Social Media, The Best Thing To Ever Happen To Fly Fishing

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THOUSANDS OF GALLONS OF INK HAVE BEEN SPILLED AND BILLIONS OF PIXELS HAVE FLASHED ABOUT THE EVILS THAT SOCIAL MEDIA, AND THE INTERNET IN GENERAL, ARE PERPETUATING ON THE SPORT OF FLYFISHING.

I can’t tell you how many rants, posts, articles, captions and blurbs I’ve read that contend, in some way, that some part of the Internet is ruining the sport we all love so much. “It just encourages Grip and Grins.” they shriek. “It’s making flyfishing into a competition!” they scream. “It’s just a bunch of people trying to get Internet famous!” they howl. And they are right. All of those things do happen on the Internet. They also happen in the flyshop, around the campfire and over beers. There isn’t any way to deny that some people use social media and the Internet to try to make themselves look like master anglers. Hell some of them ARE master anglers promoting themselves (and the sport).

The fact is, in a real and fundamentally important way, the Internet is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to flyfishing. The ramifications of the changes it is creating are still waiting to be wholly felt, but have already influenced everything from public policy to international politics to fish care and handling. More importantly, the scale and scope of the reach of flyfishing continues to grow. The exposure of the sport is no longer limited to Brad Pitt or grandpa. It’s now an organic and fluid mechanism defined by the collective image set forth by all of us. We’ve been given the power to reach into places that would have never known flyfishing and to do it in ways that don’t involve stuffy meetings or AARP-sponsored events. And we’ve done a helluva job; taking flyfishing from the purview of only rich old white men into something not only accessible, but promoted to everyone. Are we perfect? Hell no. But we are damn good.

Many years ago I was standing on the bank of a small muddy river in South Eastern South Dakota. I had a Cabella’s 6 weight rod and reel combo that my father had given me. Don’t ask what line or leader I was using. I wasn’t that advanced yet. On my hip was an ammo belt that I’d stuffed with my 2 tippet spools, fingernail clippers (because that guide in Colorado used nippers so I knew using my teeth like I had all my life wasn’t classy enough for flyfishing) and a flybox with 12 random flies in it. I’d tied on a yellow foam beetle and was attempting to cast it between ice sheets on a cold March day. See, I knew you could catch bluegill on flies. The guide had told me so. He’d also said he preferred a yellow beetle to get them. So there I was trying to get a drift with my leader dragging on the ice and not understanding why the fish weren’t biting that day.

For years I struggled to learn how to flyfish in warm water.
Most was pure trial and error. I’d try stuff; it wouldn’t work… so I’d try other stuff. I was the only person in the world, as far as I was concerned, fishing warm water with flies and I did it incessantly. You know that quote attributed to Einstein about insanity being a person doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Well, I was certifiable at that point.

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Sunday Classic / The Flats, Light Bottom vs. Dark Bottom

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Water temperatures and seasons play an important role for fly fishermen fishing the saltwater flats. Saltwater fish prefer to utilize different types of flats throughout the year to maximize their comfort and food intake. When I was new to the saltwater side of the sport, I never gave it much thought on why my guide was choosing to take me fishing on a light colored sandy flat, versus a grassy or dark bottom flat. It wasn’t my expertise, so I just went along with everything. Quite a few years have past since my rookie fishing days in saltwater. I’ve logged many more trips on the saltwater flats, and I’ve taken the time to pick the brains of the saltwater guides, so I could better understand why they choose one type of flat over the other during the year. Below is a quick recap of information on what I’ve gathered from numerous saltwater guides on this subject. Fly fishing on saltwater flats is very similar to bass fishing on large reservoirs, in the fact that water temperature is critical in both for consistently locating fish and productive water. Both freshwater and saltwater fish strive to maintain stable underwater enviornments. When water conditions change, so does the habits and behavior of the game fish we’re targeting, as well as, the food sources they prey upon. Fly fisherman that understand this, are quick to match their fishing tactics with the present conditions on the water, because they know it’s critical for staying on top of the fish and in the action. Light bottomed flats reflect a large portion of the sunlight. When water temperatures are at the extreme end of the comfort zone of saltwater fish, generally during the months of July, August and September, fish will often prefer to frequent light bottomed … Continue reading

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Saturday Shoutout / Public Lands, Public Hands

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Watch the Video!

Congress is considering a bill to sell America’s public lands to the highest bidder.

The United States of America has has the greatest collection of public lands on the planet. Within them are the waters in which we anglers we spend the better parts of our lives. We can not afford to have this precious resource sold out from under us.

Check out this short film by Trout Unlimited, featuring John LeCoq of Fishpond. I’m sure you will agree that we can and must preserve our American birthright. Got to the TU page to see how you can help. http://www.tu.org/public-lands-action

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New Reels From Allen Flyfishing

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Watch the Video!

Allen brings it home to the USA.

Allen Flyfishing has been getting plenty of attention with their colorful fly reels aimed at the angler on a budget. The import models, starting as low as $139 for freshwater and $209 for salt, offer the some sweet features at a intro level price.

This year Allen is introducing an made in the USA reel. The Omega, made in Detroit, is a powerful and stylish saltwater reel for $575. I’ve had the chance to fish the Omega and I’ve been very pleased with its performance.

WATCH THIS VIDEO FOR ALL THE INFO ON THE 2015 ALLEN FLY REELS.

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Fly Fishing Karma

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By Kent Klewein

The feeling of losing a big trout can be heart breaking.

Especially when it’s a fish of a life time, but it happens to all of us, some just more than others. Most of the time fish are lost because of angler error during the fight, but every once in a while, there’s really no clear identifiable explanation, and all we can do to move forward with a positive attitude, is believe some fish just aren’t meant to be caught. Recently, I had a day on the water where the fly fishing was absolutely epic but no matter how hard my client and I tried, we kept unbuttoning our best fish right before I could get a net on them. At the end of the day, when all the cards had been laid out, I had an epiphany. Below is a break down of the day and my new theory on why certain fish are lost and others are landed.

Some time ago, I had a wonderful day on the water guiding my client David Joiner. He turned out to be a dream client, the kind of client most guide’s would clone and fill up their calendar with if they had the opportunity. The thing that made David such a pleasure to guide was the fact that he was there, first and foremost, to learn. David wanted to catch fish, but it was far more important for him to learn the how-to, so he could then go out and have success fly fishing on his own. This allowed me to really slow down and be thorough with my teachings, and I took the time to describe every detail of the set up and presentation for each spot we fished. I remember early on, David saying to me, “Your the first guide that’s really taken the time to break everything down for me, and that’s what I need if I’m going to take my fly fishing skills to the next level.” His comment of appreciation felt good, and he provided me the freedom to pass on my wisdom any way I saw fit, even if my ramblings ended up costing him some fishing time on the water. If you show your guide your appreciation for his knowledge, he/she will work twice as hard for you and provide you the key fly fishing tips most anglers find difficult to comprehend in books.

A few hours into the day, as I was teaching David how to pre-scan water for trout, I spotted a lone riser out of my peripheral vision.

It rose up from the bottom to inspect something on the surface and it immediately dropped back out of sight, camouflaging itself in the darkness of the deep water. I’ve got pretty good trout eyes, but this twenty-inch trout proved that it doesn’t matter how good an angler’s eyes are at spotting fish, they never

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Nymphing in the Discotheque

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by David Grossman

I am not now nor have I ever been European.

Like a lot of my red-blooded American friends, I nymph a lot of ways, but always with an indicator. Always. There’s something comforting about having a colorful (and in my case cylindrical) point of focus for my sub-surface proclivities. The status quo is the status quo because changing the status quo seems to be a pain in the ass most times. My fishing should never be a pain in the ass. That is until you get said ass handed to you by a buddy nymphing sans indicator.

Yes, it pains to me admit my buddy’s Euro rig cleaned my American rig’s clock.

I adjusted depth, flies, my underwear, and anything else I could think of, all to no avail. America sucked hard that day my friends, and a bald eagle actually cried while Uncle Sam got repeatedly kicked in the junk on those banks. My non-European friend would go back through the hole that I just pulled a blank on and euro rig up at least a couple fish. Every hole. Damndest thing I ever saw. From my little knowledge on Euro-nymphing, this is pretty much how the technique came to this country. Our U.S. fly fishing team was tired of getting whacked at international competitions by our cheese-eating cousins across the pond, and in an “If we can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” kind of scenario, adopted what I will now refer to as naked nymphing (saying “Euro” all the time can grow tiresome).

I am now in desperate search of a

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Sunday Classic / Presenting Your Fly To A School Of Bonefish

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Bonefish are on the move! Presenting your fly to a school of bonefish has to become second nature. There is often not time to make a plan. The successful angler is one who can make split second decisions and place the fly quickly and accurately. It’s a little like shooting a shotgun. You have to know how far to lead the fish in a given situation and you have to be able to picture that lead to know where your target is. It’s a skill that takes time to master but hopefully this video will set you off in the right direction. Our friend Joel Dickey is back to help you see your target.   Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com   Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!  

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Saturday Shoutout / Mark Manson

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Screw finding your passion!

This may seem off topic at first but bear with me. As I read this article, which a friend shared on Facebook, I started realizing it has everything in the world to do with fly fishing. At least for me it does. It’s almost exactly the way I found myself where I am today. It actually made me feel better about the choices I’ve made.

Manson writes,

“Remember back when you were a kid? You would just do things. You never thought to yourself, “What are the relative merits of learning baseball versus football?” You just ran around the playground and played baseball and football. You built sand castles and played tag and asked silly questions and looked for bugs and dug up grass and pretended you were a sewer monster.”

If you are questioning the time you spend fishing, or wish you could spend more, or if you are in any way unsure about what you’re doing with your life, this article is for you. It’s a bright, insightful read. A dose of truth that will either leave you feeling better about where you are or put you on the road to someplace better.

READ, “SCREW FINDING YOUR PASSION”

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New Products From Tenkara USA

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Tenkara USA is fine-tuning their presentation.

I love these rods and the company that makes them. This year Tenkara USA is focusing on the details, with an ingenious line keeper, new Tenkara kits and new and improved rod tubes. If you’ve never tried Tenkara, it’s way past time. Its fun, easy and affordable.

Shop for Tenkara USA.
WATCH THIS VIDEO TO SEE NEW PRODUCTS FROM TENKARA USA.

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6 Easy Tips to Help Fly Anglers Catch Educated Trout

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Back in 2012, I wrote an article titled “The Best Way to Improve Your Trout Game” which talked about how beneficial it was for fly fishermen to not shy away from fishing technical trout water. And that the increased challenges of such water was one of the best ways for anglers to take their fly fishing skills to the next level. Today’s article is sort of going to be a complimentary piece that falls into the same category. Specifically, I’m going to provide 6 easy tips that fly anglers of all skill levels can use to help them be more effective at catching educated trout.

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