All Points Fly Shop + Outfitter - News

Last night we returned to Sebago Brewing Company in Gorham to sit amongst the towering brewing equipment to tie flies. Our overall theme of the night was Caddis. Not only did we manage two different Caddis patterns, but we also talked about the entomology and techniques behind fishing this incredibly diverse species. 

Our featured tyer for the night was Hunt Grobert. A highly skilled tyer, Hunt draws heavily on his Catskills roots to create dead-on proportioned flies. A self proclaimed bug nerd, Hunt also gave a great Powerpoint presentation on the entomology of the related flies and patterns we would be tying that night - the "X-Caddis" and "Green Caddis Larva."

One of the most principle aspects that we want to reinforce with the Maine Bar Fly is the "why." This means that along with learning new fly tying patterns and techniques, understanding why a certain fly is tied in a particular fashion, or why we fish it a certain way are always important supplemental information. This was detailed out last night while we tied a dry fly and a nymph. While out on the water, this information can be a resource in our success. 

Like always at the Maine Bar Fly, there are a lot of great beers being poured. The most popular last night seemed to be the "Freshie Seshie" IPA (the tall cans in the above pics). Plus, since Sebago also has a fantastic kitchen, there was a lot of great food (especially the pizza!) being brought out to everyone. Not sure we could have asked for anything more!

The most challenging aspect to last night's flies was managing the deer hair for the dry fly (X-Caddis). For any new tyer, this can be tough. But everyone seemed to do really well! 

Thank you to Jon Larrabee from HMH Vises, Hunt Grobert, Nate Wight, Shaun Baggitt, Alexa Baggitt, and everyone at Sebago Brewing!

The next Maine Bar Fly is scheduled for March 24th at Mast Landing Brewery. Keep an eye out for further announcements!

Read more

Last night was all about foam. The theme was centered around the "hopper-dropper" technique and tying dry flies/hoppers utilizing foam. Shaun Baggitt was the featured tyer for the night and detailed out two great patterns - a foam caddis and "chubby chernobyl." Both of these flies can be fished solo, or as the main (buoyant) dry fly which holds up an accompanying nymph. 

We were graciously hosted by Oxbow again. Being one of our favorite places to have the Maine Bar Fly, we enjoyed Oxbow's big selection of beers. Their Farmhouse Ale, Endless Summer, Metal Face seemed to be the most popular among us.  

Thanks to all who joined us last night! The next Maine Bar Fly will be held at Stars & Stripes Brewery in Freeport. We will be tying two different saltwater crab patterns taught by Travis Shipman. This will also be the last Maine Bar Fly of the season and we will be going out with a bang! There will be lots of great raffle prizes available which will continue to support Project Healing Waters such as: 

1. Full day guided fishing for stripers with Eric Wallace
2. An Original Maine Fly Tying Base made by Nate Hicks
3. A box full of streamers tied by Shaun Baggitt
4. One hour private fly tying lesson with Nate Wight

Words + Photos By: Josh Thelin

Read more

A little snow isn't going to stop us! Last night we gathered around the fermenters and brewing equipment at Sebago Brewing HQ in Gorham to tie some Euro/Czech style nymphs. As the snow flew outside, Nate Wight walked us through three patterns which thought would be a good basis for "standards" - Frenchie, RCC Caddis, and Brown + Copper. Not only are these great all around flies, but perfect for Maine waters! These style of flies and fishing techniques are fairly new to most anglers, so Nate also did a great job of explaining gear specifics and also details on how these flies are fished.

Our efforts to continue supporting Project Healing Waters through the raffle. Up for grabs last night was a Redington Hydrogen 10' 3wt Euro Nymph fly rod and a box of 90 Euro nymphs tied by Nate Wight. Thank you to Redington and Nate for the kind donation!

The beers last night at Sebago were great! I saw about 5 different styles around the room, so there was clearly plenty of options for everyone. Lots of dark beers to go along with the snowy weather...

The next Maine Bar Fly will be announced soon, so keep an ear out!

Words + Photos: Josh Thelin

Read more

Wednesday January 10th was the second installment of the Maine Bar Fly. Held at Fore River Brewing in South Portland, we watched as Shaun Baggitt guided us through three deadly nymph patterns. The Zebra Midge, Brassie, and Higas SOS were the flies of choice. Sharing similar tying techniques and materials, these three patterns are highly effective in New England - especially in the winter (more on that with an upcoming blog post!). We tied these on size 12 Gamakatsu C12 Scud hooks so that the larger hook would be easier for demonstration purposes and also for those newer to tying.

The wood stove was roaring and the beer steadily flowed. The beer selection at Fore River was great with a lot of various stouts, IPAs, and pale ales that worked perfect for a cold winter night. HMH Vises was kind enough to bring a dolly full of their Spartan vises for everyone (that needed one). So, with ample beverages and fly tying materials people dived into the flies of the night... 

The next Maine Bar Fly is scheduled for February 6th at Oxbow Blending and Bottling on Washington Ave in Portland, Maine. Start thinking big flies, big fish.... Tickets will go up on the website for sale soon. Hope to see you there!

Read more