Destination Fly Fishing On The Cheap
Everyone wants to fish like a rock star, but not everyone has the budget.
Fortunately you don’t have to have deep pockets to have big fly fishing adventures. While storied Atlantic salmon rivers and Christmas Island my stay off the list, there’s plenty of awesome fishing in reach and you can have a quality experience without spending a lot of money.
I’ve done a lot of budget fly fishing travel. While I get some really great fishing opportunities these days I’m still pretty frugal in how I take advantage of them. There’s not a lot of first class seats on the G&G tour bus. Over time, I’ve figured out how to stretch a dollar pretty far and how to maximize my chances of success.
Here are some tips for destination fly fishing on the cheap
Choosing a location
This is the cornerstone of a great fishing trip. Every decision and outcome depends on making a good choice of fishing location. There’s lots to think about, so take some time and make a solid choice. Here are a few things to think about when choosing a location.
The Experience
What kind of experience are you looking for? You could choose a total immersion like boat camping where you are on the water every minute, or you could travel to a new place with lots to offer culturally or things for the family to do while you’re fishing. There’s no wrong answer. What matters is that you come home feeling that your time and money were well spent. Know what you want and be careful where you compromise.
The Timing
Where you fish may depend on when you can go. Ideally you’ll be able to hit the location you choose when the fishing is at its absolute best, but there are plenty of variables. It might not be so fun to bang it out on a famous river during peak season, so you may choose to throw streamers after school back is in session rather than fish dry flies in a throng. You might, like I do, choose to go bone fishing in the winter to get away from the cold, knowing you might catch more fish in April when the weather is unbearably hot and there are clouds of horse flies. It may also be a matter of finding a place where the fishing is good the week you have time off. Do your research and know what to expect.
The Weather
Weather is always a source of stress when planning a fishing trip.
Sunday Classic / Outboard Jet Boating 101- Safety & Maintenance
Every year I see more and more outboard jet boats on the water.
I can’t say it really surprises me though, I totally get why anglers are drawn to them. In my opinion, jet sleds are one of the coolest boats anyone can drive or fish out of. They can run in just about any kind of water, they offer anglers the ability to re-run and fish sections of water at the drop of a hat, and they are quite affordable and easy to drive. A lot of guys these days are dropping coin and converting their two and four stroke outboard props to jets. It can be done fairly easy if you are mechanically inclined and can follow directions. There’s also quite a few first-time boat purchasers out there that have chosen to go the jet motor route and many more anglers presently riding the fence, about to pull the trigger.
Problem is, the majority of the salespeople selling these jet motors don’t regularly provide the buyer with the most important piece of the puzzle; common sense jet boating safety guidelines and troubleshooting on the water. Any veteran outboard jet boat owner will tell you it’s only a matter of time until you screw up and have an accident on the water or have engine mechanical problems. Understanding how to run safely and perform on-the-water maintenance is critical if you want to avoid accidents, bodily injury and consistently bring your jet boat back to trailer in tip top shape.
My goal for this post is to provide a jet boating 101 quick read, for those anglers out there who have recently purchased a jet outboard or for those considering purchasing one in the near future. My hopes is that it will keep some of you from making some of the same rookie mistakes I did, and you’ll learn how important it is to be prepared and drive safely when running jet outboards. Below are some things I’ve learned from my time running a jet sled in Alaska, but most of the information I learned, came from hanging out with veterans that run jets every day. I’ll attempt to give you the meat and potatoes but I’m depending on the followers of G&G that are the experts on this subject to voice their thoughts.
PRE-TRIP EQUIPMENT & BACK-UP GEAR CHECK
It’s important that you’re religious about doing a thorough pre-trip boat equipment check before you head out on the water each trip with your jet sled. You should always take the time to look over the motor to make sure everything is in proper working order. If you have a 2-stroke motor, make sure you have filled your oil reservoir, check to make sure the fuel lines are connected snugly to your motor and running gas can, grease your motor to push out any water in the engine and check to make sure your foot is clear of any debris. Visually check and touch your main nuts and bolts to confirm they are tight. They can loosen up from gravel road trailering and during use. Last, check to make sure you have your anchor and tool box.
BACKUP GEAR & SAFETY EQUIPMENT
Don’t even think about making your first trip out with your new jet boat until you have acquired critical backup gear/and maintenance equipment. We all want to keep our boat light as possible so it performs at it’s best, but it’s far more important you have the back up gear on hand in case you run into any problems on the water. Doing so, you’ll avoid finding yourself stranded out on the water. Below is a recommended backup gear list all jet boat operators should have on board with them at all times.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Keep ‘em Wet Photo Tips
As anglers who love fly fishing we have a responsibility to the fish.
Catch and release fly fishing is a subject dear to my heart. Most fly anglers understand the importance of using best practices when handling fish. Lately the slogan “keep ‘em wet” has been everything from a hashtag to a battle cry. We all know that fish are best off when left in the water, but how do you get a good photo of a nice fish when you’re by yourself?
This great video on orvis.com will show you how to get great looking photos of your fish and keep ‘em wet the whole time.
Read More »New Fly Rods and Reels From Redington
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get performance in fly rods and reels.
Redington has really made a name for itself as a hard working brand that offers value and performance. I see their gear on rivers all over the world and no wonder, they give anglers what they want. Solid gear at a good price.
Redington has three new rods and a new reel this year. A good all-arounder, a new predator and a trout spey. There’s also a new light weight fly reel with a powerful drag. Whatever you’re fishing for, Big Red has you covered.
Watch this video for al of the details on new fly rods and reels from Redington.
Read More »Fly Fishing: 3 Great Times to Fish Streamers
I fell in love with streamer fishing the very first time I cast one. All it took was me bringing one trout to the net on a size 6 white Zonker, and I was hooked. I’ll never forget that beautiful 15″ wild rainbow trout, that I caught and released on a ten foot wide Southern Appalachian blue liner up in North Georgia back in the 90s. I remember the tiny stream being too overgrown and tight for me to make traditional fly casts so I crawled down on a flat boulder, stripped out some fly line and dead drifted the streamer downstream into a pool. Nothing happened at first but I didn’t give up. Instead of retrieving the fly all the way in, like most anglers regularly do, I instead made a few strips in and then let the streamer drift back down into the pool. On my third attempt, that gorgeous wild rainbow trout hammered my streamer and I brought it into my net. I still use that downstream stripping and drift back technique quite a bit when it’s called for. It works equally well with nymphs and dries.
Read More »Fall Is The Time For Big Brown Trout
If you’ve been wanting to catch that trophy brown trout, now is the time.
It was a cold overcast November morning when we launched Phil’s custom cedar drift boat that he had built lovingly with his own hands. We put in on the Jordan River in Northern Michigan, a stream this little boat was built for, wearing blaze orange hats to hopefully avoid being shot by any deer hunters still in the woods. Phil rowed while I cast streamers, ducking and dodging the canopy of cedar limbs and the occasional tree downed by recent wind storms.
We arrived at a large pool where the river exited to the right. Phil dropped anchor, got up and traded me places at the front of the boat. He tied on a 7-inch smelt pattern that we had nicknamed the Private Dancer and stripped out some line. He cast to the heavily cut bank and began stripping back. A large dark shadow followed, and just after we saw it, a white mouth opened and inhaled his fly. After a tough battle in the tight, wood-choked stream he brought in a two-foot long solid brown. It was a great start to a great float.
Fall is well underway, and it is perhaps the best time of the year to target BIG brown trout. There are a lot of reasons to love fall fishing, but you definitely must change up your game to be successful. Here are some reasons you should get out this fall yet and pursue big browns.
-The dry fly season is over, and a lot of anglers hang up their gear.
-The summer tourist season is over and the kids are back in school. This removes even more people from the river, leaving you more elbow room.
-Hunting seasons and other fall activities (football) take that many more people off the water.
-Because of cooling temperatures, less daytime human disturbance, the need to feed because of the upcoming spawn, or a combination of all three, big brown trout become more active during the day and are willing to feed.
-Throughout their range, big browns in lakes and reservoirs move out and run up tributary streams to spawn, putting them within reach of fly anglers.
Those are just some of the reasons, but let’s move on to tactics.
Read More »Sunday Classic / In Defense of Trout, Where I Belong
YOU HEAR IT IN THE WAY THE FLATS GUYS SAY “TROUT SET,”
and in the way steelheaders say, “I don’t fish for trout.” I’ve heard carp guys call them “trash fish.” Bass guys just call them, “bait.” In some circles it borders on contempt.
Where did this come from?
How did it happen?
When did trout stop being cool?
I’ll throw a fly at just about anything that swims. “Hey Homie, we got poons,” is all I have to hear to put my ass in the drivers seat of the Subaru for sixteen hours any day of the year. Stripers, bones, musky, snook, bass, cuda, carp, shark. I’ll fish for catfish if you give me enough to drink but if you told me tomorrow that I could only do one kind of fishing for the rest of my life, I wouldn’t even have to stop and think. Trout! I bare no shame for it.
Yet, among the hip fly fishing crowd, that’s less and less the case. Some how, in the never ending quest to be cooler than the next guy the trout has lost favor. Even though it is the trout who
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Winter Run
This video has me fired up for some winter steelhead.
Winter steelheading is the undiscovered territory of the soul, the place where your doubts, your insecurities and just maybe your greatest joy goes to hide. It will make you question your resolve and your sanity. When you’re back at home by the fire it will pluck at your heart until you can’t think of anything else.
This great film by Todd Moen features my good friend Jeff Hickman. Having stood with Jeff in this very river on snowy days, holding the tail of a chrome bright fish, it makes my heart ache. I hope it has the same effect on you. Jeff and I are already booking our Deschutes River Steelhead Canp for next Sept. Shoot me an email if you’re interested and I’ll get you more info. We’d love to put you on some chrome, and it will be much warmer! hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
ENJOY, “WINTER RUN”
Read More »New Airflo Fly Lines
Airflo is always pushing fly lines to the next level.
Whether it’s material, technology or tapers, you can always look to Airflo for innovation. There are a total of nine new fly lines from Airflow for 2017. They run the gambit from improved Super Dri mid-price lines to some very cool special purpose lines, including surf and single- hand spey lines.
If you’ve never fished Airflo fly lines, you should give them a try. They are some of my favorites. But be careful, once you go Airflo, you may never go back.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO TO SEE A FEW OF THE NEW FLY LINES FROM AIRFLO.
Read More »Teaching, learning and the art of bribery.
By Charlie Warfield
There are many advantages to having kids while you are young. And for every positive I’m sure I could think of at least one negative, but I fancy myself as more of a cup half full kind of person. So I prefer to not dwell on the negative. Despite this, I have to say that taking three boys under 10 years old fishing at the same time is not just hard, it is nearly impossible. I can get all three of my boys excited about fishing — that’s not the problem. I can get them all fired up about catching fish and they will run around the house grabbing all the life jackets and water bottles, and their fly boxes. But somehow, inevitably, by the time the canoe is in the water, the bickering has begun. Now don’t get me wrong, I am blessed with three beautiful healthy boys, they are beautiful despite the bruises and scars that they have given each other, and I know they are healthy because you have to be heathy to fight the way they do. Normally I can get them to calm down a bit once we are all in the boat. The excitement of holding the fishing pole or taking their turn paddling is a good distraction from the normal sibling disputes, and I can generally get a whole 20 minutes of relative peace and harmony. Then it falls apart pretty quickly after an hour and it doesn’t matter if we are catching fish or not. I am in full bribery mode, starting with candy and soon promising ice cream. Of course all of this points more to my poor parenting then it does to my children. After all they are kids and I am the guy in his early 30s that is losing his mind, probably (definitely) yelling at some point — which never helps, by the way.
Spending time with my boys fishing is something that I have looked forward to for years. But it never plays out the way I see it in my mind.
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