Simple Pleasures

The Reel Case for Tenkara

August 2, 2014 By Tom Sadler

Earlier this month I traveled to the International Fly Tackle Dealer show (IFTD), the fly fishing industry’s trade show in Orlando, Florida. There is a virtual smorgasbord of fly fishing gear at the show and much has been and will be written about that.

However, one item caught my attention and appealed to my tenkara loving ways.

Dan Rice at Bozeman Reel Company got my attention when he showed me what they had done to the reel case they include with every reel they sell.

First Dan showed me how they had put a series of small holes in the bottom and a some stretch fabric in the top flap to aid in air circulation. They added a space on the label so you can mark the line weight.

Then Dan pointed out two pieces of velco inside the top flap and a band of elastic fabric inside the main section of the case. He pulled the top flap under his belt, securing it with the velco and the reel case now had a higher purpose; a beer holder!

Of course, I immediately saw this as essential tenkara gear. You may not need a reel but a Bozeman Reel case is a whole other matter…

A story in Pulp Fly V3

December 27, 2013 By Tom Sadler

The latest edition of Pulp Fly was released this month and I had the honor and privilege of being a contributor in this edition. I found my chapter nestled in among works by very talented writers who are gifted story tellers.

Truth be told I was pretty apprehensive about the whole enterprise. Writing a short story is not something I have done a lot of. My last experience was in an 8th grade creative writing class at Derryfield School. My offering about a freewheeling rake was considered such far fetched fantasy by one of my classmates, she wrote her own version of my story from a young woman’s point of view. Needless to say I quit the genre and took up fishing…

I do enjoy telling stories and putting one down on virtual paper to be sold to the public is a leap of faith. Not sure I will keep at it because as Robert Heinlein said “Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.”

You can get a copy for yourself at Pulp Fly.

Haturday

November 23, 2013 By Tom Sadler

Visitors to this blog know I wear a lot of hats.
If you have visited our home you know there is quite a collection in our guest room.
So in order to share what has become somewhat of a Sadlerian trademark, Dispatches will celebrate Haturday with an visual homage to some of those many hats!
Enjoy.
[Read more…] about Haturday

New Book from Kent Cowgill

November 3, 2013 By Tom Sadler

Kent Cowgill recently sent me a flyer about his new book Sunlit Riffles and Shadowed Runs.

From what I am reading it looks like it should be a good one.

I am excited to read it and will post a review when I’m finished.

Stay tuned!

Thinking outside the box…

November 2, 2013 By Tom Sadler

Consider the cat.
Trapped in a box,
uncertain whether Schrodinger,
the only person who knows he is there,
is alive or dead.

h/t to Chris Stewart for sharing…
Cat modeling courtesy of Porter Sadler

Rx for Vegas

July 14, 2013 By Tom Sadler

“Ooh, Las Vegas ain’t no place for a poor boy like me. Every time I hit your crystal city, you know you gonna make a wreck out of me.” – Gram Parsons

When I got the first text from Delta telling me that my flight home from Vegas Thursday was delayed I just knew my travel plans had started to circle the drain. I changed my flights to try and make it home, but a mechanical issue on the flight did me in. I will give Delta customer service credit they could’t have been nicer and more helpful, thanks to Kim Bailey on the phone and Georgie at the LAS check-in counter.

I was in Vegas for the AFFTA board meeting and the ICAST/IFTD trade shows. Three days of smoky hotel bars and scant periods of being outside had me more than ready for a return to the Shenandoah Valley.

Over the years I have learned to roll with travel snafus. So when I texted my buddy Chris Hunt telling him I was stuck in Vegas, his reply was “Glad your back. We’ll make the best of a bad situation ;-)”

And indeed we did!

After a quick trip back to the Convention Center to get in one more round of post show parties, I wound up eating in Chef Rick Moonen’s new restaurant Rx Boiler Room, with Hunt and Scott Hed of Sportsmen’s Alliance for Alaska fame. Rx rightly claims to be the “alchemy of food and drink.”

Hunt and the Rx ladies — Hunt and Rx ladies

The food was exceptional! I enjoyed a lobster roll that would be proudly served in Newport (he knows his rolls) matched by outstanding service. Thanks Cecila!

The drinks are as special as the menu, so don’t settle for any of your standard cocktails, enjoy what the bar wizards concoct!

The decor and outfits were created by Moonen’s talented wife Roni. Billed as Steampunk, it had this glorious pirate den feel to me.

Hed knows Moonen from their work together on the Save Bristol Bay campaign and Savor Bristol Bay. Moonen is a sustainable seafood advocate who practices what he preaches and puts his money where your mouth is.

Eating at Rx gave us a chance to say thanks to Chef Moonen for his support for protecting Bristol Bay and for being such an excellent voice for sustainable seafood.