Simms West Shore Boat Shoes
Simms west shore boat shoes are built to fight foot fatigue.
It doesn’t get talked about but pain management is a big part of fishing. If you’re on the bow of a boat and your thinking about your feet, you’re not thinking about your fishing. It doesn’t make any sense to miss fish because of your shoes.
Simms has put a lot of effort into their new West Shore foot ware. It’s not just good looking and comfortable, it’s ergonomic and works with your body, not against it. Whether your polling, rowing or fishing, good boat shoes make a lot of sense.
CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR THE SCOOP ON THE NEW SIMMS BOAT SHOES.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Searching for That Needle in a Haystack
I really enjoy catching big wild trout on a fly rod. Even more though, I enjoy the challenges that come with having to hunt them down in places where they are few and far between. I’m talking about trout streams where there’s not supposed to be any truly big trout living there. The places where catching a 12-incher normally gets you tickled to death, and where most fly anglers, if asked, would tell you point blank, “I guarantee you there’s nothing swimming in that trout stream large enough for a grip and grin.” These are the places I like to visit on my days off from guiding. I get deep satisfaction searching for that extra special fish. The fish that’s 99% confident no fly angler thinks he or she even exists.
Read More »Fly Casting Made Simple
Here are three down and dirty fly casting tips that will fix 90% of your casting problems.
It’s difficult enough showing someone how to cast. Explaining it is even more challenging. Writing about it is another thing entirely. It’s no wonder that most articles on fly casting, including my own, run novel length and frequently spiral out of control. Today I’m going to try and focus on the meat of the issue. The three common problems which most casters struggle with. A Jack Web, “Just the facts ma’am,” approach that I promise will help your casting.
THE THREE MOST COMMON MISTAKES IN FLY CASTING.
Dropping the tip
Often a remnant of early years spin fishing, dropping your rod tip on your presentation is something most anglers do. The idea that the presentation cast is somehow different from the false casts made when working out line is a hard notion to let go of. It should, in fact, be exactly the same.
When false casting, you let the line straighten out fully before beginning the next casting stroke. Whether the line is in front, or behind you makes no difference. You wait for the line to straighten. The same thing is true of the presentation cast. That static rod tip acts as the anchor which keeps the energy in the line. Drop the tip too soon and you put slack in the system. The energy is lost and the leader piles up on itself.
Try exaggerating this pause. Hold your rod tip still at the end of your stroke and watch the line straighten. Don’t move the tip of the rod until the fly begins to fall. You’ll see how the system straightens out nicely every time. You can easily work your timing back from this point to where the fly and line land on the water at the same time.
Deviating from a straight line path
One of the essentials of a good fly cast is that the rod tip must travel in a straight line. This is the only way to make a tight, energized loop. It is very common for anglers to make a big arc with their rod tip when casting. Since the fly line follows the path of the rod tip, this results in a big round loop which piles up when it lands.
Look at your loop in the air. If it is not nice and flat, with the two legs of the line parallel, your rod tip is not traveling in a straight line. Watch
Read More »Sunday Classic / Don’t Just Love Your Cold Water Fisheries, Be Good Stewards Also
Most fly fisherman are passionate about the protection of their trout and salmon streams.
Promoting catch and release, special regulations and protecting various wild salmonid populations, are among the most common conservation topics being fought for today in the sport of fly fishing. But even as important as all of these topics are, there’s another area of conservation that I feel like is equally important, and is being put on the back burner. Why is it, that we aren’t’ also hearing people talking passionately about the importance of protecting our trout waters tree canopies, stream banks and 50 foot buffers (native shrubs and foliage)? After all, they’re essential elements in the conservation pie, and without them, it’s very difficult for any trout water, regardless of its size, to maintain the proper water quality and habitat that cold-water fish species demand for their suvival.
For example, the past five years, chronic drought conditions, poorly managed river/stream buffer zones and the occasional high wind thunderstorm have uprooted and destroyed an alarming amount of trees and foliage along my trout streams in the Southeastern United States. It hasn’t helped that during this depressing period there’s also been a large amount of our native hemlock forests decimated by the “hemlock woolly adelgid”, a beetle brought over from China and Japan, that sucks the life out of the trees by feeding on their sap. Put all of these negative forces together and they’ve really dealt a punishing blow to the health of the trout water in my area, and their ability to sustain year-round trout fisheries. Stream shade and foliage have been reduced greatly in areas, long stretches of stream banks have become un-stabilized and week, and silt introduction by erosion and runoff have become a serious problem. Water temperatures are reaching levels higher than we’ve ever seen in the past, and natural reproduction of our cold-water species are at an all-time low. The fish haven’t been the only species effected by these environmental cotastrophies. The aquatic insect, amphibian, and crustacean populations have been effected as well, with some species being wiped out almost completely.
Be Good Stewards of your trout water by giving back
Last year, to help combat these issues, I volunteered a day of my time to plant 150 eastern cottonwood trees on a private section of property along a trout stream I regularly guide on. The landowners purchased 8-14″ cottonwood tree cuttings from a Louisiana tree nursery at .25 cents a piece, and we used
Saturday Shoutout / Live The Stream
Anglers don’t come any cooler than Joe Humphreys.
There are very few folks who have given as much to fly fishing as Joe Humphreys. Film maker Lucas Bell is trying to save Joe’s legacy for prosperity. Below is the trailer for his film, “Live The Stream.” He describes the project like this..
“This documentary tries to keep up with Joe “Hump” for one year both on and off the stream as he inspires first-timers and professionals alike to better their fly fishing techniques in the splendor of nature. It’s a relatable and moving story of youthfulness in the heart of life’s progression, a film that explores the significance of family and community foundations and the idea that water can be a healing resource for anyone that steps in the stream.”
LUCAS NEED YOUR HELP.
The film is not complete and a modest budget is needed to make it a reality. Please consider making a donation. Even if it’s only $10 it will help preserve the joy and enthusiasm Joe Humphreys has for fly fishing.
SUPPORT “LIVE THE STREAM”
Read More »Broyhill’s Jackknife
Flymen is taking a “Go big or go home” approach for 2016.
The Flymen Fishing Co. (Makers of the Fish Skull) has a new musky fly this year for those who aren’t happy with a streamer under twelve inches. Broyhill’s Jackknife is an articulated pattern in the style of Blane Chocklett’s T-Bone. It creates a big profile without the bulk and weight which makes big flies such a challenge to cast.
You can buy these from Flymen, or you can buy the materials that make the design work and tie them yourself. Tying these big flies is fun and it’s easier than it looks. I’d encourage you to give it a try. There’s a video below that shows you how it’s done.
CHECK OUT THESE VIDEOS AND CATCH SOME MUSKY!
Read More »3 Fly Fishing Situations When I Will Stop My Streamer During the Retrieve
I agree with this advice 95% of the time because most prey when threatened by a predator, will swim as hard and fast as possible to escape being eaten. That being said, I’ve been on the water many times when the constant-strip retrieve, or even the speed-up retrieve with my streamer, has failed to get me the hook up from a following fish. It was only when I thought outside the box, and found the courage to go against the popular view that streamers should always be kept moving when a fish is tracking, that I found myself with a bent rod.
Read More »Sacred Days
DAYS, LIKE MEN, ARE ALL CREATED EQUAL. IT’S THE PATHS THEY TAKE WHICH SEPARATE THEM.
It’s eighteen degrees as we get the skiff ready to launch. The first snow flakes are floating about. Delicate little flakes for now but the Weather Channel tells us they won’t stay small. It actually feels nice. We floated the South Holston River the day before when the temperature never made it to double digits. Today we’re kind of optimistic about fishing without full gloves.
The So Ho is known for its prolific summer sulfur hatches. That’s got nothing to do with this trip. There won’t be a bug on the water for about two months yet and then it’ll be black caddis. Myself, Justin Pickett and Chase Pritchett have not driven from Georgia to Tennessee, in the face of what’s promised to be the storm of the decade to fish dry flies, or even nymphs. We’re here to throw hairy-ass American streamers. The stuff the Brits call lures. There are big brown trout in this river and they have bad attitudes.
I’m working on breaking the frozen anchor rope off the floor of the skiff, Justin is changing reels and Chase is hefting some beer into the boat when his cell phone rings. He answers, listens for a moment, then walks a ways off and lights up a cigarette as he talks. Chase is a talented fly tyer, the owner of American Made Flies. He ties everything in the book beautifully, but he has a special love for streamers. He’s a big dude with a face full of beard. A coarse, almost biker-ish, exterior and quiet demeanor hide a big heart and a childlike fascination with Star Wars. Presently, his body language is showing his stress. I know this phone call. It always comes first thing in the morning because that’s when they find them, our loved ones who have passed.
Chase’s Uncle Vic was obviously a big influence in his life. He speaks of him as if he were his father. He’d been a Montana trout guide back in the day. After he came home from the war. Chase isn’t specific but I’m guessing Vietnam. His death was not a complete surprise. He suffered with dementia, along with a bad case of PTSD. Not a combination I’d wish on anyone, or their family. Chase is putting up a good front but he’s obviously shaken up.
“I’m sorry, so sorry,” I tell him, “Do you need to go? It’s not a problem, we can go right now.”
“No, no there’s nothing I can do,” he answers, “The weather is turning to shit. The roads are going to be bad. Let’s fish. That’s what Uncle Vic would want.”
The snow is coming hard by the time we get the boat wet. Trees become charcoal sketches as the world fades to white. Our steaming white breath seems to linger and fill the sky. The water turns to swirling steel. Idle rods and fly boxes disappear under thick quilts of white. Huge flakes of snow swirl around our heads like angels. Snow in the south is such a rare thing it feels like it comes from heaven, or beyond.
There will be plenty of oar time for me today and that’s just how I’d have it. We’re not playing a numbers game. You might get a fish or two, and you might get none. I desperately want Chase to get a fish today. He needs a fish today. He’s not touching the oars. He’s quiet for a while. He fishes hard, changes flies and eventually tells us a couple of stories about Uncle Vic. We pass a bottle of whisky in his name and I think how I’d have liked to have known the man.
Death has been my fishing partner this year. He’s been there on the oars, standing waist deep next to me in the river, on the bow of the flats boat for every cast. He’s been with me at the vise, with me as I pack my gear, next to me as I drive to the river. He has laid next to me in my sleepless bed.
Read More »Assault on the Au Sable
By Jason Tucker
Commercial fish farming threatens one of the world’s best dry fly streams. Is it too late to save it?
Michigan is a dream destination for any fly fisher, with a volume and variety of water, species and opportunities that draw anglers from around the world. The crown jewel of this freshwater mecca is the Au Sable River.
The Au Sable is a world class trout stream, and the dry fly fishing has to be seen to be believed, with hatches lasting from March through September, beyond that if you count blue winged olives and winter stones. The Hendrickson, Sulphur, Brown Drake, Isonychia, Hexagenia, and Ephoron hatches in their turn blanket the water with spinners, bringing out large trout to feed on the bounty, and legions of anglers in pursuit of the fish.
The Au Sable is a big system with several hundred miles of stream in the watershed. The North and South Branches are sizable trout streams in their own right. The whole system attracts anglers, campers, paddlers, tubers, birdwatchers and nature lovers of all stripes. It’s a prime example of “Pure Michigan”.
Which is why it’s puzzling that the State and Crawford County are green lighting what would be the State’s largest commercial fish farm near the headwaters, with virtually no water treatment requirements or oversight.
Let’s back up a bit for some context. In 1914, private interests built a hatchery on the East Branch of the Au Sable near its confluence with the main stream in Grayling, Michigan. It was taken over in the ‘20’s by the DNR to produce trout for stocking throughout the region, and was in production until the mid-1960s. It was transferred to Crawford County in 1983 and run as a tourist attraction until the present. This is an important point that we’ll come back to.
In 2011, the county decided it could no longer bear the expense of the facility, which was operating at a loss to the county, and they proposed closing it down. Dan Vogler, president of the nearby Harrietta Hills Trout Farm, heard about this, and in cooperation with the county, has been operating the hatchery since 2012 as a tourist attraction. It has been producing under 20,000 pounds of trout annually which avoids the need for a permit. All that is about to change.
Harrietta Hills Trout Farm has been issued a permit by the DEQ, and they plan to ramp up production to 300,000 pounds of trout annually, making it the largest aquaculture operation in the state.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Sealiced
I’m a sucker for a good steelhead video.
This video by Danish film maker Columbus Leth is a great example of what draws us to cold and dangerous rivers to swing flies for steelhead and salmon. I don’t know about “Ten times better than tarpon fishing,” but it’s pretty magical. If this doesn’t make you want to catch steelhead, you should see a doctor.
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