My New Net - Sierra-Nets

[DarkShadow]

I've been following Greg's work, since he was a SoCal legend, and since I got into the fly game, there were 6 degrees of separation when it came to his company, Sierra Nets. I remember visiting my local fly shop when I picked up my first fly rod and reel combo, and one his works of art was displayed behind the glass at the check out counter. I looked at the net and immediately thought that I'd never be in the same arena as other fly anglers to be blessed enough to hold it, touch it, let alone own one.

2 years later, and much has changed. The 1 fly rod and reel combo I owned quickly became half a dozen. The "local" trips soon became 5 hour road trips, which soon became 10 hour interstate road trips, but the item that remained constant was that beat up Measure Net, that was affixed to my back wherever I went. It never left my side.

Now I have new companion.

It started first with a piece of ebony wood that Greg had procured. Ebony can be very difficult to find, and to see that he had a log (that weighed a ton), brought a smile to my face.



I was given fair warning that the log may not have enough workable wood to create the handle, but Greg managed to get a nice workable piece from the log.



And slowly it begins....



And a handle is slowly created....



I let Greg's creative juices take hold and had him design the hoop. I don't know the specific woods that he used, but I'm confident in the fact that he knows what he's doing.





The net's hoop has been glued, and the final filing has completed. The hard work of the inlay has now been completed:



Greg, starting the engraving with a .030" spiral-flute router bit @ 60,000 rpms.



Touching up the edges with a modified spiral carving bit.



California inlay in aluminum done, time for the fish.



Fish inlayed in bronze. The finished product!

Now for my initials inlayed in aluminum, to match the California inlay.



*

I picked it up the other day, and I cannot wait for it to hit the water. The net comes with a matching magnetic net release, and a paracord lanyard customizable to any color.

If you wanna check out more of Greg's work, check out http://www.sierra-nets.com

[Marley]

It's beautiful. Congratulations!

[TUNAVIC]

Wow,a piece of art!

Cya Tuna Vic

[City Dad]

now that is badazzzzz...

[DarkShadow]

now that is badazzzzz...

Hopefully looking to post the final pics, but somehow, the artificial light does the net no justice when seen in natural light. Perhaps the dark ebony prevents the features from coming out, but hopefully I'll get some better shots of it.

Greg, once again, you're the man.

[DarkShadow]

Hopefully looking to post the final pics, but somehow, the artificial light does the net no justice when seen in natural light. Perhaps the dark ebony prevents the features from coming out, but hopefully I'll get some better shots of it.

Greg, once again, you're the man.

Finally brought the baby home, and unfortunately haven't even used my 2016 fishing license yet. Been doing a bit of recon in other drainages around these parts, hoping El Nino's rain and local snow perks them up...so far, doesn't look to good and I'm hoping there are remnants of wild fish populations in these unnamed places that I know used to have them.

In any case:



Close up of the net opening, and the contrast between the dark ebony handle, and the dark ebony hoop. Apparently, this is the only net Greg has done that has both an ebony handle and a hoop.



Closeup of the embedded California/Trout logo that I designed. The metallic inlay looks awesome under the sun.



Closeup of the inlay of my initials on the underside of the net. Took a while until I found the perfect font.



Closeup of the paracord and the hardware.



Closeup of the inside of the net hoop, contrasting beautifully against the darker ebony.



Closeup of the magnetic net released, made from the same ebony as the handle. Greg elected to keep some of the lighter wood so that the release didn't look jet black.



The Final Product

[old pudd fisher]

Dang he is a five star craftsman, the net is awesome.

[ichthus]

That's a beautiful piece of art! Congrats and good luck with it!

[DarkShadow]

Thanks!

Some may ridicule, but apparently Aesop's fable regarding sour grapes never got read to those individuals as children.

[billy b]

A Rembrandt for sure ... SWEET

Congrats and best to both of you!