By Kirk Deeter

One other thing I learned about our friend Andrew Metzger (Koldkut) when we went fishing the other day, is that he is quite the artisan rod builder. That's something I must admit I know very little about. But I would like to build my own rod one day. I can only imagine how great it would feel to hook a big trout on a fly I tied, cast from a rod I built.

By Kirk Deeter

Who says reading fishing blogs is wasted time? Sometimes, doing so can land you on the river to do some serious "research" with the editor.  Take, for example, Andrew Metzger and his buddy Mark Damon. Andrew is a long-time Fly Talk reader and commenter. I'll leave it up to him whether he wants to reveal his online identity or not.

By Tim Romano

Another easy-to-tie, super versatile pattern from Jason and Gary Borger. Enjoy. -TR

Excerpts from "Fishing the Film" by Gary A. Borger (with additional photos by Gary A. Borger):

The Collared Leech has caught every type of fish that I’ve tossed it at, in sizes from 8 to 2/0, and beyond. Add different color schemes and the fly can be varied in at least a hundred directions. The acoustic aspect of the collar came into play one time when Jason and I were fishing for smaller tarpon. I saw two fish roll about 90 feet away and unloaded a cast that dropped the fly about 15 feet in front of their position. As soon as the Collared Leech landed, I gave it one long strip. Immediately one of the tarpon rushed forward, slashed the fly just under the film, and jumped. I’d say that it was the sound of the fly as much as anything that pulled the fish in so fast.

Another benefit: It’s really easy to tie!

By Tim Romano

As promised last week, two new videos from the 2010 5 minutes of Fly Fishing Film Awards. One film from the gents at Waterline Media produced by Graham Morton and Marc Page called "The Heart of the Marsh." It features our friend Gregg Arnold and dispels the notion that the fishing has stopped in the marsh outside New Orleans and another named "Supernatural" from the guys over at World Angling. Enjoy the trailers. -- TR