We’re very excited to introduce our Homewater rods featuring Fetha Styx exclusive blank designs made by Gary Loomis and North Fork Composites. Currently the series is composed of a Salmon/Steelhead line, a Freshwater line and a Bass line. Manufactured in the USA and featuring counterbalanced Fuji Alconite guides and high-end Fuji or cork reel seats; portions of proceeds will go towards the Fetha Styx Foundation, which supports waterway conservation. Watch Derek show World Fishing Network the Homewater rods here.

Brown Family King

The summertime sun has finally come to Washington state and with her heat came the king salmon retention closure on Sky River. With that stated, I am now shifting gears back to focusing on the Skykomish River summer-run steelhead. If you’re looking for a peaceful float down the river, with the opportunity to catch a summer-run chromer, look no further than your own backyard. The fish have moved up the system and it’s time to break out the drift boat.

Bonner With a Summer King

Otherwise, lets get a crew to fill up the jet sled and head down to the Cowlitz River to do battle with summer-run steelhead. Those fish have definitely shown up and are in the system, as well. Side drifting and pulling plugs are the keys to success down on the Cow.

Lets Go Catch Some Summer Run Chrome!

Sincerely,
Bonner Daniels
bonnerfishon.com
425-281-8772

Fetha Styx and North Fork Composites have come together to create what I would consider the #1 new rod on the market today for action and sensitivity. Coming soon to a dealer near you! Contact Billy or Gina at Fetha Styx for more information.

PS The walleye bite is on over east if your looking for a change of pace. Just let me know when you want to go

Check out the new NASCAR rods up close!

Fetha Styx NASCAR series features five different drivers: Mark Martin #5, Danica Patrick #7, Jeff Gordon #24, Jimmie Johnson #48 and Dale Earnhardt Jr #88.

The World Fishing Network crew graciously stopped by the Fetha Styx booth to talk about our niche market rods for firefighters, police officers (True Hero series), conservation charities (CCA series) and NASCAR fans, as well as our new Homewater series. A big thanks to WFN for the time they spent with us!

And here’s Derek with our Homewater series. The series raises money for the Fetha Styx Foundation, which assists efforts to protect American water ways.

Videos courtesy of WFN.tv.

As the reports continue to come back, we’ll keep this post updated. So be sure to check back!

Our NASCAR rods are featured in a Field and Stream online gallery titled “The Most Unique, Innovative and Strange New Tackle from ICAST 2010.”

Gary Loomis and Gina proudly show Homewater rods to ICAST goers.

Two new videos from the World Fishing Network are up here.

Bill shows off the brand new Homewater rod series featuring blanks made by North Fork Composites.
Homewater Rod Series (video)

Gina talks to us for a minute about the NASCAR rod series.
Gina Shows the NASCAR Series (video)

And, lastly, a gallery of the day’s photos.

Here are some photos of our ICAST booth setup, including our new NASCAR rod series, our True Hero series and our CCA series. We’re having a great time and meeting lots of fine folks — stay tuned for more Fetha Styx updates from ICAST!

Those of you who live in the NW know that we haven’t seen too much sun in these early days of summer. Fortunately, the last two weekends have been beautiful and I took full advantage by dragging my raft down from Portland for some fly-fishing on the world-renowned Deschutes River in Central Oregon.

If you have ever had the chance to fish this river you know it is quite the experience. The beauty of the red cliffs and sage brush are beyond picturesque, and on a clear night the stars are unrivaled. Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures as I normally don’t bring my camera when I float new water, so you can let your imagination run wild.

Fishing was good, but not spectacular. The biggest fish we saw were the ones we spooked while stalking the grassy banks. That being said, there is something incredible about landing the beautiful rainbows that the Deschutes are known for. I still remember the first time I saw these beautiful “red-sides” and that experience will keep me coming back time after time.

It’s too early for the summer steelhead run so the number of fishermen on the river is manageable, but will only increase as the summer and good weather continue. You are going to have to go downstream of Maupin quite a ways because the recreational rafters and commercial operations are ramping up and busy!

Here are some tips for your next visit to the Deschutes:

• Remember, there is no fishing from the boat even though access can be hard….
• The sun is intense, I found fishing early and later in the evening the better. Make sure you stalk your holes appropriately and don’t spook the fish with your shadow. Beware of the wind picking up around 4 and blowing into the evening. Also, remember no fires.
• Watch out for rattlesnakes.
• The rocks are super slick — you’ll definitely want studded boots or be very cautious.

Flies:

• Caddis (smaller 10-14 worked for me)
• Pale morning dun

Larger nymphs:

• zug bug, prince, darker stone fly, hares ear, pheasant tail, lightning bug

Rod Hewitt.

The Washington State Governor’s Cup was held at Kettle Falls on the beautiful Lake
Roosevelt on June 26th and 27th. There were 89 teams that competed in this year’s
tournament. Out of a possible 1068 fish that could be weighed in, the 89 teams brought
in 1047 fish to the scales. Many teams reported catching 30 to 40 fish per day. There are
a lot of walleye in Lake Roosevelt and the number of fish that were brought to the scales
over this two day tournament is a testament to how incredible and healthy this fishery is.

Team Fetha Styx had a good game plan going into this year’s Governor’s Cup based upon
our pre-fishing results, but as with any tournament, conditions do change and we found
this to be true on Saturday. After day one, we were sitting in 32nd place with a total
weight of 8.42 lbs. The leaders were at 15.78 lbs and we were almost 2 lbs behind 10th
place so Jeff and I knew we had to adapt our fishing if we wanted to have a chance at a
top 10 finish.

Take off!

When Sunday morning came, we decided to focus on fishing deeper water current
breaks and points that were closer to the main channel and oh did it pay off. We were
immediately rewarded with better quality fish up to 20”. After catching and sorting
through around 30 fish we were able to weigh in 6 fish for 11.66 lbs. Our two day total
of 20.08 lbs was good enough for a 7th place finish.

Jeff Dickinson

The next tournament for Team Fetha Styx is July 25th and 26th. The Spokane Walleye
Club presents the Washington State’s Walleye Championship back at Kettle Falls and the
winner is guaranteed a top prize of $10,000. Team Fetha Styx is currently in 3rd place in
the Angler of the Year standings and this will prove to be an exciting finish to this year’s
Washington State Walleye Circuit.

Rod Hewitt
Jeff Dickinson

Current WSWC Standings

DON GHRAMM
470.86

GREG OSBORNE
432.34

ROD HEWITT
425.54

STAN ROMIG
425.47

JIM STACK
406.08

KEVIN STACK
406.08

JIM STACK
406.08

STEVE ROMIG
397.38

RICK SUTHERLAND
395.24

TOM MORROW
395.24

Summer . . . well I think it’s summer, but I’m still not sure. Actually the weather from a fisherman’s point of view has been excellent. For me and the boat, the catching has been good, to great and then . . . downright SLOW! I’ve been focusing my time on the Snohomish system of late, focusing on the summer kings, side drifting bait. The water has finally started to drop into shape. Get out there and get after ’em before the July 31st retention closure!

Just a few days ago I had the pleasure of fishing with Jean, Cyndi, and Cathy of Puget Sound Anglers along with Glenn and Taj while filming a Hawg Quest episode. Great company and good times to say the least You will have to watch FSN channel 30 to see the results of our trip. I will say we had a blast!

Remember, it’s supposedly summertime . . . we have been catching fish on all methods from jet sled, to drift boat, to banking it. Try spinners, spoons, floats, plugs, and side drifting smaller baits for summer chrome in the form of steelhead and king salmon.

The summer run action is just beginning, give me a call if you want in on some of the ACTION!!

See you on the water.

Sincerely,
Bonner Daniels
bonnerfishon.com
425-281-8772

via Charlotte Business Journal

Go fish. And take NASCAR with you.

That’s the plan for Fetha Styx and the Charlotte-based licensing division of NASCAR. Late this year, Fetha Styx’s line of NASCAR fishing rods will debut, selling for $150 to $250 each for adult models and $99 for children. Forty-five retailers have agreed to sell the rods, with national stores such as Bass Pro Shops included, according to NASCAR.

A 2,400-square-foot distribution hub here will serve the primary Southeastern market, though the rods will be sold nationwide.

Fetha Styx, based in Seattle, tapped Chuck Morrison, former owner of a NASCAR souvenir company, as a consultant on the launch of the fishing rods. Morrison lives in Columbia, S.C., but spent many years in Charlotte working in sports marketing and promotion.

To start, five drivers will be featured in the fishing line: Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson and Danica Patrick. The drivers’ car numbers and signatures are featured on the rods. All of the drivers except Patrick are part of Hendrick Motorsports, home of the most popular race teams in the sport. Patrick drives for Earnhardt Jr.’s Nationwide Series team, which includes Rick Hendrick as a co-owner.

Next month, the rods will debut in Las Vegas as part of the fishing industry’s annual trade show. Tie-in promotions at BASS tournaments throughout the Southeast begin this fall.

Next year, Morrison, who has extensive experience in NASCAR collectibles and merchandise, hopes to organize a fishing demonstration with some drivers and fans at the Daytona International Speedway’s 29-acre lake on the track’s infield as part of the season-opening Daytona 500 race weeks.

NASCAR touts a strong connection between racing and fishing.

“It’s a natural fit,” says Paul Sparrow, NASCAR director of business development. The price and quality of the fishing rods reflect NASCAR’s belief that authenticity is crucial. “We didn’t want to just slap a logo on something,” he says.

NASCAR fans are twice as likely to fish as non-NASCAR fans, according to a study by research firm Experian Simmons.

Fishing and NASCAR share more than the same audience. They both want more young fans, too.

“Our industry needs to get more kids involved, and NASCAR as a sport needs more kids — it’s a double-whammy,” says Paul Marcoux, managing director of Boyce Jones Investments, the parent of Fetha-Styx.

Taking advantage of NASCAR fans’ fondness for fishing, camping and the outdoors provides mutual benefits, industry experts say.

Last year, NASCAR and a resort company negotiated a deal to put the stock-car sanctioning body’s name on campgrounds across the country. At Bass Pro Shops, NASCAR-themed sections reinforce the strong bond between race fans and the outdoors.

Sparrow, the NASCAR executive, points to a charity campaign tied to the new line of fishing rods as another hook. For every adult fishing rod sold, $10 goes to the driver’s favorite charity. For the youth line, each one sold includes a $3 donation to the NASCAR Foundation.

If the fishing rods sell well, accessories won’t be far behind. Talks have already begun on companion tackle boxes, cases and other items bearing driver names and logos.