WFS 318 – How to Build a Fly Fishing Net with Ethan Igleheart – Stonefly Nets
Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/318
Presented By: Stonefly Nets
Sponsors: wetflyswing.com/sponsors
Ethan Igleheart, founder and master craftsman at Stonefly Nets, walks us into and behind the scenes of creating a custom fly fishing net. We find out how the custom build-out bonus came to be, which burl he selected and how to make it beautiful, and the step-by-step process from wood cut out to package ship out. Ethan talks about his collaboration with Tom Morgan Rodsmiths to come up with the Catch and Release package which is a pretty sweet combo. Ethan also tells us about that bamboo rod that was passed on to him from his great grandmother, the rod he first learned to fish with and still uses today.
Today, we announce the lucky winner of the Stonefly Nets giveaway. Plus, a quick shoutout to one of our listeners at the end of the podcast, so stay tuned!
Fly Fishing Net Show Notes with Ethan Igleheart
03:00 – Ethan was on the podcast for the first time at WFS 198
03:20 – Stonefly Nets collaborates with Tom Morgan Rodsmiths
03:30 – Stonefly Nets was recently at a trade show in Charleston, South Carolina – hosted by Southeastern Wildlife Expo
05:50 – Matt Barber and Joel Doub from Tom Morgan Rodsmiths were on the podcast at WFS 161
12:40 – Ethan talks about bending the hoop which is the most time consuming
16:30 – Ethan breaks down the steps on building the net from scratch
17:32 – Ethan explains what a burl wood is – click here to read a detailed article about burl wood
25:00 – The holes on the wood are filled with crushed stones
26:50 – Ethan tells us about that bamboo rod that was passed on to him from his great grandmother – he learned to fish using that rod and he still uses it today
31:00 – Ward Tonsfeldt was on the podcast at WFS 276 where we talked about classic, vintage, and antique fly rods
34:18 – We announce the winner of the Stonefly Nets Giveaway – congratulations Julie Kelner!
36:00 – Ethan credits Matt Barber for the calligraphy. Ethan also found a woman calligrapher in Little Rock
38:45 – Ethan uses brass for the eyelets to attach the net
40:44 – For the net, Ethan uses PVC plastic
48:30 – Martin Joergensen from Global FlyFisher was on the podcast at WFS 099 – he’s got a blog about DIY fly fishing net
51:00 – Cameron Mortenson from Fiberglass Manifesto was on the podcast at WFS 088 – he did a “how to build a landing net” content
54:30 – Quick shoutout to Ronald Burnett – he really enjoyed the recent episode with Landon Mayer at WFS 295. Thanks for checking in Ronald!
Fly Fishing Net Conclusion with Ethan Igleheart
In this episode, we learned the step-by-step process of building a custom wood landing net. Ethan’s goal is to produce quality wood landing nets that can be passed on to your children and your grandchildren.
We announced the winner of the Stonefly Nets giveaway – congratulations, Julie Kelner! If you’re reading this, I hope you land more fish with that net and spread the word about your Stonefly Net experience. I appreciate your support for the podcast and I hope to maybe see you on the water someday. A big virtual high five to you!
Thank you Ethan for putting this together. We are very grateful to have you as a sponsor. Looking forward to fish with you soon.
Show Notes: wetflyswing.com/318
