American Potcake
A GROUP OF UNIFORMED US CUSTOMS OFFICIALS HAS ASSEMBLED TO INSPECT THE CONTENTS OF MY CARRY-ON LUGGAGE BEFORE I AM ALLOWED TO LEAVE THE BAHAMAS FOR HOME.
They each peer inquisitively through the zippered opening of the black tote and repeat, “Oh my God! She’s adorable.”
I have known for years that I wanted a Bahamian Potcake for my next dog. These bright eyed, slender dogs, common throughout the Bahamas, stole my heart. The Potcake, only recently recognized as a breed, is a kind of super-mutt made up of the working dogs that colonists brought to the islands to work the plantations. They are wicked smart, hardy and, once bonded to a human, fiercely loyal. They, in many ways, exhibit the traits I admire in the Bahamian people. Not surprisingly, as they, without meaning to be insensitive, share a very similar backstory. Each has carved out a life for themselves under harsh circumstances, maintaining strong family structures, and living by their wits. The Bahamians and the Potcakes, not only exist but thrive, against all odds, and in doing so have developed a strength of character which is both admirable and endearing.
I’ve been fishing at the Andros South Bonefish Lodge for many years. The staff and guides there have become friends and the island of South Andros a place of refuge where I feel an uncommon sense of well being. There is a small family of potcakes there, who I have become attached to, the eldest being a female named Brownie. Although these dogs enjoy the adoration of anglers from around the world, they are not exactly domesticated. They are not exactly feral either but some of them, especially the puppies, are untouchable. Brownie, however, is one of the best natured dogs I have ever known and, from each litter, at least a couple of her pups has her sweet disposition. While all potcakes are great dogs, this family line is truly special to me.
South Andros is a poor island. Its people, for the most part, have big hearts and small wallets. There is no veterinarian on the island and few folks have the money to fly a dog to Nassau for medical care. Certainly not for non-essentials like spay and neuter. As a result, a huge population of feral potcakes fight for limited resources. The name potcake comes from the traditional Bahamian dish of peas and rice, which leaves a burned matt in the bottom of the pot, called the potcake. These are thrown out for the dogs and beyond that their diet is random lizards, bugs and whatever washes up on the beach. Many of them starve, or are killed for hunting livestock.
This year, things lined up for me and I decided it was time for a dog. I could adopt a dog easily at home, but what I wanted was one of the Andros potcakes. There are always fresh puppies and I found myself drawn to one in particular. A little black puppy, the runt of the litter, who the guys at the lodge named Permit because she was impossible to catch.
Read More »In The Dark of Night
By Johnny Spillane
SOME OF THE MOST FUN I HAVE EVER HAD FISHING HAS BEEN AFTER THE SUN GOES DOWN. THE BIGGEST FISH IN THE RIVER COME OUT AFTER DARK AND THERE ARE SOME REALLY FUN WAYS TO FISH FOR THEM.
If you are anywhere there is a prolific caddis hatch, which is almost everywhere, swinging and skating caddis can be deadly. My favorite caddis pattern for fishing at night is the Goddard Caddis. It floats really well and skates across the surface with ease.
Typically when fishing at night I use much heavier tippet then I would use during the day because fish tend to slam flies harder and a lot of times you wont know there is a fish until you feel the tug. If the moon is bright enough, often you can still see the take as you would during the day, but if not, your going to have to rely on your sense of feel. Try using 2x first, and if that proves to be too heavy, switch to 3x but very rarely do you need to go any finer than that, even in areas that are heavily fished.
I like to fish the runs the same way I would fish a streamer. Starting at the top I’d make a cast towards the far bank, throw in a quick down stream mend and then let the fly skate across the surface. After each cast, take a step downstream so that you are covering all the water.
Another really fun option is to
Read More »Shutter Speed for Freezing Action
THINGS HAPPEN FAST IN FLY FISHING.
Line whistles through the air, fish leap out of the water, guides swoop in with the net. It’s fun to capture these moments of action with the camera but often we fail and end up with a shot that is blurred beyond recognition. The solution is shutter speed. Today’s DSLR cameras are capable of amazingly fast shutter speed. A shutter speed on 1/8000 of a second will take crisp shots from a speeding flats boat. When you know you need that kind of speed there are a few things to keep in mind. You may find yourself needing an ISO setting as high as 800 in bright sun to get the shutter speed you need. In most cases
Read More »Tiger Trout
Wild tiger trout may be the rarest of the trout family.
They are a hybrid of a female brown trout and a male brook trout. They are distinctive, the dark modeled pattern of a brook trout’s back extending down their sides to their belly. This bold pattern won them the name tiger trout. The pattern more closely resembles the coat of an ocelot but I suppose ocelot trout sounds silly.
Browns and brooks are both fall spawners so it’s bound to happen that some big beautiful brown trout catches the eye of an eager brookie but getting a tiger out of the deal is still tricky. A brook trout, being a char, has 84 chromosomes and a brown trout only 80. A fertilized egg will yield a fry only 5% of the time. The resulting tiger trout is sterile so there is no tiger trout to tiger trout reproduction.
The science guys have figured out how to make tiger trout in the lab. They fertilize the brown trout eggs with brook trout milt and then shock them with heat which causes the eggs to mutate adding a chromosome pair and boosting the success rate to 85%. A pretty cool trick but why would you do it?
Well, it turns out that the tiger isn’t just in the stripes. Tiger trout have the attitude to boot. They are aggressive piscivores and grow quickly, eating every smaller fish they can. For that reason they have proven to be an effective tool for controlling invasive species. Since they are sterile, there is
Read More »3 Tips for Catching Giant Bonefish
By Bruce Chard
There’s only one thing better than catching bonefish. Catching huge bonefish!
It doesn’t happen by accident, it’s a cold-blooded calculation. Even if you have the perfect fly and can make the perfect presentation and even fight a perfect fight, you have to find that giant bonefish to have a shot. The Florida Keys are a great place to do just that. When you head down to the Keys for some bonefishing, here are 3 tips to help you find and land the fish of a lifetime.
#1) CHECK THE BOTTOM
Softer mud bottoms often hold large bones during the winter months. Warmer water from the mud holds larger food so BIG bones come in. Shallow rocky points are also great during the summer months. Rocks around points offer great places for bigger crabs to live and still get great water flow. Big bones know this and will frequently return to these places, scavenging for larger meals.
#2) USE THE RIGHT FLIES
When you open your fly box
Read More »The Legend of El Dorado
Golden trout of the Wind Range
For as long as I have been aware of their existence, the golden trout of the Wind Range have loomed large in my imagination. For years, hell decades, I’ve dreamed of hiking into those mountains to catch one of the worlds rarest trout.
I had honestly given up. I learned that no one is going to tell the guy from Georgia where the golden lakes are and it seemed impossible for me to do the leg work to find them. I thought that holding a golden trout in my hand would remain a dream, until I mentioned it to my buddy Steven Brutger, of Stalking The Seam.
“Really?” He said. “I do it every year. I’d be happy to take you up there.”
Steven and his partner, Matt Copeland, made all of the arrangements. The plan was to arrive as close as possible to ice-out. Golden trout are notoriously difficult to catch. It’s entirely possible to hike ten or twenty miles in and get skunked. Being there as soon as the ice melts is your best shot.
In June we hiked in, with llamas carrying our gear, to a base camp at 10,000 feet. We then went on our own to a lake I will call El Dorado at 11,500 feet. The environment was beyond harsh. High winds and an icey precipitation called gropple stung every inch of exposed skin. We arrived with half of the lake still covered in ice. What followed was pure magic.
Working with videographer Murphy Kane, the newest member of the G&G team, we it together this video. I’m very proud to share it with you and very thankful to Steven, Matt and Murphy for making it happen.
Editor’s note: This video is pretty trippy. We at Gink and Gasoline would never suggest any illegal behavior on the part of our readers. Residents of CO and WA, however, should consider exercising their rights before viewing! Enjoy.
The Legend of El Dorado
Read More »One Of My Favorite Fly-Fishing Photos
By Louis Cahill
Some photos remain special over the years.
There is some truth to the idea that doing anything for a living makes you a little numb to the result. I have a good friend who is an incredible guitar player but he would never play for money. He said he loved it too much. I get that.
Over the years I have taken more photos than I can count. Literally millions of exposures, many of them on film, lost forever to time. There are probably a couple of hundred which are special to me. Some because they are great photos, others because they have memories attached to them and a few that are special for both those reasons and because of what they represent.
This is one of those images and it has remained special to me for many years. In part because it reminds me of a great day. In part because i like the image, but mostly because of what it represents.
The image is of John Gierach, landing a brown trout with a bamboo rod, on the Saint Vrain. If there is a more classic image of fly fishing, I don’t know what it is. It’s also the image that marked
Read More »Be Prepared For Colorado’s Black Canyon
Colorado’s Black Canyon doesn’t play.
My buddy John is getting even more fidgety than usual. He’s whipped himself into a froth as I go over the pack-list. Sleeping bag, pad, headlamp, tecnu…” “Water?”, he asked. “No, I told you, filter bottle.” “Cliff Bars, peanut butter, whisky…” “So this trail”, he starts again, “eight hundred and some vertical feet and the road, the guy said four wheel drive, I don’t think the Subaru has a skid plate. “What’s your deal?”, I ask. “No, well, ok, it just sounds like a lot, we are fifty you know, my back’s not good.” He knows it’s pointless, there’s no talking me out of it. “You’re right”, I answer, “let’s wait until we’re sixty, it’ll be much easier then.”
All this noise isn’t for nothing. Colorado’s Black Canyon doesn’t play. You’re not exactly taking your life in your hands fishing down there but bad things can happen. You need a plan because the canyon is not forgiving of mistakes. On the other hand, there are few places in the lower forty-eight that offer the scenery, the quality fishing and the natural experience of the Black Canyon and the Gunnison river. It’s not for everybody and it does get more traffic than you would expect. I’m not trying to add to the pressure but if you are going to go, you should be prepared. Here’s what I learned on my trip.
WHAT TO EXPECT
For the record, fifty is not too old. You need to be in good shape for hiking but if your health is good and you don’t have breathing or heart issues don’t let age stop you. I live at sea level and I did fine with a pack, tent, food and fishing gear.
Most folks do it as a day trip but it’s a great trip to camp. You expend a lot of time and energy getting into and out of the canyon. It’s nice to stay at least one night. The extra weight of the camping gear makes it a tough call but I’m glad we did it. Just go light. Seriously light! Eat cold food before you carry a stove and fuel. If you have an ultralite tent that’s great, otherwise you might sleep under the stars. Camp sites are first come first serve. Get an early start.
The elements are brutal. It’s dry and sun baked and you will be too if you’re not careful. You have to be serious about hydration. My buddy Andrew Grillos who has guided the canyon for years told me has drunk two and a half gallons of water in a day and still been dehydrated. A filter pump and a gallon jug is a good idea. Filter bottles work great but you will need plenty of water for the hike in and out when you’re away from the river. An extra filter bottle is a good idea anyway. I fell and broke the filter in mine. We got by ok sharing on the river but the hike out with one bottle was rough. Sun screen and a buff are a must. It’s hot as hell and the black rock heats up like a wood stove. Leave the
Read More »A Goodbye To Winter
By Johnny Spillane
GOD DAMN ITS COLD.
I have been standing in 38 degree water for almost 4 hours, the temperature is 15 degrees and the wind-chill is brutal. My fingers stopped working a while ago; the upper legs on my waders are frozen solid and I’m struggling hard to tie on a size 26 midge. Why the hell am I still out here? I’m here because fish are rising. Everywhere.
Here in Steamboat Springs CO, we fish year round, rain or shine and some of the best fishing can be during the winter, especially in March and April. While countless people are buckling into their skis, the few hardy folks that brave the elements are having the time of their lives with a fly rod. Fishing during the winter is a different experience then what we are generally used to. During the summers, we get away with 3x and big stoneflies, but the winter is a whole different ball game. Midges and fine tippet are on the menu, with the tippet size sometimes being more important than the actual fly.
During the winter, we get folks that call in looking for a guided trip based on the weather. I often get asked to check the weather report and look for the warmest, sunniest day of that week. High sun+winter conditions=tough fishing. As soon as the sun comes out, the fishing gets tough. We want those overcast days when it’s slightly snowing because the fish are much less spooky and more prone to rise. If it is sunny, the fish might move onto the sandy spots and you can sight fish for them fairly easily, but you generally will be
Read More »Ted Williams: Hall of Fame Fly Fisherman
By Jim Weathersby
You may know Ted Williams as the Hall of Fame (inducted in 1966) left fielder who played for the Boston Red Sox from 1939-1942 and 1946-1960.
If so, you probably know Williams was a 17-time All-Star, two-time winner of the American League (AL) Most Valuable Player Award, six-time AL batting champion, two-time Triple Crown Winner (batting average, home runs and runs batted in), and the last man to bat over .400 for a season–.406 in 1941. You probably also know that he served in the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps during World War II and flew as a Marine pilot during the Korean War. Finally, you may know that Williams managed the Washington Senators/Texas Rangers franchise from 1969-1972.
Williams passed away in 2002, but if he were alive today, he would certainly tell you that baseball was only his second favorite pastime. Fly fishing was the sport he truly loved. “The Kid,” or “The Splendid Splinter,” as Williams was known during his baseball years, became an avid and expert fly fisherman and deep-sea angler during his baseball career.
John Underwood co-authored a book with Williams entitled Ted Williams Fishing “The Big Three,” (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1982). Underwood wrote that Williams would fish anywhere, any time. He caught black marlin in New Zealand and tiger fish in the Zambezi River in Mozambique, and he caught these and other fish with different kinds of tackle, in and on all types of water. Underwood described very nicely what it was like to fly fish with Williams.
“To fish with Williams and emerge with your sensitivities intact is to undertake the voyage between Scylla and Charybdis.
It is delicate work, but it can be done, and it can be enjoyable. It most certainly will be educational. An open boat with The Kid just does not happen to be the place for one with the heart of a fawn or the ear of a rabbit. Even his friends called him the Captain Queeg of fishing. There are four things to remember: one, he is a perfectionist; two, he is better at it than you are; three, he is a consummate needler; and four, he is in charge. He brings to fishing the same hard-eyed intensity, the same brooding capacity for scientific inquiry, he brought to hitting a baseball” (Underwood, p. 19).
According to Underwood, Williams believed there were three fish worthy of any true sportsman
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