Fly Fishing Photo Caption Contest Winner
And the winner is John Gross for…
Read More »12 Tiny Nymphs that Always Seem to Get the Job Done
12 Tiny go-to flies for when trout fishing gets tough.
I used to shy away from fishing tiny nymphs during my rookie years of fly fishing. Particularly those size 20-26 midge patterns. Those intimidated me especially. When I used to look at those flies in the bins at fly shops, I can remember thinking, “how can the fish see these in moving water and is there some special rig you’re supposed to use for fishing them?” I’ve since found out I was nuttier than a fruit cake to assume all of the above about tiny flies, and they’ve become my go-to patterns when fishing gets really tough. Make no mistake, small flies have the ability to catch all trout, trophy fish included. In fact, one of the best times to fish tiny nymphs is when you’re sight fishing on water that holds lots of educated, mature trout. A prime example of this would be the “dream stream” section of the South Platte River in Colorado. I’ve had many days after the sun got up high in the horizon, that sub-twenty size nymph patterns out fished everything else in my fly box. In general, small subsurface
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Driving with Fly Rods Rigged, Good or Bad?
I don’t know about you but I’m constantly driving from one fishing spot to the next with my fly rods pre-rigged. It’s a routine I adopted early on in my guiding to save time having to rig up my rods so I could get to the best stretches of water first. It wasn’t until I had a couple of my fly rods break at the ferrules on back to back trips that the thought finally dawned upon me driving down the road with my fly rods rigged could be a bad idea. Particularly when I was driving long distances down bumpy gravel rods to my favorite trout water. When a rod breaks at the ferrule it’s usually because that rod section was loose. Here’s where I screwed up and how I could have prevented my fly rods from breaking.
Read More »Saturday’s Shoutout / Urban Lines, Bro Code and Fly Talk Giveaway
This Saturday’s shoutout I showcase the video trailer, Urban Lines – Fish Where You Are, produced by TwoFistedHeart Productions, “Bro Code”, by 111 Degrees West and spread the word about the Fly Talk Rio Fly Line giveaway.
Read More »Fly Fishing Photo Caption Contest – T Shirt Give Away
OUR LAST CAPTION CONTEST WAS SUCH A HIT WE DECIDED NOT TO WAIT SO LONG BEFORE WE RAN ANOTHER.
Come up with a funny caption for this photo and leave it as a comment on the post. (please do not email entries) we will pick our favorite and the winner will get a Gink and Gasoline T shirt. The winner will be announced on Wednesday March 6th.
Bonefish On Bamboo
I’LL BE HONEST, WHEN BROWER MOFFIT PUT THIS BEAUTIFUL, FLAMED, THOMAS AND THOMAS NINE WEIGHT SALTWATER PROTOTYPE CANE ROD IN MY HAND MY EXPECTATIONS WERE LIMITED.
Saltwater bamboo? This has got to be a gimmick, I thought. A rod designed to separate some wealthy fellow from a sizable chunk of cash rather than connect him to a fish. After a day fishing it, I’m ashamed of that thought. I loved this rod the first time I cast it. The second time I cast it, it brought me a bonefish. Now, I’m not only prepared to tell you it’s no gimmick, I’m prepared to tell you how it’s better than graphite.
Before you assume that I’ve lost my mind, I’ll offer you this disclaimer: if you are only going to own one saltwater rod, this is not it. The T&T saltwater bamboo is a special purpose rod. On those days when you are out on the flats and the wind is blowing 30, hell 15, this is not the rod you need. Anyone who fishes the salt can tell you, there are a whole lot more of those days than calm ones. On the other hand, anyone who’s fished those calm days can tell you what a challenge they are. A windless day on the flats will redefine the word spooky.
As fate would have it, the day I fished the saltwater prototype was just such a day. Calm and clear after a week of tough weather. The fish were spooky. Long casts and delicate presentations were what was needed if we were going to feed some fish. Luckily, I had the right stick in my hand.
Read More »What is more important, presentation or fly choice?
A few years ago, I was lucky enough to have the honor to participate in a podcast interview for askaboutflyfishing.com. It was an hour long conversation over the phone, with me spending most of that time talking about trout tactics on my home waters. Just as we were wrapping up the interview, the host Roger Maves, hit me with the mother of all fly fishing questions…..
What’s more important Kent, presentation or fly pattern choice?
I pondered for a few moments, before I gave a him a reply to the question that covered my butt. If I remember correctly, it was something along the lines of, “well, you have to get the fly to the fish no matter what to have a chance at catching fish, but there are many times, when I’ve seen fly pattern choice the true deciding factor in whether you find success on the water.”
Since that podcast, I’ve been asked that same question by clients more times than I can remember. It’s kind of a joke to me at this point, and that’s because I feel the question is really a loaded question.
Read More »Sunday Classic / Browns on the Move
Fall through winter is a busy time of year for trout. Water temperatures are falling, days are getting shorter and big fish are on the move. Among the species that spawn in the fall are Brown Trout. The cooling weather and longer nights are their cue to leave the deep pools, reservoirs and under cut banks they call home and head to the shallow gravel runs where they spawn. This annual migration offers anglers a rare shot at fish we would normally never see.
Browns are one of the most sought after species of trout. Primarily because they are so difficult to catch. They are moody and reclusive, the larger fish spending most of their days hidden by overhead cover. They do their feeding at night, hunting down bait fish and crawfish in the shallows then disappearing at dawn. They are homebodies. Browns will often spend their whole life in one pool where they have found refuge. Research has shown that they set such a high value on this kind of safety that some Brown Trout, faced with lethally high water temperatures, will stay in their hiding places and die, rather than leave to find cooler water. That stubbornness is exactly what makes them so difficult to catch.
Targeting moving fish is a lot of work. You have to cover water, but you have to do your homework too. The first step is
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Fires Creek In Peril
THERE ARE FEW SUBJECTS THAT I’M AS PASSIONATE ABOUT AS WILD TROUT.
Doubly so when the trout in question are at risk. These issues get a lot of attention in the west but are often ignored here in the southeast. The treasures of the Appalachians are, however, no less valuable and of no less concern to us all.
This week, Nathan Chapman writes about some North Carolina trout at risk for Trent Sizemore’s, Sizemore Outdoors. I encourage you all to get involved. Wild trout belong to everyone.
Read More »Early Season Tarpon Alert!
I THOUGHT I’D TAKE THIS OPPORTUNITY TO TEASE YOU WITH A QUICK TARPON PHOTO.
I’ve been on, kind of a roll, about bonefish lately and with my third trip to the Bahamas in five months just around the corner, that’s not going to change for a bit. I thought I should warn you however, that tarpon season is starting early this year and I will likely be rattling on about that very soon.
Prehistoric giants taking to the air! Big steel jaws like Rock ’em Sock ’em Robots! Exploding rods and reels! God I love tarpon!
The word from my boy Capt. Joel Dickey in Big Pine Key is that the fishing
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