Saturday Shoutout / The Legend of Jimmy
Not just a fly fishing legend, Jim Teeny is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
This video with Jim by David Green and H&H Outfitters caught my eye. I thought it was worth sharing for a couple of reasons. I don’t know Jim well, but I’ve had the pleasure of talking with him on a handful of occasions. I can tell you this. Every time I’ve seen him Jim Teeny acted like he had nothing else to do with his day but talk fly fishing with me. His generous nature is immediately apparent.
Sitting on a shelf next to my DVR, my blue ray player, smart TV and stacks of shiny DVDs and blue ray discs is a VHS tape of Jim Teeny catching steelhead. I don’t even own a VCR but I keep that tape within reach. That might tell you something about my respect for the man.
It’s no overstatement to say that Jim Teeny changed fly fishing. His creativity and ingenuity has spread across the industry like the rings of a rising trout. Maybe you’re familiar with Jimmy or maybe you’re not but he has likely shaped the way you fish.
Anyone as original as Jim attracts controversy. Especially in fly fishing. His sweet disposition makes him an easy target. I laughed out loud the first time I watched that video tape and saw him throwing rocks into the river to move steelhead out of a spot where he couldn’t reach them with a fly, but I’ll be damned if he didn’t catch that fish, and I realized this man knew things about fish I’d never imagined. Jim doesn’t think outside the box. He isn’t aware there is a box.
CHECK OUT THIS AWESOME VIDEO AND LEARN SOME THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT JIM TEENY.
Read More »New Fly Rods At Affordable Prices, From Echo
2016 brings us a bunch of new Echo fly rods.
Tim Rajeff is always pushing limits. That’s what made him a champion fly caster and it’s what makes him a great rod designer. He designs Echo fly rods on the idea that a great casting rod doesn’t need to be expensive. This year’s line-up makes a pretty good case.
The Carbon and Ion rods have been around for a while. They are the workhorses of the Echo brand. Both lines have been redesigned, as Carbon XL and IonXL, with new materials, fine tuned line weights and making them lighter overall.
There’s a new line of fiberglass rods in 8 1/2 and 9 foot lengths. These rods have powerful butt sections and are designed with larger water in mind. There’s a very cool new nymphing rod and new Gecko kits for kids that come out of the tube ready to fish.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR ALL THE DETAILS ON THE NEW FLY RODS FROM ECHO.
Read More »Review: The Tacky Tube
By Justin Pickett
Tacky Tube, what are you supposed to do with that?
I was recently perplexed when I saw Tacky Fly Fishing’s newest product, the Tacky Tube. My initial reaction to its appearance was, “what are you supposed to do with that?” Other than just being oddly shaped, what was it supposed to do that a regular old fly box can’t do? Intrigued, I went to their website and watched the introduction video. After hearing the first few sentences out of Tim’s mouth about the Tacky Tube, it became more obvious that this will be more of an alternative to the traditional fly patch. I think it’s certainly a great idea. Great hook holding power. Small, light, and portable, as well as being completely enclosed so that flies don’t get brushed off, or snag branches and vines while you’re walking the banks and trails. Sounds awesome. Then I had my “Ah Ha” moment…
When I’m wading my local streams and rivers, I prefer to carry as many flies as I can, as well as several different types of flies. This means that I will just about always have streamers somewhere in my pack. The problem that I often run into is that I don’t really have a great place to carry my larger streamers. I’m not going to lug my MFC boxes around with me. That would just be ridiculous. I often end up hanging them somewhere inside my chest pack, leaving them free to puncture holes in my pack and my fingers, or get tossed out when I’m pulling fly boxes and other gear from my pack. Also, once I’ve finished fishing with a streamer, the chances of it making out of my pack in order for it to dry appropriately are slim. “I just love finding rusty hooks on a six dollar streamer stuck in the bottom of my pack,” said no fly fisherman ever.
ENTER THE TACKY FLY TUBE. CLICK. PURCHASE. BOOM.
It turns out the Tacky Tube will definitely fit the bill as a great alternative to a fly patch. I’ve used it several times now with various flies and found that
Read More »Buster Wants to be a Fly Fishing Guide
Every couple of months, for about the last ten years, I’ve been contacted by recreational fly fisherman around the country, asking me to give them advice on how to go about becoming a fly fishing guide. Choosing to become a full-time fly fishing guide is a big decision to make, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Yes, there’s lots of perks that come with the job, but there’s also plenty of hardships. For starters, guiding can prove to be very stressful at times, so don’t think by you making the move to step away from your current job (to become a fly fishing guide), that you’ll be saying goodbye to all the stresses of everyday life (remember, it’s up to you to get fish in the net). There’s no doubt, as a guide, you’ll have the luxury of calling the beautiful outdoors your private office. It beats the hell out of crunching numbers in a tiny cubicle or doing a job that you absolutely hate, but it still doesn’t change the fact that guiding is still a job.
Read More »The People Have Chosen
We have a winner in the People’s Choice- Instagram category.
As you probably know,we,introduced a new category in this year’s Fly Fishing Photo Contest. The photos were posted on Instagram and the photo with the most likes is this awesome redfish photo from badfishtv with an incredible 1252 likes.
You can see all of the entries by going to Instagram and searching #ginkpeopleschoice.
You can more from badfishtv HERE.
Thanks to everyone who entered. The judges are making their selections for the main photo contest. Stay tuned, we’ll post the results next week.
Read More »Beyond The Flies: Making The Most Out Of Your Winter Fishing
By Kyle Wilkinson
Being prepared for a day of winter fishing means more than having a box of the right flies.
I got an email earlier today from a customer who had just gotten back from the river. He had attempted to fish the South Platte however, after several hours of trying to cast between floating icebergs and slush, he decided to wave the white flag and head home. His question was to know how to predict these sort of conditions ahead of time- before making the hour plus drive to find an unfishable river.
The South Platte, like virtually every other tailwater around the country, is well known to be a year-round fishery. With that said, there are still a few other factors that need to be considered when planning a winter outing. Following these 5 steps are just as important as your fly selection if having a comfortable and successful day on the water during winter is your goal.
Nighttime Temperatures. Everyone loves to pay attention to the daytime temps you’re likely (or more like keeping the fingers crossed) to experience during your day of winter fishing. A sunny, 40 degree day during January can feel like a heat wave, particularly if you’re coming off a nasty cold stretch leading up to it. And while pleasant daytime temps are something no one will complain about, the nighttime temperatures in the days leading up to your trip are just as important to pay attention to. Given the fact that it’s winter, fishing a tailwater is always going to be your best bet. If you see nighttime temps are hovering around freezing, plan on seeing the majority of the river open. On the other hand, if your day on the water is immediately following a especially cold stretch- i.e. single digits (or lower) at night, followed by sub 32 degree days, then plan on the situation mentioned in the first paragraph to be what you encounter. Thankfully, given the wonderful nature of tailwaters, the remedy to avoid fishing in a “Slushy” is to just plan on fishing closer to the dam. The water should remain warm enough–particularly within the first mile below the outlets– to remain relatively ice free compared to the lower stretches.
Layer Properly. I know this seems like common sense, but it’s something I see a lot of people do wrong.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Hyperfocal Focus
SOMETIMES TO GET IT ALL IN FOCUS, IT HAS TO ALL BE OUT OF FOCUS.
Shooting photos you often find yourself wanting an object in the foreground and an object in the background both in focus. This can be a frustrating situation. Inevitably, focusing on either the foreground or the background leaves the other out of focus. There is a way to make it happen but it requires putting on your thinking cap.
It’s called hyperfocal focus and yes there’s going to be math, sort of. You may have noticed that on the barrel of your DSLR lens there is a scale that shows how far from the camera your point of focus falls. That tool is handier than you might think. Here’s how you use it to get the shot.
First focus on the foreground object that you want sharp. At this point it doesn’t matter whether you use auto of manual focus. Take a look at the scale. Let’s say your foreground focus is at three feet. Now focus on the background object that you want sharp. Let’s say it’s at nine feet. We now know we need to carry six feet of focus.
That six feet of sharpness is called depth of field or DOF. Literally the depth of our field of focus. We control the DOF with our aperture. Smaller apertures like F16 or F22 carry a wider DOF. Larger apertures like F2.8 or F4 have narrow DOF. If you’re confused don’t panic. Stay with me. The higher the F# the smaller the aperture. It’s a mathematic formula and I could explain it but it’s not important for this exercise and it’s frankly too much information.
So what we need is an F# that will carry six feet of DOF. Now it’s time to set your camera to manual focus! if you spent a whole lot of money on your lens it may have a scale that shows you the DOF for each F#. If so, that’s great. Choose an F# and set your focus so that three feet and nine feet fall between the brackets. If you don’t have the scale, don’t panic, just set your lens for the highest F#. If you want to get really technical, consult this nifty DOF calculator.
OK, I promised math so here it is. The thing about DOF is it’s a
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / TFM And Things That Click
There’s something about classic fly reels.
For years I fished with classic fly reels. While those old reels are still in my collection, they made it out of the rotation for a while. I got focused on catching big fish and got tired of losing them because my reel wasn’t up to snuff.
I started getting interested again after landing a nice steelhead on my buddy Jeff’s hundred year old Hardy. I can’t drop that kind of cash on a reel right now but I have found a few nice old reels on eBay which were undervalued. Some of them for less than twenty bucks.
One of them was so full of dried mud it would barely turn, but after a good scrubbing and some grease it was running like a sewing machine. With that on my mind this post from The Fiberglass Manifesto caught my eye.
Cameron offers some good tips, and links, on cleaning and caring for old fly reels. If you’ve been buying, or just looking at, vintage fly reels it’s well worth a look.
CLEANING CLASSIC FLY REELS WITH THE “BULLDOG TREATMENT”
Read More »Simms Bounty Hunter Luggage
If you travel to fish Simms has you covered.
Fly anglers have some pretty specific needs when it comes to travel. Not every traveler has to worry about packing wet boots and waders,,for,example. So why not get your luggage from folks who understand what you need?
The new Simms Bounty Hunter rolling bag has lots of cool features designed specifically for anglers on the go. Rod tube storage that’s easy to access and lockable, a dry bag to hold waders and boots and spaces designed to carry common Simms gear. It’s a pretty smart bag and the winner of best luggage at IFTD 2015.
IN THIS VIDEO RICH HOHNE SHOWS OFF THE FEATURES OF THE BOUNTY HUNTER.
Read More »Don’t Let Landing A Fish Stress You Out
Does landing fish stress you out?
I got an email the other day from a reader asking what he should do with his rod when landing a fish. He was worked up and clearly struggling. I could see the scene in my head and I knew the answer wasn’t what he should do with his rod, but that he should just relax.
I see a lot of guys struggle with landing and unhooking fish. The first piece of advice I offer is, relax. Once the fish is in the net, you can let him hang out there (fully submerged) while you get yourself together. This little rest period is actually good for the fish.
Way too many anglers get stressed out and end up doing harm to their fish and sometimes themselves. There’s no need to squeeze fish or hold them awkwardly out of the water while wrestling with a hook in fast current. Just relax before someone gets hurt. I’ve seen guys take a swim or get a hook in their hand past the barb that way.
What I do with my rod is, point the tip of the rod behind me and tuck it under my arm so the cork rests high in my arm pit and the reel is sticking out just at my chest. That gives a pretty good range of motion while still hanging onto the rod.
Make sure you have enough line out to give you a little slack. You don’t want the tip of the rod bent by the line and you don’t want ten feet of line wrapped around your feet either. That’s a good way to break a rod.
Every situation is different. It’s pretty simple to land and release a common trout midstream without losing your rod or taking a swim, but if things are complicated in any way, it’s best to head for calm water. If the hook is giving you trouble or you’re in a tough wading spot or you’re just struggling for any reason, simplify the situation by getting into soft water.
Of course the best case scenario is that your fish is just too big to fit in your net.
One of the most important aspects of fighting big fish is
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