Hell Razing Cousins
By Bob Reece
On the whole, leech and crawdad patterns typically land in the medium to large size range in the world of flies. These offerings have proven their worth. However, their vast success in these profiles has led to an oversight on the productivity that they offer in much smaller variations.
Matt McCannel is man of details. The quarry that he frequently pursues with his clients demands the utmost attention. Double digit trout, in pounds, don’t accidentally make their way into your net. Applying tactics that land outside the typical box of thinking help the process of capturing these aquatic unicorns. Matt’s Hell Razor Craw and Leech depart from the norm. They display a small silhouette on a size 12 Tiemco 403 bl jig hook. The dumbbell weighting system in the neck of the jig hook adds the needed weight to get the fly down, while blending into the visual profile of the pattern. Additionally, the construction of these flies results in a highly durable offering that can hold up to a full day of fishing.
Matt runs these offerings under an indicator throughout the majority of the year. Yet, during terrestrial season they make for an outstanding dropper under foam terrestrials. The combo of hopper-crawper, with the Hell Razor Craw, makes for a varied and deadly bank side offering. A quick twitch just after landing gives both flies a burst of life that is often followed by vicious strikes.
As you continue to prepare for another season, take time to think outside the box.
Read More »Men and Their Adventures
“Cuba is two weeks from today!!! Got to admit I’m a little nervous going where my phone and credit cards don’t work, and taking some ancient helicopter.”
That’s the text I got from my buddy Geoff this morning. He’s had this Cuba trip planned for almost a year but it’s only now sinking in. He’s fished all over the world, and in places a hell of a lot farther than a sixty-mile, ancient helicopter ride from a nice American hospital, but Cuba is an unknown and the unknown is scary.
“You can give my contact info to your wife,” I replied, “I can be there in a couple of hours.”
“Plenty of help here. She just worries.”
“It’s good for them to worry about us once in a while,” I answered.
I think my wife gave up worrying about me a long time ago, but there was a time I scared the living hell out of her. There is something in a man’s soul which needs adventure. Something which requires a bit of risk, the sneaking suspicion that everything might not be alright. Take it away and he becomes something else. A “man” only in description.
All of you women who are firing up your keyboards to tell me how sexist I am should calm down for a second and listen. This has nothing to do with you. I’m not making a judgment or a comparison. I’m talking honestly about what goes on in the head of the male specimen. I can’t tell you what it’s like to be a woman, but I can tell why we men do some of the stupid things we do.
“I didn’t want to tell you about this in the first place,” my mother told me “because I knew you’d do it.”
I was twenty years old and had taken a job, my mother had told me about, photographing archeological sites for the Israeli Department of Antiquities. I landed in Tel Aviv on the first plane to arrive after a bomb threat and unpacked my luggage with two M-16 rifles pointed at my head. I rode a bus to the site of the ancient city of Capernaum, on the Sea of Galilee. It was April of 1982.
“Everything is fine,” I shouted to my parents through a scratchy phone connection, which had taken the better part of twenty-four hours to make. “That was just a sonic boom.”
“I’ve been to war, son,” my father answered, “I know what a damned bomb sounds like.”
Read More »Sunday Classic / 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 »Saturday Shoutout / Gone Missing
What’s the point of even owning a fly rod if no one ever files a missing persons report on you?
Maybe I just love this because I have been that guy. Dry fly season is time for us all to go missing, even if only in our own minds. Who hasn’t pushed the envelope a little? Josh Greenberg, writing for Gates Au Sable Lodge, sums the feeling up perfectly.
TAKE A FEW MINUTES FOR A GOOD READ AND A CHANCE TO GO MISSING ON THE AU SABLE.
“GONE MISSING”
Read More »Fishing Dog Friday / Indy
Meet Indy, half lab, all awesome.
Indy calls Roscoe, NY home and can often be seen chasing, and sometimes catching, waterfowl on the Delaware River. His dad, Bryn Bode, can always count on Indy for some decomposing deer parts he finds along the bank. Thanks Indy! I guess that explains the tongue action.
Show some love for Indy in the comments section.
Read More »You Can Mouse Just About Anywhere
EIGHT YEARS AGO, I GOT FED UP WITH READING ARTICLES ABOUT PEOPLE ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY AND ABROAD FLY FISHING WITH MOUSE PATTERNS AND LANDING TRULY GIANT TROUT.
It seemed every medium I read or watched, there were people showcasing how productive mouse fishing could be. The only problem was, where I lived in North Georgia, as well as the majority of my neighboring states, I heard very little about anyone fishing mouse patterns. You’d find a few patterns here and there in the fly bins at the local fly shops, but in actuality, I think most of those were being fished on farm ponds for bass not for trout. I couldn’t take it any longer, so I decided to go on a mousing binge, strictly fishing mouse patterns on my days off. I really wanted to figure out if mouse patterns would work just as well on my home waters as they did on blue ribbon caliber trout streams.
My first big brown trout fishing a mouse pattern.
It didn’t take long to find success. My second trip out I landed a 26 1/2″ wild brown trout on my home tailwater. It was one of the biggest documented fly caught brown trout on the surface that anyone could remember for quite some time. I then moved on to some of my favorite small mountain streams where I’d never heard of anyone tying on and fishing a mouse pattern. Again, my mouse experiment yielded incredible success, and I quickly turned into a mouse fishing enthusiast. I didn’t know if I was having luck because no other anglers were fishing these big mouse patterns, or if it was simply that very few anglers in my area were willing to accept mice were regularly being preyed upon by our local trout. I didn’t know for sure, but in all honesty, I didn’t really care. Success was success, and I was going to milk it before everyone caught on.
Here’s What I learned about Fishing Mouse Patterns that first year.
You can just about fishing mouse patterns anywhere with success. Do not exclude small trout streams.
Although you seem to catch bigger trout on average with mouse patterns, I did find smaller trout will aggressively eat them as well.
Brown trout aren’t alone, rainbow trout, brook trout (char), and steelhead will chomp on mouse patterns too.
I learned there are other ways of fishing mouse patterns other than the traditional down and across skating technique. On smaller streams in particular, I had very good success
Sunday Classic / 3 Tips For Better Bonefishing
CHANGE THE RETRIEVE BEFORE THE FLY
If the bonefish are following your fly but not eating it, the fly may not be the problem. As fly fishermen, we always want to blame our fly. I think this comes from trout fishing and the idea of matching the hatch but often, whether fishing in fresh water or salt, the problem is the presentation and not the fly.
When you cast your fly to a bonefish and he keys on it and follows the fly for a good ways, then turns off, generally it’s the retrieve he doesn’t like. Often changing it up will solicit the bite. If you’re stripping slow, speed up. If you’re stripping long, go short. Most often I find that a series of short fast strips followed by a pause does the trick. The beauty is that you can make this change immediately and catch the fish at hand.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Drop Off Panic
Cast, mend, drift…Panic ensues.
Every angler knows that drop-offs are trout magnets. Anywhere our friends are found, you can drift a dry fly through a riffle and out over deep water and expect something good to happen. Take that scenario to the Limay river in Argentina and the experience can be magical.
In this short film, Argentine film maker Pablo Saracco does just that. I had the pleasure of fishing with Pablo on the Limay a couple of years ago and I’ll never forget it. You can check out Pablo’s Youtube Channel for more great fishing action in Argentina.
JOIN ME ON THE LIMAY AND PARANA IN FEB OF 2008. CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS.
Read More »Fishing Dog Fridays: Trigger
MEET TRIGGER, THE GERMAN SHORTHAIRED POINTER.
Those ears tell the story of a happy dog. Trigger calls Wheat Ridge, Colorado home. He started his career as a bird dog but these days he’s taken to the river with his dad, Josh Duplechian. Trigger is known along the mighty Colorado for taking a dip at the worst possible time. His special skill is his flawless impression of a pyramid anchor. His favorite treats include children socks, entire bags of M&M’s and chicken feed.
Trigger looks like a dog who has his priorities in order. I think we call all learn a lesson from him and let our ears fly once in a while. Thanks for sharing Josh!
Show your love for this awesome pooch in the comments section.
Read More »G&G / Fishpond Fishing Dog Photo Contest: Winner
If that dog can’t find fish I’ll eat my trucker hat.
Congratulations to Ryan Forbus. This photo of his fishing buddy Mason, a Chesapeake Bay Retriever. That’s as regal a fishing dog as I’ve ever seen. For his good looks, Mason will enjoy a new collar, food and water bowls, and dog bed from Fishpond. Ryan has chosen XXX to receive a $250 donation from G&G and Fishpond.
We received a landslide of great dog photos for this contest. So many beautiful images it was hard to pick just one. Since it doesn’t seem fair to keep them to ourselves, over the next few weeks, we will be sharing some selections on Fridays. Stop by for Fishing Dog Fridays and get your dog fix from G&G.
Thanks to everyone who contributed and a big thanks to Fishpond for their generosity and support.
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