EclecticGuy

Willard Brook is a small stream that runs through Willard Brook State Forest in Massachusetts. You drive right through it on 119 and, for a short distance, it is like being transported to another place. I’ve often wondered if there were any fish in the stream with its small cascades and plunge pools. You never see anglers – most likely because it is very small with lots of underbrush.

My son and I drove through WBSF yesterday morning on the way to drop him off at Boy Scout camp. Nick asked, “Do you think there are any trout in there Dad?”. … Continue Reading

The new Tenkara Fly Fishing DVD by Tenkara USA is very well done! I just received my copy and watched it last night. I actually attended the presentation by Dr. Ishigaki at the Catskill Fly Fishing Center in May last year. That is where I got my introduction to tenkara and got hooked on it. Since then, most of my local river (small stream) fishing has been tenkara.

The section “Tenkara in the Land of Little Rivers” was shot in the Catskills. One of the attendees, … Continue Reading

A new customer commissioned me to make this special furler for him. He makes furled leaders for sale on his Streamside Leader web store. He wanted a 3 strand furler with a central hook to do a power reverse twist! We worked together for a few weeks to come up with this basic design.

… Continue Reading

Here is the book overview, description and author information for my book.

BOOK OVERVIEW

148 pages • 107 B&W photographs and illustrations • includes full scale reel plans and design templates • 8.5” x 11” hardcover • spiral bound to lie flat on your workbench

BOOK DESCRIPTION

In The Reelsmith’s Primer, author Michael L. J. Hackney has finally made reelsmithing accessible to the inspired angler. With a few basic hand tools, an electric drill, and Michael’s proven techniques, material selections, and clear step-by-step … Continue Reading

Here it is, my new book! It went to press on Friday and it will take about 5 weeks to print. With its completion, I’ve fulfilled one of my personal goals – to write a how-to book. I’m not sure why that has been a goal, perhaps it has something to do with being a fan of the second Bob Newhart show, “Newhart“. In this series, Bob played an innkeeper and a do-it-yourself book author in Vermont. Throw in fly fishing and it would … Continue Reading

I’ve just completed the cover design for my book The Reelsmith’s Primer! I am now completely done with everything. I wanted to feature a photo of some of my reels on the back cover so I set up this photo. I call it a “family portrait” since it includes my very first reel (the one sitting on the deerskin pouch) to my most recent (the black and brass one).

I also took this photo of my most recent reel.

This … Continue Reading

Each year, I build a few special fly rods to donate to charities and conservation groups. An old friend from graduate school (CU Boulder) still lives in Colorado with his wife and they are active Trout Unlimited members. Long story short, they asked if I would build a rod for their annual raffle to raise money for a river restoration project in Trinidad, CO. Here is the result:

I call this rod the “Aspen” since it is finished to look like aspen bark. The rod itself is … Continue Reading

I’ll be doing a fly tying demonstration at the Evening Sun Fly Shop in Peperrell, MA on Sunday January 10th, 2010 from 10:30 am to 2 pm. Stop by and see how this great pattern is tied and say hello! You also have to check out Charlie’s new video on the Squannacook and Nissitissit Rivers!

The manuscript for my book on reel making, The Reelsmith’s Primer is finally done! I will send a copy of it to my publisher, The Whitefish Press, tomorrow. I feel really good about it and learned a lot in the process. Early on, I created a reelsmithing community and used it to solicit ideas, provide feedback, and sanity check my writing and instructions. It was a huge success!

One of my goals for the book was to make it practical for … Continue Reading

Richard, one of my early reel customers and as it turns out, a neighbor, fished one of our local streams yesterday (Sunday). In fact, this is the stream that this reel model is named after – the Squannacook. Richard had a successful day and sent me two “family portraits” of his reel with a nice Rainbow and with the Prince Nymph he caught it on.