S8, Ep 22: From The Chocklett Factory: Blane Chocklett on Community, Conservation and New Fly Releases

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash reconnects with master fly tier and Game Changer platform creator Blane Chocklett for another installment of The Chocklett Factory series. Blane recaps Tie Fest, the ASGA conservation fundraiser held at Carter Andrews' ranch, describing how brands like Yeti, Patagonia, Costa and Scientific Angler rallied around Jack Crevalle research funding. The conversation shifts to major new product launches from The Chocklett Factory — most notably the long-awaited Feather Changer, now available through Chocklett's online shop and dealer network, alongside new cicada and shrimp patterns for spring and summer. Blane breaks down the Feather Changer's design philosophy, tracing its origins to a conversation with Bob Popovics about using natural feathers to solve the buoyancy problems he encountered using deer body hair in Game Changer builds, and explains why the pattern's movement, profile-holding ability and blend of natural and synthetic materials make it one of the most versatile flies in the Game Changer family. He closes by previewing upcoming travel including a smallmouth bass film project with Fly Fisherman magazine and Jay Nichols in Pennsylvania, a redfish conservation trip to Brunswick, Georgia, and destinations ranging from Baja to northern Saskatchewan for northern pike.

EPISODE SUMMARY

Guest: Blane Chocklett – Fly Designer and Owner, The Chocklett Factory (Roanoke, Virginia area)

In this episode: Fly designer Blane Chocklett joins host Marvin Cash for a wide-ranging Chocklett Factory update covering ASGA conservation fundraising, the launch of the Feather Changer and new seasonal fly patterns, the design history of the Feather Changer within the Game Changer platform, and an upcoming smallmouth bass film project with Fly Fisherman magazine.

Key fishing techniques covered:

• Feather Changer presentation for smallmouth bass — versatile profile-holding and swimming action
• Game Changer platform design — blending natural feathers with synthetics for movement, silhouette and trigger response
• Natural material selection for articulated flies — sourcing quality feathers and solving buoyancy issues vs. deer body hair
• Pre-spawn smallmouth bass targeting — migration patterns and seasonal approach (Pennsylvania rivers)
• Northern pike fly fishing — upcoming Saskatchewan destination fishing

Location focus: Virginia (home base / Chocklett Factory); Pennsylvania (pre-spawn smallmouth filming); Brunswick, Georgia (redfish / conservation); Baja; northern Saskatchewan (pike)

Target species: Smallmouth bass, redfish (Jack Crevalle research context), northern pike; cicada emergence fishing (general)

Equipment discussed: Feather Changer (Chocklett Factory); Game Changer platform (Feather Changer, shrimp patterns, Craws, Jerk); Semper Fli pattern; Yeti, Patagonia, Costa, Scientific Angler, TFO, Nautilus (sponsor brands at Tie Fest)

Key questions answered:

• What is the Feather Changer and how does it differ from other Game Changer patterns?
• How did Blane Chocklett develop the Feather Changer design?
• What new flies is The Chocklett Factory releasing for spring and summer 2026?
• How does the Feather Changer perform for smallmouth bass fishing?

Best for: Intermediate to advanced anglers interested in articulated streamer design, the Game Changer platform, smallmouth bass fly fishing, and fly tying innovation

FULL TRANSCRIPT:

Marvin Cash00:00:04

Hey, folks, it's Marvin Cash, the host of The Articulate Fly. We're back with another Chocklett Factory with the man himself, Blane Chocklett. Blane, how are you?

Blane Chocklett00:00:11

I'm good, man. How are you doing as always.

Marvin Cash00:00:14

Just trying to stay out of trouble. Getting ready for the Easter bunny and spring break.

Blane Chocklett00:00:18

There you go. I get it.

Marvin Cash00:00:20

Yeah. And both of us were kind of lucky we were actually home.We were kind of lamenting before we started recording that we've been traveling a little bit too much and it's nice to be in one place for a couple weeks.

Blane Chocklett00:00:30

Yes. Yeah. I'm finally home for next 10, 15 days, which is great. Before I hit the road again.So it's kind of catch up on stuff that's been waiting and just trying to manage the schedule and booking stuff for later in the year.

Marvin Cash00:00:48

Yeah, absolutely. I'm sorry I wasn't able to catch up with you at Ty Fest, but I did the road tally by the time I got home.Right before that, I think I'd driven about 1700 miles in about seven or eight days, so I was kind of cooked. But sounds like it was a great event. Why don't you kind of recap it for us?

Blane Chocklett00:01:05

Yeah, so, yeah, just kind of getting back and recovering from Thai Fest, which, you know, most people know, it's, it's at Carter Andrews Ranch Farm, whatever you want to say, it's.And you know, it's something that Tony used to do years ago over on the Eastern shore of Maryland, where it's always conservation based and you know, myself and Popovics and Lefty and Clouser and many other great tires and, and legends in the sport would come and donate time and hang out and all the name of. In love of our sport and try to raise money to protect our fish. And that's what we're doing with asga.Um, you know, when we lost Lefty several years ago and then Bob the year before and you know, I, I told Tony that it, it's time to bring it back. And we did that last year.And having such a great community with, you know, friends, guides, ambassadors, all the companies that I work with and friends of companies within our community stepped up, you know, yeti. You know, we couldn't do this event without Yeti.I mean, they, they brought a bar for drinks and they did lunch for the day event and then did our dinner for the, for the auction dinner and, you know, all the other brands. Patagonia showed up big this year. Costa Scientific Angler.You know, there's so many amazing Brands that were there, tfo, you know, they, they really help me and kind of get behind me in whatever I'm kind of trying to do in the industry and you know, not just in what I'm doing, but any conservation stuff.And you know, and that's what I love about our, our sport and our industry is, you know, we all have, we all share the same passion and same love for what we do.And it shines really bright when you can call some of the highest profile people in our industry and ask them if they would give up a day to come hang out and just share their love of the sport in honor of the ones we've lost like Lefty and Bobby and Flip and many others and celebrate what we have. And all in the name of conservation, which is Jack Crevalle Research right now is what this event sponsoring.We have that five year research plan that costs a lot of money. You know, each acoustic tags, $500. And to get a bunch of those takes quite a few coins, right?And the only way we can do it is to raise money to get it done.And you know, having companies like Nautilus and all the other ones I talked about earlier, you know, they step up and deliver and donate product or will be there in person or, or whatever and help sponsor it.And you know, I couldn't, I couldn't be prouder and more grateful to show up there and know that, you know, all these mentors of mine that I've mentioned how proud they would be of, of our community and you know, to me it's a lot to, to kind of help put together with the whole team that we have at ASGA and Tony and sue and Cody and the whole team that shows up there.I mean, there's so much work behind the scenes that goes on and Carter Andrews and his family just allowing us to use their place to, for conservation.It's, I mean, I could go on and on about it, but you put it together, you hope it all works and when you see everyone step up and show up for our, our sport and what we love and what we stand for and then have the community around that area and people flying in from all over the country to be there, it's pretty amazing. And you know, it just kind of shows how great this sport is and the passion that we all have for it.And you know, I just want to say thank you to everybody that showed up, you know, you know who you are, and we look forward to next year. You know, after everything kind of settled down, Carter called me and had a bunch of ideas about next year and wanted to do it again.So I'm really excited about that and definitely humbled by it all. But it couldn't do it without everybody and we're all in it together.And it's a really nice feeling to, to know that we all stand for the same thing and really, truly love what we do.

Marvin Cash00:05:55

Very neat. And I'll try to drop some pictures from the event in the social media post for this episode.And you know, you've also got, just in time for the Easter Bunny, you got a bunch of new products coming out of The Chocklett Factory.

Blane Chocklett00:06:06

Yeah, we do.You know, my cicada patterns will be coming out this spring, later this spring, and just in time for, you know, dog days and periodic hatches that are be going on throughout the country like they do every year. And the, the biggest one I'm super excited about is the Feather Changers, you know, ever.That's probably one of my most, if not the most popular fly that I have. And we have been getting samples and, and some stock in over the past month or so.And they look phenomenal and really excited to be able to launch those here in the next a couple days and next couple weeks.And they'll be available through our shop online and all my dealers and I know a lot of people love those and it's a staple in the Game Changer family. So, you know, a lot of it's sourcing. That's why it takes a while that, you know me, we're not gonna let anything out that's not right.And we were able to secure some good quality feathers and all that kind of stuff and getting the samples honed in to where they're gonna do and look like I want them to look. And that's where we are now. And we got many other stuff, many other products, time stuff coming.But the Feather Changers, the cicadas, all those are going and of course, you know, the shrimp patterns and all that stuff's on its way and we just keep on rolling and keeping the train on the tracks and hang on because it's going to be a big 26 force. So I'm super excited about that. But the Feather Changers was a big obstacle to overcome and the fact that we have that now, I couldn't be more happy.And I know the people that love the Game Changer platform, that's, that's probably, if not their favorite, one of their favorites.So super excited to be able to offer that to dealers and, and the customers and you know, whether they get it from us or all the dealers around the country, it's. It's a big deal for me. And, you know, you know how it is, and you travel a lot and see the platform and how it's grown.And I'm sure you've seen, too, that the feathered side of it is one of the bigger sides of that platform. And for us to be able to do that now is a big deal.

Marvin Cash00:08:31

Yeah, absolutely.And so for folks that may not be super familiar, kind of what tool and the, I guess, better ways, like what club in the golf club bag is the feather changer for in your fly fishing game?

Blane Chocklett00:08:44

Yeah, I mean, to be honest, it's probably one of the most versatile ones, right. Because it has, it has. It keeps a profile. It lands soft. It just has probably the best swimming action because of the whole getting into that deal.The laminar flows. Right. But the.The downfall of that, and it's not really a downfall, but the thing that always kind of held it back, is you're using natural materials and being able to get good quality natural feathers. And having the. The amount that you would need to create one of those flies was always a big obstacle. But, you know, that fly is.It's a big deal because you could make all kinds of stuff out of it, but it holds a profile, holds a silhouette. You can add flash into it, and you can make it look whatever. You can make it look like a mullet, you can make it look like a sculpin.It could be a dace, it could be whatever you want it to. To be. And it. It kind of blends tradition with new age. Right.Because it's stuff we've been using forever, but putting it into a new platform, and that's always been my favorite thing about it, because there's a lot of history behind the feather changer and the problem solving that I've talked about in years past, whether whether you have buoyancy built in. And talking to Bobby Popovics about it.You know, I came back from Arkansas many years ago on a trip down there using deer body hair for some of the game changers. And it was just too buoyant. Right. And fish were coming in.We did catch some big fish on it, but I was talking to him, if we just had something that would settle more in the water column where it wasn't so high up without adding a bunch of weight. And Bobby just said, ever thought about using feathers like a Semper Fli? And as soon as he said that, you know, Light bell goes off.It's like, give me a minute, I'm gonna tie it. I know exactly what you're talking about. Tied it, did a bath to bath tub deal, videoed it, sent it to Bobby, and, you know, kind of went from there.He. He loved it. And, you know, so that fly means a lot to me because it, it. It blends the old with the new, right? And it, It.There's a whole artistic side of blending different colored feathers and building textures and. And having them hold shape and being able to mimic or imitate different things. So for me, it kind of.It crosses over all types of all types of the game changer platform from synthetic to natural. And we blend a little bit of all of it to make it all work. Having the support that. And it just had. It just.It just has that it factor, you know, and, and that's what it.Whatever it may be, but I think it just appeals to a lot of people in the fly world because you have a lot of people that really love the tradition of the sport and don't love the synthetic new age stuff, but blending all these to create something like the feather changers, and people like, you know, Schultz Outfitters in the Midwest have adapted it to do all kinds of different stuff with it. Um, it's still their staple and in their arsenal. You know, you fish with me over the years for smallmouth bass, and it's. It's just gets them.It just has all that. Whatever those triggers are that they like.I mean, it has movement without movement, holds its shape, has a realistic swimming action, probably swims easier than any game changer out there because of the. The way the fibers react to the water and divert the water.It's just so many things about natural and synthetics and blending them together that makes this whole thing work. And the feather changer, to me, has always been one of my favorites. And it seems to be that way in the industry as well.

Marvin Cash00:12:41

Very, very neat. And, you know, you don't get to stay home for very long, you know, what's your upcoming travel schedule look like?

Blane Chocklett00:12:47

Yeah, so in a couple weeks, I hit the road again. I'll be in Georgia On the Fly Outfitters, Jared's place down in Brunswick, Georgia. That whole southern part of that. It's a beautiful area. A lot of.A lot of good stuff that they're trying to do down there with conservation in Georgia and fighting redfish and stuff. So I'm always good to go down and help them out with that and try to help build that. That community. Down there.And I leave there and have to head up to Pennsylvania to do a. A film slash TV show on smallmouth bass that, that fly fisherman magazine and my good buddy Jay Nichols is putting together.And some of the sponsors I've mentioned before is helping out with that.And Hillary's coming in and we'll be filming a little bit about pre spawn smallmouth and how you target them and how special it is and everything about the migration. And they're going to cover all the different seasons with within smallmouth bass.But it's, it's, you know, I guided for smallmouth for 30, over 30 years and it's a big part of my life and it's kind of where a lot of these supplies that are out on the market came from, from the cross to the feather changers to the jerks and all that all came from me studying smallmouth bass over the years and we're going to highlight a lot of that stuff and they're going to travel in different places in the country and kind of go along through a season of smallmouth bass from pre spawn to post spawn to summertime fishing and, and then fall fishing with them. And you know, smallmouth has become a major player within the fly fishing community.And they should be highlighted because they're one of the special fish. There's fish that most people within our country, especially from the mid Atlantic north and a little out west, can relate to.And it's something that most anglers can appreciate and get to know and you know, some of the greatest in our sport, from Lefty to Clouser and Dave Whitlock and all the greats, Smallmouth bass had a huge part of what taught them about fish and fish behavior and fly design. So it's time for smallmouth bass to get what they deserve. I mean, they're one of the best fish species to target on a fly rod.And I'm excited to see that. And you know, once I leave that, I'm. I've got many other places. I'm, like I said, building my schedule for the rest of the year.Gonna be going out west and back to Florida and a bunch of other places. And I'm sure I'll be back in the upper Midwest later on this year too, and the Northeast. So I'll be all over the place.And then I'm heading to Baja and then up to northern Saskatchewan for northern pike and just got a lot of things in the fire like always, man.

Marvin Cash00:15:41

Well, there you go. No grass growing under your feet, brother.

Blane Chocklett00:15:45

No, no. But, but you Know, it's part of it. I love what I do. It's a family thing with me and the chocolate factory.My wife and I run it and, you know, I get my, my son Tyler out and, and do it a lot and got my daughter down to Florida. And, you know, it is, it truly is.And you know, a lot of people think the chocolate factory might be bigger than what it is, but for, for me to know that it's me, my wife, and Isaac and Jason and Zach, who's my engineer, does all the parts and pieces for me. And, you know, it's, it's a small little mom and pop truly is. And we're trying to build something that's been in the works for 30 some years.And, you know, I've got to get out there and, and make content and do different things and kind of spread the, the game changer platform across the country because there's still a lot of areas out there that really don't understand it.And for me, learning that over all the different places I've been and instructions that I've done with different groups and clubs and fly shops, people really don't understand what, what, what it really is and what it means, you know, and, and I know, you know, that with all the different stuff you've been doing with the streamer and the butcher shop, but it, it's, it's really interesting how education is so important to people that don't get to fish a lot or don't understand the history or what, what they're really trying to achieve.And, you know, and that's up to me and our team to be able to deliver that to the public and educate them so they, their success on the water could be better and they have a better understanding of what they're trying to do, you know, and education is the key to all of that.

Marvin Cash00:17:33

Yeah, absolutely.And I will make sure to drop links to The Chocklett Factory stuff so folks can get in line for feather changers and popper kits and cicadas and all that kind of good stuff. And, you know, folks, it's warming up. I think we finally turned the corner on this yo yo weather.Know if it's warm enough for you, you owe it yourself to get out there and fish. But I also want to wish everybody a happy Easter. Tight lines, everybody. Happy Easter, Blane.

Blane Chocklett00:17:56

Thank you, man. You too.