A Closer Look
In honor of fall here’s a closer look at male Southern Appalachian Brook Trout in spawning colors. This little guy is clearly a mature adult at four inches long. Perfect. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com Sign Up For Our Weekly Newsletter!
Read More »The Grandbaby
Up in the North Georgia hills up past Suches, up about Hells Holler and Devils Den they tell a story. They say that when the leaves turn the color of blood and the moon hangs like a old orange pumpkin in the sky and a cold wind blows down out of Big Frog, an age old ritual comes to pass. The elders take the youngest of the clan and dress them in their finest denim and trucker hats and lead them down out of the hills. Down to where the water runs cold and deep. Down in the shade of the ironwood tree. Down by the big rock at the bend in the river with worms and crickets and then there’s blood. Lots of blood. That’s when it does its worst. The Grandbaby. Happy Halloween From G&G! Seriously guys, teach your kids that it’s more fun to release a fish than to kill it. And if you want to read something really scary, check out Kent’s story on the death of the Toccoa River in Southern Culture on the Fly. The new issue launches tomorrow! Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Sunday Classic / Big Fish Require Slow Hook Sets On Top
If any of you have fished for cutthroat trout with dry flies you know most of the time you need to wait a good while on the hook set. The first time I fished for cutthroats I missed many more takes than I care to share. Cutthroat trout are known for their slow motion rises, and if you set the hook too quick, you’ll end up just pulling the fly out of the trout’s mouth. Just like cutthroat’s, big rainbow and brown trout also require you to count, 1 Mississippi, 2 Mississip…in your head before you set the hook to ensure consistent hook ups. If you can still see the fish eating your fly you need to wait longer. A big trout comes up, opens it bucket mouth, and usually doesn’t close it fully until it’s submerged completely below the surface. And if a fish is chasing after and eating your dry fly moving downstream, you have to wait even longer. Keep in mind also that the bigger your dry fly, the longer you need to wait on your hook set as well. If your fishing a big size 4 extended body foam hopper, you’ll want to make sure the trout gets all of the fly in it’s mouth. Quick hook sets will often result in the fish just getting the tail end of the fly in its mouth or you’ll get what I call a hair lip hook up, that quickly results in a spit fly. Every angler no matter what their skill level, will end up setting the hook too quickly occasionally. Especially when trout catch you off guard when your scratching that nagging itch or looking at another trout rising. Just remember to give the big boys plenty of time to munch on your fly before … Continue reading
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Bring It On Home
This week, two very different perspectives, on two very different homes and some exceptional writing. “In the Impressionist Wing”, from Mysteries Internal. Erin Block, a wonderful writer, on becoming a mountain woman. “Lights Go Out On A Fly Fish Frat House” Lo Fi Fly, on the end of all good things. Makes me sad I missed it! Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Why Can’t There Be Heated Fly Rods
I’ve got a special request for Santa Claus this year. Bring me my very own, one of a kind, heated fly fishing rod, damn it! I’m fed up with having to de-ice my guides every other cast during the winter. And how nice would it be to have a heated handle to hold onto all day, to help keep the dexterity in your fingers. Come on, I know I’m not the only person out there that would love to see this become reality. My good friend Murphy a.k.a. Charlie Murphy, brought this ridiculous but legitimate request to my attention. This guy is so hardcore, he’ll throw rocks into a river frozen over, to break holes so he can cast a fly into them. After talking on the phone about the idea, we both agreed we had to find out the scoop to see if a heated fly rod existed. Murphy volunteered to do some research and here’s what he found. In 1995, someone actually invented and patented, a heated fishing rod. It’s not a fly rod but damn close, and I’m sure it could be tweaked so a one piece fly rod design would work.. Click the Photos for a larger view, or you can click the link to visit a full size .pdf document of the U.S. Patent. Heated Fishing Rod – US Patent Maybe we’ll get lucky and one of the fly rod companies out there will read this post and get inspired. I know one thing, if a rod company did manage to bring the heating element to the table, I bet just about every fly fisherman would purchase one. I know I would, hell I’d purchase four at least. That way I’d finally be able to convince my clients to come fishing with me … Continue reading
Read More »Romano On The Rocks
Tim Romano scampers across these boulders along the Colorado River like a kid playing hop scotch. It almost killed me keeping up with him. Tim told me a story about a moose that chased him down that canyon. Glad it wasn’t there that day. I’d have died. Tim is an ubertalented phtotgrapher and blogs for Field and Stream and Angling Trade. Check him out. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Sunday Classic / Your GPS Might Be Trying To Kill You
I’ve said a hundred times that my iPhone will be the death of me. I always thought it would end with me texting while driving ninety five miles an hour. But apparently Hal has something more sinister up his sleeve. NPR reports that more and more people who have become over reliant on their GPS systems are getting lost in dangerous remote places. At least one person has died in California’s Death Valley after being stuck on an abandoned mining road for five days. A check with the mapping company revealed over one hundred fifty nonexistent roads on the GPS software. This has happened to me, thankfully not in Death Valley. It’s easy to get dependent on our gadgets and with more folks on the water than ever we’re all going further out of our way to fish. It’s fun to explore and find a new spot. It sucks to die of exposure. So take along a good map if you’re blazing new trails or just leave a trail of beer cans. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Saturday Shoutout / Three Worth A Read
Here are 3 articles worth your time. Chards Choker Permit Fly! Friend of the Gink Bruce Chard is now Blogging for Fly Fisherman Magazine. If you’re looking to improve your game in the salt, he is a must read. Rogue Angles / Don’t Go Where People Don’t Want You! The Angles are doing a great job on all things related to the Pebble Mine disaster. Thanks Ladies! Anglers Tonic / Skate ‘Dat Fly! Sage wisdom from steelhead ninja Greg Thomas. HiiiiiiiiYa!
Read More »Ink For The Gink
Superguide, Andrew Grillos is half way to his slam in this photo. Andrew has some truly awesome tats. I’m especially fond of the rainbow. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Nymph Patterns for Dingy Water
I’ve been on the water many days trout fishing when I’ve had blue bird skies overhead and gin clear water. Then moments later without any warning, an isolated thunderstorm rolls in and dumps a ton of rain, turning that crystal clear water cloudy. When you find yourself trout fishing in dingy or stained water conditions (not referring to blown out conditions) try using nymphs with fluorescent hot beads or patterns with hot spots to increase your number of hookups. They create bright focal points that allow trout to spot them easier when water clarity is subpar. When I’m dealt this hand of cards on the river I’ll tie on a large profile lead fly like a woolly bugger or rubberleg stonefly imitation followed up with one of these flies below as a dropper in my tandem nymph rig. 1. Dave Hise’s Hetero-Genius Nymph 2. Hot Bead Soft-Hackle 3. Hot Head Pheasant Tail 4. Hot Head Buzzer Midge Attractor 5. Hot Butt Hexagenia Nymph Another situation when these patterns really shine is fishing them during the colder months of the year. When water temperatures drop into the 30s and 40s, trout can often become lethargic due to their low metabolism rate. Fishing flies that have hot focal points can snap the trout out of their trance and create reaction bites. Keep it Reel, Kent Klewein Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
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