Stories, Tactics, Tiller, Travel

– Ben Sittig Is A Huge Fly Fisherman – I’m A Huge Fly Fisherman Too

Recently, I had the good fortune to spend a few days on the water with my good friend, Ben.  As always, I picked him up at the Orlando International Airport and within an hour or two, he was tight on a redfish. Its become quite the tradition for us.

Ben is working on a new YouTube project and it was a “work trip” for him, so it seemed fitting to put him on the back of the skiff.

Here’s the result of that effort to get him up to speed with a push pole.

I’d say he’s well on his way to becoming a regular Pusherman.

In addition to stabbing a few fish in the face, we spent time talking about more technical issues like the following:

Make sure to follow Ben on his new YouTube channel, Huge Fly Fisherman, more content is on the way, including conservation issues facing Mosquito Lagoon.

Ben will also have his writings about the state of conservation efforts in Mosquito Lagoon featured in This Is Fly magazine very soon, check it out.

Stay Huge!

 

Adventure, DIY, Lifestyle, Podcast

Talking It Out – Fly Fishing After Dark Podcast

If you haven’t taken the time to drop by the Fly Fishing After Dark Blog, please do, you’ll find some words along with links to our podcast.

We’re still not sure what we’re doing or trying to accomplish, but we are having a blast doing it.

Along the way we hope you’ll join us at your convenience to laugh along.

The second installment of our nonsense is available if you’re so inclined.  iTunes has it too if thats your thing.

 

Act Locally, Adventure, Catch & Release, Conservation, DIY, Explore, History, Lifestyle, Secrets, Space Coast, Stories, Thats Life, Travel

What Happens After Dark?

Fly Anglers are typically found outdoors when the sun is shining or about to be.

The exploits that happen before and after the sun makes its trek from east to west are the stuff that brings it full circle and creates the basis of the lifestyle.

You know you’ve shot beer out both nose holes at the campfire, thats what I’m talking about.  Unedited, raw and no volume button in sight.

You can find that fly fishing vibe here:  Fly Fishing After Dark

From stories being recount from a day on the water, to analysis of the latest fad sweeping Instagram, you’ll get a fresh new perspective that hasn’t seen the desk of an industry insider before the publish button is clicked.