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February 26, 2004 Newsletter
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February 26, 2004 Newsletter |
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The other day I received a newspaper
article from a Wisconsin fish wrapper sent by an old high school friend of mine,
in which is described an ice fishing ‘shanty’ so deluxe that Neiman Marcus
carried it in their annual Christmas catalog for $27,000! For those of you that cannot imagine
what fun ice fishing can be, you ought to look at the article and photo’s I have
in my shop, who knows, you may even want to use this as a model of your mountain
or hill country retreat! Ice
fishing is basically an excuse to get out of town and be with friends who also
enjoy over indulging in our favorite adult beverages, and who enjoy frying fish
(if you ever catch any!), or eat anything else deemed inedible at home. To me the article brings back many a
memory of this friend and me skipping school and hightailing it for a lake
rumored to have fish biting only to become totally bored after a few hours and
miraculously navigating traffic on our way home! A fish house I owned during early
adulthood was fully insulated, carpeted, had double pane windows, propane heater
and gas lights, and had 6 holes for angling. One night while playing bridge with
another couple, I landed a 10 pound Walleye – I carried that fish around
(frozen) for weeks showing off my angling skills! I took all the credit I could muster by
explaining to others just how I hooked that minnow on, and how my sinker was
fastened, and that I fished 4 inches off the bottom not the usual 6 inches! Wow, how my ‘angling’ interests have
changed, not to mention the change in geography.
My good friend Solomon sent me the
following that has already become my new
philosophy:
“Life is not a journey to
the grave with the intention of
arriving
safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid
in
broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly
proclaiming . . . .WOW! WHAT
A RIDE!”
From today through the end of March
I would like to sell my remaining inventory of custom build Sage XP
rods and am offering a $75 store credit to those who purchase
during this period that can be used towards a reel, fly line, Sage rod/reel
case, fly tying materials etc. etc.
These rods are already priced below comparable Sage factory pricing. Presently I have a 3 weight, a 5 weight,
two 6 weights, a 7 and an 8 weight.
I also have a Sage RPLXi 9 weight 3 piece I would like to dispose of for
$375 (list over $500!).
Any Tibor reel purchased during this
period will receive a store credit of $50!
The rods are all custom built and never
fished.
Many of my customers enjoyed
listening to
C. D. McGehee from the Shonto (www.shontoranch.com) was in yesterday
saying they are stocked up with good sized Rainbows and the fish are very
active. I received some photos from
a customer of Rainbows caught at Joshua Creek Ranch (www.joshuacreek.com) – pretty fish! I have had some reports from the coast
saying when conditions allow, Redfish are plentiful but haven’t heard much of
the Speckled Trout fishing but I know from experience, the time is about right
for the big sow trout to get active in the
shallows.
“Captain Billy Sandifer Big Shell
Beach Clean-Up” will happen on Saturday March 6th – meet at the
Malaquite Pavilion on Padre Island National Seashore not later than
Thanks and I hope that if you are in
a skid, as I am, maintain the good attitude and proclaim “Wow! What a
Ride!
Dennis O.
Freeman
RODMAKERS
210-479-3477 (fax
3488)