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 »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
Read More »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!
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