Through A Lens Darkly
What is an angler without his eyes?
All of my life I have defined myself by my eyes. Certainly as a photographer, and as I developed in the sport, more and more as an angler. My vision has been at the center of my life, in both my work and my play. It was just over a year ago that I was on the bow of a flats boat in the Bahamas, on a cloudy day with tough visibility. I had explained to my guide several times that I have a 40% loss of hearing. It takes a long time for guides to adjust to the idea that they have to yell at their clients when they’re not F-ing up. Fortunately I’d done pretty well at finding fish for myself. About the fourth time I spotted, and hooked, a bonefish before my guide saw it, my guide mumbled something and my boat-mate started to laugh.
“What’d he say?” I asked.
“He said, you may not can hear but there’s not a damn thing wrong with your eyes.”
I didn’t know it yet, but he was wrong. In fact, I had already started to lose my sight. The change was slow and I didn’t notice it at first. Oddly enough, my first clue was not that I couldn’t see but that I couldn’t hear. For years I’ve gotten by in conversation by reading lips. I only started to realize I had a problem with my eyes when I could no longer see well enough to know what people were saying.
It wasn’t long before the truth was painfully obvious. Driving became difficult, and impossible at night. Horns would blare when I changed lanes and I missed turns because I could no longer read signs. Not even the big ones over the interstate. I started walking into door casings. When I closed my left eye, the world looked like a Monet painting. In the space of a year any usable vision in my right eye was gone and much in my left. Forget about seeing bonefish.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Czech Nymphing: Dell Neighbours Talks Tactics & Rigging with G&G
For a while now, we’ve been getting requests from G&G readers about writing a Czech nymphing post. It’s a subject we’ve wanted to tackle on the blog for a while now, but neither Louis or I specialize in Czech nymphing. Furthermore, we’re not the kind of guys that write about fly fishing topics that we’re not experienced with. When we find ourselves in this position, we go out and talk with the professionals who are, gather the information, and then bring it back to you. Dell Neighbours, head fly fishing guide for Reel Job Fishing, is highly competent in Czech nymphing, and he’s volunteered to talk with us today about Czech nymphing tactics and his rigging recommendations.
CZECH IT OUT!
I often have clients ask me about my fishing style when I mention I normally don’t use strike indicators when I’m nymph fishing. Currently, there seems to be a growing interest with indicator-free nymphing for trout, so I was pretty excited when Kent asked me to write a post for the G&G readers about Czech nymphing. There’s many different styles and tactics out there for catching trout without strike indicators, but the primary method that comes to mind for most fly fishermen, is Czech nymphing. When you strip away everything to the bare bones, Czech nymphing is very similar to the traditional American tactic of high-sticking with nymphs. The only real difference lies in the rig setup and you don’t use a floating strike indicator.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Casting in Jaguey Grande, Cuba
Kids, some barely waist high, casting fly rods in the dirt streets of Jaguey Grande. Not the common picture of Cuba.
This film tells a remarkable story of a Cuban man who couldn’t have children of his own, and instead became the father of a town, teaching the kids to cast, to fish, and later to guide. One man’s focus and generosity helping kids cast for a better Cuba.
“Sponsored by SIMMS Fishing, from Grizzly Creek, Casting in Jaguey Grande tells the real story of the changes facing the next generation of Cubans- far from glossy scenes of vintage cars and cigars that the fill the travel magazines.
Just a few clicks north of Bay of Pigs’ pristine mangrove flats – some of the best bonefish habitat in the world – lies Jaguey Grand, Cuba. A surprising scene plays out on a sweltering afternoon in the town’s dusty streets and alleys: Cuban kids with rods and reels attempt to master the art of the fly cast. Their mentor and father figure, Felipe, guides affluent anglers from around the globe to the regions coveted sport fisheries nearby. However, gaining the same access for his “ninos” proves to be difficult.”
ENJOY: “CASTING IN JAGUEY GRANDE, CUBA”
Read More »5 Tips For Technical Tailwaters
By Johnny Spillane
COLORADO HAS SOME OF THE TOUGHEST TAILWATERS ANYWHERE.
Tailwater trout get a good education. They see plenty of attention, especially the fish in Colorado’s well publicized fisheries. The Yampa, here in Steamboat Springs, is a great example. A lot of anglers think they can’t catch these fish. Trout have a brain that is smaller then a pea. Tailwater trout may be educated but I’m positive that you can out-think a trout in a technical tailwater situation.
HERE ARE FIVE TIPS TO HELP YOU CATCH INCREDIBLY “SMART” FISH.
1. Go light and go small.
Fish are creatures of their environment. If they see small bugs all the time then you have to fish accordingly. 7X tippet and size 24 or 26 bugs are what the fish are looking for. Go down in tippet size before you switch fly patterns.
2. Match the sky
If you are fishing with an indictor, go with something that matches the color of the sky. If it’s overcast, use gray yarn, if it’s clear use a small clear or white Thingamabobber or yarn. You can also use a Slinky indicator. They are deadly with picky fish.
3. Use stealthy weight
If you are using split shot, make sure they are not flashy at all. Anything painted in a moss green is better then silver lead.
Simms G3 Guide, River Camo Waders: Review
New features and tech in the Simms G3 Guide waders make them some of the best I’ve ever used.
In thinking about how to write this review, I’ve decided that it needs to be two reviews in one. There are some big upgrades in the new G3 Guide Waders that need to be discussed on their own merits. The topic of River Camo as a fishing tool is something I will address separately.
For about the last seven years, I have fished in my Simms G4Z waders. I have, for some time, considered them the natural end on the wader conversation. I have tested waders from every major manufacturer and found nothing that came close. If you are a regular reader, you will recognize that it has been a long time since I wrote a wader review, and that’s why. My G4Zs have never leaked or failed me in any way and I never pictured myself wearing anything else, until I got a call this summer from Gustavo Hiebaum, of Andes drifters, inviting me on a pretty special trip.
My buddy Johnny Spillane and I spent a week in Patagonia exploring an exciting new fishery. We hiked way into the Andes Mountains and explored streams that may have never been fished. At least not in a generation. We were literally cutting our way into the river with machetes. In some cases we were sight fishing to big brown trout in very shallow spring creeks.
“It’s like New Zealand in Patagonia,” Gustavo told me.
Simms had just released the River Camo G3 waders and it seemed like the perfect trip to put them to the test.
My first impression of these waders was that
Read More »Sunday Classic / 5 Reasons Why Turbulent Water Can Provide Great Trout Fishing
Many of my beginner level clients, struggle when it comes to reading trout water. More specifically, they find it difficult when they have to compare two different sections or types of water, and quickly decide which one of them should yield them a higher percentage for success. In turn, I get asked the question often, “What’s the type of water I like to target first, when I have the opportunity.” I usually respond with “If I have a choice, and I’m looking for consistent fishing locations year round, I prefer to target turbulent water (faster moving) over calm water (slow moving).” It’s the riffles, pocket water and main current seams that fly anglers will generally find the turbulent water, and that’s the kind of places that not only will provide everything a trout needs to survive, but furthermore, the trout will usually be less picky as well (easier to catch), since the water is moving more swiftly. Below are five reasons why fly anglers should search out and fly fish turbulent water when they’re fly fishing for trout.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / How They See
Take a trip to the underwater world of trout.
Fair warning, you may think I’ve lost my mind. This video is likely to set your teeth to grinding well before you get to the good part. It’s about the nerdiest thing I’ve ever seen. The voiceover has all the charm of a 1960s 16mm science film and you will need a pocket protector to watch it, but if you do, I promise you’ll learn something.
The footage has some amazing moments and the insights are spot on. It’s chocked full of useful info for trout fishers and dispels some old myths about trout fishing, while confirming some truths many anglers overlook. Whatever you may think of the presentation, it’s clear that a ton of time and hard work went into its production.
There’s plenty to be learned, so prepare yourself for some serious nerd-on-nerd action and enjoy.
THE UNDERWATER WORLD OF TROUT | HOW THEY SEE
Read More »Rock Treads
By Justin Pickett
Coming up with a reliable and effective solution for traction can be frustrating.
Not to mention, expensive. Screw-in studs are costly and are often lost or in need of replacement for those of us who wade hard and often. Other solutions, such as interchangeable soles (like what Korkers offers) will eventually need replacing and aren’t terribly cheap either. And your piggy bank will surely take a hit if you are forced to buy a new set of boots. However, with safety being of upmost importance, we are often willing to shell out our hard earned dough time and time again to help make sure we keep the rubber side down.
However, one product that I have found has definitely been worth its price tag while also keeping me surely planted to the riverbed.
Rock Treads has developed an aluminum traction system that can be easily installed on any wading boot on the market and grip like a vise. Their kits contain three sizes of quarter-inch aluminum discs that can be installed using their various mounting systems. Whether you have felt soles, rubber soles, or interchangeable soles, Rock Treads can be installed in them, enhancing your traction while wading with the added benefit of helping to prevent the transfer of invasive organisms between watersheds.
Why do these work so well? Aluminum. With soft and lightweight, yet strong, characteristics, these aluminum pucks cut through rock snot and conforms to stone under the weight of your boot. And, while these aluminum discs may be described as malleable, they are extremely durable and the average angler can expect to get multiple seasons out of one set. Rock Treads had well over 500 miles on their first kit and they
Read More »Sunday Classic / What The Little Fish Are Saying
This post has a soundtrack. Take a second to start the video below.
MAYBE YOUR STATURE AS A FLY FISHERMAN ISN’T DETERMINED BY HOW BIG A TROUT YOU CAN CATCH, BUT BY HOW SMALL A TROUT YOU CAN CATCH WITHOUT BEING DISAPPOINTED. — JOHN GIERACH
Like it or not, I am in the big fish business.
I hate admitting it, but that’s how it started. I carried a camera to take photos of fish and the small ones were not the fish who got photographed. Eventually folks started to buy the photos I took and I found there was a simple equation. The bigger the fish, the faster the sale. That’s a pretty hard-nosed view of fly fishing and I’m not especially proud of it.
Call it skill or luck or hard work, a lot of big fish have come my way. I’m grateful for each of them. I hope there will be many more but I no longer measure myself in inches or pounds of fish. Not because I’m above it or used to it or jaded about it. I still like to catch big fish but I’ve come to understand my place in the equation.
Sometimes I choose the fish. I plan, I strategize, I stalk and pursue. Often, by force of will, I bring the fish to me. Sometimes I choose the fish, but every time the fish chooses me. I think about this when I am swinging a fly for steelhead. Like a practitioner of tai chi, I mind my swing. Seeking always the perfect presentation. Mindful and empty, dreaming not of what was or what may be, simply present in what is.
It is in that moment that the fish chooses me. I accept that all I have done is to make myself available to him. It is not done without skill or planning. It is not an accident. It is the culmination of years of effort but I recognize that it is a culmination for him as well. It is not a thing I have done alone. I have not brought the fish to me, something larger has brought us together.
In that convergence there is something that defies explanation. Among the thousands of fish that have passed in and out of my hands, some are special. I can not always say why. Once in a while a fish connects with me in a way that is deeper than either of us can grasp. There is a convergence of place and time, of hand and heart the sum of which is greater than the two of us.
One of these fish is worth a year of my life. That is
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Wandering Blue Lines
Visions of fish and fly, carved in wood and cast on paper.
Tyler Hackett, of Wandering Blue Lines, is a unique artist in the genre of fly-fishing-art. His bold designs are created using the classic art of wood cut. Tyler draws his art backwards, then carves it into a block. The block is inked and right reading prints made from it. The look is unique and stunning.
It gets even better. In addition to creating great fishing art, he donates 10% of all sales to environmental conservation.
I’m a fan. In fact, Tyler is now making G&G T Shirts!
Check out Wandering Blue Lines and the Wandering Blue Lines Instagram.
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