DIY Boat Speaker for iPhone
Sometimes, there’s nothing better than floating a river with your buddies and listening to some of your favorite tunes. Even though most of us own one or two of those portable speaker docking stations, it’s surprising how often we get five miles down the road and remember we left it by the front door or forgot to charge the darn thing. Thanks to some redneck ingenuity, I’ve found a suitable solution that will allow you to listen to music even if you forgot your speakers, and all you need is a knife and a empty beverage container. Just cut the top off of a plastic cup and slide the speaker end of your iPhone into it, and you’ve got yourself a redneck portable speaker. You won’t be jamming out but it will amplify the sound enough for everyone in the drift boat to enjoy the music playing.
Read More »Sunday Classic / The Secret Spot
Dirty little secrets. We all have them. Well, maybe they’re not so dirty, and if they are, I guess we have ourselves to blame. But everyone who ever owned a fishing rod has one. The spot that we think of as ours. It’s human nature I suppose, to want to own something, especially a place. I’ve heard that Native American cultures did not believe in the idea of people owning the land. I guess it’s clear how that played out. As for the rest of us, the ones with the fishing rods, we hold that idea firmly to our chests. The idea that we have a secret spot. A place that that we, through our skill, wisdom, charm and good looks, what-have-you, have found and laid claim to. A place so good that we dare not tell a soul about it.
Generally there is some impediment involved. Our place is hidden, hard to reach, you have to know that turn or trail or pull off. Otherwise it wouldn’t be a secret, right? Everyone would know about it. We get satisfaction from knowing something others don’t. We judge ourselves as somehow better than the masses for having and keeping our little secret. We go there and enjoy the great fishing and the solitude, and for a time we enjoy the illusion that we are alone. That we have been magically transported back to those “good old days” before every tree had been cut and every pool had a trail to it. We enjoy the idea that we are casting to fish who have never seen a fly, until the inevitable happens. Until
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Salmon Confidential
THIS WEEK WE SHOUTOUT TO THE ROGUE ANGELS. I HAVE TO SAY THANKS LADIES, FOR ANOTHER SLEEPLESS NIGHT. IF SALMON CONFIDENTIAL DOESN’T SCARE THE HELL OUT OF YOU DON’T EVEN BOTHER WITH THE WALKING DEAD.
This documentary takes you deep into the world of the dwindling BC salmon population. It explains the science and the politics behind what could be the greatest natural disaster of our time.
This hour and ten minute documentary is riveting and well worth your time. A big thanks to The Angels for spreading the word.
Watch Salmon Confidential
Read More »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 »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.
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