I just wanted to take a few minutes to wish all of my Family, Friends, Customers and Vendors a Merry Christmas.

This year for Christmas I have much to be thankful for.  First my supportive family and freinds. Without their support I would not be typing this right now, and my continued absensce from family activites would not be tolerated. 
 Also, I am thankful for every one of my customers this year.  From my beginnings in the Hair extension business (wow, that was crazy) to the recent success of this website.  I owe each and every one of you a huge amount of thanks.
 I would also not be able to offer the incredible products I do without the wonderful bird breeders, hunters, and distributors of these amazing materials.  Each one of you has contributed immeasurably to my success.

I have learned this year how much I value relationships.  Relationships are the glue that sticks everything together.  Without it, I would just be flailing off in some corner....Just me vs. the world.  These relationships keep me going when I'm tired.  They keep me honest, and they give me a reason to work harder.  
I have also learned time management. If I could ever figure out a way to eliminate sleep from my day, I'd be set.  There are only so many hours in a day, and with my family , day job and this website, time is a precious commodity.  
And finally, I've learned to trust God.  Without him, none of this would be happening.

 With that said, I want to wish you all the best Christmas Ever!  I look forward to what the new year brings.  I hope Santa brings everyone what they wished for this year. And, "Don't shoot yer' eye out!"

“Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the” Sea.'
Jessica Simpson 

“Is it a fishing reel what I have, or is this a tuna can?  I know it’s a reel, but it looks like a tuna can.”
 Aaron Ostoj

If you enjoy cheap, loud fly fishing reels, the above quote might make a bit of sense (I’m not sure what to think about Jessica’s quote, but dang , that’s funny) .  For those that don’t understand, let me explain….

For over 40 years, Martin Tackle company has been churning out simple, economical fly fishing reels.  The models 60-65 had a very loud, gear check mechanism.  They were made for the working man, and what value they retain is mostly sentimental.  They are light reels and will hold a ton of line for their size.  The shape of the outer housing resembles it’s “tuna can” namesake.

My interest in these reels began 14 years ago.  Christmas morning greeted me with a long cylindrical shaped gift leaning in the corner behind the tree.  All ready an avid fisherman by age 12, I could only hope that the tube held a fishing rod. Much to my delight,  it did.  Not only did I get my first fly rod that morning, but I also ended up with a Martin Model 60 “tuna can” reel and fly line to go with it.   

The combo of my first fiberglass fly rod, and that little reel killed a lot of trout in my youth.  As time went on, my tastes became much more expensive.  The old rod and reel were forgotten and eventually lost.  It wasn’t until last year that I was browsing fly fishing forums and saw a picture of an old glass rod and Martin tuna can reel pictured.  I hadn’t thought of that reel for years, I knew I needed another one.  A week later the box showed up. It was a used Model 60 that I found on ebay for $5.00.  I spooled  it up with a WF 4 wt. line and seated it on my 3 piece, 7 ½’,  3 wt fly rod.  The heavier line flexed the graphite rod deeply.  It almost felt like the combo of my youth. 

 With my new setup complete, I hit the beaver ponds.  Lets just say I felt like a kid again.  Long live the "Tuna Can".

per·spec·tive [per-spek-tiv] noun 1.) the state of existing space before the eye.

This morning a stunning dawn was breaking.  The sun rose scarlet, backlighting a majestic mountain.  Rays of light penetrated lavender clouds,  blanketing dome topped monoliths with a pink glow.  A flock of birds were leaving their roost heading for a morning meal.  It was a great feeling to witness nature’s beauty in her fullest.

    For a moment I felt as though I was overlooking an ancient city in the middle east.  The domes could have easily been great Mosques.  The mountain could have possibly been Iran’s Mt. Damavand.  I was in a beautiful, exotic place………………..For a minute.   

    

Was I on a river?  Was I sitting on a ridge of a great mountain range? 

No.

 I was in my car commuting to my “day job” .  The mountain was Mt. Hood.  The domes were not mosques, but a Petrol Tank farm off of Highway 30. The birds were just ordinary pigeons.   But, the sun did in fact dawn scarlet.  The clouds were lavender. It was spectacular.  If I focused on the space before my eyes, it was beautiful.  If I allowed my mind to tell me I was in a dirty industrial district,  the beauty would have been almost non-existent.  I had gone to a happy place, and it started my day with a smile.

  After reading the above account, it is probably no surprise to anyone that I was a daydreamer as a child.  I had (and still have) a pretty active imagination.  It helps to keep me sane.  This morning’s sunrise was a perfect example.  As I arrived to work, I was just coming off of a vacation.  Even though it was only for a few minutes , I still felt refreshed, having momentarily checked out of reality.

 I like to do the same thing when I’m not working too.  It can change your whole perspective about the current situation you find yourself in.   One morning I was fishing the crowded run on the Cowlitz river below the trout hatchery.  The area is locally known as “blue creek”.  It is about a far from a pristine place as you can get. Fist fights between anglers have broken out here.Guides in loud jet sleds full of “dudes” compete for limits of hatchery “clones”.   I waded into the run below the crowd of gear anglers.  My immediate downstream view was that of water and trees.  It was still very early, and no jet sleds were on the water.  I imagined I could hear the droning thump of helicopter blades, cleaving through a thick Canadian mist.  I felt as though had just been dropped onto a wilderness gravel bar on the Dean River.  As I focused on my fishing, the cast- swing-step routine became hypnotic.  The hub of my concentration was the 90 degree arc of my swing.  Nothing else penetrated my senses.   Then it happened.  A grab.  A headshake.  Nothing.  It was over as soon as it began.  I was instantly jolted back to reality.  I looked around.  A guide boat was motoring downstream past me.  I waved.  It was the start of a great day.

  No matter where I was. 

“A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.”

~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995

I really love this quote.  I think it is so true.  I’m sure there are some people out there that have that one person in their lives that is ALWAYS positive.  I mean positive to the point it makes you sick.  I used to not really like people like that very much.  They used to really annoy me.

Then I read a story online about one of those annoying people.  He was restaurant manager.  He was the kind of guy whose employees always came to with their problems.  He could always find the good side to any situation, and cheer people up an make them feel better.  His positive attitude was contagious.  In fact his employees were so loyal that they would follow him to another restaurant when he changed jobs.  

One day, the unthinkable happened.  He had stepped out of the back door of the restaurant, and forgot to close it as he returned to the office.  An armed gunman entered, found him in the office and demanded that he give him the cash in the safe.   As he fumbled to dial the safe combination, he slipped.  The nervous gunman shot him in the chest. The gunman fled and left him lying on the floor of the office.  He was bleeding profusely but still managed to summons help.  The ambulance arrived and rushed him to the emergency room.  Having lost a lot of blood he was fading in and out of consciousness.  He noticed the serious look on the doctor ‘s and nurses faces.  He started to get scared, and realized for the first time that the situation might be life threatening.  One of the nurses asked him if he was allergic to anything, and his reply was “Yes, bullets”.  The tension in the emergency room immediately dissolved.  Doctor's rigid faces softened in smiles behind their masks, and nurses giggled. Right then, he had made the decision that things weren't that bad.  After all he was still alive, and he was going to fight as hard as he could to stay that way.  The operation was successful, and after a few months he fully recovered and went back to work at the restaurant.  He was even more positive than he had ever been.

So what does that have to do with fly tying, feathers and fishing?  Well, everything.  In fact it has everything to do with, well……..everything.   

Every morning when you wake up, you’ve got a choice to make.  You decide what kind of day you are going to have, and you decide what kind of attitude you are going to have.  I’m hoping that when you wake up in the morning (that’s a great thing, you woke up…it could have been worse. You could have been dead, and not woke up!) you will make the decision to have a great day.  I hope that when get in your car and head to work, you’re just going to let other people’s stupid driving not annoy you (you could be walking……).  I hope that when you are pulling on your waders and putting your rod together, that you are going to have an awesome day of fishing regardless of whether you catch anything (unlike the guy who’s out of work and wondering how he’s going to feed his family).  See how it works? 

Attitude IS everything.