There’s One Born Every Minute
They told me these Oregon steelhead were different. I’m not sure I like it. All I can say is I must be the worlds best sucker fisherman. I thought I’d done something when I caught them on dry flies but now I see that swinging steelhead flies is really the only way to go! Check out my best sucker to date. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Read More »DIY – Kids Puffer Balls for Fly Tying
I’ve been tying San Juan Worm patterns for a couple years now with Spirit River’s Squirmy Wormies, and fish love them because of the life-like movement the material has in the water.
That being said, I’ve had problems finding certain colors like Flourescent Pink, Chartreuse, and Green. My buddy and guide Erik Ashlin turned me onto Kids Puffer Balls. They’re a spin off from the famous “Koosh Ball”, that many of us enjoyed playing dodge ball with in the 80s and 90s, and they come in just about any color you can imagine. You can find them at your local Dollar General and Walmart stores for $5 or less, and you can tie at least 100 flies from just one of them.
In a pinch, Erik points out, you can snip one of the legs off, and tie it on a hook with a simple overhand knot. No bobbin, vise, or tying thread is needed. Just cinch the knot down evenly on the hook and the material will stay in place. Personally, when I have the time to tie them at the vise, I like to tie one leg on each end of the hook and wrap a couple strands of Spanflex around the middle of the hook for a smooth proportioned body. That’s just personal preference though, either tying method works.
Read More »The Fish Gods and The Temple of Swing
A steelhead is caught one way and one way only, on the swing!
The temperature of the room is getting kind of warm. The fishing banter takes on a surly tone when one of the guys mentions bobber fishing. This is steelheader slang for nymphing under an indicator. “I’d rather see bait guys out there,” someone says. The room falls silent when I chime in with, “trout fishing is trout fishing”… What I have done, in essence, is light a match to see just how bad this gas leak is. Everyone knows that when you’re in the Pacific Northwest, in the Temple of Swing, surrounded by the faithful, you never ever call a steelhead a trout. The room is silent for a bit while they size me up, then my buddy Jeff breaks the silence. “The Fish Gods are going to punish you for that”.
Jeff Hickman lives just a half hour outside of Portland on the banks of the Clackamas River. He guides the Clackamas and the Deschutes. He’s a tall soft spoken and thoughtful guy. Tough as cut nails with a deep and unshakable passion for wild steelhead. He’s as pure a purest as you will likely find but humble and in no way an asshole about it. A live and let live kind of guy. You do what you do, and he’ll do what he does, and at what he does there may be no one better. Jeff has told me for some time that I’ve never caught a steelhead and I’m here to change that.
I was almost certain I’d caught steelhead before now. I think I’ve even seen photos of myself holding them, but I was mistaken. Jeff cleared this up for me. First of all, obviously, those fish in the Great Lakes are not steelhead, they are trout. (I’m just repeating what I’ve been told here so hold off on the hate mail.) As I said, those fish are trout and we don’t catch trout, we are steelheaders. Secondly, a Kelt (a fish which has spawned and is headed back to the salt, AKA a down stream fish) does not count. This fish is an abomination and should be got out of the net as quickly as possible. Steelhead should be bright as chrome. A colored up fish can still be counted as a steelhead but it’s nothing to be proud of. Neither is a hatchery fish, regardless of how bright. Steelhead should be wild. Lastly, and most importantly, any fish caught under a bobber does not count and is a disgrace to all fly fishermen. A steelhead is caught one way and one way only, on the swing!
OK, I’m making this sound worse than it is. All of this ribbing has been done in fun and friendship but in all seriousness this week I am here with a purpose. I’ve come to the little house among the fir trees, on the banks of the Clackamas, with the chainsaw carved steelhead in the yard, the place I call the Temple of Swing, to do one thing. Catch steelhead on the swing. I’m in
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Wiggle Bug For Silver Salmon
This weeks Sunday Classic that’s intended for catching silver salmon showcases one of my favorite fly patterns. However, it’s equally deadly for trout and other species across the world. Check it out and let us know what you think. Who doesn’t love watching a big silver salmon rushing towards a fly and crushing it? I’ll tell you who, an Alaskan guide who’s already unhooked three dozen of them for the day. I used to really enjoy guiding first time silver clients in Alaska. You wouldn’t believe the praises you’d get as a guide after they landed twenty or so. It was sometimes hard keeping a straight face, smiling and saying, thanks man! But in my head I’m thinking, it’s not brain surgery, this is about as easy as Alaska fishing gets. Seriously though, I really did enjoy the high fives and genuine remarks I received during those trips. Silver fishing did get a little monotonous at times but it was always an easy day of guiding, something guides cherish after months in the bush. Silver salmon are super territorial and aggressive during the spawn, making them eager to chase and attack flies that enter their field of vision. It’s not technical fly fishing by any means but a lot of fun for fly anglers wanting action all day long. The only thing I truly hated about silver salmon fishing was the beating my hands took from trying to handle them death rolling in the net. If you ever get a chance take a good hard look at an alaskan guides hands. It’s not a pretty sight. I never thought my hands would look the same after that season in Alaska. Thank God for utter cream. When you’re guiding silvers its more important that you find the fish than how much … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday’s Shoutout / Fly Patterns and Cheap Tungsten Beads
This week’s Saturday Shoutout we showcase some really cool fly patterns and also show you where you can buy cheap tungsten beads. Strawberry PMD Emerger I really liked how this pattern has the high-vis post pulled through the foam. That’s a brilliant tying method that will allow you to keep a visual on this low riding Pale Morning Dun emerger during the drift. Grant Bench ties this pattern and you can find a full recipe list, and step-by-step photo tutorial on the Outsmarting Fish Blog. Pale Morning Duns mayflies are notorious for having problems hatching. For every dun that hatches there are several cripples that fail to emerge successfully. Trout often key in on the cripples because they are easier to feed on. Try fishing this emerger pattern solo for selectively feeding trout or tie it off the back of PMD dun adult pattern. Another thing I love about this pattern is that it’s easy to tie and you can customize the colors to match many other species of mayflies. Tie some up and let us know how it works for you. Hackled Skip Nymph Skip Morris’s, Hackled Skip Nymph The famous Skip Morris, an author, speaker, and professional fly tier invented the Hackled Skip Nymph, and it’s a nymph pattern that we think every fly angler should have in their fly box. It’s buggy profile does a great job of imitating mayflies to stoneflies, and fly tiers can take it a step further by tying this pattern in several different sizes and colors combinations. This pattern will catch fish just about anywhere and it’s reasonably easy to tie. For a step-by-step photo tutorial and more information about Skip Morris please visit this link Hackled Skip Nymph. While you’re on the site take the time to check out the other … Continue reading
Read More »Fly Fishing The Zombie Apocalypse
Will someone please invent the Zombie Apocalypse virus, because I am so ready! Do you ever wonder why the Zombie Apocalypse is so popular with twenty-somethings? Seriously, you get more than two of them in a room and there’s going to be an hour of discussion about where to go and what to do when the Zombie Apocalypse comes. My wife is even into it and I can hardly get her to watch scary movies on Halloween. It’s everywhere in pop culture these days. AMC’s “The Walking Dead”, after the comic of the same name, is the most popular show on TV. From dyed-ini-the-wool hipsters to Star Wars nerds, every young person in America is crazy for flesh eating freaks and I think I can tell you why. First of all, if you’re not familiar with the genre, here’s the basic plot of every zombie thriller since “Night of the Living Dead”. The dead come back to life with limited intelligence and motor skills and a ravenous hunger for human flesh. The only way to “rekill” them is to destroy their infected zombie brain, which is generally ridiculously easy. They are only really dangerous in large groups and it falls on the ragged bands of survivors to dispatch them in the funniest and goriest manner possible. We never know how this all started but it’s generally assumed that it’s the result of some government experiment gone wrong. Oh, and by the way, if you get bit you’re now a zombie and obligated to eat your friends. I think that pretty much covers it. Here’s what strikes me about pretty much every zombie story I’ve ever seen and why I think they are so popular with the college-age crowd. When you find yourself in your little band of misfit survivors, usually … Continue reading
Read More »Sunday Classic / Keep It Clean With A Clearing Cast
I’ve heard salt water fly fishing described as long periods of boredom punctuated by brief periods of panic. I don’t know that I find staring at miles of gorgeous flats boring but I’ve felt that panic a time or two. It’s a stalking game and when the fish show up, shit happens fast. You often only get one shot and the last thing you need is a line maintenance issue. That’s why you need to make a clearing cast. Start by striping as much line as you can cast off of your reel on to the deck. Because the line you are pulling off of the reel stacks on top of the line coming form the guides, when you try to cast you will be shooting line from the bottom of the pile and it will tangle every time. Like in the photo above. Not what you want when your casting to a fish and certainly not once you’ve fed one. So before you start hunting fish, cast all of that line and strip it back in. Now your stalking your line back to front. Lay it out in nice loose loops, neatly across the deck and into the cockpit, like the photo below. When you get your shot your line will shoot clean and smooth. Check out Bruce’s site Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Creative Juices Are Flowing
There’s some pretty cool stuff happening this week! First off the much awaited first edition of Pulp Fly is available. Some of the coolest guys in fly fishing have put down on paper some of the best writing I’ve seen on the subject. For $5 you’re crazy if if you don’t buy it. Secondly, the TU Greenbacks “Surface Film” photography show is back. If you missed the show in Denver you can still see, and buy, the great photos at Midcurrent. And of course your hard earned money goes to helping the Greenbacks improve the lot of native fish as well as dressing up your walls and generally making you look smarter. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Read More »Don’t Put Off Your Bucket List
You’ll have to forgive me, I’m going to tell you a story you might not want to hear. On more occasions than I care to count I have found myself the subject of judgment if not out right scorn from strangers, colleagues and even family over the amount of time I spend fishing. Sound familiar? Chances are, if you fish as much as I do you’ve run into the odd individual who, for what ever reason, feels that you owe them an explanation for what you’ve chosen to do with your life. I’ve seen people galled that I am “wasting my life”. Folks, sometimes visibly angry with me when I tell them I spend well over a hundred days a year on the water, demanding an explanation. As if they were a disappointed parent. This used to irritate me but I have come to see this jealousy as an opportunity to have some fun at their expense. I taunt them a little. I draw them in and let them get really comfortable with the idea that I am a worthless fool and they are setting me straight before I explain it. And because I don’t like being judged I enjoy watching their faces drop when they hear the answer. My father was a pilot. He had his pilot’s license at fourteen but he had already been flying for years. He flew the F86 for the Air Force. He could do things with a plane that scared the pants off of experienced pilots. He was truly gifted and he loved it. It was his purpose for living. When he got out of the service he could have flown for a living but his father had started a business and asked him to come to work for him. He would have done … Continue reading
Read More »Sunday’s Classic / Risk It All For The Reward
Sometimes we’re called upon to risk our safety and health to increase our chances of landing those trophies on the water. Whether your situation calls for jumping off a boulder into waist deep rapids or crossing a swift section of treacherous river to chase after that big fish, the decisions we make in those adrenaline packed moments ends up defining us as anglers. How far are you willing to go to land a big fish? When I hook a big fish, I instantly look at it like a chess match between angler and fish. I’ll run my ass off hopping boulders, or do a Bear Grylls (Man vs. Wild) slide down a steep bank to win the battle. It’s truly what I love about fishing, and it’s the closest thing I have in common with outdoor thrill seekers, like skydivers and rock climbers. I know one thing, when you hook a big fish and you shy away from the risky actions needed to land it, you’re choosing to miss out on what I thinks the most rewarding part of fly fishing; the battle. I wish there was a way for us all to go back and capture our epic battles on video from the past. We could have some of the best entertainment at our fingertips and have a blast giving props to each others wins on the water. Can you imagine how great it would be for the fly fishing industry to use this footage to promote and bring in new anglers? That would be sweet, wouldn’t it? I”m going to make a point to carry my waterproof goPro camera more this year. In the mean time, I’ll have to figure out how I can convince Louis to jump off boulders after big fish. What’s the craziest thing you’ve done … Continue reading
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