Bob Is A Hero
Bob knew how to get that perfect hero shot.
I think Andrea Larko has been following Justin and I around on the river. I guess the secret is out. Check out Bob and much more of Andrea’s work on Etsy.
Read More »Popping The Ball, Why Guides Release Fish
By Brian Kozminski
If you popped a basketball every time you make a basket, you might be missing the point.
It’s a burning issue, and hot topic across the midwest right now. Nothing new for me, really. I received a call from a potential client the other day, I was just getting done washing off the mud and cedar debris from the Adipose in the drive-thru car wash, so I decided to take the call. The kind lady first asked if I was Catch & Release?
“Well, of course I am, ma’am.”
“But we want to fish up there next week when we are up for vacation. Can’t we keep the fish we catch?” replied the lady.
I had to take the opportunity to explain myself. I am an advocate for C&R, but also believe there is a time and place for selective harvest—meaning taking out certain sized fish in a population that is self sustaining in order to ensure future healthy size class, whether warm water or cold water species.
“I would gladly take you fishing, but if I let you keep fish, that would not only deter the quality of guide trips next week, month and next year, but also, if the word got out that True North Trout catches and kills trout, I could quickly gain a negative reputation and lose potential clients. It works like this: if you popped a basketball every time you make a basket, you might be missing the point. The relaxation, the art of tying and fooling a fish on a fly, therein lies the reward and why we chase eight-inch brook trout with a three-weight rod. Fly fishing is about the peace, the serenity and the enjoyment of seeing the beauty in nature around us.”
“But what if we let the females go?” she retorted. “My husband and I would like to learn to fly fish.”
She was relentless. I felt backed into a corner. How can I turn around a possible learning situation for these anglers and for myself?
“I would be more than happy to take and show you how beautiful the river is and some fly fishing technique, but I won’t purposefully kill or take a fish home. Simply put, if you catch a nice 18-20″ trout, I know where he lives, and perhaps have the opportunity and chance to share catching that mature fish with future anglers, even a couple more times in a year, and next year, he is a 22-24″ fish. If we take him out of the ecosystem, there is zero percent chance of catching him again or that he will be a two-foot streamer crashing trophy next season.” the best I could come up with.
“Well, maybe. Let me talk with my husband, we would like to learn how to fly fish. Do you know any other guides that will let us keep our catch?” She is not giving up easily.
“I am sorry, I do not, sounds like you are looking more for a charter boat captain and would enjoy a trip on Lake Michigan trolling for salmon or lake trout.”
“Thank you. We will get back with you. Good Bye.”
“Thank you. I am sorry. I hope you understand. If we as guides killed every fish we catch, we wouldn’t have a job in a few short years, similar to a restaurant that gives away a lot of free drinks, they don’t manage the resource very well and end up dry.”
Scenario phone calls like this seem to pop up every other week or so. Kind of crazy when I think about it. What is driving this customer my way? Google Search shows TNT at top ten? Most of these anglers are from out of state. I understand the need to bring a fish home, a bit of a keepsake from Michigan, and understandable with our of state license fees. But these fees are exactly what helps keep Michigan an often sought fishing destination. What about where they are from? I see a trend in Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and even Georgia residents seeking a piece of our northern Michigan heaven. So I looked into these states and why the popularity.
First, The PURE MICHIGAN campaign. Laugh a little. I did. But a considerable
Read More »Shea Gunkel’s Radiation Baetis
By Bob Reece
The creation of some fly patterns results purely from the need to fill a niche.
Others however, result from a blending of emotions and experience. This latter path of development leads signature Umpqua tyer Shea Gunkel to the creation of his Radiation Baetis.
Moms are in integral part in many of our lives. A couple years ago, Shea received news that his mom had been diagnosed with cancer. His heartfelt emotion drove him to create a new pattern, the original highlighted with pink, in an effort to raise awareness for cancer and show support for his mom.
The earlier versions of this bug were often pinned in hats and sweaters, where they made frequent trips to chemotherapy treatments. As time passed, Shea began to see the pattern in an additional light. After fishing it heavily and sharing samples with guides around Colorado, on the water success stories began to flow in. Shea then
Read More »New Orvis Pro Bootfoot Wader and Pro Boot with Hybrid Sole
Check out the new waders and wading boots from Orvis. Orvis has a couple of new options this year for your wading excursions. The Pro Boot is now available with a new and improved BOA system, as well as a hybrid sole that combines felt and rubber. The new Pro Wader now comes in zip-front and boot foot, for extra warmth in the winter. Watch the video for all the details on new Orvis Pro Boots and Waders. Louis Cahill Gink & Gasoline www.ginkandgasoline.com hookups@ginkandgasoline.com
Read More »Don’t get yourself caught in a tight spot!
By Justin Pickett
“MY MOUTH SPEWED WITH EXPLETIVES. MY BUDDY’S FACE WAS BLANK. I KNEW THAT IT WAS THE RESULT OF SEVERAL POOR DECISIONS.”
Recently, I headed up north with a great friend of mine to fish a small stream in north Georgia. Over the past couple of years this destination had become one of our favorite pieces of water. The main reasons being the number of large brown trout found there, and how it seemed one of us would hook up with one these large residents every time we wet a line in its waters.
That Spring day was perfect. Cool temps. Cloudy skies. The water was just a bit stained from the rain the night prior.
We headed straight for the section of stream where, historically, we’ve had the best luck hooking up with some nice brown trout. Fishing our way up through this section, we were coming up empty handed. Only a couple of eager rainbows had bent our rods during the first couple of hours.
We typically fish together with alternating casts and different rigs. This has always proven successful, but today I decided to depart from our usual method and jump ahead of my fishing buddy. Straying further upstream, I figured we’d just holler at each other should we need help with something.
I approached a run that just looked fishy as hell. A shallow section of water dumped into a deep bucket and then cut under the far bank, which was lined with rhododendrons. At the tail of the run a tree branched out over the water providing shade and cover. It had trophy trout sanctuary written all over it.
My euro-rig that day consisted of a #6 black stonefly nymph, trailed by a #6 Vladi worm, and I had them tied to 3x and 4x fluoro tippet respectively. To say, I have confidence in this tandem on days where the water is stained, is an understatement.
On the second drift through the meat of this run, my rod translated a solid thump in the line. I lifted the rod tip and set the hook hard, and immediately I can feel
Read More »How to Keep Your Polarized Sunglasses Like Brand New
Look out micro-fiber cloths, there’s a new player in town
My polarized sunglasses are a critical piece of equipment in my fly fishing and guiding. I depend on them for keeping my vision clear and crisp, so I can untangle knots quickly, spot fish effectively and make precise presentations on the water. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m constantly having to clean the lens on my sunglasses on and off the water to keep them functioning at their highest level. In the past, I’ve depended primarily on using micro-fiber cloths to clean my polarized sunglasses. These micro-fiber cloths work pretty well, but after a while, they get packed full of dirt and grime or get saturated on those wet days, and start losing their effectiveness. I’ve got some micro-fiber cloths now that really don’t clean all that well, even after I’ve taken the time to wash them. Plus, I’m always trying to find a place to stow them in a safe place that’s free of dirt and dust, like a zip-lock bag.
Recently, my parents turned me onto Zeiss Lens Cleaning Wipes. You can purchase them at your local Walmart or Pharmacy (Rite-Aid or CVS), from $3-10 depending on the size of the box. I’ve fallen in love with these individually wrapped pre-moistened lens cleaning wipes, that are safe to use on your sunglasses, camera lens and electronics. It takes just a few seconds to unwrap one of these pre-moistened wipes, and do a quick once over on the gear you need cleaned. Almost instantly, it dries 100%, leaving you with a super clean surface that looks brand new. These days, before I head out for a day on the water, I quickly clean my polarized sunglasses with them, and then throw three or four more in my shirt or jacket pocket in case I need them. If you fish in saltwater,
Read More »GAS
By John Byron
It’s a thing. Gear Acquisition Syndrome. GAS.
The most you can use at any one time is one. One guitar. One fountain pen. One fly rod. But how many you have is N, where N is a much bigger number than one.
That’s GAS.
The concept and phrasing, GAS, came from the world of music. Yes, how many guitars, pickups, mikes, etc. does a person need? And from photography, cameras, lenses, etc.
But perhaps the largest cluster of GAS-plagued souls is in fly fishing: rods, reels, lines, boots, buffs, hoodies, packs and the list is endless.
Does the rumor of a new line of fly rods from Scott or Loomis or Sage make your heart flutter? Has Amazon told you that you can’t return any more purchases for refund? Have you convinced your significant other that only a certain line on a certain reel will actually catch bonefish and you don’t have either but found a sale price online and your next trip will fail if you don’t buy them?
These are signs of GAS. But the surefire way to know if you’ve got it is to look in your garage or down in your basement:
Are your fly rods a small, neat collection of well-purposed tools? Or an inventory challenge?
Did you recently look in a drawer, find a reel, and say ‘Gee, I forgot I had that’?
Do you have to move a lot of fishing tackle aside to find fishing tackle?
Do you have more than twenty
River Of Dreams
By Louis Cahill
I DREAM OF WAKING IN A FOREST.
Or where a forest had been, now sooty black. Smoke swirls, orange eyes peer from hunks of coal. Charred trees accuse the sky. White ashes whirl in the air, angels lifted to heaven. I’ve slept through some great conflagration.
I walk, leaving white footprints on blackened ground. Smoke, steals my vision. Trees turn from black to gray, to white. I stop at a river bank where ash becomes grass, high and yellow like autumn. Dark water churns, its surface oily in the soft light. Standing in the river, bare to the waist, my father, his eyes fixed on the water, his hair wet and tossed, his arms outstretched like a cormorant drying its wings. In the current, the dark shapes of fish.
I follow the sound of falling water to a large pool ringed with tall grass. At its center, a deep black pit. The pool flows in on itself, the water pouring over a rocky rim, angry, foaming white. The sound deafening. A gaping bottomless maw, ringed with white foaming teeth, swallows the river and roars at the sky.
***
I think of my father now and see him, not drawn and frail. Not balled and withered, eaten with cancer but a strong young man, shirtless with wild, wet hair. A man from a black and white photograph. The luxury of survival, to carve the past in a form more pleasing.
Standing in an Oregon river, in a run instantly familiar, I swing a fly for steelhead.
Read More »The Winston Air 2 “Dark Horse”: Video
Winston makes a statement with the new Air 2 fly rod.
IFTD was defiantly small this year. One of the upsides of that was, I actually got to cast some rods. Winston’s new Air 2 floored me, and apparently everyone else as it took home the award for best freshwater fly rod. In this video Adam Hutchinson and I talk about what makes the Dark Horse special and the road ahead for Winston. There’s also a little spontaneous discussion about beer of choice. Some of you may approve.
HAVE A BEER AND HEAR ALL ABOUT THE NEW WINSTON AIR 2 FLY ROD!
Read More »6 Ways To Instantly Start Taking Better Fish Photos
By Kyle Wilkinson
Long before the days of Instagram or Facebook, taking pictures of a prized catch was still a big part of the fishing experience for most anglers. As you might be able to imagine, I see A LOT of fish pictures given my current occupation. I also take a lot, too. Now I know everyone has their own opinion about how to appropriately photograph a fish (or if it should even be done) but the fact remains that the good ol’ grip n’ grin is here to stay. In my opinion there’s nothing wrong with this either. And while these days I certainly don’t take a picture with every fish I catch and more often than not try to focus on a more ‘creative’ approach to my fishing photography, sometimes it still feels good to simply hold one up for the camera.
But back to the point of this. As mentioned, I see a lot of fish photos and quite truthfully, a lot of them are pretty bad. If you’ve ever found yourself telling your buddies ‘this picture doesn’t do this fish justice’ (while secretly wondering why that 20” brown looked more like 12” in the photo) then I suggest you read on. Not only will these tips lead to better fish photos, it will also ensure you’re taking better care of the fish by getting your shot quicker, and therefore getting the fish back to the water (you guessed it)…..quicker.
1. Get Down- This is a simple one and in my opinion, helps the fish out just as much as your photographic desires. Once you’ve landed the fish and are near a shallow area, get down on your knees to handle/photograph the fish. Just as important, however, is that your photographer does the same. Your goal here is to get the camera having a straight line shot at you and the fish. Another benefit to this method is that if the fish does slip out of your hands back into the water, it’s going to have a much shorter/safer fall. Additionally, always keep the fish over water in the event it does end up back in the drink quicker than expected. Fish are no different than us in the fact that it feels much better to fall into water than onto rocks.
2. Belly To The Bottom- This is another one I see time
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