Gary Merriman Ties The Tarpon Toad
I’VE KNOWN GARY MERRIMAN FOR OVER TWENTY YEARS AND ONLY FOUND OUT ABOUT A YEAR AGO THAT HE WAS THE CREATOR OF THE TARPON TOAD.
The Toad is a great pattern and almost anyone who has fished for tarpon has tied one on at some point. It’s been around for a long time but it still catches fish.
Gary explained how he watched tarpon that followed flies without eating them and got the feeling that it was the action of the fly that they didn’t like. The tarpon patterns of the day would sink fast, then shoot back up in the water column when stripped. Gary was looking for a fly that would track at a consistent depth. When he tied the Toad he gave it a flat body that works like a planer to keep the fly at the right depth.
It’s a simple fly to tie but there are a few important features that make it work. Watch the video and learn from the man who created this great pattern.
Read More »Trout Utilize Shade Year Round and So Should Anglers
When fly anglers bring up the topic of targeting shade in conversation for catching trout, most of the time they’re talking about doing it during the dog days of summer. Although it’s true that trout will regularly seek out shade (for cooler water) when water temperatures are elevated, it’s not the only time nor reason trout utilize it. Trout also use shade to camouflage themselves from both predators and the prey they feed on. If you don’t agree with me, tell me if it’s easier to spot a trout in the sun or in the shade. Trout understand this, and that’s why they often gravitate towards it on sunny days, even during the colder months of the year. The third reason trout search out shade is to cut down on the glare in their eyes, so they can spot drifting food in the current more effectively.
I was on the water the other day guiding and it was forty degrees with water temperatures in the upper 30s.
Read More »6 Tips for Executing a Proper Figure-Eight Retrieve
For the first time, this year, I got to experience the thrill of watching a musky devour my bucktail streamer right at the boat during a figure-eight retrieve.
I had dreamed of witnessing this first hand for years, and I have to say, it live up to all the hype. You get a huge adrenaline rush every time you lure a musky into following or eating your fly during a figure-eight retrieve. I think this one aspect of musky fishing alone, is why so many anglers fall in love with musky. Although I’ve heard of anglers catching trout, striper and other species with a figure-eight retrieve, musky by far, provide the highest success rate of all game fish for using it. Musky seem to spook far less than other game fish when they’re in hot pursuit after prey, and that’s the main reason this niche retrieve works so well for them. I totally screwed the pooch on my first couple opportunities to use the figure-eight retrieve for musky. This unorthodox retrieve takes a while to get used when you don’t regularly practice it. Done wrong, a figure-eight retrieve will fail to trigger eats. Luckily, during my trip, I had my good friend Charlie Murphy, a genuine musky bum, give me some pointers. Below are six tips to get you executing a figure-eight retrieve like a pro.
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / 8 Flies for Southern Appalachian Brook Trout
My good friend Dan Flynn is the man when it comes to hike-ins for Southern Appalachian Brook Trout. I’ve never met a fly angler that enjoys bushwhacking through walls of thick impenetrable rhododendrons more than Dan. Randomly pick any thin line of blue on a Delorme’s Georgia or North Carolina topography map and chances are, Dan’s thoroughly explored the high elevation tributary.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Hatches Realistic Ant and Early Season on Depuy’s Creek
This weeks Saturday shoutout goes to Hatches for a great step by step tutorial on a super realistic foam ant and Fly Anglers Online for a great article about early season trout tactics for Depuy’s Spring Creek in MT.
Read More »9 Fly Fishing Gear Picks for 2013
Gink & Gasoline sees it as our duty to inform the community when we run across great fly fishing gear. With many of you having such busy work schedules, we know it can be awfully hard to keep up with all the new products being introduced. Below are 9 products we’ve heard great things about from our friends and tested out ourselves on the water. If they made the list you can feel confident they are quality products. Take a minute to check out the products that made the list.
Read More »Echo’s Prime One-Piece Fly Rod for Musky
For a while now, I’ve been noticing a huge increase in fly anglers talking about fishing one piece fly rods. Because I recently had the opportunity to test one, I felt it was only right for me to share the details with the G&G community. Prior to Louis and I hitting the road for West Virginia to chase muskies on the fly, I received a random call from Randy Stetzer at Rajeff Sports. He asked me how guiding had been and what G&G was up to and I filled him in on us fixing to pull the trigger on a musky trip. Talking on, I mentioned I had a bunch great fly rods on hand to use for the trip but what I really thought would be killer was targeting musky with a one piece fly rod. Randy responded, “it’s funny you bring that up Kent, Echo just finished designing a new one-piece series called the “Prime”, and I’d love for you to try it out.” Blown away by the offer, I gave Randy my address and the Echo Prime 10wt 8′ 10″ one-piece fly rod showed up at my front door the following week. Thank you Rajeff Sports for getting this great fly rod in our hands to test out. It’s always super cool when we’re able to spend time product testing during our fishing adventures. Below you’ll find out how the Echo Prime performed targeting musky with heavy sinking lines and 12-inch plus streamers. Casting fatigue is usually a concern for most anglers when heavy sinking lines and foot long streamers are involved. I’ll be the first to admit that I was a little concerned myself. Although I’m plenty comfortable with casting sinking lines, I rarely pair them up with flies of such great proportions. Surprisingly, the musky set up … Continue reading
Read More »Sunday Classic / Conch And Beer For Dinner Again?
By now I’m back from the Bahamas long enough to stop grumbling about the cold but not quite long enough for the line burns to have healed. I’ve done my best to rid the world of Conch and Kalik but if you can find any I suggest you dispose of it as soon as possible. If you need help, shoot me an email.
Here’s the recipe for the worlds best Conch Salad courtesy of the gals at Andros South.
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / The Very Cruelest Thing X 2
THIS WEEK, AN AMAZING STORY AND THE EVEN MORE AMAZING STORY BEHIND THE STORY.
An artful imagining of sweet revenge and the horrifying story that led to its creation, set against the backdrop of a rising Alaska river. Life or death, which is the very cruelest thing?
Thanks to S Banfield of “Go Into The Light” for some great writing and photography.
Read More »Tie The White Marabou Streamer
MY GOOD FRIEND DAN FLYNN GREW UP IN MAINE CHASING THE GIANT BROOK TROUT IN THE RANGELEY LAKES REGION.
These days you can find him high in the headwaters of the Southern Appalachians after the local brookies or tied into a big wild brown downstream. The geography may have changed but there is still a lot of Maine in his tying.
Dan ties and fishes several old school Maine flies with great success here in the Southeast. One of my favorites is this classic White Marabou Streamer. This fly is a stream vacuum anywhere you fish it. Check out the video and tie a few up. I promise they will put you on some trout.
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