Eye Surgery Update #7
Who’s ready for some good news?
Surgery number seven was a success. My Retina is stable and, so far, no complications. I’m 17 days post-op today and the doctor gives me a thumbs up. If everything goes well just one more surgery. This is the best news we could hope for.
For now my job is just to take care of myself, be healthy, and try to get back in shape a little while I can. We will reevaluate in February and, if nothing has changed, schedule surgery number eight. The goal of the next surgery is to remove the silicon oil, put in my eye to stabilize the retina like a cast. This procedure is not without risk. Nothing is when it comes to your eyes. The doctor judges a one in twenty chance that my retina could detach again, most likely on the operating table. If that were to happen, we’d be back to square one with limited options. I feel very positive though. I have absolute confidence in my doctor and my body feels like I am healing and getting stronger. I really feel like I’ve turned a corner.
Removing the oil from my eye will have a couple of benefits. There will be some visual improvement, though it will be modest. My macula is pretty much shot so 20/200 vision is about as good as I can expect. I will however, hopefully, see two big improvements. The optical index of the oil causes double vision, especially at close distance. That should be gone once the oil is removed and my brain gets used to the new signal. The other big change relates to the condition of the oil. With time, the oil emulsifies, becoming cloudy with more and more bubbles in it. Right now it’s kind of like a snow globe. If I hold still, with my head vertical, it clears up reasonably well. If I look down or move around a lot, it looks like I have a piece of masking tape on my glasses. I try not to complain, but it is very annoying. That should disappear too.
The big benefits to the oil removal are more related to my general health. In time, the oil will drive up my eye pressure causing glaucoma. That’s a when, not an if. If that happened and my retina were not stable, I’d be between a rock and a hard place. Basically, glass eye territory. That’s my biggest motivation. There is another issue
Read More »Look More and Fish Less on Small Streams
When I’m not in my drift boat on the river I’m wading fishing on small streams.
Most large rivers don’t provide much sight-fishing opportunities for the fly angler unless they have low enough flows, clear enough water or plenty of rising fish. On the contrary, almost all small streams offer great sight-fishing opportunities for fly fisherman. Fly fishing small streams over the years, I’ve learned that if I take the time to look over a spot thoroughly before I fish it, I usually have much more success.
Spending just a couple minutes studying a section of water allows me to break it down into pieces, figure out where the most likely trout lies are and I often will even spot a fish or two in the process. Blind casting will catch fish, but if you’re abel to locate a trout before you begin fishing, you’ll know exactly where to position and present your fly on the first cast to give you the best shot at catching it. And that means, your chances of lining or spooking fish will drop considerably, you’ll usually be able to see if your flies are drifting in the right line or even see if the fish your fishing to
Read More »Saltwater Fly Fishing: 11 Tips for Presenting Your Fly To Tarpon
Anyone that’s fly fished for tarpon has probably experienced how easy it can be to present the fly incorrectly. If you miss your target, even by just a little bit, it can drastically lower your chances for getting a tarpon to eat. Cast the fly too close, and the tarpon will spook. Don’t lead the fish enough, and your fly won’t get down to the tarpon’s depth. Cross the fish at the wrong angle, and your fly will be moving towards the tarpon unnaturally, and it will spook. The list goes on and on.
Bottom-line, there’s a very small margin of error bestowed to anglers fly fishing for tarpon. You have to execute everything damn near perfect to put the odds in your favor, and even then, you aren’t guaranteed squat. Here’s the problem. The average angler that travels to fly fish for tarpon is not usually educated on how to read and respond accordingly to different fishing scenarios on the flats. A lot of this has to do with lack of experience and time on the water. If you find yourself falling into this category prior to fishing, you should take the time to have your guide explain how you should handle common fly fishing situations that you’re likely to encounter. As a kid, the same preparation was used by my Dad to walk me through how to make a clean kill shot on a deer. I can hear him now, “If the deer is faced in this direction, I want you to put the crosshairs here”. He must have gone over a dozen different scenarios during the drive up to the deer camp that first year. By the time he was done talking, I felt like I had been hunting for years and I was ready for any situation. It’s no different fly fishing for tarpon. Taking the time to have your guide walk you through different fishing scenarios beforehand will greatly increase your tarpon insight, fishing awareness and get you prepared for the real McCoy.
The second thing anglers should do to increase their success tarpon fishing is have a solid game plan or checklist that they’re willing to stick to on the bow. It must run like clockwork, flawlessly and consistently every time to ensure opportunities aren’t missed out on. The game plan should begin at the angler ready position, with fly in hand, and end with a well-calculated presentation cast. Success all boils down to angler aptitude and experience. The more you have of it, the better the chances will be that you’re going to make the right calculations and decisions on the water when time comes.
Read More »Keep Your Flies Below Your Eyes
By Justin Pickett
The dense canopies of the southeastern streams that I grew up on have groomed my casting stroke over the years.
Favoring function over style, I adopted a low, sidearm casting stroke that has served me well over the years. For my clients that haven’t spent much, if any, time on these Rhodo-infested streams, I recommend they take a peek at their surroundings before casting. There are always vines, limbs, and leaves lurking over the water, waiting like Venus fly traps to snatch their fly from flight. The best piece of advice I give these anglers though, is that they will keep themselves out of the most trouble by simply keeping their flies below their eyes.
Whether that be with a water haul, a roll cast, or a sidearm presentation, this gives my client a reference point of where they need to keep their cast. It also
Read More »The Incredible Ethical Egg
By Herman DeGala
When I started fly fishing years ago, I was told that fishing egg patterns was indicative of questionable angling ethics.
What I discovered was that it was not so much the flies themselves, but how they were used. I don’t fish to spawning fish and won’t fish over redds. I do, however, fish behind redds, where fish are looking for an easy meal, or to fish in other parts of the river during spawning season. I don’t think it is a coincidence that this fly works particularly well during the spring and fall.
WITH THAT IN MIND, BELOW IS MY SCUD PATTERN, WHICH COULD BE MISTAKEN FOR AN EGG.
Read More »Fly Fishing, Always Have a Plan B
Just about every fisherman out there is familiar with the saying, “never leave fish to find fish.”
I live religiously by this common sense fishing advice. It’s saved my butt many days on the water guiding, and keeps me from straying away from productive water when I find myself being drawn away to fish other spots upstream that look great. Always remember that fly fishing is full of hot periods and cold periods of catching. So when fishing it’s hot, you want to capitalize on it as much as you can before it goes cold. Sometimes it can be hot fishing for several hours, while other times you may only have one hour of hot fishing, such as when a hatch is in progress. Quite often anglers can have more success sticking around fishing one area throughly, when it’s producing, than fishing a bunch of spots partially. Every stream is different of course, but it’s generally safe to say that some sections of water always will be fishing better than others througout the course of a day. A fly fishers job is to determine where those hot sections of the water are and fish them.
Here’s some more common sense fishing advice for you all. Don’t continue fishing water if all you’re doing is striking out. Learn to cut your losses and be quick to move on in search of more productive water. Let’s face it, time flys on the water, and if you’re not careful, you can blow threw an entire day before you know it. No place is this more true than
Read More »G&G 2020 Photo Contest Winners
The best fly fishing photographs of 2020 are on the board!
We had so many great submissions this year, it was pretty tough on our judge, Tim Johnson, but he’s a trooper and came through with some awesome selections. Three talented photographers will be fishing in style with some awesome new Orvis fly rods and reels.
HERE ARE THE WINNERS FOR 2020!
Read More »Spring Fishing on Tributaries for Wild Trout
Several of our blog followers on numerous occasions have asked Louis and I if we ever catch small trout? Jokingly, they mention, “All we see are trophy size fish in most of the pictures on the blog”. I assure you all, we catch plenty of small fish, and Louis and I both appreciate and photograph them on the water with the same gratitude and respect. It’s just fair to say, that a large portion of anglers out there are constantly striving to catch a trophy class fish. We tend to use our big fish photos as motivation and assurance that persistence pays off. However, it’s important to note, in most cases, there’s no distinction in our fishing technique. We pretty much fish the same way for all sizes of trout. We approach the fishing spots the same, we make the same casts and presentations, and we fish the same fly patterns. It really just boils down to whether or not it’s a numbers day or a big fish day, and we’re generally happy with either. Location does play a factor though for size of trout, but remember, a trophy fish should be defined by the water it inhabits. A 14-inch trout on a small creek has just as much right to hold the trophy status as a 20-inch fish on a big river.
Right now we’re well into the Spring fishing season. Water temperatures are
Read More »4 Tips for Getting a Better Picture of Your Trophy
WAY BACK BEFORE WE HAD DIGITAL CAMERAS, I CAN REMEMBER HOW EXCITED I WOULD BE RACING TO THE CLOSEST ONE-HOUR PHOTO STORE TO GET MY FILM DEVELOPED.
The anticipation of waiting to review my big fish photos was almost as fun for me as catching the trophy. I wish I could say all those developed photos came out perfect but that’s far from the truth. Some came out great but the majority were blurry, had my head cut off, or I was holding the fish like a rookie. Nowadays we have the luxury of instant feedback with digital cameras, so we don’t have any excuse to not get good photo when the fish cooperates. Below are four tips for capturing better photographs of your trophies with examples of the right and wrong way to hold your fish. Keep in mind there is a learning curve for handling big fish. The more you do it the better you get.
1. Hold the fish with the tips of your fingers not your palms
Read More »Better Down Stream Presentations & Drifts
How many times have you been trout fishing and spotted a big trout positioned down and across stream of you feeding?
I know I’ve seen it plenty of times on the water, and it always seems like those fish are always positioned just out of reach for me to get a regular cast and drag-free drift over them. Right before my fly reaches the fish, I run out of slack as my fly line comes tight, and I get unwanted drag on my fly. Presenting your flies this way to educated fish can often end up putting them down. If you find yourself in this situation you need to be ready to smoothly and quickly kick out extra fly line out the end of your rod tip during your drift. Executing this properly you’ll be able to maintain enough slack to extend your drag-free drift so your offering can make it to the fish, and have a good chance of being eaten.
I see fly fisherman all the time try to use a shaking motion with their rod tip to kick out extra fly line and extend their drift. Most of the time this doesn’t work very well, because it’s really difficult for you to let out fly line fast enough, and keep your flies from moving all over the place in the process. Watch this video below as I demonstrate how to properly present your fly down and across stream to a feeding trout, and smoothly kick out extra fly line to maintain a drag-free drift. It will take a few minutes for first-timers to get the hang of it, but once you do, you’ll have the technique mastered forever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zn8_vX2oZpI&feature=plcp
Step 1: Before you make your presentation make sure you have plenty of extra fly line stripped off the reel.
Step 2: Shortly after your fly/flies hit the water make a nice mend upstream. This will create a buffer between your fly and the fly line, which is
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