The Nautilus Monster Fly Reel, Every Tarpon’s Worst Nightmare
IF TARPON HAVE NIGHTMARES, THE MONSTERS UNDER THEIR BEDS COME FROM NAUTILUS.
Earlier this year, when I started going through my gear for tarpon season, something kept nagging me. In the back of my mind I knew that I needed a better reel. I’d been doing OK with my old tried-and-true tarpon reel but I knew it was the weak link in the chain. One thing I know about tarpon, if there’s a weak link they will find it. I picked up my phone and shot off a text to my buddy Kristen Mustad at Nautilus.
“I’m ready to stop fucking around. I need a monster!”
The Nautilus NV monster is the pinnacle in fly real design. A schoolyard bully with a PhD. Brains and brawn in one package. A reel with one thing on its mind. Breaking the spirits of big fish. Let’s take the Monster apart and see what makes it tick.
Weight
Before the fight begins, before your drag starts to sing, you have to find and hook a fish. Sure, but what does that have to do with your reel? Fatigue, that’s what. Big game reels which hold lines 12 weight and up can weigh a pound. That’s a lot of weight to put on a rod and cast all day. Fatigue from casting with a heavy reel can cause your casting to get sloppy, just when you need it the most. At just over 9 ounces, the Monster helps keep your casting arm fresh and your casts clean and accurate. The Monster is working for you before you even hook the fish.
Now that you’ve hooked that fish, the Monster starts
Read More »Sunday Classic / Chug a Coke, Save a Bleeding Fish
There’s nothing worse than watching a big beautiful wild fish bleed out from a damaged gill. I found myself in just that situation with a big brown trout one day. Watching helplessly as the water turned red. Thank God Kent was with me. Thinking fast he said, “hey, did you finish that Coke?” I had not and he showed me a great trick. He opened the fish’s mouth and poured the Coke down her throat. As soon as it hit the injured gill the bleeding stopped. It was like magic. I’m not sure if it’s the carbonation or the acid but something in the Coke cauterized the wound. It saved that fish’s life. I know it for a fact because I saw her in that same pool several weeks later, although she was wise to me by then. I’m certain it was the same fish. There couldn’t be two just alike in that little pool. It’s one more thing to carry but having a Coke on hand is a great idea.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Bob White on Fly Dreamers
PAINTER, ANGLER, MENTOR, GUIDE
There are not many names in the sporting world as recognizable as Bob White. And for good reason. For many of us, myself included, Bob defined the look and feel of the angling world. In my minds eye, him images often replace those of the real.
Bob’s gentle nature, his respect for land and waters, his humor, all come thru in his work. He has taken us place we might otherwise never go.
This week we’re sharing a great interview with Bob from Fly Dreamers. Some good words and great images for your Saturday.
Bob White on Fly Dreamers
Read More »Sunday Classic / Feel the Tarpon Burn
The first step in landing a big tarpon is getting a really good hook set. If your hook fails to penetrate the hard boney mouth of the tarpon, it almost always will be spit out after the first or second jump. My previous trip to the Florida Keys I experienced just that, walking away with a 0-2 record, all because my hook-sets were piss poor. I wasn’t hitting them hard enough after the eat, and I made a pledge after that trip, that the next time I got a big tarpon to eat, I’d focus 100% solely on making sure my hook set was absolutely perfect. Believe me when I say, it’s humiliating as hell having a guide stare you down after you blow a hook-set. It makes you want to go find a hole to crawl off into.
When Capt. Bruce Chard put me on the biggest tarpon of my life
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Tight Line Video Gets Competitive
TIGHT LINE VIDEO PRODUCES SOME GREAT FLY TYING VIDEOS.
I’ve been a fan for some time. But this video was not what I was expecting, and in a good way.
I’ve never liked the idea of competitive fly fishing. I guess you either love it or hate it and I hate it. That’s another topic, but in this video the guys from Tight Line made me think twice. There is a lot to learn from competitive fly fishing.
There’s a tons of great info here for the trout angler looking to improve their skills. It worth a look and while you’re at it, check out the Tight Line Video YouTube channel. There’s plenty more goodness where this came from.
WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM COMPETITIVE FLY FISHING
Read More »Summer Is Coming
THE RIVERS MAY BE MUD, BUT I CAN SMELL IT IN THE AIR.
You might even be getting in a little late season skiing the way this year has been, but it’s right around the corner. Here in Georgia we’re already fishing terrestrials, it’s almost here. My buddy Cody Dutcher just posted his first Alaska salmon of the season on Facebook with the message, “Summer, it’s official.” It could already be here!
Summer might mean hundred degree temps in my part of the world but nothing says summer to me like this photo from the Dean River in British Columbia. I had just landed my biggest steelhead to date, a forty-two inch buck, when I saw this chinook salmon breach.
I climbed the mountain side to get a better angle, and waited. When he breached again I
Read More »Tie Twice the Flies in Half the Time
If you tie flies and you’re looking for a way to increase your fly output, I’ve got a great fly tying tip for you today. I personally don’t have the luxury of extra time on my hands these days with running two companies and managing my family time. When my fly boxes start getting bare, I have to restock them as fast as possible. For years, I’ve been an advanced fly tier but I’ve never been one of those guys who can rip out a dozen flies in thirty minutes. I take that back, I can bust out a dozen san juan worms in thirty minutes, but that goes for most of us. For more complex fly patterns, it can be very beneficial to us if we take the time to get organized prior to wrapping the thread on the hook.
A while back, I took a serious look at the clock during my tying sessions and I found out that I needed to make some serious changes if I wanted to get the most out of my tying efforts. The first thing I realized is
Read More »Thank You God for the Terrestrial Season
About this time every year, when I’m starting to get run down from guiding, the terrestrial season arrives, and I’m blessed with a second wind.
I’m always astonished at how the addition of terrestrials can make my familiar waters seem so fresh to me, even after I’ve already spent hundreds of hours during the season drifting flies through the same riffles, runs and pools. Despite the terrestrial season being one of my busiest times of the year guiding, every day I’m more excited than the last. I tip my hat to the creator and give thanks, for he sure did a fine job of planning out the life cycle and timing of the terrestrials. Yep, life is grand for the fly fisherman when the terrestrials are out. The water and air temperatures (at least where I live) are usually warm enough to leave those stinky waders at home, and the longer days allow us the luxury of staying on the water for a few extra hours.
During the terrestrial season, trout seem to have the same look in their eyes as me, pure addiction. It’s not the end of the world if I forget my strike indicators or split shot either. Trout often rise to terrestrials with such dependability, that I can often call my fish even before my fly lands on the water. I love that every take on the surface seems unique. My heart always seems to beat a little bit faster when I’ve got a terrestrial tied on, because I never know if my foam hopper or beetle is going to get smashed like a freight train or get sucked in, and make that beautiful popping sound, just like the blotting sound my wife makes after applying that sexy red lipstick.
Read More »Sunday Classic / When your fly is there, be aware!
I’ve touched on this before but it occurs to me that the subject needs more attention. Quite possibly the most important thing in fly fishing is situational awareness. That is, knowing what your fly is doing in relation to it’s surroundings. Surroundings like current, structure, light, the boat and most importantly, the fish. Trout fishermen are accustomed to thinking about the drift of a dry fly but less at ease with the idea of a nymph’s drift, for example. Lots of guys fish streamers with a simple swing down and across, without considering how the baitfish they are imitating would negotiate the currents, eddies and structure along the way. This idea exists in every type of fly fishing but is never more crucial than in salt water so let’s look at that in more depth.
Right from the first false cast you should be thinking about the environment in which the fish exist. An experienced angler knows that a flat is less like a pond and more like a river. Except for brief periods of tide change the water on the flats is always moving. Like a winding meadow stream it finds it’s way through a maze of channels. Unlike a river
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Galloup InThe Riffle
IT’S ALL ABOUT THE HAIR.
The folks over at In The Riffle do a great job with their fly tying videos. They are some of the clearest and most informative videos I’ve found on fly tying for trout. Their YouTube channel is well worth exploring.
This week I’m showcasing a couple of videos featuring streamer guru Kelly Galloup. Kelly gets down to the nitty-gritty on dear hair, showing you how tell good hair from bad and spin up some impressive profiles. No one knows more about tying with deer hair than Kelly and there videos are well worth your time.
Thanks, to the folks at In The Riffle for bringing us
ALL THINGS DEER HAIR WITH KELLY GALLOUP
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