I’ve been tying flies for about 10 years. And today I learned how much more I have to learn.

This morning I went to a fly-tying clinic being held at UpCountry. Two amazing guides led the session: Derrick Kirkpatrick and Zach St. Amand. We covered streamers, nymphs, and dry flies. I was so impressed with how the guides applied so many thoughtful techniques into their patterns. I learned a lot about strike triggers. Those two guides are absolute Jedis!

Afterwards I hit the water for a short period of time. Water flows were very low, but the water temperatures had cooled down dramatically. In fact, since coming back from Montana, I have not fished in New England due to the high temps.

I brought with me a brand new rod: the Diamondback 10′ 1-wt. So many anglers have raved about the Diamondback Euro rods, and I decided to take the plunge. After breaking my Contact 2 early on during my Montana trip, and waiting three months for the repair, I felt the need to look around for something with a quicker turnaround time (my Contact 1 broke early during last year’s Montana trip as well, ironically, at the exact same run).

If you break a Diamondback, you don’t have to mail in the rod; they just send out a brand-new section in a few days. So, you’re back to fishing very quickly.

I need to give the Diamond a bunch more test runs, but I can already say that it is an amazing rod! With flows low, I fished with 7x fluorocarbon, and the rod had no problems steering fish away from current while at the same time picking up very gentle takes and protecting the light tippet.

Much like what he did at Thomas and Thomas when he designed the Contact rods, Joe Goodspeed is doing wonders at Diamondback. I will write a more formal review after a few more sessions with this rod, but I already love it. I also have their 10′ 10″ 2-wt. and cannot wait to gave that a spin.

I drove home in heavy rain and listened to the Patriots eke out a win over the Jets. Finally, a victory!

After stowing gear, I poured myself a Bourbon in a nice glass the Mrs. gave me for Christmas last year. I’ve gotten into orb-shaped ice, too, for a slower melt rate.

A great day!

I hope everyone is doing well. Where will you be fishing this autumn?