Lucky #7?
By Louis Cahill
On Friday Oct 9th I’ll have my seventh eye surgery.
Just a quick update. I’m doing well and am stable, getting stronger all the time and adjusting to my new vision. I’ll indulge in understatement and just say it has been a challenge but I am feeling confident that the worst is behind me.
Friday’s surgery will attempt to secure the part of my retina that is most profoundly scarred by PVR. How this surgery and, more importantly my body’s response to it, goes will determine what the future looks like. Literally. If all goes well and my eye heals with a good bond to the retina, I may only have one more surgery to go. That would be a great outcome, for my condition. Please keep some positive vibes coming my way in the next few weeks.
I have learned that with PVR, like fishing, it’s best to have little in the way of expectations. That said, this surgery is supposed to be easier, recovery wise, than my previous surgeries. I’ll be down for at least two weeks, so if I’m a little quiet here, that’s why. Hopefully it will all go well and I can keep moving forward. We have some exciting new content coming your way soon. I’ll be posting about that before long.
In the mean time, stay tuned and get out there and catch some fish for me.
Thanks!
Read More »Gink and Gasoline’s Photo Contest v.2020
By Justin Pickett
We are excited to bring back Gink and Gasoline’s annual photo contest for 2020!
It has been an insane year so, again, we wanted to bring a little fun into the mix and give people another reason to escape the chaos and go have some fun out on the water!
This year’s contest will be structured much the same as our photo contests in past years. We want to see your best photos that you capture while enjoying your time on the water! This year’s contest will be open to all photography. Landscapes. Big fish. Little fish. Freshwater. Saltwater. Under water. Off-the-cuff photos of your fishing pal(s) and the shenanigans involved with your trips. Photo entries will be judged based on characteristics such as content, lighting, composition, color, and creativity. When it comes to photographing fish, we ask that you practice proper fish handling techniques and that you only submit photos showcasing fish either under the water, placed in the water, or dripping wet. As you know, be sure to wet your hands before handling fish and have everything ready to go before handling your catch to reduce time out of the water if required. The most important thing, though, is that you have fun while enjoying the great outdoors!
We are excited to welcome Tim Johnson as our guest judge for this year’s contest. Tim is an amazingly talented, full-time artist who is well known for his collaborative designs with Orvis, as well as for his unique “Timmy Grips”. His superb skill and ability to hand-burn highly detailed, one-of-a-kind images onto the cork handles of fly rods is truly amazing to see in person. Tim has also doubled down and will commission a custom “Timmy Grip” for the 1st Place winner’s fly rod! We are looking forward to working with Tim and having his keen eye on board to help us choose our winning photos! If you haven’t seen Tim’s work before, take a few minutes to check out his website!
https://www.timjohnsongallery.com/timmy-grips
What’s Up For Grabs?!
1st Place: Orvis H3 905-4 and Mirage LT lll Outfit AND Commissioned “Timmy Grip” Artwork by Tim Johnson!
2nd Place: Orvis Recon 905-4 and Hydros lll Outfit!
3rd Place: Orvis Clearwater 905-4 and Clearwater LA ll Outfit!
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
HERE’S ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET IN ON THE ACTION!
Read More »Guide Thoughts
I’M A FEW DAYS AWAY FROM STARTING MY THIRTEENTH YEAR AS A TROUT FISHING GUIDE.
Where have all the years gone? It seems like it was just yesterday that I was just hired on by Upper Hi Fly shop in Hiawassee, Ga. Man, a lot has changed since then. That once prospering fly shop is no longer in business and many of the guides I shared the water with during my early days have moved on to other vocations or retired. My trout water as a whole has taken a beating over the years from the population booms, poor land development practices and year after year drought conditions. Hatches aren’t as consistent anymore and traffic on the water has increased on my home waters. My trout water that used to be beginner friendly now has become technical and moody. Our cost of living has increased, gas prices are higher than ever and hatcheries are either shutting down or running at a fraction of their capacity from their lack of funding. It’s not always been easy over the years. If it wasn’t for my deep passion for the sport and my personal belief that guiding is my true calling in life I don’t think I’d still be at it today. Its got me through the tough times wearing a smile on my face damn near every trip. I’ve done what many businessmen have had to do to keep the doors open during these challenging times. I’ve trimmed the fat and shrunk my region of operations (guiding) to maintain profitability and keep my trips closer to home, so I’ve got more time to spend with my growing family.
Sometimes, I wonder if I made the right decision when I chose to guide in my home state. But then again, when you guide, it always seem like there’s greener pastures afar. When I find myself having those thoughts, I just reflect back on why I chose North Georgia for my guiding in the first place. It’s where I’m from and its the closest place trout live to my family. I could just as easily be guiding on blue ribbon trout streams with wild trout galore and epic hatches, but then I’d be forced to be far away from
Read More »The Bahamas is Open for Business
By Louis Cahill
The Bahamian borders have opened and there are still a couple of spots open in the Jan 2021 Bonefish School!
Many of us have been holding our breath since the Bahamian government closed its borders in response to the COVID 19 pandemic. With three weeks booked in January, I’ve been holding it tighter than most so I was thrilled to here that the world’s best bonefishery is once again accepting visitors.
Bahamians are still being very cautious. Travelers are required to show a negative COVID test, taken within five days of travel, to enter the Bahamas. Some airlines are using the same requirements. Fortunately, it’s easy and fast to do a home COVID test without a doctor’s visit. The Pixel test from lab corp is easily accessible and covered by most insurance. The folks at Bair’s have used this test to enter the country with no issues.
Get your test here. https://www.pixel.labcorp.com
The crew at Bair’s Lodge are hustling to get ready for arriving anglers now. They are working on lodge safety protocols to insure a safe trip for everyone. While safety measures are important, I personally feel reassured knowing that everyone on the trip will be tested and in good health.
If you’re like me, you are seriously ready to put 2020 behind you and get on with living the dream. If that sounds good to you, shoot me an email to hookups@ginkandgasoline.com to reserve a spot.
I HAVE ONLY 4 SPOTS OPEN.
2 FOR JAN 16-23 2021 AND 2 FOR JAN 23-30 2021.
I expect these spots to book quickly so call a friend or spouse and book your spots. If January is not in the cards for you, I will be holding another Bonefish School June 6-13 2021.
The cost of the school is $4995, a savings of almost $2000 over a normal week at Bair’s. The price includes all meals and drinks, shuttles on the island and all the instruction you like. The only thing not included in the price are tips and tax. You can find tons more info by visiting our hosted trips page. https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/hosted-trips/
I look forward to fishing with you in the Bahamas!
Read More »Small Stream Structure Part I- Substrate
By Jason Tucker
I started out writing a piece about stream structure, but the subject is too broad to cover at one setting, so we’re breaking it up into three important, but related categories- Substrate, Fluvial Structure, and Debris and Bankside Structure.
There is so much overlap in these categories, that I understand if you disagree with where I classify certain subjects. I had to put them somewhere.
The first thing we need understand about streams is the substrate- what is the bottom made of, and how do the fish and their prey relate to it?
Second is fluvial structure. This includes holes and tailout, outside bends, runs etc. The fish occupy these features differently and thus we fish each of these very differently.
Third are “external” structures. Things like woody debris, beaver dams and houses and even grassy banks. Grassy banks could possibly be considered a fluvial feature, but they also are created by an external influence, the effects of the grass colonizing the riverbank.
Sand.
Sand is the least interesting feature in any trout stream. It has the least interesting bottom, nurtures the least amount of aquatic life, and provides the least amount of cover. And yet a lot of brook trout streams in the north consist of miles of sand substrate. Not only that, but the margins of sandy streams often consist of marl and muck, which host marl and muck dwelling mayflies like Hexagenia limbata and Brown Drakes. They also host large populations of tricorythodes mayflies, so sand itself does not preclude trout by any means.
What it means is that trout will relate to surrounding structure and cover more than to the bottom. It’s in these sandy stretches that you’ll find fish feeding midstream early and late, and moving closer or into the tag alders or other bankside brush as the sun hits the water. This is kind of a general pattern anyway, and there’s some major exceptions I’ll discuss elsewhere, but it’s especially true of sandy areas.
One advantage of sand is that fish can be highly visible over sand. The disadvantage is that they know this too and may be extra sensitive to disturbance. It can make for some challenging sight casting for sure. When sandy streams drop clear and bright in summer it can be some of the most trialsome fishing of the year, with fish darting for cover at first sight of your fly line overhead, or the moment your fly touches the water.
Boulders.
Brook trout like to hang out behind boulders waiting for food to sweep past. If you can get your fly to hang out behind it so much the better. Boulder beds are pretty good places to swing a soft hackle or a small streamer. Big fish like to hang out
Read More »Time To Un-Match The Hatch
By Johnny Spillane
Now that is a hatch!
Every year around mid April we start to see Blue Wing Olives on the Green River below Flaming Gorge. Most years the hatch is amazing, some years it is truly epic. This was one of those years. The best part about it, there is no chance to “match the hatch.”
When there are too many bugs on the water, yours gets lost in the numbers. Try throwing something 3-4 sizes bigger than what the naturals are and 9 times out of ten it will be more productive than a perfect imitation.
Read More »The Borg Don’t Fish
I AM A CHILD OF THE SIXTIES.
But my childhood in a small Virginia town in the 1960s was not the long haired, free love, groovey sixties that phrase brings to mind. Mine was the nerdy, plastic rim glasses, popular science sixties. In 1966 when Star Trek warped onto national TV I knew my people had arrived. I spent hours forcing my young hand into a Vulcan salute and cemented my outsider status by showing up at school wearing pointy ears cut from flesh colored peel-and-stick Dr Shoals felt shoe inserts. Yep, that was me.
When Captain Kirk and Mr Spock hung up their phasers I grudgingly followed along with Picard and Richer but it was never the same. Data never went into a homicidal mating rage and Worf was a sad excuse for a Klingon but it was the Star Trek of the day. My grousing stopped however, the day I encountered the Borg. Star Trek T.N.G. Reached into the bag of old school Star Trek tricks and came out with the greatest outer space boogie man of all time.
If you recently escaped from North Korea and the iron hand of communism I’ll excuse you for not knowing about the Borg. You can read about them (HERE).
This terrifying new enemy wipes out entire species, not by destroying them but by assimilating them. Making them into Borg. The Borg exist as cybernetic organisms. Half alive, half machine. Their neural implants connect them all in a hive like consciousness. This makes them a handful in a fight.
The creepy gray skin and tubes are very Gigeresk and the loosing ones individuality is a classic Star Trek threat, but none of that is what makes The Borg frightening. What’s scary is Star Treks amazingly consistent record of predicting the actual future. They’ve gotten enough right (talking computers, smart phones and 3D printers for a few) that I’m afraid they might be right again. We may be the Borg.
Read More »Swinging Streamers on Big Water
Most streamer fisherman out there would agree that pounding the river banks with a streamer will catch trout just about anywhere.
If you’re willing to put in the time and hard work eventually you’ll be rewarded with a big fish. During high water flows on rivers where habitat is insufficient out in the main river, many trout will relocate to the banks where they can use the irregular banks and it’s abundant cover to shelter themselves out of the excessive current. There next move, once they’ve gotten to the banks, is to find prime ambush spots where they can easily pick off prey moving by. This is why casting to the bank and ripping streamers back to the boat is so effective. You’re repeatedly putting your streamer right in the kitchen where good numbers of fish will be feeding.
The majority of the time this scenario works great, but what do you do when you find yourself in areas where the water is super deep and the fish are sitting on the bottom? These places make it extremely difficult for anglers using the pounding the bank technique to keep their streamers down deep in the strike zone during a steady retrieve. Even with a full sinking fly line the cards are stacked against you. Don’t get me wrong, it can still work, especially if you cast upstream of your target water, and give your streamer time to sink before you begin your retrieve. Unfortunately, you won’t always have the time nor the room to pull this off, and that should have you searching for an alternative method that’s better suited for fishing your streamers in these deep water locations.
Swing Streamers through deep water hot spots
The best method I’ve found to consistently get hookups
We All Have Our Vises, Mine’s a Regal
I made my first tying vise.
I know what you’re thinking, but this vise was not a pair of hemostats duct taped to the back of a chair. I grew up in a machine shop and own two metal lathes and a host of other tools you won’t find at the Home Depot. My vise was sweet. Perfect center axis rotation with a lever at the rear, brass jaws, curly maple base, the works so when I decided to buy a vise my expectations were pretty high.
I decided on the Regal Medallion and I love it. The one thing I sacrificed was the rotary lever at the rear of the vise. Regal offers this in their Revolution series but I opted to save the extra cash and I have not been disappointed. The Regal Medallion is an elegant design with a couple of powerful features that make it an outstanding vise.
The key to the Regal design is
Read More »Gink and Gasoline’s Summer Slam Giveaway Winner!!!
By Justin Pickett
I want to give a huge shout out to all of you that entered our giveaway this week!
Thousands of you entered and made this giveaway a huge success and we thank each and every one of you for participating! We had entries from all over the world! Places where we had no idea people even knew Gink and Gasoline existed!
Huge thanks go out to the brands who donated gear and participated in making this giveaway so awesome! A special “Thank You!” also goes out to Adam Hutchison of Winston Rods for helping to get this thing off the ground and running, as well as Jason, Justin, and Lincoln from Yakoda Supply Co. for helping with the imaging and some serious logistical advice!
ALRIGHT, SO WHO’S THE LUCKY WINNER OF OVER $3800 IN GEAR?!
Read More »