Saturday Shoutout / MichiganFly “Experience”
This week we bring you some very wise words from Michiganfly.com on what draws fly fishermen to the sport and the magnificent memories and meaning that fly fishing brings to each of our lives. I finish every post I write on Gink & Gasoline with the words “Keep it Reel” and the article “Experience” that was recently published on MichiganFly, puts true meaning behind those words.
Do yourself a favor and take a couple minutes to read this wonderfully written fly fishing piece that inspired and moved me to the core. Have a wonderful weekend everyone and thank you for visiting Gink & Gasoline.
Read More »The Reward of Finding and Catching Fish All on Your Own
Being a guide, it’s safe to say that I’m a little biased when it comes to how valuable I feel having a guide on hand is for the average fly angler. Most of us don’t have the time with our busy work schedules to spend a few days figuring out the current fishing conditions, the lay of the land, and what the hot fly patterns are going to be on the water when we finally manage to wet a fly line. Therefore, hiring a guide that’s a local expert in the area that you’re going to be fly fishing is almost certain to not only put the odds in your favor for maximizing your fly fishing success, but generally it also will gurantee that you’ll come home a much more comepentent fly angler. That said, I’ll never look down on fly fisherman that refuse to hire professional guides, as long as they respect what professional guides bring to the table for anglers. I’ll be the first to admit that there’s something really special and rewarding when you find success all on your own, even if the decision to not use a guide means that you may not catch nearly as many fish during your trip. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that there’s a time and place for guides to be hired, and each angler has the freedom and right to make that call.
When Louis, Scott and I headed down to Louisiana for some redfishing this past month, we planned from the very get go, that it would be a total DIY redfishing trip. Scott had the skiff covered, while Louis and I brought all the fly fishing gear we were going to need for the trip (correction, Louis brought 95% of the gear, I just tagged along). I guess you could say, going in, we were all confident we’d catch some redfish, but we didn’t know if that meant we’d catch 1 or 50. We knew there were going to be plenty of challenges that we’d have to overcome if we were going to reach our goal of us all catching redfish on the fly. One positive we had going for us, was that we wouldn’t be heading into the Delacroix, LA waters completely blind. Louis had previously gathered some intel on the fishing grounds during a recent photography shoot down in the bayou. That said, we’d still have a lot of figuring out to do once we hit the water, since Louis hadn’t actually wet a fly line during his time in Louisiana. We all agreed even if we figured it all out during the trip, we’d likely still catch far fewer redfish than if we had all ponied up, and hired a local guide for the fishing trip.
Read More »Way Cool Nautilus Reels
WHEN THINGS GET HOT, IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP REEL COOL.
Big fish, and I mean big fish, require a reel with serious drag. As much as I enjoy landing a steelhead with a vintage Hardy you will not find me fishing one during the Palolo Worm Hatch. For big game species like tarpon I want a modern carbon fiber drag system with a bad attitude. Like my friend Scottie says, “Set your drag to medieval, then crank it down to FULL EVIL!”
The thing about serious drag systems is that they generate serious heat. It makes sense. Drag is a product of friction as is heat. If all of that heat isn’t managed, it can cause big trouble. In addition to making parts of the reel too hot to touch, heat can cause serious performance issues. As reel components heat up they expand. Quality reels are machined to very exacting tolerances and if the wrong parts get too hot, drag can increase dramatically. Reels can even lock up or worse fly apart.
Think about the dynamics of a stacked drag system. Multiple friction plates all expanding with heat. Let’s say there are seven plates. The expansion problem is multiplied by a factor of seven. As heat causes drag to increase, the increased drag creates (you guessed it), more heat. More heat means more expansion and… you can see where this is headed.
I talked about this with Kristen Mustad from Nautilus Reels. Kristen explained how Nautilus reels use a carefully designed combination of heat insulators and conductors to direct the heat from the drag system where it will do no harm. The NV series reels, for example, direct the heat from the drag into the spool, which is designed to act as a heat sync. The intricate machining maximizes surface area and releases heat into the air as well as the water carried by the line.
It’s an ingenious design. An inspired idea and remarkable execution, but is it all just talk or does it really work?
Read More »Sunday Classic / Snap Your Wrist For Line Speed
THE QUEST FOR LINE SPEED CONTINUES!
Today Bruce is going to get a little closer to that fly rod and talk about the roll your wrist plays in fly casting. Watch closely. Bruce has great mussel memory from thousands of hours of casting. Watch the subtlety of his wrist movement. The snap and push that happens. Don’t forget that, as in all fly casting, this requires a smooth application of power to be successful. This will take some practice to master and in the next two videos Bruce will build on this technique so get out in the yard and give it a try.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Collin Carlson Speaks Out For Utah
WORDS OF TRUTH SPOKEN FROM THE HEART.
“There’s worse things in life than being honest, and true to what you believe.” That’s what Collin Carlson said to me not too long ago. This week, Collin (the F-ing Man) Carlson lives up to his words. In this heartfelt video he makes a case for anglers’ rights to water that defies argument.
This impassioned plea is not academic. Utah anglers are about to lose the right to fish their water and in the process Utah will set a dangerous precedent for other states. This is a time-sensitive issue. Please watch this video. Please get involved. And show some support for Utah anglers.
Watch the video, Utah Stream Access. You’ll be glad you did. And if you like what Collin has to say, check out his site, Finpusher.
Read More »Dealing With The Loss Of A Dear Cousin And Fishing Buddy
I recently lost a dear, dear, cousin and fishing buddy of mine. Matt Meyer, lived 950 miles away in Minneapolis, KS, so I didn’t get the opportunity to fish with him all that much. But whenever I was lucky to fish side-by-side with Matt, it was pure bliss. Our times together on the water were spent with constant laughter, cold beers, and black bass bending our rods. When the sun set, and the fishing rods were stowed, we’d spend the rest of the evening barbecuing and eating until we were sick to our stomachs. God, he had the worlds greatest laugh. It was one that had the power to instantly wash away all the stresses of life as soon as it hit your ears. I’m really going to miss hearing that laugh. When our two paths crossed, generally only every two to three years, Matt and I always spent as much time as our busy schedules permitted, fishing bass ponds together and expressing our love for one another. I’ve got memories fishing with Matt as far back as Kindergarten. The first memory I can recall, ends with me hooking into a bass that pulled so strong, Matt’s Dad had to grab me by the waist to keep me from getting pulled into the pond. We’ve got a polaroid picture, somewhere in the photo albums, with Matt and I proudly holding up bass from that day.
Read More »What makes a fly reel worth the money?
I RECEIVED THIS EMAIL THE OTHER DAY FROM MY GOOD FRIEND BRIAN BOGGS.
“Louis, I’m looking for the right four-wt reel. I am of a mind to shop the low end for reels since I don’t catch large fish that need to be fought on the reel. Is there any reason to not just buy a cheapie and get on with the fishing? How much difference does the reel make anyway? I think of it as line storage and little else.”
It always makes me a little crazy to hear that ‘line storage’ remark. I don’t know who started it, buy they did a disservice to a great many anglers. Hearing it from Brian made me especially nuts. Brian, you see, is a man with a very specific skill set.
You may not be aware that there is a subculture among us who are devotees of an ancient art form, so ubiquitous that most of us take it completely for granted. These folks, craftsmen and collectors alike, obsess over the minutiae of this endeavor to the point of needing serious therapy. I am not even kidding. Brian Boggs is a chair maker.
Boggs Rocker
Boggs Rocker
I realize that means very little to most folks, but to the initiated its a title like Captain or Reverend. And Brian Boggs is not just any chair maker. Since the death of Sam Maloof, in 2009, many people consider Brian the greatest living chair maker. He makes chairs for which the owner is measured to one sixteenth of an inch before construction. They are so comfortable it makes you want to weep. He also designs exquisite, and outrageously expensive, hand tools for companies like Lie-Nielson. The man is brilliant, uncompromising and wildly obsessive. My answer to his question was simple.
“Yes Brian, a fly reel is line storage. In the same way that a chair is ass storage.”
After convincing Brian he should take his reel purchase more seriously, I decided to share what we discussed here. Fly reels are expensive and the design features that separate great reels from not-so-great reels are not always readily apparent. Especially if you are shopping online, as we do more and more. The reel is, however, a very important part of your set up, even when you think you’re not using it. It’s an important choice that is worth spending some of your time, and money.
Value
Before I get into the features of fly reels and why they matter I’d like to make a point about value. Lots of anglers
Sunday’s Classic / Two Anglers Are Often Better Than One
There’s times when I really enjoy fly fishing in complete solitude, all alone, just me and the river. That said, my best angling skills seem to come out when I’ve got a buddy fly fishing alongside me.
You can’t enjoy camaraderie on the water by yourself. There’s no high-fives, no passing the victory flask around, and worst of all, it’s awfully hard to snap a quality photograph of you and your prized catch. Wait a minute, I take the latter back. It is possible to get a good photo by yourself if you’ve figured out a way to strap a tri-pod to your back and you’re also willing to lug it around all day. That being said, the main reason I think two anglers are often better than one, is because it allows you to work as a team, and that generally makes it much easier to find success on the water.
Louis and I have had pretty consistent success fishing together over the years. Even during really tough fishing conditions we generally find a way to put enough fish in the net during the day to call it a win. The biggest reason for this is because we’re always working together to decipher the fish code. Fly Fishing as a team, we figure out what the fish are feeding on, where they’re primarily located, and what are the hot fly patterns. We make a point to never tie on and fish the same patterns first thing in the morning, and quite often, we don’t even start out fishing in the same water column. This allows us to quickly eliminate what’s not working and adjust our fishing tactics to what fish want.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Fly Fish Food, Don’t Muck Up My Trout Water
This week’s Saturday Shoutout, Fly Fish Food sheds light on five rules they live by at the fly tying vise and our GA Trout Unlimited Council calls for everyone to VOTE NO against Senate Bill 299, which has the potential if passed, to have longterm negative effects on all of our watersheds in the state of Georgia.
Read More »Fly Fishing: The River Knows by Christopher Puddy
Today, we’re pleased and honored to bring you an inspirational work of fly fishing alliterative verse by Christopher Puddy. Christopher’s an amazing poetry writer, author, professor and loyal Gink & Gasoline fan. Puddy’s work, “The River Knows” is his take on man’s connection with nature. He uses imagery of outdoor landscapes, flowing water and fly fishing to show how these environments and activities help man connect with his primal self.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with Alliterative verse, it’s a form of verse that uses alliteration as the principle structuring device to unify lines of poetry, as opposed to other devices such as rhyme and syllables.
THE RIVER KNOWS
Though these ligaments lament the rueful rigors of this trying trek
And my muscles moan as I creepingly crest
The humbling hills which ruggedly ring
The bouldered basin of that verdant valley
Where I with rustic rod and lethal lures will daily do
Bitter battle with the spiteful spirit of this roaring river,
I now know that these piercing pains
Are but the promising prelude to a rapturous revelation
Whose most treasured truths are fatefully found
Within the mystical might of the wondrous waters in which I wistfully wade.