Vedavoo Gear – Deluxe Tightlines Sling Pack & Arc System
I’ve always looked up to individuals that have the God given talent to design and build things with their own two hands. Scott Hunter, owner of Vedavoo, happens to be one of those individuals. He’s crazy smart, super likable and he’s not afraid to take the road less traveled. Scott Hunter clearly takes his own unique approach, when it comes to designing and manufacturing his fly fishing packs and other outdoor enthusiast gear. For staters, 100% of Vedavoo gear is built-to-order in the USA, and every Vedavoo product is manufactured from American made fabrics and hardware. That’s something you rarely see from companies these days, when it’s so easy to cut costs and go overseas. Scott has a true knack for creating super functional gear that’s simplified. Just take a close look at the superb design of the Tightlines Sling Pack, and you’ll quickly see why its created such a buzz in the fly fishing industry. We’re very proud to help spread the word about Scott Hunter today, and we ask you all to support the Vedavoo brand.
Check out the product video with Scott Hunter, as he talks with us about the latest Vedavoo gear and news.
Buster Wants to be a Fly Fishing Guide
Every couple of months, for about the last ten years, I’ve been contacted by recreational fly fisherman around the country, asking me to give them advice on how to go about becoming a fly fishing guide. Choosing to become a full-time fly fishing guide is a big decision to make, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Yes, there’s lots of perks that come with the job, but there’s also plenty of hardships. For starters, guiding can prove to be very stressful at times, so don’t think by you making the move to step away from your current job (to become a fly fishing guide), that you’ll be saying goodbye to all the stresses of everyday life (remember, it’s up to you to get fish in the net). There’s no doubt, as a guide, you’ll have the luxury of calling the beautiful outdoors your private office. It beats the hell out of crunching numbers in a tiny cubicle or doing a job that you absolutely hate, but it still doesn’t change the fact that guiding is still a job.
Most importantly, guiding doesn’t come with a retirement plan, it doesn’t usually provide health insurance, and it generally compensates you with variable pay. If you’re the kind of person that has a hard time saving or managing your long-term investments, guiding might not be a good fit. You also should understand, no matter how hard you work or how successful of a fly fishing guide you become, you won’t get rich. The majority of guides hack it for four or five years, then move on to jobs that pay an annual salary and have the potential for higher earnings. A very small percentage of full-time fly fishing guides figure out a way to sustain a long career, and make a good living. That being said, when done correctly, guiding can make you feel like you’ve got the greatest job on the planet. You’ll make wonderful friends and you’ll regularly feel the blissful rewards of creating life-long memories and teaching your fellow fly fisherman. You’ll find it a little easier to maintain your health, from the active lifestyle that guiding demands, and you’ll carry pride knowing you’re one of the local experts on your home waters. If you’re dead set on becoming a guide, I wish you the best of luck, and you’ve got an open invitation to contact me by email if you need further assistance. That being said, before you start chasing down the dream of becoming a fly fishing guide, I highly recommend you first review a comprehensive list of questions and facts that I’ve put together, which explains what being a full-time fly fishing guide is all about. You’ll need to ask yourself the question, “Will I honestly enjoy guiding if I have to put up with this every day on the water?” If your answer is yes, to all of them of course, then you’re probably ready to move forward and review my next series of suggestions that you’ll need to think about before you become a full-time fly fishing guide.
DO YOU FEEL LIKE YOU HAVE A CALLING TO BECOME A FLY FISHING GUIDE?
The most successful guides, that I’ve met over the years, didn’t just wake up one day in their 30s, 40s or 50s, and decide that they were going to become a fly fishing guide. Almost all of them knew they wanted to be a guide at a very young age, and they started the process of learning the myriad of skills needed to make the dream a reality. I’m not saying that you can’t quit your job now and become a fly fishing guide, all I’m saying is the odds are probably going to be stacked up against you. Every year, the competition among guides gets higher and you have to really want it, if you stand any chance at all of becoming a successful guide. You need to carry a passion for guiding that’s unwavering, and you should have no doubts in your mind that guiding is what you want to do for a living.
DO YOU THINK YOU CAN BE A GOOD TEACHER AND MAINTAIN A PATIENT PERSONALITY?
Just because you’re a great fly fisherman doesn’t mean you’re going to be a good guide. In a nutshell, guiding is teaching out of the classroom. For you to be a good guide, you have to be talented at teaching, entertaining others, and above all, you need to be able to maintain your patience from the first cast of the day, until the very last. You’ll also need to be ready to explain and instruct clients in a number of different ways to get the job done on the water. No two clients are the same. Some are a dream come true, while others are a nightmare.
Read More »Caring For Zip-front Waders
MODERN WATERPROOF ZIPPERS HAVE REVOLUTIONIZED THE DESIGN OF WADERS.
The ease and convenience of zip-front waders is easy to get used to. There was a time when I scoffed at the idea, but now I can’t see fishing in anything else. Especially with the durability and dependability found in the new waterproof zippers. My Simms G4Z waders are bombproof and require virtually no maintenance. Still, waders are expensive and it pays to take care of them.
Here are a few tips to keep your zip-fronts going strong.
Never pack your waders zipped
This is the most important thing I can tell you about waterproof zippers. I once spent a very cold week steelheading in open waders. Throwing a pair of waders with the zipper zipped into your duffle and driving to the river may not be the end of them, but fold those waders and put them in a bag and hand them over to an airline and you’re screwed. When your bag ends up at the bottom of a pile of luggage a lot of weight is on the fold in that zipper. As that fold is flattened, the teeth pop apart below the pull. The zipper pull will not re-mesh them and the separation will grow until the entire zipper is open. Your waders are done. Always pack your waders unzipped to avoid this problem.
Wash your zipper
It’s a good idea to wash your waders once in a while anyway. This will greatly increase the longevity of your fishing buddies. It will also keep mildew from growing. Mildew, in addition to smelling awful, will degrade the seams and cause waders to leek. While you’re at it, wash the zipper thoroughly with running water and dry your waders wrong-side-out. This will clear grit from the zipper that can jam the pull and damage the teeth.
Lubricate your zipper
Lubricating your zipper will keep it moving freely and
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Drop-Offs Are Trout Hot-Spots
Definition of “Adjacent” – just before, after, lying near; neighboring
Drop-offs located adjacent to shallow water are trout magnets. The slower moving water and cover found downstream of drop-offs are the two main reasons trout are drawn here. If you’re looking for super consistent water where you can almost always find trout, you should be searching out dropoffs or buckets on your streams and rivers where shallow water transitions into deeper water. The more significant (larger the area) the stretch of shallow water is, the more appealing the adjacent drop-offs will be to trout, especially when the shallow water upstream or downstream holds very little cover.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / 1of750.com – Help Save the Greenback Cutthroat
SAVE THE GREENBACKS
Today’s Saturday Shoutout goes to 1of750.com, a website recently created by the Greenback Trout Unlimited Chapter to raise awareness and fuel a grassroots campaign (on Indiegogo) to raise $10,000 or more for critical conservation work on Bear Creek. It’s the sole home for the last remaining documented population of Greenback Cutthroats alive today (only about 750 of them left).
Please watch the video and read the information below about this very important conservation project and please donate to this wonderful cause if you can. In the very least, please share this initiative on your social media outlets.
Read More »The Airflo Super Dri Fly Line
THE AIRFLO SUPER DRI FLY LINE IS ONE OF THE COOLEST AND MOST INNOVATIVE FLY LINES I’VE EVER SEEN.
We got the chance to check them out at IFTD this year and Kent and I were both very impressed. I wish I could put one in your hand because the only way you can believe the slickness of this line is to feel it. The expression on Kent’s face in the video says it all.
Not only is the Super Dri the slickest fly line ever made, it also features Airflo’s exclusive ridge texture, a low stretch core and the new Zone Technology. Airflo is really on their game with this one. Watch the video and get the full story from Tim “The Man” Rajeff.
Read More »Best Fly Fishing Xmas Gifts – Gink & Gasoline Top Picks
ARE YOU SCRAMBLING TO FIND THAT PERFECT FLY FISHING GIFT FOR THE PASSIONATE FLY FISHER IN YOUR FAMILY?
Maybe you’re the kind of person that likes to provide an organized holiday wish list to help out your family and friends. Either way, we’ve got you covered in Gink & Gasoline’s 2013 Fly Fishing Gift Guide. We’ve categorized the list by price range to make your browsing easy, and we’ve also provided links to where each product can be purchased. We’d be proud to receive any of these products as gifts during the holidays.
Read More »3 Tips For Targeting Fall Browns
AUTUMN IS A GREAT TIME TO TARGET BIG BROWN TROUT.
This time of year brown trout are in pre-spawn mode and are moving from their year-round holding water to the spawning grounds upstream. This offers anglers the chance to tie into a nice mature fish that might be too reclusive to be caught the rest of the year. I had the chance to do just that while showing a buddy from Wyoming some of my favorite water in North Carolina. Here are 3 tips that helped make it a successful day.
Target Resting Water
The fish you are looking for are on the move upstream. Fish prefer to do their traveling at night, in the safety of darkness. That means that they are resting during the day. You will frequently find them in runs below water falls or long stretches of fast water. They will rest there during the day and take on the challenging water when they are fresh. Focus your efforts on the resting water. It worked well for us.
Use Your Eyes
Fish in pre-spawn mode will often hold where you least expect them. While fishing with my buddy Jackson the other day I stopped to take a leak on the bank and
Thomas & Thomas Fly Rod History & Q&A with Tom Dorsey & Mark Richens
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of touring the Thomas & Thomas factory. During the walk through, I found myself getting emotional and I regularly had to fight back the tears welling up in my eyes. At first, I didn’t understand why I was feeling these sad emotions, and then it hit me squarely in the chest, and it became crystal clear. The sadness I was feeling was coming from all the past memories of my peers badmouthing and writing off the Thomas & Thomas brand. It made me think about all the great fly fishermen out there not fishing T&T rods anymore, and it wasn’t because the T&T rods lacked performance or quality, it was rather that T&T no longer carried that “popular appeal” in the eyes of the everyday angler. Walking around with watery eyes, I heard the negative voices saying comments like, “Who is T&T, haven’t they closed the doors?” or “The T&T craftsmanship isn’t what it used to be, and I’ve been burned one too many times by their customer service.” What bothered me most, is all of those negative comments that I’d heard over the years, clearly didn’t match up with what I was seeing in person at the T&T factory. There was an overwhelming pride that was genuinely displayed on the eyes of every single T&T employee. And I thought to myself, “If only the naysayers could be walking in my footsteps right now, they’d understand the real truth about this fly rod company’s journey, and the beauty and uniqueness of its products.”
There’s no question that Thomas & Thomas has lived through some tough years in the past, and many of its loyal customers have suffered from the turmoil created by the company changing hands. That being said, the company and staff deeply regret the tarnish that’s been attached to the T&T name in recent years. Every day that goes by, the T&T staff is working hard to make things right moving forward, and they’re doing it by winning back one fly angler at a time. One thing everybody in the fly fishing industry needs to understand about T&T, is they’ve never changed the quality of their craftsmanship or the philosophy of how they design and manufacture fly rods. And I think it’s equally important that the T&T history and story be told, that way each and every fly fisherman can be educated on the company’s roots, what caused the troubled years at T&T, and where the company stands today. I’m honored to be associated with Thomas & Thomas, and I’m proud of the solid group of employees (all passionate fly fishermen) that are bringing T&T back to the glory days.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Tie The Freak
When your looking for that little something extra to motivate that big Bonefish, you may be looking for The Freak. Bruce Chard shows you how to tie this crazy looking but very effective fly.
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