Saturday Shoutout / Hendricksons
“YOU DON’T THINK ABOUT THIS SHIT WHEN YOU’RE YOUNGER.”
This piece by Steve Zakur for Hatch Magazine is one of the nicest I’ve read in a while. A frank story about fish and flies, friends and failing health. Proof that things don’t always work out like you’d expect and a poignant reminder to make every cast as if it were your last.
You don’t think about this shit when you’re young, but you should.
Hendricksons
Read More »New Wet Wading Boots From Simms
The Simms Intruder boot is made just for the wet wader.
This is one of the coolest wading boots I’ve seen in a while. It’s kind of a special purpose boot but if you do a lot of fishing without waders, it’s worth checking out. Simms has been working on these boots for a while now and it shows in the design.
The fit of these boots is not your standard wading boot fit. No more piling on extra socks to make klunky boots fit without waders. They feel like hiking boots. Snug uppers and stiff shanks. Lots of support for hiking and fishing. Some innovative sole options as well.
The big design feature is the built in neoprene sock with an elastic closure at the top to keep debris out of the boot. It’s super comfortable Simms pro staff have been testing them for a couple of seasons now. All the reports are very good. It looks like a game changer for the avid wet wader.
WHAT THIS VIDEO WHERE RICH HOHNE WALKS US THROUGH ALL OF THE DETAILS.
Read More »Fly Fishing: Being Outfitted Properly Should Always Be the #1 Priority
MANY CAN ATTEST TO THE FEELING OF PURE EXCITEMENT THAT COMES OVER US RIGHT AFTER WE’VE PARKED THE VEHICLE AND ARE FIXING TO HIT THE WATER FOR A GREAT DAY OF FLY FISHING.
It’s an awesome feeling, one quite frankly, that I never get tired of, because it opens the door for each of us to experience true freedom, solitude and adventure. And there’s nothing like the anticipation of not knowing how the day is going to play out for us. This feeling has gotten me into trouble many times over the years, and I’m sure that I’m not alone. Look back on some of your past trips and I bet you’ve had a time or two where you got in way too much of a hurry, and forgot to pack critical gear. We tell ourselves, “the sky is blue and there’s not a cloud in the sky. I don’t need to bring my rain jacket”. We leave that granola bar or bottle of water in the truck because we hit a food joint on the way into the river and sucked down a 20 ounce bottle of water. Sometimes, we get lucky and we don’t wind up needed the stuff we’ve left behind. Unfortunately, if you get in the habit of doing this too much, eventually it’s going to bite you in the butt. It happened to me on a recent wade fishing trip with Louis in WY.
I was chomping at the bit to get on the water. It had been two years since I’d made a trip out west fly fishing. My late flight into Jackson had got us off to a late start. Since fishing time was limited I decided to do something I never do, which was slap on my waders and hit the water in just a light weight t-shirt. I didn’t second guess myself since Louis told me that we’d only hit this one spot upstream, and then we’d head back to the truck and drive further up river. I took a few seconds to look at the terrain. It was primarily made up of only scattered sage brush and there was a clear path to the water, so I moved onto my important gear, threw on my chest pack and strung up my fly rod. With both of us with our wading boots wet and midway into our first drifts, we doubled up on trout. The hot fishing continued on well past our target hole, our fishing plans changed in transit, and the next thing I knew, we were a long damn ways from the truck. The once wide open terrain, that made it so easy for us to hike-in from the beginning, had somehow transformed
Read More »Hammock Camping For Backcountry Adventures
The further off the beaten path you go, the better the fishing.
Much of the best fishing I’ve ever done has involved some long hikes. There’s no mystery, most anglers will not walk more than a mile to fish. If you’re willing to do the leg work, you will be rewarded. If you really want to see what fishing was like in the ‘good old days’ you’ll have to hike farther than is practical for a day trip. Even if the fishing isn’t the stuff of legend, nights spent on the river are their own reward.
I love camping. My wife and I used to spend a month of every year in a tent. I’ve done it right and I’ve done it very wrong. I learned early on that you can make a backcountry camp trip as fun or as awful as you like. When you’re on foot there are two ways to make your trip really miserable.
1 Be unprepared for the elements
2 Carry too much weight
Here’s the dilemma. Being prepared means carrying more stuff and more stuff means more weight. Ounces equal pounds and pounds equal pain. The trick to making a great trip is not to carry more stuff but to carry the right stuff. My goal is to have a manageable load and a good night’s sleep so I can fish hard and rest easy, to borrow a phrase from my friends at Deneki.
I recently made a backcountry trip into the mountains of North Carolina for Southern Appalachian Brook Trout. The hike in covers some notoriously rough terrain and the weather forecast was far from certain. I decided that this was the perfect trip for a camping hammock.
I had a little experience with hammock camping from my youth. Again, some good experiences and some not so much. My favorite being the night I woke up rocking wildly and found a curious raccoon doing pull-ups on the side of my hammock. Lesson one, don’t take food in your hammock.
Lots of folks are curious about hammock camping and most are pretty nervous about it. I read somewhere that hammock camping is like your first kiss. You’re riddled with anxiety over it and once you start, you just want to do it again.
SO I DID MY HOMEWORK, DOVE IN HEADFIRST AND HERE’S WHAT I LEARNED.
You can get a great hammock for the cost of a cheap tent.
Hammocks are like everything else, you can spend as much or as little as you like on one and to a certain extent, you get what you pay for. I decided on an ENO hammock. They are smartly designed, durable, lightweight and easy to set up. You can start simple and add accessories as you go. I’m a big guy so I got the biggest one they make, the Deluxe Double Nest. It was a good choice. It weighs just 28 ounces and is rated for 400 pounds. It has a stuff sack sewn to the edge which doubles as a caddy for essentials. It’s huge and comfortable. It costs $85 here.
There are a lot of options for hanging a hammock.
I went with the ENO Atlas Straps. The atlas straps are super easy and versatile. You can hang a hammock almost anywhere in a couple of minutes. Best of all, they have zero stretch, so you don’t wake up on the ground. They weigh 11 ounces (one of the heavier options), they are 9 feet long and have 30 adjustment loops so you can get the angle right in seconds. They are rated for 400 pounds each with no stretch. These straps were an extravagance in both weight and cost but worth it to me. The last thing you want is a broken strap. They cost $39 here.
What if it rains?
If you are hammock camping you’re going to need a tarp. You can spend more on a tarp than on your hammock but I don’t see the point. I went with a basic blue tarp, 7 X 10 feet, for just $7.00. A couple of rolls of parachute cord and for $15.00 at the Home Depot, you’re good to go. You’ll want to run a ridge line of para-cord along center. Tie the edges off to trees, rocks or tent stakes and you’re done.
Stay warm.
The notorious drawback to hammocks is that they are cold. Having air circulating under you robs you of heat in cool weather. You can
Sunday Classic / Tipping Good & Bad Fly Fishing Guides Accordingly
DESPITE ALL THE CONTENT PUT OUT OVER THE YEARS, AND ALL THE COMMUNICATIONS BETWEEN FLY ANGLERS ON THIS TOPIC, THERE STILL SEEMS TO BE QUITE A BIT OF MYSTERY STILL OUT THERE WHEN IT COMES TO TIPPING FLY FISHING GUIDES.
I get many clients that tip above and beyond what’s expected of them. Other times, I’m literally crawling back to my truck with every ounce of energy zapped from instructing and putting my clients on fish, and at the end of the day I’m blessed with a cold empty handshake. Sometimes, there seems to be no reasoning at all with gratuity, most clients seem to get it, but no matter what, there’s always going to be those few that feel gratuity isn’t necessary or are uneducated that it’s customary. All I truly care about is that gratuity is determined and provided to the guide based on customer service and professionalism, and that with any service-oriented job, regardless of the industry, gratuity should be on the radar.
A few weeks ago, one of our loyal Gink & Gasoline followers sent us an email that voiced a few concerns about a fly fishing guide they hired on a recent float trip. Apparently, at the end of the day the follower and his partner were in disagreement about the amount of guide gratuity they should leave. Below is the email and question that was sent to us:
“I would like to get your thoughts on tipping guides. I just came back from a trip to Montana and mentioning no names, I spent a week with a very well-known guide. The trip went well and we caught a lot of fish but his equipment sucked. His Driftboat was a small skiff that he did not want you standing up in to cast, and his Skadden style raft frames front seat came off three times, almost pitching my buddy into the river. Any thoughts on amounts or percentages for tipping would be greatly appreciated.”
My Reply:
Here’s my opinion
Saturday Shoutout / LCP
I hope this doesn’t come off as self serving.
Honestly, I do. I’ve never thought to share my own photography site here on Gink and Gasoline. It has recently been pointed out to me that some folks are interested. It has also been pointed out that it has been foolish not to do it, since that is my profession and some of you might actually like to hire me. So here it is.
You’ll get a chance to see some of my commercial work, celebrity portraits and, of course, a whole bunch of what I think are my very best fly fishing images. Visit the portfolio page and click on the thumbnails to see the full images. Click again for full screen view.
I HOPE YOU ENJOY THE SITE.
Read More »IndiFly, Changing The World One Fish At A Time
WHAT IF YOU COULD CATCH THE COOLEST FISH IN THE WORLD, SAVE A TROUBLED FISHERY AND HELP SOMEONE OUT IN THE PROCESS?
That’s what the IndiFly Foundation is all about. The amazing story began in the village of Rewa deep in the rainforest of Guyana. The locals saw there fishery dying as a result of over-industrialization and decided to do something different. They built a one of a kind Eco-lodge.
The lodge did not succeed. That is, until the folks at Costa got involved. They negotiated with the government and became the fist fishing destination in Guyana for the giant Arapaima. The lodge did thrive, as did the fishery.
Renowned angler, Oliver White, came and made the film Jungle Fish. It was a hit and now the Rewa Eco-Lodge is booked a year in advance and employs most of the village. The Arapaima Project was such a success that it begged to be repeated. And IndiFly was born. New fisheries are now being saved in New Guinea and French Polynesia just for a start.
IndiFly is brand new and they need your help. They need volunteers, donations and most of all they need folks to fish and experience these amazing fisheries.
I would like to add that I went to the Costa booth at IFTD to talk about sunglasses. The folks there said they’d rather talk about IndyFly than sell glasses. I don’t know about you, but I think that’s pretty classy.
CHECK OUT THE VIDEO WE MADE WITH AL PERKINSON AND OLIVER WHITE AT IFTD TO LEARN MORE.
Read More »Maxine McCormick Interview
THINK YOU CAN OUT CAST AN 11 YEAR OLD GIRL?
YOU MIGHT BE SURPRISED TO FIND OUT THAT ONLY 3 AMERICAN FLY CASTERS CAN CONFIDENTLY ANSWER “YES” TO THAT QUESTION.
A few weeks ago at the107th ACA National Tournament 11 year old Maxine McCormick eclipsed every other performance. In combined fly casting for accuracy Maxine scored 289 points out of a possible 300. She was out performed only by Steve Rajeff, her instructor Chris Korich and dad Glenn McCormick.
I think it’s fair to call that phenomenal. I saw Maxine interviewed by the local news. I was floored when I saw Maxine cast and heard her speak about casting. Unfortunately, the TV News anchor had no idea what she was talking about and cut her off most of the time.
I decided that wasn’t right. I got in touch with her dad and and asked permission to interview Maxine by phone. You will not believe your ears when you hear this amazing young lady talk about fly casting. I even got a little advice on my cast.
LISTEN TO THIS INTERVIEW WITH MAXINE MCCORMICK.
Read More »Don’t Let Go of the Fly Line in Your Rod Hand During the Hook Set
Have you ever set the hook on a fish, and the next thing you know, you’ve got your arms spread apart in the shape of a giant slice of pizza, leaving you unable to reach the fly line with your rod hand? Do not be ashamed if this happens to you every now and then on the water. You’re not alone, I promise. Many fly anglers do this regularly, and the reason they get themselves in this situation is because they’re letting go of the fly line in their rod hand when they set the hook. You can completely eliminate this problem on the water if you make sure you keep a solid grip on the fly line with your rod hand during and after every hook set. Doing so, it will allow you to maintain tension and control of the fish while you’re stripping in fly line or getting that excess fly line on the reel.
Read More »Big Adventure! Patagonia Trout and Argentina Golden Dorado
I’ll be hosting two amazing fishing opportunities for you in Patagonia, Argentina with Andes Drifters. Do either trip or both in two consecutive weeks!
WEEK ONE, FEBRUARY 20-27, 2016
This is nothing less than a week of the best trout fishing and greatest hospitality on the planet. I made this trip last year and it was the coolest fishing trip I’ve ever made. While your friends shovel snow at home you’ll throw big dry flies to hungry brown and rainbow trout of 18-24 inches, drink Argentinean wine, fish at the foot of a giant volcano, eat goat roasted on a spit and sleep under the Southern Cross.
The fishing is truly remarkable. Think Montana times 10. There will be ample opportunity to cast to rising trout or work the bank with hoppers. If you like to throw streamers, hold on baby! These fish are aggressive. We’ll spend the first few days floating the Chimehuin and Alumine Rivers, and wading the beautiful Malleo River at the foot of the Lanin volcano.
We will stay at the Spring Creek Lodge, which is as comfortable as it is charming. The Argentines are gracious folks and they are proud to share their country and their culture. There will be local wine tasting, music, tango dancers and food that you just can’t believe. If you never touched your fly rod it would be a bucket list trip. And just when you think it can’t get any better…it does.
We’ll end the trip with an epic three-day float and camp on the legendary Limay Medio, The River Of Monsters.
Argentina Week Two Golden Dorado
Maybe you’re interested in seeing the dark side of Argentina fly fishing? Perhaps a trip with some real teeth? Well then, how about throwing six-inch streamers for Golden Dorado on the Upper Parana River?
Week two will be completely different. We’ll spend our days sight fishing on big water for one of the most aggressive predators that swims. Brawny Golden Dorado in the 12-30 pound range. The fish that Kirk Deeter, of Field and Stream, called “pound for pound, the toughest fish in the world.”
These fish are bold fighters that make reel-melting runs and acrobatic jumps. They are pure unchecked aggression. They’re apex predators and they have a mouth full of teeth to prove it. If you’re looking for an adrenaline rush, this is it.
Read More »