Sunday Classic / Take the Time to Research Your Boat Ramps
It’s really easy to get excited about a last minute trip when your buddy calls and says the fish are biting and then not take the time to research the logistics of where you’re going to be fishing. Much of the time things work out in the end when we’re doing what we love but every now and then, no matter how hard you try to make things right, you’re bound to get screwed. That was the case for us during our final day of our recent musky trip with our good friend Charlie Murphy in West Virginia. Due to poor water conditions, we had to go with a Plan B and change our fishing location the final day of our trip. Charlie had taken an friends word that we could launch our boat at the designated spot with no problem. Unfortunately, his acquaintance thought we were launching a drift boat, not a john boat, and that turned out to be and impossible task, without the aid of a cheap pvc roller and a 20 foot section of rope. Now, I’m known for being able to back up a truck and trailer with the best of them and until this day, I was batting a 1000%. So much for my perfect batting average of backing up, because this midget boat ramp put it to me. I tried like hell, but it just wouldn’t fit.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Northern Exposure
“Anyone who says American no longer has big brook trout, has never been to Mane.”
In this beautiful and thoughtful film Chase and Aimee Bartee, of Van Life, chase monster brook trout in one of the most magical fisheries left in the U.S.. I’ve fished this spot and can tell you, it’s amazing but not every day. Chase and Aimee have perfect timing and get the best Mane has to offer.
ENJOY “NORTHERN EXPOSURE”
Read More »Simms Solarflex Armor: Video
Simms new Cool-Core technology keeps you cool when the heat is on.
Staying cool while protecting yourself from the damaging rays of the sun is always a challenge. The new Solarflex Armor from Simms has a couple of tricks up it’s sleeve to do just that. The fabric has a remarkable ability to cool down with the slightest moisture. That means that when you sweat, you get cooled down right where you need it. We tested it on video and it was pretty remarkable how well it works.
In addition the new Solarflex Armor has the best integrated sun gator I’ve seem and a sun hood. These combine with air vents and a lens shammy make this a pretty functional piece of flats gear.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR ALL OF THE FEATURES OF THE SIMMS SOLARFLEX ARMOR.
Read More »The Only Two Caddis Pupa Patterns I Really Need to Carry
Caddisflies, who doesn’t love them? I can assure you trout sure do. Tying a caddisfly imitation on, is usually not a bad move on any trout water you visit. Globally, there’s thousands of different species of caddisflies, and that fact alone, one could argue caddisflies are the most abundant and popular aquatic insects found in trout water. If I remember correctly, my first trout landed on a dry fly was with an Elk Hair Caddis. That was a long time ago, back when I knew nothing about fishing caddis pupa patterns and how important they were. I’ve since, with the help of the great Gary LaFontaine, author of the famous book, “Caddisflies”, deepened my knowledge of this aquatic insect, and I’ve built a whole new appreciation and respect for the importance they have in a trout’s diet. Year-round, but particularly during the spring, early summer and fall, fly anglers should be well stocked up on caddisfly pupa fly patterns.
It’s safe to say the most effective way to catch the trout during a caddisfly hatch is to fish caddis pupa imitations. I’ve got many different caddisfly pupa patterns in my fly box, but over the years, LaFontaine’s deep sparkle pupa and emergent sparkle pupa have caught me more fish than all the other pupa patterns combined. These patterns should be in every trout anglers fly box. Gary LaFontaine did an excellent job of researching and studying the characteristics, underwater look and behavior of emerging caddis pupa. He used aquariums with living caddisfly specimens, and spent countless hours scuba diving on rivers during caddisfly hatches to gain accurate insight of what the trout see during a caddisfly hatch. He then took the research and data he collected and hand picked fly tying materials that he could use to design and tie accurate caddisfly patterns for each life-stage of the aquatic insect. This was an astonishing feat that took Gary LaFonataine twenty years to compile and complete. We all owe him a great deal of gratitude and thanks for all his hard work. Without his contributions who knows where we’d be today in understanding the life-cyle of caddisflies and going about imitating them.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Camera Grip
THE WAY YOU HOLD YOUR FLY ROD AFFECTS YOUR CASTING, RIGHT? THE WAY YOU HOLD YOUR CAMERA MATTERS, TOO.
Most people never stop to think about it, but I remember being taught in school the proper grip for a camera. First off, all SLRs are right handed. If you’re left- handed, you will just have to get used to it. To properly support the camera, your left hand should be positioned palm-up and level and the camera — whether oriented horizontally or vertically — rests in your palm. Your left thumb and index finger curl up to the lens to operate zoom and focus features. Most cameras have an ergonomic grip on the right side that leaves your index finger ready for the shutter release, and thumb free for the adjustment wheel. Let the left hand support the weight of the camera. With large telephoto lenses it may be necessary to move your left hand forward under the lens for balance. With a good grip you
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Ed’s Journals
Ed Anderson’s lively and gestural illustrations capture unique moments in fly fishing.
If you follow Gray’s Sporting Journal or BTT, you’ve probably seen Ed’s distinctive artwork. It’s lively, colorful and immediately recognizable. Idaho or Mozambique, brown trout or bull riding, wherever Ed finds his inspiration, his energy and enthusiasm are immediately recognizable.
Many of us keep fishing journals but I’d venture to guess they aren’t as cool or as fun to look at as Ed’s. Having made a couple of the trips Ed captures in these journals, I can tell you I certainly enjoyed them. Take a few minutes to check them out and I’m sure you will too.
ED’S JOURNALS
Read More »Feel the Tarpon Burn
The first step in landing a big tarpon is getting a really good hook set.
If your hook fails to penetrate the hard boney mouth of the tarpon, it almost always will be spit out after the first or second jump. My previous trip to the Florida Keys I experienced just that, walking away with a 0-2 record, all because my hook-sets were piss poor. I wasn’t hitting them hard enough after the eat, and I made a pledge after that trip, that the next time I got a big tarpon to eat, I’d focus 100% solely on making sure my hook set was absolutely perfect. Believe me when I say, it’s humiliating as hell having a guide stare you down after you blow a hook-set. It makes you want to go find a hole to crawl off into.
When Capt. Bruce Chard put me on the biggest tarpon of my life during my latest trip, I set the hook hard and held onto the fly line as long as I could. Come hell or high water, I was going to get that hook completely buried in the tarpons mouth. Low and behold, I accomplished just that, and I ended up landing that mighty tarpon, but I got this nice fly line burn in the process. It was all worth it in the end though, because for the next two weeks as the bilsters healed, I was reminded of my victorious catch everytime I looked down at my hand.
Read More »Sunday Classic / What is more important, presentation or fly choice?
A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have the honor to participate in a podcast interview for askaboutflyfishing.com. It was an hour long conversation over the phone, with me spending most of that time talking about trout tactics on my home waters. Just as we were wrapping up the interview, the host Roger Maves, hit me with the mother of all fly fishing questions…..
What’s more important Kent, presentation or fly pattern choice?
I pondered for a few moments, before I gave a him a reply to the question that covered my butt. If I remember correctly, it was something along the lines of, “well, you have to get the fly to the fish no matter what to have a chance at catching fish, but there are many times, when I’ve seen fly pattern choice the true deciding factor in whether you find success on the water.”
Since that podcast, I’ve been asked that same question by clients more times than I can remember. It’s kind of a joke to me at this point, and that’s because I feel the question is really a loaded question.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Flip On Flies
You could get your advice on fly selection from worse guys than Flip Pallot.
I’ve long thought that there are two types of fly tyers, the Engineer and the Artist. I don’t make a qualitative distinction between the two. I simply recognize that each comes at it from a different perspective. The Engineer ties beautifully consistent versions of proven patterns, while the Artist is moved by emotion and curiosity, seldom tying the same fly twice.
I am definitely the Artist and I’m not always especially proud of it. I often envy my friends who knock out deadly patterns by the dozens, but theres no fighting it. I am what I am. It did make me extremely happy to learn that Flip is right there in the boat with me.
It’s pretty cool to hear a guy of Flip’s status admit that he’s sometimes just making it up as he goes. I think really good anglers do more of that than they are comfortable admitting. Flip has done us a favor. If it’s good enough for him, you can get away with it too.
HERE’S FLIP PALLOT ON FLY TYING AND SELECTION.
Read More »The Double Herl Scud
By Bob Reece
While complexity is sometimes beneficial, simplicity is often appreciated.
The double herl scud embraces the concept of ease, while producing consistently effective underwater results. It’s basic list of ingredients allow for size and color adjustments needed to match the naturals in the waters that you fish.
Scuds are prevalent in many still and moving fisheries. This is especially true in alkaline or limestone influences waters. The importance of these small crustaceans can range from a minor percentage of a trout’s diet to almost exclusive dominance of the menu. Their sizes range drastically from water to water, most commonly falling between sizes eighteen to twelve. Some waters are host to larger specimens reaching up to size eight. For the waters that you fish it can be very beneficial to collects samples. This will allow you to either tie or buy imitations that match the most common size and color range.
The light weight of this particular imitation makes it an ideal offering when fished on an intermediate sinking line with a sink rate of a couple inches per second. With this technique, the double herl scud can be presented throughout a wide depth range when pursuing still water trout. On moving water I trail this fly behind a more heavily weighted pattern in an effort to quickly reach the desired depth.
Tying time is a valuable commodity. Its worth to many fly fishers is matched only by the effectiveness of a pattern. The double herl scud balances these two elements by saving the tier time and effectively producing for the fly fisher on the water.
Watch the video and learn to tie the Double Herl Scud.
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