Some days you simply have to bow to the will of the Universe. Which is why you’re reading the Underground’s first “All Singlebarbed, All The Time” post.

Yep – we’re offering up 24/7 brownliner.

That’s because Singlebarbed (the Underground’s Sasquatchian, authentic Jethro-style brownlining cousin) is popping up all over the place – much like fly fishing’s version of a whack-a-mole (and here we sit without a mallet).

Apparently not exhausted by the effort of writing one odd, hilarious and deeply disturbing blog post daily, he’s also decided to become an entrepreneur and babe magnet ezine editor.

First, there are his new fly tying scissors, an item which would seem like it’s been done to death – except his really are a little different:

If you’re going to try something new, you might as well try something new from someone like Singlebarbed, who tied vast, vast quantities of commercial flies when he was younger (and presumably less hairy).

Turns out you learn a thing or two doing something eight hours a day.

In his post on the matter, he even offers up an action-packed tying sequence, demonstrating the scissors, which you don’t ever leave your hand (so you don’t ever waste time hunting for them on the desk).

A.K. Best had a similar approach to his fly tying (don’t put the scissors down), but it appears to me that Singlebarbed’s version of the scissors take up far less space in your hand.

He’s also selling them direct on eBay, though I must have missed the email he sent me promising a cut of the action.

Still – and despite our suspicion that Singlebarbed is his own best source of dubbing material – we gave the scissors a try. It didn’t take long to get used to the things, and in fact, they actually did take up less space in my hand than the Wiss scissors I’ve been using for years.

(Now if he could only market a pair of scissors that tied the damn flies for me.)

Singlebarbed, Humor Editor?

After reading my daily dose of Singlebarbed, I’m never quite sure if the world’s truly ready for him, but now that he’s become an editor of the newest in the expanding line of ezines, I’d say it doesn’t matter.

Fish Can’t Read is a new flip-book style publication (the online format used by Catch and This is Fly) that mimics a paper-based magazine.

The flip-book online magazine format may reveal itself as a throwback; an homage to print sensibility in a world where it’s no longer required. In other words, readers like flip-book magazines because they resemble the print magazines they grew up with, but it’s quite possible – in an increasingly realtime world – they’ll seem quaint and even laughable five years from now.

(And yes, I’m still planning to finish up a “new fly fishing media” commentary piece that may surprise some of you.)

What Singlebarbed says in his post is also true: the new online magazine formats are inexpensive to produce, so  they allow for considerable experimentation. Writers and topics that would never see the light of day in a mainstream print magazine are finding a voice online.

How that holds up long term in a monetary sense (both for the magazine and the content contributors) remains to be seen.

In any case, Singlebarbed’s singularly scary frightening interesting genius now has one more avenue through which to infect the world (and its youth).

Today only, it’s A Singlebarbed Planet.

See you in the Singlebarbed Universe, Tom Chandler.