"Bail Out" FlyfishMagazine Style...

Shallow river + overloaded non-selfbailing raft = Bail Out

Teardrop Campers

Tail water Editor, Jeff Paisley shot a a couple of new pictures of his teardrop camper build. This time he has dressed up the front end with a diamond plate tool box. We are still pulling for a brown trout paint job.

Send us photos of your fly fishing / outdoorsy DIY projects

More Teardrops

Paisley continues flaunting the fact that he built a teardrop camper and we have not by sending us this Youtube video about the public's infatuation with this simple and elegant place to lay your head at night.

This Weekend's Fishing Trip

Paisley and I met up for a bit of fishing this past weekend. The weather was just bad enough to keep most of the yuppies away and give us the river pretty much to ourselves.

2007 Gift Guide Part II: Paisley's Picks

We continue our coverage of FlyFishMagazine.com's 2007 Holiday Gift Guide with today's picks from our tail water editor and Fly Fishing DIY Project guru, Jeff Paisley.

Jeff must be feeling the chill at his home in the Carolina mountains as two of his picks from this year have to do directly with staying warm while fishing his favorite tailraces. Like all good fly anglers he finishes his list big with a shiny new Tibor fly reel. Click here to see what gear caught Jeff's eye for this Christmas season.

Stay tuned through out the week for more gear guides from the staff of FlyFishMagazine.com.

In case you missed it here is a link to Jay Moore's picks.

Just for kicks here's what the gang picked in 2006.

Jeff Paisley on the good kind of teardrops.

Many of you have followed Jeff Paisley's teardrop camper project on this blog. Jeff sends us this article that he wrote about the process:

TEARDROPS – THE ULTIMATE OUTDOOR RETREAT

I started discussing building a teardrop camper a couple of years ago with my old friend from flyfishmagazine. He liked to make jokes about "those little campers", but I had a feeling, teardrops would be the perfect camping machine for us fish crazy people. After researching a number of designs I was set to start building my first Teardrop.

The design I longed to build was the vintage 1937, 4’ x 8’ Teardrop. First I had to find a set of plans. Next, I reviewed them and customized the plans to fit my needs. Then I started out on the scavenger hunt of a lifetime. Once completed, I had all the needed materials to build my Teardrop. After three and a half months of working on the weekends and missing a few fishing trips, the Teardrop was ready for it’s first voyage. My wife and I loaded the little camper and headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway where we spent a couple of wonderful nights.

We setup camp in about five minutes. We just backed the Teardrop in and popped the hatch. Wow! How easy is that? As we set around the campfire, we discussed how effortlessly camping had become with the Teardrop. By now it was time to turn in for the night. The next morning was met with great enthusiasm. My wife loved the camper. It was warm, comfortable and relaxing. Making our trip most enjoyable. The amount of room in the Teardrop was amazing to. There was enough room to move in the cabin without disturbing each other.

The next night the temperature dropped to 35 degrees and the wind was blowing about 20 mph. It was very chilly so we turned in early. Once we entered the Teardrop and closed the door, it was like sitting in your living room. The howling wind couldn't penetrate the walls, leaving the Teardrop warm and relaxing. In minutes we were fast asleep in the comfort of our new little camper. The next morning when I woke up I knew the Teardrop was the ultimate fishing retreat because of all the advantages it brings to the table.

Teardrops are great little campers with many purposes but I would suggest them for the avid fisherman like myself. It only took one trip for me to understand how great these little campers are. There is little set up time involved, allowing more time on the water. The comfort is unparalleled by any tent, air mattress and sleeping bag. You wake up refreshed and ready to go fight those big fish again. Another advantage of this style of camper is it can be towed by small cars with little effort. Because the camper only weighs 700 pounds, it also doesn't impact gas mileage very much, if any? Maybe one of the greatest advantages is you can park it almost anywhere. The numerous advantages of the Teardrop sure outweigh the small size of these units. I’ll be a Teardrop owner for many years to come. Hope to see you out on the Teardrop trail one day. If you have questions about Teardrops please let me know and I’ll try to help if possible.

Here is a link to all of our coverage of Jeff's build. Remember if you are a fly fisher who is into DIY let us know about your project.

Paisley's Teardrop Project Update

Our long time fishing pal and FlyFishMagazine.com Contributing Editor, Jeff Paisley has finished his teardrop camper project. All it needs now is an appropriate paint job.

Be sure to send us pics of your best DIY projects.

Pimp my Trailer: Part II

FlyfishMagazine.com contributor Jeff Paisley emailed us an update on the status of his ultimate fly fishing teardrop camper project. He tells that he is putting the finishing touches on it this week. Once completed the camper will be put to immediate use on the banks of Arkansas' White River during his annual trip.

Paisley is already planning another teardrop. Since he is an alum of Appalachian State University and still reveling in the upset of the century, he said he intends on panting the next one black and gold.

Here is a link to our original post about Paisley's pimped out trailer.

Have a fly fishing or outdoor related DIY project under your belt? Drop us a note with your photos so we can share them with our readers.

Fin-mobile

Our long time fishing pal Paisley is currently in the process of building the ultimate fly fishing tear drop camper. He is also documenting the construction steps for a future series of articles for FlyfishMagazine.com. It's too bad he didn't get a look at the Fin-mobile from the folks at Save our Wild Salmon before he started the build.

Have you seen these men?

Flyfishmagazine.com was about to issue the fly fishing equivalent of an Amber Alert due to the lack of fishing reports from our correspondents Zugbug and Paisley.

The two of them along with my pontoon boat and our pal Chuck Garwood are fishing the White River near Mountain Home, Arkansas. Until today we hadn't heard a peep out of them but finally, just as we were getting worried sick(about our pontoon boat,) the cell phone rang with a report. It seems the fish are biting extremely well and each of our anglers has landed Brown trout in excess of twenty inches along with numerous other lesser Rainbows, Cutthroats, and even the odd Brookie. We await photographic evidence and a proper fishing report but are inclined to believe since obviously the mojo of our Water skeeter has brought them luck.