New Fly Rods And Reels From Waterworks Lamson: Video
Waterworks Lamson is expanding two of their most interesting product lines for 2018. The Center Axis systems and Cobalt reels.
If you haven’t cast the Center Axis rod/reel system, you should. It’s one of the most interesting new products in fly fishing. It’s hotly debated but I really like it. You may too. The cool news this year is the introduction of the Center Axis for saltwater. Not just supersized, there are some meaningful engineering changes to bring these rods up to saltwater standards.
Lawson is also introducing new sizes in their Cobalt reel lineup. Smaller reels for light saltwater setups that are just as at home on a trout rover. These reels are absolute tanks.
Watch the video for all of the details on cool new Lamson Fly-fishing gear for 2018.
Read More »Streamer Fishing – Hands on the Line at All Times
Streamer fishing is a great way to catch both numbers and trophy class fish, but it doesn’t come without some negatives. One of the biggest negatives with streamer fishing is you don’t always get solid hookups every time a fish eats your streamer. One of the biggest contributors to this is when a fish slams your streamer in between strikes and you’re caught off guard. Sometimes, the timing is so bad there’s nothing you can do about it, while other times, it’s 100% the anglers fault due to lolly-gagging around with their stripping hand.
Read More »Streamers, Fish ‘Em Deep Enough
By Louis Cahill
How deep should you be fishing your streamers?
I had the chance to fish with my brother Tom the other day. It’s a shame we can’t do it more. I always enjoy talking about fishing with him. Tom is a very technical bass angler. He does the vast majority of his fishing with conventional tackle, a sparkly boat and plenty of electronics. It blows my mind how technical that game is. If I had a lifetime I’d never understand it as well as Tom.
We were throwing streamers for striped bass in the river, my favorite summer fly fishing. Tom does most of his fishing in still water so he had lots of questions.
“How deep do you want that fly?” he asked me.
That’s often the $64,000 question, and remember, it’s coming from a guy who’s used to marking fish on a graph and knowing exactly how deep to fish, in feet. As a fly angler, used to targeting fish in moving water, my approach is very different. I figured out years ago how I like to address the problem and it’s worked pretty well for me.
When fishing streamers, there are a handful of variables that come into play when deciding the depth you should be fishing. Water depth, speed and clarity, lighting, water and air temperature, and species just to name a few. Of course, some of those variables are constantly changing so you need a strategy that will work consistently as that happens. A simple answer like, five feet, doesn’t work.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Fly Fishing: 3 Great Times to Fish Streamers
I fell in love with streamer fishing the very first time I cast one. All it took was me bringing one trout to the net on a size 6 white Zonker, and I was hooked. I’ll never forget that beautiful 15″ wild rainbow trout, that I caught and released on a ten foot wide Southern Appalachian blue liner up in North Georgia back in the 90s. I remember the tiny stream being too overgrown and tight for me to make traditional fly casts so I crawled down on a flat boulder, stripped out some fly line and dead drifted the streamer downstream into a pool. Nothing happened at first but I didn’t give up. Instead of retrieving the fly all the way in, like most anglers regularly do, I instead made a few strips in and then let the streamer drift back down into the pool. On my third attempt, that gorgeous wild rainbow trout hammered my streamer and I brought it into my net. I still use that downstream stripping and drift back technique quite a bit when it’s called for. It works equally well with nymphs and dries.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Mend
Joey Maxim was 16 years old when he died in a car crash. Fly-fishing helped bring him back.
The film “Mend” is the incredible story of a young man’s journey back from death and his struggle to overcome traumatic brain injury. Once a successful student and athlete, Joey found himself struggling just to survive. Simple daily tasks became monumental and his will to live seemed gone. Then he discovered fly fishing. The river healed Joey both physically and spiritually. Today he is a guide.
ENJOY, “MEND”
Read More »New Products From Sightline Provisions: Video
Just about every angler is familiar with the leather bracelets sporting metal badges of fish silhouettes.
It’s hard to think of a fly fishing accessory that has become as immediately popular as those Sightline bracelets. They have become the secret handshake of fly fishing. A way for devotees to spot each other everywhere they go.
Recently, Edgar Diaz has branched out and used his art in new ways on new products. Some with the leather and fine metal look Sightline is known for, and some new offerings including all metal bracelets, one-of-a-kind artist’s hats, keychains and more.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR ALL OF THE COOL NEW STUFF FROM SIGHTLINE PROVISIONS.
Read More »Stretch Thy Fly Line
Are you looking for more a little more distance in your cast? Is your fly line not shooting through your guides as easy as it should? Is it lacking that fresh from the box high floating buoyancy? Are you spending more time untangling your fly line than fishing? If your answer to any of the above questions is yes, you should think about taking a couple minutes before hitting the water to stretch your fly line out.
Read More »Sunday Classic / How To Become A Badass Angler
THERE WAS A TIME WHEN I WAS A BAD PHOTOGRAPHER AND A BAD ANGLER.
I got to thinking about this the other day when my brother called to tell me that Leon Townsend had died. I hadn’t thought of him in years. Leon was the man that gave me my first job as a photographer, at the local newspaper in 1978 when I was seventeen years old. He was also the first, and only, person who ever fired me. I honestly didn’t learn much from my time there at The Register and Bee, but firing me was quite possibly the best thing anyone has ever done for me and I will always be grateful to Leon for that.
I had enough pride that being told I wasn’t up to the job stung. It motivated me. I realized that Leon was right. I wasn’t very good and it was on me to make myself better. I have been told many times that I have talent and I have often insisted that I do not. I realized early on, that I would have to work twice as hard as the talented people around me to succeed. What I have, what I learned, is not talent but tenacity. It has served me well. If you want to pay me a compliment, call me tenacious.
In time I became a good photographer and a good angler, and I did it in pretty much the same way. I won’t bore you with a chronology of my photographic career but I will offer you some insight on how I learned, and continue to learn, to fish.
HERE’S HOW YOU BECOME A BADASS ANGLER.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Brookie Genetics
USGS Scientist have some interesting new findings on Southern Appalachian Brook Trout.
Fly anglers in the south love their brook trout. While many western anglers see these fish as an invasive species, here in the southeast they are our only native trout and our southern fish are genetically unique. It turns out they are more unique than we thought. Their habitat is so fractured that there are as many as ten-thousand separate populations.
There is some good news and some bad, but one notable finding is that native brook trout have suffered less hatchery introgression than expected. In this article USGS researcher Dave Kazyak’s sits down for a conversation with Keith Curley, of Trout Unlimited, to share some of his findings.
FASCINATING BROOK TROUT GENETICS WORK
Read More »Echo Fly Rods For 2018: Video
Some dynamite new rods from Echo fly-fishing.
It’s always fun for me to talk fly rods with tim Rajeff. This year Echo has three very cool new offerings. A premium trout-spey family that’s one of the lightest two handers I’ve ever held, The new Shadow X competition euro-nymphing rods and a whole new lineup of River Glass fiberglass rods.
If you are in the market for a great fly rod and you don’t want to break the bank, you absolutely can’t go wrong with Echo.
WATCH THE VIDEO FOR THE SCOOP ON THE NEW ECHO FLY RODS FOR 2018.
Read More »