Sunday Classic / Fish With Benefits
I was asked the other day what was my favorite species of fish. That’s a really tough question for me. Sort of a Sophie’s choice question. After thinking about it for a long time I answered trout, for a host of reasons, but I quickly added, “and bone fish”! For some odd reason I then felt like I had to defend that answer. I had said trout and I had just finished talking at length about a tarpon trip I had just been on and here I was blurting out bonefish. Why? I went on to explain using a rationale I have used for years. “The bonefish is just right. It’s hard enough to catch, usually because of the conditions, that you feel like you’ve done something worthwhile but it’s not impossible like a permit. When you hook them it’s a great fight, but not an ass beating like a tarpon. They’re the just right fish”.
That’s all true and I believe it but inside I knew there was more. It ate at me, why do I love bonefish so much? I think I’ve come up with the answer. I love the fish but what I really love is bonefishing. When I think of bonefish I think of the Bahamas and when I think about fishing the Bahamas it’s a whole different feeling.
When I’m headed to the Keys for tarpon
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Landeen’s Ladder
ALEX LANDEEN IS OUT STANDING ON HIS LADDER.
You may remember Alex Landeen as the man behind “Fat Guy Fly Fishing”. You’ve seen his photos and perhaps read his writing in “Pulp Fly”. Alex is a man of many talents. A great angler, amazing photographer and writer, one wonders is there is anything he doesn’t do well.
Alex has a new site. alexlandeen.com. It’s a must see. You couldn’t find a better place to start than his recent trip to Pyramid Lake. The photos are awesome!
CHECK OUT, “WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG LADDER”
Read More »Bonefish Don’t Dance
DANCING ON THE BOW IS A BIG TURN-OFF.
I had the pleasure of doing a little bonefishing with a good friend the other day. We were poling the flats on the west side of South Andros and the wind was howling. The sky was full of popcorn clouds and their shadows were moving quickly across the flats. My buddy was getting a lot of shots at big westside bones but they all spooked before his fly landed.
We had fished to spooky fish for the last few days and were getting used to the sight of fleeing bonefish. My buddy assumed that he was spooking fish by lining them or landing them too hard. That might have been the case on one of the flat calm days we’d seen earlier in the week, but today the problem was one of footwork.
Like I said, the wind was howling. Thirty to thirty-five miles per hour. In an effort to turn over his fly my friend was casting like a warrior Hun. His casting was so violent that his left foot would come off the deck with each cast. He wasn’t even aware of it but every time that foot landed the bonefish would vanish.
Wind is frustrating but it can be your friend. The broken surface of the water will hide a lot of mistakes. Fish can’t see the shadow of your fly line or hear your fly hit the water but the sound of anything contacting the hull of the boat is instantly telegraphed, alerting them of danger. Fish don’t know how hard it is to cast a fly rod in the wind but they know an unnatural sound when they hear it and it doesn’t make them happy. Even the sound of feet pivoting on the deck can cause them to spook.
Fortunately, dancing on the bow is not part of a good fly cast.
Read More »A Conversation With Fly Tyer Tim Widmer
by Johnny Spillane
TODAY WE ARE SITTING DOWN WITH TIM WIDMER,
fly fishing guide, commercial tier, College professor specializing professor and general good guy. Tim has been guiding for the better part of two decades and his flies have been produced commercially for almost 10 years. Tim was one of the first guys to experiment with foam and his Hoppindicator, Terresticator and other flies have proven their worth for many fisherman. Today Tim is going to talk a little but about what it takes to get your creative juices flowing and tie flies that stand the test of time.
G&G: How long have you been tying flies?
Tim: I’ve been tying for over 20 years. I learned from a guy named Larry Mann in Steamboat and he was a mentor to me. He also got me hooked on tying terrestrials. When I was in college, tying kept me out of the bars and it was a great way to save some money!
G&G: What patterns do you have that are produced commercially?
Tim: The Hoppindicator, Terresticator, Cicadicator and the Nymphicator.
Read More »Sunday Classic / 11 Tips for Correctly Presenting Your Fly To Tarpon
ANYONE THAT’S FLY FISHED FOR TARPON HAS PROBABLY EXPERIENCED HOW EASY IT IS TO PRESENT THE FLY INCORRECTLY.
If you miss your target, even by just a little bit, it can drastically lower your chances for getting a tarpon to eat. Cast the fly too close, and the tarpon will spook. Don’t lead the fish enough, and your fly won’t get down to the tarpon’s depth. Cross the fish at the wrong angle, and your fly will be moving towards the fish and it will spook. The list goes on and on.
Bottom-line, there’s a very small margin of error bestowed to anglers fly fishing for tarpon. You have to execute everything damn near perfect to put the odds in your favor, and even then, you aren’t guaranteed squat. Here’s the problem. The average angler that travels to fly fish for tarpon is not educated on how to read and respond accordingly to different fishing scenarios on the flats. A lot of this has to do with lack of experience and time on the water. If you find yourself falling into this category, prior to fishing, you should take the time to have your guide explain how you should handle common fishing situations that you’re likely to encounter. As a kid the same preparation was used by my Dad to walk me through how to make a clean kill shot on a deer. I can hear him now, “If the deer is faced in this direction, I want you to put the crosshairs here”. He must have gone over a dozen different scenarios during the drive up. By the time he was done talking, I felt like I had been hunting for years. It’s no different fly fishing for tarpon. Taking the time to
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Fly Fishing GTs!
THE OTHER DAY A READER TOLD ME,
that one of the things he loved about G&G was that we gave, “Actionable advice on real fly fishing. Not just stuff like fly fishing for GTs that normal guys don’t get to do.”
Damn him! Ever since he said that, I can’t get my mind off of GT fishing. I can already see that conversation costing me thousands. Well, if I’m going to be poor you might as well too.
Here’s an almost random collection of GT action.
Read More »G&G Takes You To Alaska!
I PROMISED MORE GINK AND GASOLINE TRIPS AND I’M NOT GOING TO MAKE YOU WAIT!
We have heard from a lot of you who are interested in a Gink and Gasoline trip but aren’t into a saltwater location. I’m happy to announce that we have an epic trout and salmon trip for you! Good times and amazing fishing in Western Alaska.
The destination is Alaska West Lodge on the Kanektok River in Western Alaska. The dates are July 25-Aug 1, this year. These dates can be hard to get and five spots have just opened up.
The Kanektok is an amazing fishery. The rainbow trout and salmon fishing is really good. Thirty inch rainbows are not uncommon and there is the opportunity to fish mouse patterns and streamers if you choose. It’s exciting and different from what you get in more pressured parts of the state. I fished AK West a few years ago and it was my best Alaska trip.
Here are the details.
DSC_6525July 25 – August 1.
7 nights lodging / 6 days fishing for
Six Tips for Better Bonefish Hook Sets
SO YOU’VE FOUND A BONEFISH AND FED IT? DON’T BLOW THE HOOK SET.
The hook set is the decisive moment. The moment when most bonefish are lost or landed. Considering how much effort goes into finding and feeding a fish, it’s wise to have the skills to get a good solid hook set. There are a couple of things that often go wrong but if you know what to expect and what to do when things go wrong, you can make the connection you need.
A Proper Strip Set
A solid hook up starts with a good strip set. The most common mistake that anglers new to saltwater fly fishing make is lifting the rod when setting the hook. This is called a trout set and no matter how hard you trout set it will not give you the penetration you need. Saltwater fish have hard mouths made for eating food that fights back. To get a solid set you have to keep the rod pointing at the fish and set with your line hand.
For a proper strip set on a bonefish, you need the pressure of a raucous hand shake. The kind you might give a good friend you haven’t seen in years. When I teach bonefishing, I like to play the part of the fish and let the students feel the right amount of pressure. I think it makes a big difference, but for now let’s go with a really firm handshake. Strip the line quickly and be prepared to strip long. Move your rod hand laterally, to the outside without changing the angle of the rod as you strip. Once you feel the right amount of pressure, be prepared to let the fish run.
Fighting Muscle Memory
Knowing how to strip set doesn’t matter if you forget to strip set. This is the hardest thing for most new saltwater anglers. Thousands of hours of trout setting muscle memory are devilishly hard to retrain. I teach a foolproof method
2014 South Andros Trip Wrap Up
I HATE PUTTING MY SHOES ON.
My feet hate it too. After a week, barefoot on South Andros, my feet as well as my spirit have expanded. Neither wants to be put back into confinement. The shoes, however, have to go on and it’s my mental cue that the trip is over and it’s time to go home.
This year’s G&G Bahamas Bonefish Trip, which ended up being two trips for me to accommodate as many folks as possible, was a huge success. We accomplished so much as a group and as individuals. Better than half the group had never caught a bonefish before. We checked that off everyone’s list on the first day.
“This isn’t a fishing trip, it’s a clinic,” one angler told me. “I not only caught a ton of bonefish, I’m going home a better angler.” Hearing that is incredibly rewarding for me. Helping folks become better anglers is my mission in life. Helping them find confidence in their fly fishing means more than catching a trophy for myself.
What’s even more rewarding is sharing one of my favorite fishing destinations in the world with new and eager anglers. The look of wonder on their faces when they see flats without end and huge schools of bonefish is priceless. Hearing their stories over drinks and great food in the evenings, with a gentle breeze coming off the ocean and some Bob Marley in the background was a sweet lullaby.
The people of South Andros were, as always, great ambassadors for the islands. Especially the guides, who entertained and educated as they worked tirelessly to put their anglers on great fish, wading and from the boat.
There were some very experienced anglers among us as well, including Mark Richens (owner of Thomas and Thomas Fly Rods), Brower Moffit (sales for T&T) and Rich Hohne of Simms. Rich brought a very generous gear package for each angler, dressing them head to toe in technical flats wear. Glenn Ancelet and Jeff Nickles each won Thomas and Thomas fly rods to boot. Mark and Brower brought along a huge assortment of T&T rods for everyone to use as they liked. These guys were as generous with their knowledge as with their gear. We are very grateful.
In the conversations Kent and I had when we started Gink and Gasoline one word kept coming up. Community. That’s how we see G&G, not as a fly fishing site or even as a job but as a community. It belongs to you as much as it does to us.
That’s the most amazing thing about these trips. Connecting with that community. Fishing with guys who have exchanged comments on the site for years. Seeing them use what they have learned from reading my articles to catch fish. Putting faces to the screen names. Making new friends that feel like old ones.
There is no way I can tell you how rewarding that is. I’d like to thank everyone who joined us in South Andros. The readers who came to fish and the sponsors who came to support us. You rocked my world.
Read More »Sunday Classic / I’ll Have The Fish
Is Aquiculture Wrong?
I got into a discussion with a friend the other day that put a burr under my saddle. We were talking about what fish is OK to eat and what isn’t. Not in the way that I refuse to eat a catfish from the Chattahoochee but rather how no one should be eating wild steelhead. My friend, who is not a fisherman, asked “what about farm raised fish?” Without thinking about it I said, “sure, that’s fine”. He then went on to explain that he did not eat farm raised fish because it was cruel to take a fish that was meant to be free and confine it in a pen. ( I’m not going to dwell on this idea for too long for reasons that I think are obvious. If that’s the story you want to hear, click here! ) I am unashamedly opposed to the idea of causing unnecessary pain and suffering to any living thing but I also understand what these teeth were put in my head for. I could write a couple of thousand words on this but instead I’ll leave it at this. I remember standing on a gravel bar in Alaska watching a salmon struggling in the current. The fish’s tail was missing along with the last eight inches of him. Two trout were following taking turns eating him while he was still alive. My point being, if we are going to get into the business of attaching human emotions like happiness to fish, let’s be sure we’re choosing the correct emotions. Nobody cares about fish more than me, but that’s their nature. If you hold still long enough, they’ll eat you. I’m really not sure what happiness is to a fish but most of them will choose to stay in one spot if there is plenty of food so I’m not worried about the pen.
Still, this got me thinking. Did I give the right answer? Is fish farming OK? With recent outbreaks of
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