Sunday Classic / 4 Tips For Capturing Better Release Shots of Your Fish
Your best shot at capturing a good photograph of you and your catch, is first having someone along with you that’s competent with a camera in their hands. But even a world class photographer will tell you, it’s extremely difficult getting those picture perfect photographs, if the person handling the fish has no clue what their doing. Some of my favorite fly fishing shots to look at are catch and release shots, because there seems to be something extra moving about capturing the release of a fish in a photograph. Problem is, release shots are often some of the hardest photographs to pull off on the water. You have to have satisfactory light and adequate water clarity, but even with both of those, much of your success will ultimately be determined by the cooperation of the fish your shooting. Below are four tips for capturing better release shots that Louis and I have learned through trial and error over the years. Followed correctly, they should increase your chances at getting that perfect catch and release shot.
Tip 1: Choose a Calm Stretch of Water for the Release When Possible
Fast moving water isn’t optimal. If you can find a nice eddy or a calm stretch of water close by, you’ll find it much easier to photograph a nice release shot. In most cases, slower moving water will provide you with better water clarity for showcasing the fish below the surface during the release. I’ve also found it’s much easier to handle and keep the fish in proper position in slower moving water.
Tip 2: Keep Your Catch Calm and Relaxed
Don’t be in a rush to get the shot. Keep the fish in the water and in the net until it has calmed down before you move forward with the release shot. This is especially true if you land the fish quickly. A hot fish generally will swim off so fast, it will be hard for the photographer to time and get the best shot. Your goal is to release the fish at a speed that lets the photographer shoot multiple shots. This will increase the chances you end up with the perfect photograph.
Tip 3: Use Your Arm For Better Control and Timing the Release
One of my best tricks I’ve learned over the year
Saturday Shoutout / Venturing to Cuba
IF YOU’RE LIKE ME, YOU HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS.
When President Obama announced new policies on relations with Cuba recently the fly fishing community just about wet itself in unison. For as long as I can remember Cuba has been whispered about and rumored to be the ElDorado of saltwater fly fishing. I’ve spent a fair amount of time on Google earth day dreaming of the day that border would open.
It’s certainly not unheard of for anglers to skirt the rules and get a little fishing time in Cuba, but it could be that very soon it will be as easy as running down to the Bahamas. There are still more questions than answers and as many rumors. I was glad to see this piece from The Venturing Angler. It may help answer a few of your questions.
Check out “A New Course On Cuba And Fly Fishing”
Read More »Nautilus’s New Silver King Is A Winner
The new Nautilus Silver King fly reel does not play.
If you’ve been reading Gink and Gasoline for a while, you may have figured out that I love Nautilus reels. Owner, Kristen Mustad has become a good friend and in an industry full of really smart people, Kristen is one of the smartest. His designs are works of art.
Winner of best fly reel in both Saltwater and Freshwater categories at IFTD, the new Silver King fly reel from Nautilus is a serious piece of fish fighting machinery. The five inch spool delivers 14 1/2 inches per turn of line pickup and it’s the lightest reel in its class, ever. The new dual carbon fiber sealed drag is phenomenal! Super stout with the finest adjustment I’ve ever seen in a fly reel.
The Silver King is loaded with features but there is an elegance to its design and proportions that is hard to explain. The feel of this reel in your hand has to be experienced. It feels like it was Taylor made for the hand. It’s a thing of beauty.
In this video Kristen introduces you to the Silver King and just for fun we look at some of the amazing Nautilus custom finishes, including one Kristen calls, “Your Mother’s Thong.” Only from Nautilus.
Read More »The Checkered Flag Has Flown in The Fly Shop 500!
The votes are in and you, the G&G readers, have picked the Fly Shop Of The Year!
It’s January 1st 2015 and the Fly Shop 500 has come to a blazing close. The competition was hot and heavy all the way to the finish line, with roughly 7000 votes cast! We are thrilled with the response, the enthusiasm of our readers and the choice you have made.
Although every fly shop in the US was invited to enter free of charge or obligation, not all shops did. I feel 100% confident however, that the outcome is spot on. As I have gotten to know more about the contenders, it’s become clear that the cream has risen to the top. So many absolutely great shops entered, but only one can be the best. I just glad that you had to choose and not me!
We are proud to announce that the winner of the Gink and Gasoline Fly Shop 500 and Fly Shop of the Year is…
Read More »Landlocked Stripers on the Fly
IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN!
Time for me to get excited about layering up and getting on one of my local reservoirs for some landlocked stripers on the fly. The fall and winter months are great times for both numbers and big fish if you’re willing to battle the cold. Dropping water temperatures get baitfish schooling up and very active, and you’ll find schools of hybrid bass and striped bass following their every move. It sounds easy right? Tell me that again when the alarm clock is ringing at 4:00am and it’s twenty degrees outside.
For best results you’re going to want to get on the lake early, well before sunrise. You will find your best opportunity for breaking fish is the first three or four hours of the day. Once the sun gets high on the horizon the baitfish and the striped bass usually go deep. Even with full sinking lines you’ll find it hard to effectively present your fly in the strike zone when fish are deep. Long points close to deep water or flats and humps surrounded by deep water are hotspots for stripers and hybrid bass driving and abusing baitfish. Sometimes stripers will
Read More »The SA Skagit Extreme Intermediate, Better Casts, Better Swings, More Fish
In the end it all comes down to this. A better head means more fish.
I had the opportunity to try out the Scientific Anglers Skagit Extreme Intermediate head while fishing the Deschutes river this September. It didn’t take long for me to fall in love. The head was not only a pleasure to cast and to fish but immediately put me on fish where my floating head had failed.
Here’s the scenario. I was fishing a tough run at the head of a big rapid where I knew there were fish who didn’t get a lot of attention. The bite had been a little slow and I was really looking for one more fish on my last day. I knew they were there but I wasn’t getting them.
This run was tough for a couple of reasons. It was deep and fast. This made it tough to get the fly down and even tougher to get a good slow swing, but it also made casting tricky as I was in chest deep water with poor footing. On top of that, the water was boiling over big boulders, making it hard to get a good consistent swing. A good run with a lot of challenges.
I fished through it with my floating head with no success. My buddy Jeff Hickman was with me and generously offered me his rod with the SA Skagit Extreme Intermediate. From the first cast it was clear that this was the tool for the job.
First, it solved the casting struggle.
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Masters of Hyperbole
“ARE THERE JUST A BUNCH OF LIARS AMONG US?”
Hyperbole (hahy-pur-buh-lee) noun – An obvious or intentional exaggeration. An extravagant statement or figure of speech not meant to be taken literally, as in “to wait an eternity.”
Christmas or Thanksgiving, when I was a child, were about the only times I saw my Grandfathers together in the same room. Both events involving some turkey, green bean casserole and several desserts, after which there would be some considerable recuperation. The latter part of this recuperation period was something I always eagerly awaited. After a half hour or so of digestion the conversation would inevitably turn to hunting dogs. Why, you might ask, would a young boy be so excited about listening to two old men talk about hunting dogs? You see, this was no normal dog talk, and the dogs these two had in mind, no normal hounds. These dogs were worthy of Homer. These, my friends, were the dogs of legend.
This is how it would start.
“You know Abe, I had this dog once,” Pete, my paternal Grandfather, would lob a volley across the living room at my Mother’s Father.
“He was such a good dog that one time he was jumping a barbed wire fence and just as he crossed the top of that fence he smelled some birds.” To add an air of authenticity his voice would become excited as he continued, “damned if he didn’t stop, right there, perched on that strand of barbed wire in a perfect point!”
Abe, short for Adolphus who preferred to be called Bill, would field this with the nonchalant air of a major league ball player playing catch with a school boy.
“Yeah, that’s a pretty good dog, but I had a dog once, Mike was his name,” and the game was on.
“Mike found a covey of birds roosting in a pile of rocks. Well, he was so smart,
Read More »Saturday. Shoutout / The Road To Tenkara
“How does a perfectly good modern trout guide become devoted to an ancient style of fly-fishing?”
This week Tom Sadler tries to answer this question for Middle River Dispatches. Tom document how he discovered tenkara fly fishing, why he started teaching it to his clients and how he came to see it as a purer form of fly fishing.
Tom is now a full time tenkara guide and preaches the word to anyone who is interested. Check out his story. He makes some great points of interest to any fly angler.
Check out “The Road To Tenkara”
Read More »Mystic Fly Rods, This One’s For The Ladies
Screen-Shot-2014-12-17-at-4.31.51-PMGreat new two handers and a speciality rod for women that isn’t pink.
I’ve been really impressed with the rods I’ve fished from this little Michigan company. Especially the two hand rods. The action is sweet and the quality of the components and finish are remarkable. Great quality rods at a middle of the road price. You get an awful lot for your money with a Mystic.
This year at IFTD, Mystic unveiled a couple of new Spey offerings in 7 & 8 weights. I’ve not had the chance to fish them but they feel awesome. Much like other Mystic two handers I’ve used. Also new in the mystic line is the Sapphyre, a fly rod designed specifically for women. And it’s not pink! It’s lovely in fact, with a scaled down grip which is very comfortable.
IN THIS VIDEO DENNIS KLEIN SHOWS OFF THE NEW GOODS AND TELLS US A LITTLE MORE ABOUT EACH ROD.
Read More »Louis’s Christmas List
Merry Christmas From Gink and Gasoline!
It’s hard to believe that 2014 is is almost in the net. It’s been a remarkable year for us. Full of challenges and successes. Who knew how many good people would rally around a fly fishing site started by two boys from Georgia? No one is more shocked, more thankful and more humbled by the support we have received than I am. I’d like to personally thanks each and every one of you. You are amazing.
Now that I’ve come clean on how much I have to be thankful for this Christmas, I’m going ask for more! I have three things on my Christmas list and I’m counting on each of you to deliver.
Louis’s Christmas list for 2014
Call up a friend who help you learn to fly fish and say thanks. It’s a word that no one hears too often. Even better, say thanks and make a date to go fishing. Especially if you haven’t in a while.
2) Find someone who wants to learn and take them fishing. It’s a gift that they will never forget and it will do you a whole lot of good too.
3) Challenge yourself, not others. See if you can make it through the next year without calling someone else’s idea of fly fishing, “bullshit.” Open your mind and realize that you can learn something from anyone, even a beginner. Let’s make fly fishing inclusive, not exclusive.
There it is. My Christmas list. You’ve given me so much and I’m asking for more. Give it a try and see if every day you go fishing doesn’t feel a little more like Christmas. God bless us, every one.
Merry Christmas!
Read More »