When starting it, I didn’t know how monumental the task would be. But, updating a website that has been around since 1994 , is not nothing… specially when it belongs to Dan Blanton.
It quickly became fun, though, when I re-read articles from the ‘Tackle & Techniques Magazine’; the same articles that fueled the flame of my own fly fishing pursuits.
Then, the hero shot of Charlie Bisharat’s 50-pound, fly caught West Coast striped bass in the ‘Photo Albums’ caught my eye; as did the neighboring photo of Alan Roger’s record barramundi. And, it’s amazing to see how quickly the market advances when you look at the ‘What’s Hot’ products of even a couple of years ago and realize they are soooooooooo yesterday now.
In honor of the late Bill Nash, Dan has been hosting The Knot Man’s web pages since March 2009; and, they are still accessible and worth a look. Nash’s ‘Clean Gets More Fish’ article was a fun read, and I understand his FLY CASTING SYSTEMS MANUAL & VIDEOS are still available.
[Caution: technical language approaching]
Jump over to the new website: In addition to making Dan’s website a fixed width, we incorporated a consistent navigation menu to every page.
We also installed and integrated the WordPress blog engine, which will be used to manage several web pages, including the ‘Hot Flies’, the ‘Tackle & Techniques Magazine’, the ‘Coast to Coast Guides’ directory, and what is now called ‘What’s Hot and New’, formerly ‘What’s Hot’. Otherwise, the balance of the website remains largely unchanged; like the Bulletin Board.
100s and 100s of new blog posts were created from Dan’s original content, including unique articles written by the likes of Lefty Kreh, Ken Hanley, Craig Smith, etc. The ‘Coast to Coast Guides’ directory figures prominently under the ‘Fly Fishing Guides‘ category on the blog menu. Cutting edge fly fishing related products and services will showcase in the ‘What’s Hot and New‘ section. There are plenty of other new features. And, new content, such as Jonny King’s ‘Hot Fly‘, will be made easier to add and maintain, using the WordPress CMS.
It’s been fun, a distinct pleasure, really an honor, working closely with Dan, noting the artistic flair in his artwork, as well as his website’s host, Jorge Gonzales (props on the Bulletin Board).
Dan put a lot of work into this website, that’s for dang sure. That it evolved into a remarkable resource for the world-wide fly fishing community, says a lot about Dan. Congratulations, Dan, on a great website, kudos and thanks again.
Noel de Guzman