While I wait for the waters up north to calm down and return to a fishable state, I thought I would brag a little on how kind Christmas was to me. So in order to hold myself over until the next time I hit the water or the cactus strewn hillsides, here is a brief look at the quality items Santa brought me. I have had my eye on a new BBS reel from Orvis to upgrade my old reel that was broken and line that had large chunks taken out of it. The sweetest wife in the world found it easy to shop for me this Christmas.
As an avid reader, my Amazon wish list grows almost every time I am on the computer. This selection shows a heavy influence of John Gierach but also a Walt Prothero wild card showed up (arguably one of my favorite authors).
My sister-in-law went above and beyond to make the perfect gift for a helpless fly fisherman and reader. This bookmark will definitely be utilized in my marathon of reading ahead.
With all of the traveling that my wife and I do back to New York, fly tying get-to-gethers, or a couple day trip up north, having my fly tying gear with me can be really convenient. I had eyeballed this Fishpond bag for quite a while but had never made mention of it to anyone. My in-laws really went above and beyond with this gift.
I have had an old foam target that when my wife said “I do” made the trip to our new backyard. It has raised some eyebrows, and the new puppy has really taken a liking to it. In the end it is still usable but life expectancy is not much longer. This new target will hopefully keep me in shape for the javelina season coming up.
Another quality gift from the in-laws to keep my hands warm during our bone-chilling Arizona winters (but seriously it does get cold here.).
I do not know what my brother was trying to say, but it might be that my hunting game could use a little work. If you have not had the opportunity to play the Wii and especially the Wii hunting game, it will change your life.
My mom handed down one of my father’s old tie clips. I wear a tie maybe a half dozen times a year, but this clip will be worn at each of those occasions. This truly is a special gift that I will cherish and hopefully someday pass on to one of my boys.
After this post, I think I will go do some damage at Cabelas. My wife thinks it is a real shame that the blasted store is so close…
7 comments
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December 28, 2010 at 5:57 am
Alex Landeen
good booty 🙂
December 28, 2010 at 8:40 pm
bsmith835
Thanks Alex. I feel very pirate-like in the middle of all of my presents.
December 28, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Stephanie
A few titles I have my eyes on are in your holiday haul. Happy reading!
-stephanie
December 28, 2010 at 8:42 pm
bsmith835
Books are one of my favorite gifts to get. I have some high anticipation for these titles as well. Thanks.
Ben
December 28, 2010 at 3:22 pm
winonaflyfactory
Nice Score Ben. With the wonderline… I’ve been fishing a WF-4 on my 3wt for the last year and that line is toast, that despite my effort to consistantly clean the line with the “approved” Wonderline cleaner. I’m not saying it’s a bad line but I’m looking for something that will last a bit longer. I’m getting to respool my reel with a DT-4 SA GPX, supposedly very good for spring creek/small creek presentations. I hope your line works out well for you but I fished mine for 3-4months then the welded tip broke off, cracks, sinking 1st 2 ft of line now. I hope this isn’t a dissapointment. Not trying to be a scrooge, just my experience.
December 28, 2010 at 8:46 pm
bsmith835
WFF,
Thanks for the heads up. I have heard some of those complaints from others as well. My Cortland line only lasted a year as well so I am hoping to utilize the double taper and double the life on it. I really appreciate the heads up though. I’ll keep you posted on how it performs for me. Thanks again and tight lines.
Ben
P.S. I was just informed that the book mark is a one of the kind piece of art. If she starts production on more, I will let you know.
December 28, 2010 at 3:23 pm
winonaflyfactory
p.s. if your wife wants to make another bookmark. I can send you my address! That thing is SWEET.