The Big C
IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW MANY TIMES YOU SAY IT IN YOUR HEAD, THE FIRST TIME YOU HEAR A DOCTOR SAY THE WORD CANCER, IT’S LIKE GETTING KICKED IN THE NUTS.
The room is bright and cheery with yellow walls. Ironically, a wall of windows facing east floods the room with morning sun. The white paper crackles as I sit. A woman half my age asks me questions and I answer.
“No, no tobacco. Yes, several drinks a week. Yes, I’m allergic to penicillin. Yes, my father died of lung cancer.”
She turns from her keyboard, folds her hands and asks, “So, what brings you here today?” I lift my finger to my nose.
I am the most serious person you will meet when it comes to sun protection. I wear sunscreen that resembles caulk. I never fish without a buff. I often wear wide brimmed hats which don’t look remotely cool on me. I never fish in shorts or short sleeves. I wear sun gloves and SPF lip balm. I’m practically a vampire.
But between my dark glasses and the top of my buff, there’s this little spot. It’s about the size of a pencil eraser and no matter how I pull or slather or shade, I can not keep it covered. One sixteenth of a square inch on the bridge of my nose. One spot, smaller than a doctor fly, ninety-three-million miles from the sun. That’s all it took.
I’ve been poking and staring at that spot for a year, since it popped up last summer on a permit fishing trip. I didn’t get a permit. Instead I got this little flakey, red spot. I figured it would go away but it didn’t. It just hung around looking chafed and irritated, like a moody teenager. By January I figured I had skin cancer. So, why did it take me another eight months to drag my ass in to the dermatologist?
Read More »Sunday Classic / Don’t Let Yourself Get Numb to the Reward
Is that cookie cutter rainbow trout making you feel numb inside? Are you losing the feeling of reward lately on the water?
Two decades have passed since I caught my first trout on a fly rod, and even with all those years that have gone by, I can still picture that beautiful 12″ trout in my hands clear as day. I remember that little bugger coming up and crushing my parachute adams, like it was the first piece of food it had seen in days. The feeling of accomplishment and reward I received from catching that trout was so strong, it gave me a perma-grin ear to ear, and a natural high that lasted the rest of the day.
Nowadays I often find I’m becoming numb to the reward I get from most of my catches. Landing a big trophy fish or fooling a lone sipper on the far bank still gets my adrenaline pumping, don’t get me wrong, but they all seem to fall short of the feeling I got from landing my first 12″ trout. Why is that? Am I turning into a snob? I’m sad and ashamed to admit it, but I think I am. That’s why
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Fishing Poet
By Carter Lyles
MATT SMYTHE IS JUST AS GOOD A WRITER AS HE IS KNOWLEDGEABLE OF FLY-FISHING, AND HIS FLY-FISHING BLOG IS KILLER.
Matt grew up fly-fishing and took up his passion in writing as a freelance writer. I gave Matt a call the other week and we discussed fly-fishing as well as his fly-fishing journey.
Here’s what he had to say:
He created his blog, The Fishing Poet, as something fun and enjoyable to do for a passion that is near to his heart.
But Matt told me the main reason he began writing was because of his kids.
“I wanted to write because I wanted to have something my kids could see one day and cherish…something that their old man did,” Matt said.
When I asked him about his favorite article that he has written he couldn’t settle on just one…
“Carter, if I had to pick it would actually be a series of articles that I wrote about on our trips out to Idaho on the Snake River.”
Writing about his experience out west was definitely his favorite topic and I was blown away when I read his posts on the subject!
But….
You’ll have to visit his site: www.fishingpoet.com in order to read his thrilling and unique content! Check it out and I promise you won’t be dissatisfied! Awesome job by Matt and some very well written articles.
Read More »What This Graph Means For Fly Fishing
By Carter Lyles
FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WHERE FLY-FISHING IS GOING AND ANY OTHER TOPIC, A GOOD PLACE TO LOOK IS GOOGLE TRENDS.
For the folks not familiar with Google Trends here is how it works:
Type in a subject
Google displays a graph of how many times over a series of years those keywords have been entered into their search function
It also shows us regional interest and other trending topics around what you typed in.
I recently searched “fly-fishing” and this is what I got from Google Trends…
June: This was the most popular month over a series of years that “fly-fishing” was entered into Google. My theory is that this is the beginning of summer break for a lot of people. It is also when Montana, Colorado, Idaho, and the other western states (Alaska) warm up and hatches are coming off. For the saltwater dudes and dudettes, this month means tarpon are coming up all around Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. A lot goes on for fly-fishing during the month of June!
November: This is the down month for “fly-fishing” being entered into the Google Search Function. My theory for this is that it is beginning to get cold again and people have been almost “fished-out” for the entire summer. If you look at the keyword fishing for Google Trends the summer is the most popular as well. November is the sign of winter drawing near and lord knows it is a flippin’ wild place in our households when the end of the year rolls around in December!
The Decrease In Popularity
As you can probably see in this graph…there is an obvious decrease in popularity over a series of ten years.
What does this mean??? Are we screwed???
Read More »Simms Freestone Waders, Simms Quality At An Amazing Price
THIS IS A GAME CHANGER.
One of the most exciting new products at the IFTD show this year were the new Simms Freestone Waders. Simms took home the best in show honors for both men’s and women’s waders this year. Only two of the seven honers they enjoyed, but significant in that the new Freestone Waders from Simms have fundamentally changed the wader market.
Simms has, for many years, held the distinction of making the best waders on the planet. Plenty of companies have tried their hand at making lower priced knock offs Simms waders. This year Simms has taken the bold step of knocking off themselves!
It’s a truly brilliant move and one that’s sure to shake up the wader market but good. Simms has produced a line of waders, in the Freestone, that incorporates all of the technology that makes their waders great, but is made in Asia. The result is a bona fide Simms wader at a remarkable price. Literally half the cost of the Bozeman waders.
Check out the video and learn all about the new Simms Freestone Waders.
Read More »In The Dark of Night
By Johnny Spillane
SOME OF THE MOST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD FISHING HAS BEEN AFTER THE SUN GOES DOWN. THE BIGGEST FISH IN THE RIVER COME OUT AFTER DARK AND THERE ARE SOME REALLY FUN WAYS TO FISH FOR THEM.
If you are anywhere there is a prolific caddis hatch, which is almost everywhere, swinging and skating caddis can be deadly. My favorite caddis pattern for fishing at night is the Goddard Caddis. It floats really well and skates across the surface with ease.
Typically when fishing at night I use much heavier tippet then I would use during the day because fish tend to slam flies harder and a lot of times you wont know there is a fish until you feel the tug. If the moon is bright enough, often you can still see the take as you would during the day, but if not, your going to have to rely on your sense of feel. Try using 2x first, and if that proves to be too heavy, switch to 3x but very rarely do you need to go any finer than that, even in areas that are heavily fished.
I like to fish the runs the same way I would fish a streamer. Starting at the top I’d make a cast towards the far bank, throw in a quick down stream mend and then let the fly skate across the surface. After each cast, take a step downstream so that you are covering all the water.
Another really fun option is to
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Fish Gods and The Temple of Swing
A STEELHEAD IS CAUGHT ONE WAY AND ONE WAY ONLY, ON THE SWING!
The temperature of the room is getting kind of warm. The fishing banter takes on a surly tone when one of the guys mentions bobber fishing. This is steelheader slang for nymphing under an indicator. “I’d rather see bait guys out there,” someone says. The room falls silent when I chime in with, “trout fishing is trout fishing”… What I have done, in essence, is light a match to see just how bad this gas leak is. Everyone knows that when you’re in the Pacific Northwest, in the Temple of Swing, surrounded by the faithful, you never ever call a steelhead a trout. The room is silent for a bit while they size me up, then my buddy Jeff breaks the silence. “The Fish Gods are going to punish you for that”.
Jeff Hickman lives just a half hour outside of Portland on the banks of the Clackamas River. He guides the Clackamas and the Deschutes. He’s a tall soft spoken and thoughtful guy. Tough as cut nails with a deep and unshakable passion for wild steelhead. He’s as pure a purest as you will likely find but humble and in no way an asshole about it. A live and let live kind of guy. You do what you do, and he’ll do what he does, and at what he does there may be no one better. Jeff has told me for some time that I’ve never caught a steelhead and I’m here to change that.
I was almost certain I’d caught steelhead before now. I think I’ve even seen photos of myself holding them, but I was mistaken. Jeff cleared this up for me. First of all, obviously, those fish in the Great Lakes are not steelhead, they are trout. (I’m just repeating what I’ve been told here so hold off on the hate mail.) As I said, those fish are trout and we don’t catch trout, we are steelheaders. Secondly, a Kelt (a fish which has spawned and is headed back to the salt, AKA a down stream fish) does not count. This fish is an abomination and should be got out of the net as quickly as possible. Steelhead should be bright as chrome. A colored up fish can still be counted as a steelhead but it’s nothing to be proud of. Neither is a hatchery fish, regardless of how bright. Steelhead should be wild. Lastly, and most importantly, any fish caught under a bobber does not count and is a disgrace to all fly fishermen. A steelhead is caught one way and one way only, on the swing!
OK, I’m making this sound worse than it is. All of this ribbing has been done in fun and friendship but in all seriousness this week I am here with a purpose. I’ve come to the little house among the fir trees, on the banks of the Clackamas, with the chainsaw carved steelhead in the yard, the place I call the Temple of Swing, to do one thing. Catch steelhead on the swing. I’m in Spey boot camp. I will stand in the rain and snow with my waders leaking and I will catch steelhead on the swing or not at all. And as anyone who’s fished for winter steelhead knows, “not at all” is always an option.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Cobra Eats
THE LIMP COBRA IS A GREAT FLY FISHING SITE FROM FRANCE
(don’t worry they post in English) which shares some fun and interesting content. It’s run by Marc Fauvet who teaches casting and fly tying. The site is named for one of his signature casts.
Here are two posts that caught my eye.
HOW FISH EAT
Some great slow motion footage of fish eating. You really get a good look at the amazing mechanics behind the eat.
LINE DANCING
Some amazing footage of Pavel Kupstov’s inspiring fly casting. You can learn a great deal about the dynamics of the cast from this video and the related articles.
Read More »IFTD Behind The Scenes
THE INTERNATIONAL FLY TACKLE DEALERS SHOW IS BIGGEST EVENT ON THE INDUSTRY CALENDAR.
Once every year, folks from around the world come together to see what’s new in fly fishing gear for the coming year. It’s always exciting, fun and educational. More than just a chance to catch up with old friends and see what’s new, it electrifying havering the smartest people in the fishing industry under one roof. Now combined with ICAST, the conventional fishing show, it’s bigger and more exciting than ever.
This years show was awesome! Very energized with tons of cool new products. We will be bringing you our video coverage and product reviews from IFTD over the coming weeks. Today we’ll kick it off with a little fun, behind the scenes at IFTD with Gink and Gasoline. Including some blooper reel moments.
Enjoy!
Read More »The Chum Salmon, He’s Mad As Hell And He’s Not Going To Take It Anymore
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, THIS IS THE GUY TO GIVE IT TO YOU.
Chum salmon get very little in the way of respect. It’s either called a chum or a dog salmon. I don’t even know it’s proper name but it’s pretty clear from the two I know what folks think of it. It’s stupid, aggressive and the most disgusting creature on earth when it reaches its final days. If you don’t know where the term ‘moldy chum’ comes from, you’re probably happier for it.
On the other hand, if you’re looking for some pure fun and you like the idea of attaching your fly line to one of those monster trucks you see on TV, this guy might be looking better to you. I’m not a big salmon fisherman and to be totally honest I’d never pursued chum salmon until just recently. I was fishing with my buddy Alex and he wanted to give it a try so I eagerly joined in and I confess, it was a blast.
I had been carrying a fly for some time that I tied as a joke. It was a pink rubber worm pierced on a hook and superglued in place with a collar of pink ice wing. Just a bit of jackassery at the vise but I knew it would catch fish and I’d been waiting for the right time to deploy it. The traditional salmon flies were producing a few fish but when I broke off my fly and the guide offered me another I declined and tied on my dirty little secret. Eight fish in twelve casts later, the guide came down to see what I was using. We both had a good laugh. Then the damnedest thing happened.
I hooked a big buck and fought him hard for several minutes. When I say hard, I mean hard. I was putting the wood to this guy and he was pissed. At some point the fish made a hard turn and my barbless hook popped out. This is where it gets weird.
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