These are a few friends of The Eclectic Angler, organizations that we support with our time, membership, and donations, and vendors with which we do business.

Blogs, Forums, and Publications

The Reelsmithing Forum - we run The Reelsmithing Forum as a platform for reelsmiths to share information. The forum currently has over 300 participants from all around the globe.

Fishing for History - a must read blog! Daily posts with weekly special columns like "1000 Words", "Voices from the Past", "The Friday FUn House", and "Deconstructing Old Ads with Bill Sonnett".

Reel Talk - O.R.C.A.'s discussion forum on old reels, collecting and repairs and restorations. See O.R.CA.. below.

The Classic Fly Rod Forum (formerly Clark's Classic Bamboo Rod Forum) - a great resource for information on rods and reels. We actively participate in the Rod and Reel Makers Forum and the Classic Reels forum. The forum is now owned by Todd Larson from Whitefish Press.

Rod Building Forum - another great forum on all aspects of rod building. Occasional reel discussions come up too.

PowerFibers - is a quarterly e-zine primarily on bamboo rod building. The magazine can be purchased subscription on DVD or freely downloaded. Very informative and useful. 

Medieval and Renaissance Flies - a great source of information on early flies, all tied with meticulous attention to details and with period materials. 

Trouts & Stouts - one of our customer's fly fishing blog. Very well done and informative. Covers many topics.

Museums

Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum - loctated in the Catskills in New York, the center is dedicated to preserving America's fly fishing heritage, teaching future generations of fly fishers, and protecting the fly fishing environment. They host an annual Bamboo Rod Gathering and the Arts of the Angler show. We encourage you to support the center and become a member.

American Museum of Fly Fishing - located in Manchester, Vt the AMFF promotes an understanding and appreciation for the history, traditions and practitioners of the sport of fly fishing. We encourage you to become a member, their quarterly magazine is packed with great information.

Organizations

Trout Unlimited - the national organization. I'm a life member and volunteer to work on restoration and other projects whenever I can. Their magazine, Trout, is very well done.

O.R.C.A. (Old Reel Collectors Association) - O.R.C.A. is a non-profit educational corporation with an interest in old reels and their history. Their bi-montly magazine, The Reel News, is jamb packed with great information and history on reels of all types.

Casting for Recovery - a worthy organization that provides an opportunity for women whose lives have been profoundly affected by breast cancer to gather in a natural setting and learn the sport of fly fishing.

Vendors

Angler's Paradise - is a fly fishing shop in Gunma Japan. They are the official (and exclusive) distributor for Eclectic Angler Reel Kits and other items in Japan.

Historic Angling Enterprises - specializes in fly & course tackle for the 1400's to the mid-1800's. Lot's of great information and proprietor Paul Jones is a great proponent of angling history and all-around nice guy.

JB Machine - is a San Antonio, TX based machine shop. We've worked with them for several years to fabricate both prototype and production components for our reel kits in brass, aluminum and Delrin.

Microlon - we are a reseller of Microlon's UltraBlue Penetrating Fishing Reel Treatment. This is very good lubricant that bonds to the metal surface to protect and lubricate it.

Quality Fab Inc. - is a custom metal fabricating shop in Fitchburg, MA. They have an incredible CNC waterjet machine that cuts most of our brass and aluminum production reel kit frames.

Tenkara USA - Daniel has single-handidiy introduced the art of tenkara to western anglers. Tenkara is very similar to the western loop rod - also a long rod with a fixed length line and no reel. Tenkara is a great technique for small to medium streams, backpack fly fishing and teaching new anglers.

Whitefish Press - publishes a wide variety of works on fishing history and fishing tackle. Dr. Todd Larson is extremely knowledgable and dedicated to preserving angling heritage. Whitefish Press published my book The Reelsmith's Primer and it was a great experience all around. Dr. Todd publishes the Fishing for History blog referenced above.