Aquamarine, A Permit Tale
“Now! Now is the time! Hurry!”
I am perched on the bow of a rocking Hell’s Bay Waterman, on the flats of Abaco, squinting through my bifocals and trying in vain to find the opening in a figure 8 knot. I’ve cut off six different crab flies and lucky number seven is waiting for me to finish this damned knot, while a forty-pound permit feeds in front of the boat. Ashron, my guide, is trying to help. I know this, but it’s not working. Sweat is running into my eyes and I’m starting to get tunnel vision.
The permit stops feeding and I’m finally able to finish the knot. Now we have to wait again. This big permit is doing what’s called “riding a ray.” It’s hovering over a manta ray about six feet across and picking up the scraps the ray misses. It’s sort of the Holy Grail of permit shots. As long as they stay together, the permit will focus on the ray and eat happily. We pole along about seventy-five feet behind them waiting for the ray to stir up the mud by feeding. Drop a crab pattern in that little puff of mud and you stand your best possible shot at hooking up on the permit.
Six different crab patterns have failed to get the desired reaction. I’ve had looks, swirls, follows and charges but no eats. Lucky number seven is a tiny Mop Crab no bigger across than my pinky nail. There is no eighth pattern in my box. There was, in fact, no seventh pattern. This fly came from Ashron’s hat. I’m already kicking myself for that. I’m kicking myself for making some bad casts early on, for not having practiced more before I came, for not calling my mother more often and any other shortcoming I can think of. This is what happens in your head when permit fishing and I know full well that the nagging voice in my head must be quieted before that ray muds again. That’s the devil F-ing with you. Permit ride rays and the devil rides permit.
“Now!” Ashron tells me. I see the puff of mud, I let go of my fly and sweep back my rod and tell the devil, “Watch this.”
Read More »Labrador Bound
By Jason Tucker
It’s no secret that I love brook trout, and thus the name of my blog, Fontinalis Rising.
Size doesn’t matter. From 4-inch little gems to behemoth monsters the size of respectable brown trout, I find them all fascinating and exciting. When I was a boy, my grandfather took me down to the river and showed me two fish in the 24-inch range that had staked out the area as home.
Most of our fish were in the 6- to 8-inch range, and 12 inches was considered a good fish. To see two fish that had doubled that mark was incredible. Ever since then, I’ve wondered what made those two fish get so big.
I spent as much time as possible fishing for brook trout in Northern Michigan and its Upper Peninsula, and after many years I finally caught a 16-inch fish, which was my personal best for some time.
Since then I’ve gone to Nipigon, where a 12-inch fish is considered small. I caught one fish that was 22 inches, and lost several fish that were much bigger. (Brook trout tend to pack on the pounds once they reach about 22 inches. A 20-inch fish may weigh 3 pounds while a 23-incher may weigh 7 pounds.)
A few years later I was invited to go fish with the Sault Gang. We caught 38 fish that averaged 18-20 inches and 1.5 to 3 pounds, and got one big male that was over 4 pounds. I also took a trip to Isle Royale with a distinguished group of gentlemen. The fish there average 3-5 pounds. With research I’ve discovered that
Read More »Eye Surgery #8 Update
By Louis Cahill
I’m two weeks Post-op and things are going well.
I hate talking about my medical issues, but lots of you are asking for updates, so I’ll keep it short. That should be easy since, as of now, all the news is good. A lot went on in the run up to the surgery but I’ll just hit the high points.
Things were feeling a little sketchy the week before my surgery. The oil in my eye had completely turned to muck. Like spring run-off inside my eye. As a result, I developed glaucoma. Rising eye pressure threatened to damage my optic nerve. There was no choice but to remove the oil, however, the murky oil prevented my doctor from seeing the condition of the retina. He was going in blind and not happy about it. I won’t lie, it was scary.
Fortunately the surgery went well. Dr Alurkar flushed two liters of solution through my eye cleaning it out and the retina stayed attached. Statistically, the majority of folks in my situation, who do experience another detachment, do so during surgery. The vast majority experience it during the first week. I’m two weeks out now and my doctor says the retina looks fantastic! After a couple of truly awful days, my pressure has returned to normal so it appears I dodged the glaucoma bullet with no apparent nerve damage. I will not be in the clear for 60-90 days but things look really promising right now.
It will take at least 90 days to really know what I can expect for vision. It’s a mess right now but the double vision caused by the oil is gone and as of just last night my eyes have started trying to focus again. That’s very encouraging. Whatever I end up with, I’ll be very happy to have it. I’m struggling to keep my expectations in line. I’m just superstitious enough to worry about jinxing myself, but I’m starting to feel truly optimistic. I am sooooooo ready to get on with my life!
Thank you all for your continuing support throughout this nightmare. I can not tell you how good it feels to have so many people in my corner. I can’t imagine how difficult this would have been without that support. Hopefully I’ll be checking in with more good news in a couple of weeks.
Thanks!
Louis Cahill
Read More »Cobia on the Fly
By Owen Plair
ONE THING I ABSOLUTELY DESPISE ABOUT THE SPRING IS POLLEN.
It seems like every time I wash the skiff, in just a matter of minutes it’s tainted by the yellow crap we call a sign of spring. There is one thing, and one thing only, that I do like about all the damn pollen. It means it’s only a matter of weeks before I start packing the 11 and 12 weights on the skiff for the big brown Cobia as they start to show up here in the Broad River.
I was born and raised on this river and have been fishing it since I was 3 years old. What makes this river special to me is, in addition to being an excellent fishery for Redfish, it hosts other species through out the year including Tarpon, Triple Tail, Sea Trout, Flounder, Jacks, Spanish, Blues, Lady’s, and very well known Cobia.
Around the last week of April, or when the water temperature hits around 68 degrees, the Cobia start to move into the Broad River here in Beaufort, SC. What’s cool about these Cobia is, they come inshore 8-10 miles to spawn. Cobia are an offshore species and can be found on near-shore wrecks or off the beaches from Key West all the way up to the Chesapeake Bay.
IMG_5446_2Most places, you catch Cobia swimming under rays, jigging them up from the bottom, or cruising the surface looking for bait. Here, they offer some really great sight fishing on the fly and put up quite a fight, being between 10-80 lbs on average. They’re also a very popular species for the dinner table.
What makes our Broad River Cobia unique is that they are their own strain of Cobia. The fish that come inshore every year to spawn in the Broad have their own unique genetics, compared to all the other Cobia. This was discovered a few years ago by scientists from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. So, the Cobia we target on fly in the River are from a long line of fish that have been coming into this river to spawn for who knows how long.
I started Fly Fishing for these fish about 7 years ago and it’s still one of my favorite seasons to guide, because of how special it is targeting this offshore species so far inshore. When the water temperature hits around 68 degrees the Broad River turns into an vibrant estuary filled with various different bait fish, sea turtles, jelly balls, spanish, blues, in blueish/green water similar to the Gulf of Mexico.
HERE’S HOW YOU TARGET COBIA SIGHT FISHING ON FLY?
Read More »What Every Fly Angler Can Learn From Tenkara
I DIG MY TENKARA ROD AND I’M NOT ASHAMED OF IT.
It seems like there are only two camps when it comes to fishing tenkara. Those who love it and those who hate it. I think the general sentiment of the haters was summed up pretty well by good friend Dave Grossman of SCOF.
“You know the hardest part about tenkara?…Telling your dad that you’re gay.” – Dave Grossman
Well, my father passed away years ago so I guess I’ll tell you. I think I’m gay for tenkara.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not putting all of my two handers on eBay or chucking out the bonefish rods. I will continue to carry way too many flies and a bag of split shot but I’m taking this willowy little rod seriously and I think you should too.
I’m new to tenkara. I’m not going to pretend to be an expert. We have an expert (Daniel Galhardo of Tenkara USA) writing tenkara content and I encourage you to submit questions for Daniel to answer. What I am prepared to do is tell you why I’m excited about tenkara and what I think it offers to every fly angler.
You’ve probably heard that tenkara is fun. That’s very true. It’s also simple, affordable, convenient and aesthetically pleasing. Those are all good reasons for the sudden popularity of tenkara but there is a whole lot more going on in this ancient Japanese art of angling. Tenkara is making a whole lot of people better anglers.
“It’s between the fish and the fly, man. Take yourself out of the equation.” – Tori Bevins
That quote from bonefish guide Tori Bevins is to this day my favorite bit of fly fishing wisdom. Tori wasn’t talking about tenkara, but he could have been. The lesson is the same. Fly fishing is magic. Not in the Merlin sense but in the David Copperfield sense. It is the art of illusion. The art of making someone, in this case a fish, believe with all their heart in something utterly implausible.
Read More »Restore an Old Bamboo Fly Rod #5: Video Series
Matt Draft is back with part 5 of our bamboo fly rod restoration series.
In this video Matt will show you how to attach the guides, make beautiful silk wraps, including signature wraps, and finish all of the thread work with color preserver and varnish. We’re also including a separate video on installing the grip and reel seat.
RESTORE AN OLD BAMBOO FLY ROD #5
Check out https://www.proofflyfishing.com
Read More »Halfback Nymph in High Water
Looking for a great high water nymph pattern that will consistently fool trout?
Try tying on a halfback nymph, it’s an oldie but goodie that has produced big fish for me countless times over the years. The buggy profile of the halfback nymph does a great job of imitating a large variety of aquatic insects, and it’s large size is easy for trout to spot quickly in fast water. This nymph pattern screams “I’m a big juicy morsel, Come eat me”.
I always have at least a half dozen of these guys in my fly box. I often use the halfback nymph as my lead fly in my tandem nymph rig, and tie a 16-24″ piece of tippet off the bend of the hook with a smaller dropper nymph. You can also try substituting the standard peacock herl underbody with a more flashy dubbing material when fishing
Read More »Make The Straight Line Practice Rod: Video
By Louis Cahill
Here’s a video on how to make a simple tool that will take your fly casting to a new level.
A few weeks back I shared a video on how to “Stop Dropping Your Rod Tip Once and For All.” In that video I show you how to use the Straight Line Practice Rod. It’s a brilliant tool, shown to me by my buddy Tim Rajeff. It’s the most effective way I have found to help anglers understand the straight line rod-tip path, the secret to making clean, tight loops. The video was very popular, but there was a problem.
In the video, I mentioned that I though Echo Fly Rods sold this thing on their sight. Echo was flooded with calls and emails asking for it. Apparently I was wrong. Since they don’t sell a version, I decided I had to make a video showing how to make one yourself. It’s incredibly simple and you can do it in your kitchen. If you take the time to make a Straight Line Practice Rod for yourself, I promise you will see a difference in your fly casting.
WATCH THE VIDEO AND LEARN TO MAKE THE STRAIGHT LINE PRACTICE ROD.
Read More »Tom Keck Is My Role Model
In September of 2009 I was fishing the South Platte below Spinney Reservoir, the stretch they call the Dream Stream.
When I noticed this gentleman casting trico patterns to the far bank…from a wheelchair. I watched for a bit as he worked a pod of rising fish with a long reach cast, occasionally fooling one and bringing it to the net that he had fashioned with an extra long handle. He would wheel himself down stream to the next rising fish, careful to travel far enough from the bank that he didn’t spook fish. It was an impressive display. I would find out just how impressive when I walked over and introduced myself.
Tom Keck, of Denver CO, is a likable fellow and a great fisherman. Generous with his knowledge of the S. Platte as well as with his beautifully tied flies. The flies he gave me turned out to be day makers. But don’t let his gentle demeanor fool you. This fellow is carved of wood. I asked him how he wound up in the wheel chair and this is the story I got. Ten or so years earlier, fishing the Platte at Deckers he had taken a bad fall. Alone, his back broken and paralyzed, he struggled in the fast water nearly drowning. Eventually he pulled himself to the shore and then to the road with his hands. There he found help but he never walked again. He also never stopped fishing the river he called his home water.
I’ve taken a few bad falls. Not like Tom’s but bad enough to make me wonder what I’d do if I were really hurt out there on my own. I hope I never have to answer that question but if I do I hope I’m half the man Tom is and can face it with the courage and
Read More »Beginner Series: Fly Lines, Leaders, and Tippet
By Justin Pickett
So you’ve decided to dive into the world of fly fishing and need to outfit your new rod and reel purchase with a fly line, leaders and spools of tippet.
Does it matter what line you get? And what about leaders? What the hell is tippet?! These are all typical questions that the beginning angler will have, so don’t worry. We’re going to work on flattening that learning curve!
Fly Lines
To a beginner, trying to learn about all the little intricacies of fly line tapers is about like trying to rearrange deck chairs on the Titanic. The good news is that you don’t need to get too caught up in tapers and grain weights to catch fish. Learning about the various aspects of fly lines will certainly help you down the road, however we’re going to focus mainly on weight-forward, floating lines. Today’s fly rods are typically faster than those made even ten years ago, almost requiring a more compact, heavier line to properly load the rod. Some “beginner” lines are even manufactured a half weight heavier to help load today’s faster rods. As a beginner, a weight-forward line will better suit your casting needs with the more popular five weights found in fly shops, and a floating line will enable you to cover a large majority of fishing scenarios. All of the fly lines listed below are inexpensive and are great all-purpose fly lines whether you’re slinging parachute adams or foam poppers.
Airflow Super Dri
Orvis Clearwater WF
Scientific Anglers AirCel Trout
Rio Mainstream WF Trout
Leaders and Tippet
Leaders and tippet are other items that you will need in order to get going and hook up with that first fish. You’ll hear of many anglers that tie their own leaders and have their preferred recipes. While you may one day tie up your own leaders created from your own secret formula, for now, keep it simple. I would say
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