On Sulphurs, the Lehigh Valley, its fly shops, and the Heritage Fly Shop.

C'mon, that bitch is charming, and you know it.

According to the US Census, the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton-PA-NJ-Metroplex, aka Lehigh Valley, is the third most populated area in all of Pennsylvania... so why the hell can't we have a big ole fly shop without driving to goddamned Reading?

Oh well, at least we have the Heritage Fly Shop, formerly the Little Lehigh Fly Shop.

That's not really a fair assessment. To say, in the past, "at least there's the LLFS" was a fair statement, because the former proprietier was, for all intents and purposes, a raging cockhole. That's probably part of why its not his shop, but someone else's, now.

Don't get me wrong, Dave (the new guy) has the same floor space and general supplies the old shop did, but he brings a much better atttitude about the place...and frankly, that matters. Alot. I will go out of my way to buy what I can at the LLFS rather than bulk up a mail order for sundries elsewhere, because you want to support the local guy, and especially the local guy who's not a raging asshole.

So, this part of the post, Dave, is dedicated to you for not being an asshole, and for being not only the sole fly shop of the Lehigh Valley, but the one with the most character. While my meager purchases probably don't make much of a dent, I'll continue to give them to you because you smile at me and greet me when I come through the door, and that means a whole lot.

Dave sold me a Fenwick, gave me some tips on using woodchuck fur, and generally is a good guy. I wanted to give him free publicity. Go buy something from him. 

Now, if I hear one more asshole tell me they're fishing sulphurs I will fucking murder someone.

"What flies do I pick?" bullshit reposted coz I'm lazy like that.

A paraphrased streamside discussion over one lunch break:

"I just have one question for you..."
"What's that," I responded far less irritated than I would for most newbies.
"What flies do you use...?"

I told him to come here and hunt up the old post I made about beginner flies.

I'm just making this lame-ass self-reblogging to bump it up top for the year, and because I can. Mostly because I can. Suck it, its my blog and you can make your own if you don't like it.

If you're desperate for more insect knowledge, grab a copy of Charlie Meck's "Pocketguide to Pennsylvania Hatches" or whatever its called. Its small, and its handy and you'll soon reach a point where you too can say, "its brownish, and its about this big...so, this fly'll do." Or you'll speak Latin at other assholes who need more useful things to occupy their minds. Whatever.

trout unlimited, not just coffee and doughnuts.

In case of emergency, break glass.

The three seperate TUs left in the Lehigh Valley (Monocacy, Forks, and Hokey) had their combined event today. Money was raised. There were doughnuts, and coffee. Money was spent on raffle tickets.


Raffle was fun. Surprised, actually. Won a box of flies.


Classy, like. I've always wanted to make that sort of thing, but I'm lazy, so I won't. Its a whole set of wet flies. I like wet flies. Its got a Tup's Indispensable in it. I like that name. Its got character.


So this was the combined Lehigh Valley Trout Unlimited 9th Annual Spring Event. I admit, I went in skeptical because I'm a jaded prick, but I'm very glad I took it in. Money was raised. There were doughnuts. That's a good time. See people you know. Raffles. That's a good time. 

What confuses me is how is it I know all these guys? Small world, etc. Was nice to see so many people get together, money goes towards something useful, you get coffee and doughnuts, and watch a guy put on a presentation.


Oh, and if you're into free coffee and doughnuts, the Monocacy guys are doing theit stream cleanup on April 23rd, 8:30am at the Illick's Mill parking lot. I'll bet you could go fishing afterwards, too. What a day!


Anyways, was good. Some dude who liked the Misfits was the presenter. How do I know this? Because he named his flies after Misfits songs. I'm fine with that, but like, what if the fly has nothing to do with like, the name?