Fishing According to Kev

Sunfish Identification Quiz

2012-01-28T04:42:00.000-08:00

This is a fun little quiz. I thought I'd ace it but I missed one. How well did you do?

What Makes A Great Fishing Club?

2012-01-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

In many of my posts I mention the club The Triangle Fly Fishers. I am heavily involved in this club and I have been on the board for a few years. We have board meetings once a month and a lot of time is spent discussing what we can do to make our club better.   Let me describe what are club is first because really it is more than just a club.

If you are a Trout Unlimited member in the NC-Triad you are a Triangle Fly Fishers member by default. The club represents the Trout Unlimited Chapter for the area. One interesting thing is our club also represents the Federation Of Fly Fishers in our area. The thing I really like about our club is there is no requirement to be a TU or FFF member to be a member of the Triangle Fly Fishers. The club is a fly fishing club first and foremost and we never wanted to lose site of that or be leveraged by an outside entity.

The clubs focus is always changing but some constant things are always there.   There is not very much information on fly fishing in our area. The club is pretty much the only resource in the area.   When people think of fly fishing they usually think of trout. When they see members of our club holding largemouth bass, carp,  striped bass and red drum it really peaks curiosity.   The beauty of the club is not only can people talk to people who have fished for these species but they can learn techniques and find out information to fish on their own.   The club tries to have a few scheduled group trips ever year. There are monthly meetings that have a guest speaker giving a presentation.   Guides and professional fly tiers. are brought in to give talks. There is always an emphasis on conservation and the club makes considerable donations to conservation projects.   Recently we are adopting and coordinating a restoration project of a local stream. There is also a couple stream clean ups that go on through out the year.

The club knows kids are the future of fly fishing. N.C.T.U. runs a camp called Rivercourse. The camp is basically a fly fishing nirvana for kids between 13-15. They go to camp for the week and learn about fly fishing, tying and conservation. The camp costs $700 and each year the Triangle Fly Fishers sponsor two kids.   Usually the choice is made by an essay contest asking children to write us on why they'd like to go to the camp.

Many club members want to use their passion as a way to give back to society. I can't think of a better way than Project Healing Waters. This is an amazing program that uses fly fishing to help rehabilitate war veterans back into society. The program goes over fly tying and local fly fishing trips.   Another great program members are involved with is Casting for Recovery. Breast Cancer is such a common thing now days almost everyone knows someone who has been effected by it. Casting for Recovery offers fly fishing retreats for breast cancer survivors.

Fundraising is always a big thing for clubs. I've always been amazed at the fact that the Triange Fly Fishers can run and fun projects by only holding one fund raising event a year. Donations are made through out the year to TFF by vendors and other people in the industry. No one wants to be bombarded by requests to send money. The club hosts an annual Pig Pickin'. At this event guided trips and fly fishing related prizes are raffled and auctioned off.   These events really reflect the support for the club.   The club provides a place for people to find fishing buddies and other people who are suffering from the same addiction.   Chasing anything that will bite.

With the new year I started to think about what makes a club great. There is always the struggle of making everyone happy but in the end the goal is to have fun.  You can have all the cool programs you want but really it's the people that make a club great. The Triangle Fly Fishers are lucky to have so many people that care about having this resource in the area.   I have made more friends through this club than any other group I have been a member of.

I look forward to our presence at the Raleigh Fly Fishing show and I expect we'll have probably one of the best years yet.

I Have Been Fishing...

2012-01-02T17:02:00.000-08:00

I have been fishig recently but I haven't done well at the catching part. My buddy with a boat was nice enough to have me tag along to hunt for striped bass. Kerr Lake is notorious for striped bass fishing. A member of the Triangle Fly Fishers talks about how great the fishing is and teases us with pictures like this.

Striper fishing is a whole different monster from other types of fly fishing. The rods are 8wt or heavier. Sinking line is a must. The fish can range from busting shad on the surface to chasing bait balls 40ft deep. The technique is to find hovering in a certain area. Hopefully this is a sign of feeding stripers pushing bait to the surface. The first time I went out we traveled miles across the lake before we found birds. We marked fish at depths between 40-60ft. Neither one of us had sinking line that could fish the water properly. I bought some sinking line for Christmas and this last weekend I felt well equiped. We launched from a different side of the lake and this time we saw birds quickly.

We frantically fished the water and within 20min a stiff breeze picked up. A cold front was coming in fast. The birds stopped working the water and just sat. What was once a fast and busy atmosphere was now dead and silent. The only sound was of fisherman complaining about the wind chill. It didn't take long for us to decide to call it a day. I think if we had a little bit more time when the birds were working we might have gotten lucky. There is a chance we'll go again around Martin Luther King day. If that doesn't happen I will probably only fish lakes close to home. That's at least until pickerel season.

The Best Fly Fishing Year Ever?

2011-12-18T17:37:00.000-08:00

This has been probably my most productive fly fishing year since I started fly fishing. I haven't fished as much as I did in other years but the times I did fish were productive. I had a goal last year of catching at least one fish every month out of the year. I kept that same goal this year. I'm probably jinxing myself because I haven't caught one in December yet. Even if I don't get a fish in Dec this has been a great year. I've put a recap of some highlights from each month. I had another goal of catching not only a fish a month but 12 different species that would measure at least 12 inches.

January
I have never had very good luck in January or February. This year was almost the same. Literally the last day in January I was able to hook this bass.

The fish hit a white wooly bugger.

February

I had heard chain pickerel were active this time of the year but I had yet to actually fish for one. It took two trips to the creek but I found a new species to fish for. Pickerel are aggressive and slams flies with a vengence.

March

Nothing signals the start of spring as the white bass run. I look forward to this more every year. It is some of my favorite fishing. It's tough to find a type of fishing where you can catch about 40 pound to two pound fish in 2hrs.

April
I have been trying to catch a shad on a fly for a couple years. These fish travel from the ocean hundreds of miles inland. Their nickname is the southern salmon. I was lucky enough to go with a TFF member who is a master at catching these fish. He put me on them and I was able to catch my first shad. I figured I had to get my fishing in since my son was going to be born any day.

May
The 13yr Cicada's were coming out in full swing. Some parts of the Triad were deafening with the sound of Cicada's singing. The good thing was fish started to key in on these bugs. Anything large hitting the water around this time was a meal. I've gone after grass carp before but never had a chance to really hook one. I was fishing a pond near my house for bass when I noticed some grass carp showing an interest in my popper. Sure enough one inhaled it and I had my first grass carp on the fly.

June

Bluegill and bass fishing really heats up in late may and June. I have been trying to catch a bluegill over a pound for awhile. This gill looked huge and slammed a muddler minnow. I knew it wasn't a pound but I thought it was close to 11 inches. When I measured my reel seat later I found it was only about 9.

July

I have caught wild brook trout in the Sierra Nevada mountains but I have never caught them in the east. My wife had a family reunion in the Shenandoah Valley and I jumped at the chance to catch a wild brookie. I have to give a lot of thanks to the South East Fly Fishing Forum. A member there gave me a tip on a good brookie spot. It was by far the best place I fished the whole week I was in the valley. The trout were beautiful and I got to really break in a new 3wt I purchased.

August

All I think of when I think of August is hot temperatures and catfish. One week in August I caught 3 catfish in 3 different places. All fish were caught with a dead drift presentation. When I say dead drift really I mean I cast out and did nothing. Didn't twitch the fly or move it. The fish slammed the fly a few seconds after it landed. This guy was my biggest cat so far.

September

This fish had been avoiding me for years. When I finally caught a roanoke bass I was in denial. I took a few pics released it and figured I caught a really green sunfish or some crappie-warmouth hybrid. When I finally got home and studied the pictures I realized I had in fact caught a Roanoke Bass. It was a special day for sure.

October

It's great to catch different species but at least a few times a year I have to go after trout. I love fly fishing for trout. It's almost impossible to be in a bad mood while trout fishing.

November

I feel really blessed that I have so many places to fish. I've lived in NC for 5yrs and I've probably just scratched the surface of all the fishable trout streams. I found a great new stream that is close to home. The fishing has been excellent and it is a great place to take beginners.

December

??????

This month hasn't been good to me. I've fish a couple times with nothing to show for it. This last trip I even resorted to..... gulp..... spin fishing. I was striper fishing and the fish were down around 40-50ft. My last chance will reallly depend on a lot of different factors. Weather being one and my wife the second. You can see from all these trips I have gotten time to fish and I have to thank my wife and family for tolerating my absence on weekends. I'm hoping to get out for one day this weekend and go after wild brookies in VA. If it snows I'm done. If the weather stays above freezing I might get lucky. We'll see. The catches weren't the only thing to make this year great. I also was blessed with a new baby boy. My mother picked up fly fishing this year and it is fun to share our love of the sport together. In the end no matter what happens in December this has been with out a doubt my best year of fly fishing ever.

Fly Fishing Gear Made in the U.S.

2011-12-11T13:51:00.001-08:00

I recently read a post on the blog Fishingthroughlife. It was about supporting U.S. manufacturers when purchasing fly fishing gear. I took this post to heart and started to really research which companies manufacture their products in the U.S. It wasn't really that easy to find. I finally found this site. It goes over quite a few companies and also asks questions about why we can't get more products made in the U.S. Definitely check out the part about hook production. This holiday season when thinking about gear purchases I'm definitely going to look more into where things are made. Doing small things such as buying things made locally or in the U.S. can make a big economical impact over all.

Sometimes You Just Get Lucky

2011-12-03T06:48:00.001-08:00

Like when you drive over 100 miles, go to gear up and see this.

The camera survived and the fishing was pretty good too.

Family Time

2011-11-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Today my son and daughter got to visit the zoo for the first time. I have fond memories of going to the zoo as a child. I hope my kids will develop the same fondness for wildlife that I have.

Crossing the Line

2011-11-15T05:37:00.000-08:00

While you are fishing there are always experiences that make you question whether they are crossing the line or not. The line is different for everyone but there is always an uneasy feeling. Similar to when a friend shows you the answers they somehow acquired for an upcoming test. This happened to me on my last fishing trip. I was having a good day cruising along catching fish consistently. I ran into another fisherman who was having the same success. When we compared flies I couldn’t help but almost blurt out, “you’re cheating!” My fly was a bead head pheasant tail nymph and this gentleman’s fly looked like pink chenille with a trout worm on the end. It basically looked like a jig you’d use to catch crappie. Whenever I see stuff like this I always think why bother even using a fly rod? I talked it over with a friend after wards and said that fly would be my last resort. Which when I reflect back on everything that probably is false. Later I understood that the reason I was so upset about the fly was because I didn’t fish that way. So in my head I had the judgment that if you’re not following my set of rules for fly fishing you’re doing it wrong. Then I tried to go over why I thought it was so wrong. First I went over the fact that there was a rubber worm type thing tied into the fly. But then I thought about the rubber legs I use or have used on bass flies. They resemble or try to resemble the actual anatomy of something life like but are they really better than the worm fly? In reality what the person was doing was totally legal and he followed the fishing regulations. I realized I have no control of the actual situation and that I need to really get over those types of things. In all honesty if I had been getting skunked that day and he offered me that fly to fish with I’m sure I would have used it. I guess it was pride that first turned my nose up at the use of a fly like that. I guess everyone has that line they feel you shouldn’t cross because you’re breaking the rules. Whether it’s using two flies, fish scent, egg patterns, or bait. Everyone has their thing.

Cold Morning, Hot Fishing

2011-11-12T12:16:00.001-08:00

This was only my mothers second time attempting to trout fish. I mentioned it would be cold in the morning. Even I was a little surprised when the temp read 25 as I stepped out to get my gear on. It's a funny feeling when it is that cold. You try to move fast to warm up but the cold hampers your movement and you have to stop every so often to blow in your hands. We still managed to get our gear on and head down to the river. The morning was beautiful and there's something about seeing sunlight shine through mist and your breath. I went to my usual hole and it didn't take long to get my first trout of the day.

I rarely catch a fish with in my first few casts. I enjoyed the moment and didn't try to put a lot of emphasis on the event like it was foreshadowing the day. As the sun and temperature rose so did the fishing. Whenever I go fishing with a group there is always one lucky person who just seems to have everything going for them that day. Today that lucky person was me. Most of my hook ups the fish stayed on and I was able to land them. I had to pay close attention to my indicator and I started to recognize how these fish hit. Most of the fish were rainbows but in one section there seemed to be a cluster of drab brookies.

The water was clearer than the last time and a lot colder. One part of the day some small size 20 bugs started hatching. Fish never started hitting the surface but the fishing did seem to pick up.

The hot fly was a small size 18 bead head pheasant tail. My mother struggled at first. She had the problem normal beginners have. Wind knots and tangling the leader over the rod. She persevered and was able to get the skunk off.

It was a great day. One of those ones where you're not quite sure how many fish you caught but you know it was a lot. The day had blue bird skies and there was still some color on the trees to keep things scenic.

Olive The Wooly Bugger - Book Review

2011-11-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

Recently the Outdoor Blogger Network had a bunch of free giveaways to celebrate their one year anniversary. I was lucky enough to win a set of Olive The Wooly Bugger books. In my travels I had heard about these books before but I had never held one in my hands. I have a daughter who is around three so I thought these books would be great to read at bed time. The books came in the mail yesterday and what first surprised me was the quality.

Not only in the artwork but of the books themselves. The books are paperback but the pages are thicker than an average paperback. This makes the book more durable after several reads. The author Kirk Werner was kind enough to autograph all of the books as well as some bookmarks and a decal that was included.

As if the books, bookmarks and sticker weren't enough the give away also included a limited designed Olive The Wooly Bugger fly box. I'm hoping to get that soon. My daughter saw the books and was pretty ecstatic. She wanted me to read them instantly. I sat down with her to go over the first one Olive The Little Wooly Bugger.

The reading level was a little beyond my daughter. I kind of like that I have some books she can grow into. The full page illustrations were enough to keep her entertained. It was fun going over the different flies with her. The illustrations in this book are amazing and the characters of the flies are very clever.

In this book Olive is going to Camp Tight Loops. Unfortunately even in Olive's world there is dry fly snobbery and the dry flies give Olive a hard time.

The focus of the camp is to teach each fly its talent to help them catch fish. The best flies make it to the coveted Fly Box. Those flies get their chance at catching trout on The Big Stream. I really liked how this book tied in fly fishing knowledge with the plot. I'm actually going to recommend this book to many of my beginner fly fishing friends. The book also has a page at the end that has actual photos of fishing flies.

I thought this was a great addition so readers can reference flies they may have or want in the future. When I first got these books I didn't know what to think. After reading the first one and checking them out more I am overly impressed. These would be great gifts for anyone at any age who has the least bit of interest in fly fishing. I have to give a special thanks to OBN for hooking me up with these.

This is Just Awesome

2011-11-02T13:20:00.000-07:00

Change in Plans

2011-10-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

I had planned on getting some fishing in. The weather kind of changed that. I can fish in the snow but not when it's windy. I did get out with the kids though.

My mother was visiting the mountains and I really wanted her to catch a trout with a fly rod. Yesterday we hit a local trout stream that usually gets hammered by locals and tourists. To my surprise the park was uncrowded most likey due to the weather. By the time we arrived it had warmed up consirably. The wind had stopped and there was no snow on the ground. I showed my mother the basics of nymphing and sure enough in and hour she had caught 3 fish. Not bad for her first time. I was almost skunked but hooked a trout on my last cast. It was a great weekend.

Good Day with Friends

2011-10-23T07:32:00.000-07:00

Tried a new river with some friends yesterday. The morning didn't start off all that great. I'm kind of a plan freak. I'm decent about planning but when things change something always gets screwed up. I had planned to drive and have some people ride with me. As we were figuring things out a friend said we all could probably fit in his car. I felt we were kind of running behind already so I grabbed my stuff out of my car as quickly as possible. Sure enough about 40min into the ride we start talking and a guy pulls out his fly box. I go to get mine out of the back and I don't see my pack. I left it in my car! Luckily I was with others and kept my composure because I just wanted to cuss for about 5minutes. I think every fisherman has a certain bond with "THEIR" gear. There is a comfort in knowing what you have and using your own tools. I knew people would lend me flies and things but I was so mad about forgetting my stuff I just sat and steamed for a bit. I figured this was maybe a sign that today I needed to help the beginners and fishing will be secondary. When we arrived at the stream I geared up borrowed 4 flies and some pliers and clippers and we headed out.

From Fall

The day turned out great and I probably had the most fun watching others catch fish as I did catching them myself.

From Fall

This was one of the few trips I've organized. I like doing it but I always feel uneasy when the questions come up on how to do things. The people asking me are new to fly fishing and many times they think I am a far greater fly fisherman than I actually am. I want to tell them the right way but what exactly is the right way? I only know my way. On the stream a friend was missing hook ups and I gave her some advice. She said "I was told by a guide you're supposed to do this." My response was do whatever catches fish. What a guide tells you might work that day on that stretch of river for those fish but elsewhere you may have to change your tactics. That was how the day was for the rest of us. The fish were hitting very subtle and the takes were almost unnoticeable. The indicator would either stop or honestly you'd just guess or see some slight irregular bob in the current. It was a learning experience for all of us. The challenge made the experience even more fun.

Dumb Fish

2011-10-10T16:55:00.000-07:00

In Jurassic Park the main characters avoided the T-Rex by holding still. I can relate a lot to the T-Rex because when I'm fishing I look for any movement what so ever. A familiar silver flash, a irregular break in the current, the sound pattern of the water changing because of a sploop sound. All of these are ques for me to find fish. I once talked about sight fishing for trout with a guide. I went into detail about one of my favorite scenarios. It starts out with spotting the fish from a distance then working my way into position and make what I think is a perfect cast and the fish seems to follow my actions like a puppet. The guide listened intently then said "You know most intelligent fish won't hang out in the open like that. That's not a very efficient survival behavior. That fish was probably mentally ill." At first I didn't know whether to take offense to the comment or agree with his logic. One great thing about seeing fish is you can watch their behavior when your fly comes near them. This gives you a great insight and knowledge to things that are many times hidden from view. For me these are some of the best times. It's like watching an interactive show that is only on display for you. The fish may follow your fly down stream or strike at it instantly. The best is watching a fish charge your fly or follow it with a vengeance. The fish might make several slashes maybe one out of hunger but probably more likely out of anger. The whole ordeal is fascinating and I never get tired of it.

Yesterday I fished a Designated Harvest trout stream. Hatchery trout often get the label of ignorant will hit anything, are no challenge, any one can catch them fish. The scenario I faced is why these fish get this label. Sometimes after stocking the fish will not leave the general area. In one place I check out rarely the fish literally do not leave with in 100yds of where they are stocked. Of course you get a few that are smart and decide to skidaddle to safer areas but the majority sit back and watch as many of their friends are hauled away involuntarily. Maybe they are comforted by the friend being thrown back minutes later, hopefully unharmed. I approached one section and my expectations were met with anglers standing just far enough to not be in each others cast. You could see the fish from the trail hanging out in glass pools where any osprey or eagle could pluck them for lunch. I was amazed that one usually popular spot was open for fishing. I walked in the water not worrying too much about stealthy wading. In the run I could see purple objects that stood out from the river rocked bottom. Those are the trout and they are what everyone is here for. I tried to go some what classy first. I consider myself a decent fly fisherman and even though I don't think I'm above using wooly buggers I wanted to try catching fish with a midge pattern or something insect like first. I had no indicators so that would add to the challenge some too. I used a dropper set up and after I missed a few hits and figured out the drift I had a fish on. The trout didn't fight very hard and it gave up with in seconds.

That is another thing about DH fish since they are released and fished so heavily it's not uncommon to catch a fish that has been caught a couple times earlier in the day. This causes the fish to become super fatigued and they don't fight well. After a few trout the fish seemed to ignore my fly. Another common thing for DH fish. Many times if you change the fly you'll catch a few more and you repeat this pattern. This day I decided to take it a whole different way. The fish are considered dumb but lets think about this. These fish have been raised to think humans are what feeds them. On top of that most of these fish probably associate people with food. Does that make them dumb or a victim of circumstance? As I pondered this I thought about the food part and pretty much how these fish think. They will most likely hit anything they think is food or just out of curiosity. I had a fly my friend tied me for smallmouth. This thing was about 2 1/2 inches long with dumbbell eyes and rubber legs.

Not your average trout fly. I cast that out and on my second cast I had my biggest fish of the day. I could see everything, my fly hitting the water, the action of how my strips made the fly work. I saw the fish charge from the bottom and slam the fly. This fish seemed fresh like it hadn't been caught before. It was a plump 13inch brookie and it was starting to show its fall colors. I had so much fun with that experience I fished with the clouser the rest of the morning. I realized this a long time ago but it was made more evident that morning that visual fishing for me is where it's at. It is no wonder why I love sight fishing so much. Popper fishing for bass, blue gill top water fishing, carp flats fishing and sight fishing for trout. So for me bring on the dumb fish. I can have fun catching them all day.

Lots Going On

2011-09-21T05:30:00.000-07:00

There is a lot going on right now. I just got back from San Diego and I'm starting a new job. It's always stressful going from something comfortable to something new and out of your comfort zone. I am adjusting. I won't be able to fish at lunch anymore which kind of sucks but I'll live. Reflecting on this year has been very interesting. This has been by far my best fishing year ever. I have caught many new species and even my first salt water fish. I'm excited to see what else the year has to bring. I'm hoping to get out and fish this weekend. It all depends on the weather. Fall is definitely on it's way. The temp has dropped at least 10 degrees and is on the steady decline. I'm hoping fish will be trying to fatten up before it gets too cold.

Troubled Waters

2011-09-13T07:11:00.000-07:00

My father has had serious health problems recently. They have gotten so bad the doctor told me if I want to visit him I need to do it now. He was showing signs of dementia and his organs were shutting down. I made the quick decision to fly out to San Diego and visit him. The day I landed I spent the afternoon and evening at the hospital. My father looked pale and seemed to be in some pain but his mind seemed ok. The nurses would often ask him if he remembered his name, where he was and the year. He could answer all of the questions fine. After the nurses left I decided to ask him a few questions. The first was what was my wifes name, then the grandkids. He couldn't name them but he behaved like they were on the tip of his tongue and he just couldn't come up with the words. Then I asked if he could tell me his dad's name. He struggled and I could see in his eyes the confusion and fear of understanding that he should know this information but can't come up with it. This really bothered me and I decided to stop asking questions because it was only going to stress us both out. While I was in San Diego I decided I'd go fishing to keep my sanity. There was a recent power outage that caused a huge sewage spill into the ocean. It covered a large area. I was able to go north of it but I probably still fished in water that was contaminated.

When I got to the parking lot it was a welcoming sight. Only a few cars were seen and the people getting out were metal detector nerds. They scour the sand looking for buried treasure or some person who was unlucky enough to drop a diamond ring. I got my gear ready and occasionally checked over my shoulder for other anglers. As I finished rigging my rod and headed towards the beach I didn't see another soul fishing. There were people enjoying the darkness before sunrise. Joggers and tourists gawking at the waves rolling in. I had stopped by the So Cal Fly Shop the day before to get some information and flies. They had a fly box full of popular surf patterns for $20. I thought that was a pretty good deal. I felt some what prepared but I still didn't have any idea of what I was doing. I cast out parallel to the waves rolling in and realized the name of the game was line management. It was hard to keep the line straight and have a good feeling of where the fly was at. Waves would catch the sinking line and jerk it out to the ocean or make it go slack sliding the fly towards shore. It was frustrating but I kept working at it. I couldn't see any sign of life in the water. I was told to fish ankle deep water. It was hard to discipline myself to stick to that. The waist deep water looked so inviting and that had to be where the bigger fish were. Seeing a wake and two good size fish breech the surface and escape to deeper water changed my thinking. The fish I was going for was called a Corbina.

The fish looks similar to a drum. They spook very easy and are hard to sneak up on. Honestly I'd see most of them at the same time they spotted me. They'd disappear in a cloud of mud. The fish would ride in with the surf and hang out in depressions in the sand. I tried all of the flies I had bought. I thought many times that I had a hit but I couldn't really tell. The current was playing with my line. I tried casting at all angles. Towards the ocean, away from it, parallel. I really felt lost. Then a perch decided to throw me a bone. I felt the familiar tap on the end of my line. I set the hook and the fish felt like a bluegill. I was over joyed. This was my first saltwater fish caught on a fly.

From Summer'11

The fish was more colorful than the picture shows. Even with the enjoyment of what I had accomplished my mind couldn't shake the true reason I was in San Diego. I went back to the hospital and fished again in the afternoon but it didn't feel right. My mind couldn't concentrate and the frustrations with the current and line were getting to me. I didn't fish again while I was there and spent the rest of the time with family and at the hospital. My father's memory went in and out. At times he could remember the names of the people I had asked him earlier. Then other times he could remember the month but not the year. Or he could remember the year but not the date. The whole thing was kind of sad. The doctors couldn't find anything major wrong with him. The theory is he's had a couple strokes which are causing the memory problems. Honestly it could be a lot of things. Years of a hard life and diabetes are catching up to him. The hardest part of this trip was the true meaning for me. I looked at it as my time to say good bye. I think in a few months my father will not know who he is anymore or may not live past the year. We were never very close but it's still sad to see anyone go this way.

My First Roanoke Bass

2011-09-04T04:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you're not just trying to catch a fish. You are trying to catch thee fish. I've been chasing Roanoke Bass for quite some time now. They are fairly rare but people do occasionally catch them on the Eno River. What I could never understand was how beginners seem to always have luck when it came to catching them. I hit he river yesterday with some friends. The water seemed to have even more hydrilla then the last time. The green weeds choked the water and only provided one small lane that was free of debris. The fish were few and far in between. I did find a sunfish here and there but the fishing was really poor for the Eno. There was one section in particular that looked dead and void of life. The bottom was covered in a thin blanket of silt. While wading I never even saw the shadow or movement of fish being spooked. I started to wonder if some sort of fish kill happened. I decided to try one more spot that was good to me about 2yrs ago. It is a large pool that has a rock you can get on top of and use as a casting platform. It gives a great view into the water and with good casts you can almost cover the whole pool. I cast my fly near a submerged boulder and watched as it disappeared into the murky water. Then I felt a tap. I set the hook and had the familiar feeling of a sunfish. While bringing the fish to the surface I noticed it didn't have the orange belly of a sunfish. I knew better then to get my hopes up that it might be a Roanoke. I kept bringing the fish in and finally when I had it in hand I did an inspection.

From Summer2011

I have been chasing these fish for so long that I was in denial that this fish was an actual Roanoke Bass. I took several pictures and wondered if maybe it was just a green colored Warmouth. Then I noticed the gill plate. There were no lines on it what so ever. The coloring was also too green to be a Warmouth. This had to be a Roanoke. I was elated. As a bonus it was caught with a crayfish type pattern that I tied. I have a theory about why so many beginners seem to have luck catching these fish. When the fish hit I provided zero action to the fly. It was just dead drifting. That makes sense because most beginners do not twitch and try to practice with different retrieves when they are learning. I will have to experiment more. Until then I can check off another species on the list.

From Summer2011

Fishing Phobias

2011-09-02T11:21:00.000-07:00

This post was inspired by another blog I follow and definitely suggest others reading. It's called Mysteries Internal. The author recently went over some of her fears about wading. It made me analyze my own fears and I figured I could best respond in a post.

I can relate to this. I'm not sure if it is from watching Jaws when I was five but I really hate wading where I can't see the bottom. Just as spooky are things rubbing against my legs. In San Diego I used to go to the beach at night with friends. There was nothing worse than playing in the water a wave hits you and slides sea weed along your legs. The feeling is indescribable and terrifying. Thinking about it while writing this gives me the heebie-jeebies. I become frustrated and wonder why I don't push myself past the fear. I always wonder, maybe this is a fear everyone has and if I can just push past it I will get to the fish where others were too afraid.

My last fishing trip I did just that. There was a mat of gross green underwater weeds. I guess it is called hydrilla.
At least that's what I call it. It grows up from the bottom and lays on the surface like an ugly green shag carpet. Your legs disappear when you walk through it and you are in a prairie of unknown water grass. It might sound like heaven to some but to me it's unnerving. What is in this grass? How deep is it under this grass? Why does this grass smell in some places and not others? Is it from other brave waders who died and are now fertilizer for this very plant? Who knows but it does get to me. The most silly part is most of this fear could be avoided by carrying a wading staff. I carry so many things already that I feel like a fishing version of a Swiss Army knife. I've been trying to downsize my gear for years. It just doesn't seem right to have a stick in one hand and a rod in the other. Even if it is for safety. That's my dumb logic.

When I moved through the grass I was happy that I was trying to face my fears but I couldn't wait to get to the next rock outcropping. There was one point where I was standing on a rock island surrounded by this green muck. I couldn't tell how deep it was on any side. I sort of bent down and tried to edge in with one leg. With every inch my leg went under the surface I kept hoping "please feel the bottom, please feel the bottom." Eventually my foot hit bottom and it was a lot shallower than I expected. But then came the dilemma of taking another step. I reluctantly walked through the grass and tried to not think about what was in it. I just focused on the next rocks I could climb up on. Even though I had walked through maybe 100yds of water without being able to see the bottom and what I was walking through, I was still having a hard time getting up the nerve to walk back through it. Maybe I was lucky and just stepped over a hole that I'd fall in on the way back. I psyched myself up enough to wade back through the grass and my steps would quicken the closer I got to a rock. Once I reached the edge and saw the rocks and stained dirty brown bottom of the stream I was relieved. I'm sure I'll get over my fear some day but it wasn't that day.

Lessons from a Heron

2011-08-30T10:31:00.000-07:00

I've learned about fishing from a lot of people, books, movies and personal experience. Out of all of these resources it is the Heron that probably taught me the most. When I first started fishing I used to ignore herons and mainly thought of them as neat wildlife to look at but nothing more then that. There are certain fishing spots where a certain heron will be every time. These birds were my only company and tolerated me until I'd get too close. They'd often get annoyed and leave with a loud squawk or fly away to a high perch and yell at me for stealing their fishing hole. As I fished more I started to watch heron more and I began to realize they hardly ever got skunked. Sometimes it's good to watch the best fishermen. It's hard to beat the heron. These are the main lessons the heron taught me.

1. Wade slow and observe
I've never seen a heron run or in a hurry. Their movement is very proficient and even when they feel threatened they move at a pace that is hard to imitate. I learned that if I waded slowly and observed, things would reveal themselves. Standing as still as possible has the same benefits. If one can stand still enough you will often times find fish swimming near or right next to you.

2. Use Your Energy Wisely
How often have you seen a heron randomly stick its head in the water over and over? You probably haven't. This is because they stay calm and poised until the precise moment. I've tried to incorporate this more and more and as I've gotten older and hopefully become a better fisherman. I notice I cast a lot less than I used too. I also catch more fish. Casting blindly with no purpose really does nothing for you. If you can stay focused and wait until the proper moment you will likely be rewarded more often.

3. Try to Blend In
I can't tell you how many times I've been fishing then I get a glance of something out of the corner of my eye and it is a heron across the river. I never saw it until I got close. I'm sure many fish have had that same experience and found it to be fatal. If you can be sly enough to look like part of the environment the fish will feel at ease. In this element fish will usually feed and hit flies they might not otherwise when threatened.

4. Be Cautious of Your Shadow
This is a biggie and many times I over look it. Sometimes you have no choice but to have your shadow go over fishable water. I try my best to make sure it is away from where I am fishing. It's really important on small trout streams where the fish are already on the look out for anything peculiar. Moving shadows mean predators to fish.

5. Know When to Leave
Herons know when to take flight just as the danger gets close. It seems there motto is "live to fish another day". Take heed in that. If you're fishing somewhere and you think or KNOW the water is rising. Get out. If you see lightning bolts and it is obvious a storm is coming, take shelter. There's no glory in a fish story about someone dying from a lightning strike. When kayaking or boating and the swells are not looking good. Don't chance it. Listen to the heron, live to fish another day.

Waiting out Irene

2011-08-26T13:23:00.000-07:00

Looks like fishing will be put on hold this weekend. I was thinking about checking out a local river after the storm. The thought is maybe the fish are going to be feeding like crazy with all the food being flooded in. Honestly the change will probably turn the fish off. It might be a good fly tying weekend. Our club recently had Anthony Hipps do a presentation on his famous flies. He ties a foam popper that is probably one of the best around. Another one of his creations is called the HellCraw and he says it has been a good producer for all species of fish. I have posted the videos and fly tying intructions for both. They can also be found at. WarmwaterFlyTyers.com
Anthony Hipps - Soft bodied foam Popper

Anthony Hipps soft bodied popper at TFF from Christopher Martain on Vimeo.

HellCraw

Anthony Hipps ties his HellCraw from Christopher Martain on Vimeo.

New Places

2011-08-23T07:18:00.000-07:00

A member of the fishing club posted a trip for a new section of the Haw river I have never fished. There were promises of big bluegill a pound or bigger. I'm always skeptical of these types of claims especially with out seeing evidence. The place was a good distance away and I probably wouldn't have gone if a friend hadn't agreed to carpool with me. The section we were fishing ran right through a neat part of town. It was a mixture of other rivers closer to home but seemed to be more clean. The water was low and boulders stuck out like islands. We entered the river and kept walking upstream towards the dam.

From Summer2011

There's always an eerie feeling when walking close to a dam. I always look for escape routes in case there's an all of a sudden release. This dam doesn't do scheduled generations and I'm sure if it did plan a release it would be highly publicized. I felt safe but not too safe. The pools near the damn were stagnant and filled with algae. I tried my luck where there was at least a little flow. I rock hopped and got in position to fish poppers under the shade. There were fish hitting the surface for what looked to be midges. I switched up and went to a crawfish pattern. While kind of just slowly stripping the fly in I felt resistance. The fish didn't fight that hard and I didn't quite recognize it at first.

From Summer2011

I have never caught a crappie in the summer. I thought the water was too warm for them. I've always heard where you find one there will be more so I kept working the section this fish came from. I thought I had a few more hits but no more fish came to hand. I tried various other spots and met up with a friend. He told me about a mayfly hatch that was going off downstream. Apparently bluegill were stacking up against the bank and gorging themselves. He kept trying to talk to me about fishing in the mountains and other places and I tried to be polite while hiking fast but my main focus was getting to where this hatch was. I worked my way to the section he talked about and I did see bugs coming off the water. I have never heard of mayflies on the Haw. I didn't believe it when he first told me. The bugs did look like small sz14 rust colored mayflies. My first cast hooked a nice fish but it came off quickly. The next few other casts resulted the same. I decided to put on a bead head soft hackle. That was the ticket. I either had a fish or hit on every cast. The bluegill ranged in size from a small 4inch fish to the monsters that were rumored to be here.

From Summer2011

My buddy caught a bluegill that was even longer. We spent the rest of the morning just working the bank and catching one gill after another. I couldn't have asked for more. It was a great trip and I'll definitely be back to check this place out again. When we got off the water we ate at a general store that had great sandwiches. We discussed what kind of mayflies those might have been. I started to talk about how I thought there weren't any mayflies around and maybe those were caddis. Then I glanced at the window.

From Summer2011

A Special Day

2011-08-21T11:47:00.001-07:00

Most kids learn how to fish from their father's. My father wasn't around very much so my mother had to play both roles. She taught me how to fish for trout in the high sierra's and I can still remember the first time I actually hooked a fish. A boy ran through the camp yelling "the trucks here!" A large rumble from a diesel truck came closer and a stock truck pulled in and parked right in front of the campsite. A man gets out climbs up a ladder and dips a net into the tank at the back of the truck. He lifts the net and almost can't handle the weight of all the flopping fish inside. Almost as quickly as he climbed the ladder he works his way over to the creek and heaves the fish into the water. Was this man actually dumping all these trout near my campsite? I couldn't really understand what was going on. Everyone watched intently as the man dumped 3 nets of fish into the water. As quickly as he came the man jumped in his truck and moved down too a new section of the campground. People ran for their fishing poles and my mother yelled at me to get mine. We hurried over to the pool where the fish had been dumped. The fish were in a swarm and in shock from going from a cool tank into a stream with current. People outlined the bank and many were armed with velveeta cheese. I had Patzke's Balls of Fire.They were a version of salmon egges. It was a staple bait of my family for years. I threw the eggs into the water and tried to will the fish to strike. My mother just kept telling me to leave it there. The fish were just sitting there not moving. I saw other peoples cheese balls drifting around the fish. A fish finally inhaled one of the balls and for the first time I saw what a hooked trout looked like in the water. It wasn't much longer when a fish charged my salmon egges and head butted them knocking two of the eggs off the treble hook. I kept staring not being sure what to do. The fish ate one then two of the free floating eggs then went for the last one on my trebble hook. My mom yelled. "HOOK HIM, HOOK HIM!" I lifted the rod and felt the electricity of having something alive on the other end. I freaked out and handed the pole to my mother. There was a few seconds of us passing the rod back and forth and her yelling "NO you reel it in!" The whole experience was too much for me, I couldn't comprehend what was really going on. She reeled in the fish and said "You caught your first fish!" I started crying and said with a sobbing voice "no you caught it, you reeled it in." Everyone at the pool as well as my mom told me they were sure I'd have another chance. I did have some fish hit but I couldn't hook another one. I felt like my only chance was lost. It was only about a day or so until I did indeed hook a fish on my own. I brought it back to my mother very proud of myself. She was happy too but started to get annoyed when I kept bringing fish after fish to her. "Why are you doing this?" She asked. I didn't know how to unhook them. So every-time I'd catch a fish I'd run back from some random part of the campground to have her unhook it. She showed me how to unhook the fish and tie on a new hook. She also bought me a creel to store the caught fish in. I owe my start as a fisherman to her.

Imagine how happy I was when my mother moved out to NC to be closer to the grand-kids and said she'd like to learn fly fishing. I was skeptical of how much interest she really did have. I told her about wading and how much different it was than spin fishing but she still wanted to learn. Yesterday was our first adventure on the water. I was apprehensive but excited for what the day had in store. Would she be able to wade? Would she catch anything? Would she hate it? In a few moments we were going to find out.

From Summer2011

Teaching someone is always a little awkward. Trying to explain the feel of the cast and it is hard to show someone with out pulling line out. This gives the false impression that you need to pull line out to cast properly. My mother tried this at first and got the worst tangle in her leader. She also complained about not being able to see her fly and leader. I had forgotten about the 6x tippet that was on the line from when I fished for wild brookies. I explained that line is hard to see and it does take time for your eyes to adjust. I was using a 5wt with a heavier leader and I thought about switching with her but I was dealing with a bad fly line tangle myself. My mother kept casting and eventually wrapped the leader around the rod and made it knot itself. She worked at it but couldn't get the knot out. I finally got the tangle undone on my reel and made my way over. I assessed the situation and realized that her leader was pretty much done for. I gave her my rod and just hung out with her explaining that right now as a beginner accuracy is far more important than distance. I pulled out a certain amount of line and told her once you can cast this where ever you want then we'll pull another few feet out. If you can cast that accurately then we'll pull out more and so on. This worked out great and as I was showing her the accuracy of a short distance cast I had a few strikes from sunfish confirming my teaching. She listened very well and I realized women are far better students mostly because of their tolerance and patience.

It didn't take long until she was able to cast 30ft and hook up with her first fish. There was a pool with fish hitting at the back end. I knew if she got her cast with in a 2ft window she'd be sure to catch a fish. Her casts would land close but they'd miss the window by about 8inches. Eventually she got a cast close and as I told her to just let the popper sit and we held our breath, PLOOOP! The fly went under. She set the hook instantly which was pretty impressive. Her first instinct was to go to the reel but I kept saying "STRIP, STRIP" and went to grab the line. She pulled the rod away from me so she could do it herself and started to strip the line in. We were both ecstatic, my mother had caught her first fish with a fly rod.

From Summer2011

While I was unhooking the fish she said "hurry up I want to catch another one." Which didn't even bother me and I was tickled at her enthusiasm. It didn't take long and she had another fish in hand. The day went on with her casting well and hooking fish. She learned faster than anyone I have ever taught.

From Summer2011

I never had to worry about her wading. She took her time and moved through the water with no problems. Then I was reminded of those days when I used to run back to her every time I caught a fish. My mother had just caught her 8-9th fish and held the fish suspended over to me. I finally said, "you need to learn to unhook these yourself." I showed her a few times and after that I didn't have to worry about her for the rest of the day.

From Summer2011

I was amazed at how she was finding pools on her own, made accurate casts and caught fish with ease.

From Summer2011

It was fun to just sit back and watch her enjoy herself. After her first couple fish she told me "I can see why this is addicting." Standing in the water gave her a new point of view that you can only get while fishing.

From Summer2011

The beauty of the water and the soul of fly fishing had claimed another victim. I was really impressed with how she did. Not just because she was my mother but how she dealt with everything. It was definitely one of my best days on the water. I'm really happy I could share something I love so much with the person who started my passion for fishing.

From Summer2011

Gotcha Sucka!

2011-08-16T05:49:00.001-07:00

I was going after carp last week with a black wooly bugger I tied. It was one of the first flies I tied years ago and pretty ugly. The fly action in the water was great though. The carp wanted nothing to do with it and worked there way around the fly turning their noses up at it. The carp at my work pond get leery quick. After a few casts they know something is up and go to deeper water. You can tell where they are at times by bubbles that come up to the surface. Many times I will cast at the bubble and I've actually had a few hits doing this. It is really hard because you are doing everything blind. I can't tell which way the fish is facing or when they see my fly.

A carp came close and I watched it and tried to measure my cast. It started to move to the darker water with horrible visibility. I cast maybe three feet in front of the carp hoping the fly would sink and land in front of it. Once my fly hit the surface a catfish charged and engulfed the fly. I was surprised but ready. I set the hook and the fish made a nice sprint for deeper water. Then it did what all catfish do and headed right back towards me just as fast as it swam away. It kept doing this pattern and I thought maybe this was the same catfish I had lost at the bank earlier the week before. It fought the same, it would come within feet of shore then swim off peeling line into deeper water. Once I had it near the bank I saw my fly was barely in the corner of the fishes mouth. I tried to lift it up over the grass on the bank but I could feel the 10lb test line was at it's limit. The fish was no where near 10lbs but I could just tell by the tension and feel of the line that it was about to pop. I gave it one good yank and SNAP! The line broke right at the knot. I just stood there at first expecting to see the cat flip off the grass and go back in the water but it was spent. I tried to figure out a good way to grab it but the fish was almost too big to wrap my hand around. I eventually grabbed it by the wooly bugger in it's mouth. The fly had lodged in the rubbery corner of the cats mouth. I pulled it up the bank and the fish looked enormous.

From Summer2011

I estimated the fish to be well over 30inces. I had my neoprene socks in my backpack and I used those to grab the fish and pick it up to test it's true weight. This fish was no where near as heavy as I thought it was. Maybe 4-5lbs.

From Summer2011

I tossed it back in the water and it swam away as if nothing had happened. Catfish are brutes. When I got home I looked at the pictures and measured last night on the rod to see just how big the fish was. I grossly over estimated the fishes length. The length of my rod to the first eye is only 26inches this fish is a good distance from that. The fish was probably more like 21inches. Still my biggest cat yet, just interesting how much my eyes exaggerated the size when I had it there next to my rod.

Yeah I Take This Seriously

2011-08-14T04:49:00.000-07:00

I arrived at the spot we agreed upon early as usual. There was no sign of Rick's car. I knew this was probably a bad idea. People always tell me they want to fish with me but I don't think they ever understand how serious I take it. Rick asked if he could fish with me and had that kind of cocky attitude of I know how to fish. He had no fly fishing experience but figured it had to be easy since he watched A River Runs Through it. Rick finally pulls up about 15min late. Since he saw the movie A River Runs Through It, I gave him my favorite line from that move. "Didn't you learn there's 3 things you're never late for? Church, Work and Fishing." Rick kind of snickered but never apologized for being late. He opens the back of his car and shows me the rod he bought just for this trip. I think he wanted me to oooh and aaah over his new Orvis Helios but I was still ticked at the lack of punctuality. "Where are your waders?" I asked. I don't need any I figured I'd just wade in my shorts and shoes. I said "You don't even have any boots?" No, I have high tops they should be fine. I explained "It's fall the water is about 50degrees. Really you need wading boots too." I figured the shop would have clued him in on this when he bought his rod. I'll be fine, I'm from the north. You know we should go to this other spot I know about.

Interesting that Rick has never fly fished has no wading gear and somehow with the purchase of a fly rod has become an expert on fishing locations. "We'll stay here if you don't mind, what flies do you have?" Rick wasn't sure what kind of fish we were going for so instead of asking what people use around here he bought a box full of salt water, bass and trout flies. Maybe 3 of the 50 were going to work for what we were fishing for. We were finally ready to make our trek towards the river. Rick holds up his beer and says "got to keep hydrated." I smile while inside dreading the decision I ever agreed to fish with this guy. My concerns were confirmed when partly down the trail I hear a ting tang of a aluminum can being thrown. "Did you just throw that can?" Rick had the look of surprise and seemed defensive about the question. "Yeah, someone will pick it up, probably the forest service. We got to pay them for something." he said. "Do me a favor and pick that up." I said. Rick looked at me and I could tell in his eyes he didn't want too. He could also see in my face that if he didn't pick the can up this trip would most likely be over. The hike to the creek was in silence. Only too be broken by Rick hocking loogies every five minutes. I spent my time just ranting in my head about what a moron this guy is while I waited for him to catch up. A few times I thought about just leaving him on the trail. "You hike fast." He said. We made it to a section and I explained where the best places to fish were. Then with in about 10 seconds I heard Rick exclaim "!##% this water is cold!" I usually would have said told ya or something along those lines but I just said "I bet it is in the high 40's." I pointed to a good spot where Rick should fish then made my way upstream. As I waded and tried to watch the water and finally take in some of the scenery I was deafened by the sound of sloshing and splashing behind me. I turned around to see Rick tap dancing in the river. Without wading boots every step he took looked like someone walking on ice. He stumbled a few times and barely kept himself from getting fully wet. In about 10min he was out of the water.

From Summer2011

I tried to forget about him. I just concentrated on the fishing. I was able to catch some fish too. I was actually having a good time until I heard really loud from behind "What fly you using!?" I told him come here and I'll show you. Rick stumbled in and I showed the hairs ear I was using. He had the same fly and I watched as he tied it on with 4 overhand knots. I can show you a better knot for that. After tying an improved clinch I sent him on his way. "You're all set" I told Rick and instead of walking back to where he was fishing he cast right into the section I was fishing in. I knew what to expect now so his behavior didn't bother me. I tried to explain how his drift needed to be and why. Partly through my explanation Rick said "yeah yeah, my feet are freezing I need to get out." He was ready to go and honestly so was I. We started walking back and instantly he got his rod tip stuck in a tree. He started to yank and bend at the rod. I told him he was going to break it if he wasn't careful. I grabbed the rod and freed it from the branches. I then explained if he pointed the rod behind him when he walked that stuff wouldn't happen as much. I got the expected answer "Whatever." The trail was pretty silent on the way back except for the cursing from Rick every time his rod was caught in a tree. Secretly I wanted to hear a snap. The rays of the sun started to shine through the trees and I'd stop to enjoy the views while waiting for Rick. I could tell he was getting close by the heavy breathing and spitting.

I noticed a few fish holding near the bank. I pointed them out and in the middle of my sentence about needing to be stealthy Rick shot down the bank. Snapping branches and dislodging rocks as he made his way down. The fish were gone after his first few steps. "Where'd they go?" You spooked them. Then Rick said the funniest thing, "dumb fish." This is where I couldn't hold my tongue anymore. I said "Well they are smart enough to where you can't catch them." I then went on to try to explain how he could have used cover to hide his shadow and he should have took his time getting down there. "Whatever, you take this too seriously." he said. That had me thinking on the hike back. Do I take fly fishing too seriously? Yes I do. Fishing is "my time." I try to make the most of it. It takes me away from my family who's time I take seriously too. If you don't understand that you're wasting "my time."

The Day Hike

2011-08-10T06:26:00.000-07:00

I used to have a summer tradition of going to the Sierra Nevada mountains to fish and camp. One year I decided to hike to some of the upper mountain lakes. It was an idea inspired by a book called Best Short Hikes in California's South Sierra. The definition of "short hike" varies greatly depending on who you talk to. I hiked with my wife Kristin who was just my gf at the time and we decided to try the Big Pine Lakes hike. The reward was supposed to be trophy sized golden trout. When I read the description of the hike it said six miles. I figured that would only take maybe a couple hours. We started the hike early and hit the trail with tons of excitement. It's always fun to explore the unknown. The view from the campground itself was spectacular and the canyon is surrounded by crags with small glaciers.

From Sierras

The air and environment felt pristine. The hike started near a creek and and it gave glimpses of the hike we had in store. In the book it talked about people hiking up with horses and gear to camp near the upper lakes. It wasn't long until we got our first good look at one of the glaciers.

From Sierras

It seemed so close. Then after we hiked about a mile or so we realized just how far it really was. It was becoming later in the morning and we had left the shade of the forest and started making are way up some switch backs. We past various people with full daypack gear and they had a puzzled look on their faces as they passed us. "Is that all the water you have?" They'd ask. We had two good size containers of water but not a lot in what you'd call supplies. We had a few granola bars and some jerky but nothing else. We were packing light because we figured this was a day hike, no tent or sleeping bag would be needed. The switchbacks were punishing but they gave a nice view of the progress we were making.

From Sierras

The trail seemed to go on forever. It veered off away from the creek deeper into the canyon. You could hear water far off in the distance. It sounded like a pretty good size stream but it was camouflaged by foliage.

From Sierras

It got louder and louder with every step we took. The elevation was starting to get to us and we had to stop several times to wait for horses or hiking groups to pass. The idea did start to swim around in our head that maybe this was a bigger undertaking than we thought. I made the comment about just checking out the stream then we could turn around. Once we got under the next tree line we could see what was making all of the noise.

From Sierras

It was a good size water fall. It's hard to believe how much water is created from snow and ice melting. The power of the water was impressive and showed off by making a thunderous roar as it cascaded down the hill. We worked are way to the crest and the view just kept getting better.

From Sierras

The falls just inspired us to continue on further. There were times we'd stop in the shade and just enjoy the view. I kept getting distracted by beautiful looking fishing holes that I'd have to test out before going forward.

From Sierras

They were just too inviting and called to me. I did end up catching a little golden trout out of the hole above. After taking a picture we moved on and kept working are way up the trail.

From Sierras

Looking back it was hard to figure just how far we had actually gone. I figured maybe 2 miles. Then as we looked ahead all we saw were more switchbacks. The switchbacks were out of the tree line and it was later in the morning. The sun seemed to bake us and you could feel the heat almost rising up from the ground. There were several times we wanted to just give up. I kept saying lets see what's at the top of that next ridge. What was at the top of the ridge? Another set of switchbacks. Some how I kept moving us on and in the book all it talked about was the color of the first lake. I kept looking and looking and expecting to come over a ridge and be greeted by the prettiest water I had ever seen. I was almost at the wall of my hiking point and getting ready to tell Kristin we need to just go back when something caught my eye. I thought maybe it was an optical illusion at first. What I thought was the blue sky behind the trees was actually in the canyon. There is no way the sky could be showing there. Could that be water? As I thought this the trail started to branch off immediately in that direction. This gave us some new energy and we quickly worked are way to where the glowing blue was coming from. It got brighter as we worked are way closer. The color didn't seem natural it was too blue. When we finally found a clearing and saw what it was we both just stared in silence.

From Sierras

It was without a doubt one of the most beautiful views. The picture does not even compare to how this lake glowed. We just looked at the lake for awhile then I checked the book again to see how far the other lakes were. We had been hiking almost 5hrs and I figured we had to turn back soon. The other lakes were less than a mile from each other. We hurried to lake two.

From Sierras

It was interesting how this lake was a different color it wasn't as blue as the first lake. Apparently it's the minerals in the lake that give it the color. Some upper lakes are black or green. The crags behind the second lake gave it a postcard like appearance. It was amazing.

From Sierras

3rd lake was supposed to have the big golden trout in it. I surveyed the water but didn't see any fish. I cast a few times with a small ultralight spinning rod. I didn't get any follows or takes. I was more worried about getting back down the mountain before dark. I checked the book again and read something that made my anxiety even worse. What I thought was going to be a 6mile round trip hike had turned into a 12mile round trip hike. I started to freak out a little. I'm not sure if it was from lack of food, dehydration or just being a wuss. But I had almost a little panic attack. I started to realize if one of us was hurt or attacked we were 6 miles away from civilization. I ate a granola bar, drank some water and calmed down. I told Kristin "I think I'm getting altitude anxiety sickness." Kristin said what? I didn't even really know what I was saying. It was something I thought I had heard of before but wasn't sure if it was legit or not. So Kristin said so you think you have A.S.S. You have ass? Then she just started laughing uncontrollably. At first I was a little offended that she was taking what I thought was a serious threatening situation seriously. Then I started to think about it and if the situation was reversed I probably would have said the same thing. I couldn't help but laugh myself. A feeling of relief came over me and we started to work are way down the trail. The trail was steep and rocky. It was almost as hard walking downhill as it was up hill.

From Sierras

My knees started to kill me and we stopped several times to rest. It's weird to have to rest after walking downhill. We took our time and talked to several other hiking groups going up the trail. They were all amazed at how far we had gone. They also had a look of how dumb we were to not have taken more supplies. I stopped a couple more times for some last chances at golden trout. I wasn't lucky but at least I had one picture. Then as I was walking back I noticed Kristin holding the camera and she said, "there's no pictures on here." I said "WHAT!!!!!!!?" To this day we still talk about what exactly happened. I know the picture was on there after she took it and I'm sure she accidentally deleted it. But she is adamant that the pictures just some how disappeared. I was more mad at the fact that I had just hiked all day and finally got the fish I was looking for only to have it be erased in a second. It took awhile for me to realize the really great photo was imprinted in my mind and that can never be lost. We made it back to the campground safely. In a genius move we had already packed up our stuff before the hike because we planned on staying in a hotel that night. Probably the smartest decision we ever made. After a hike like that you want to sleep in a BED. After an experience like that you'd think we would look at the hike negatively. Kristin and I still talk about it as one of the best hikes of our lives. Some day we'd like to go back with our kids.

From Sierras

Fly Fishing for Smallmouth with Poppers

2011-08-09T06:26:00.000-07:00

I've been following RandR Flyfishing for awhile. In my opinion they make some of the best free fly fishing instructional videos available. Here is their latest about fly-fishing for smallies with poppers.

Advice from the Guides - Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass with Popping Bugs from Ian Rutter on Vimeo.

Pure Muscle

2011-08-06T18:12:00.000-07:00

Its settled. August is catfish month around these parts. I've only fished three time in three different locations and caught a catfish. All of the fish were caught on a crayfish colored bugger pattern with rubber legs. All of the fish hit the fly with in seconds of it hitting the water. The key is do nothing. Letting the fly drop and sit was the only way I've found works. The amazing thing about catfish is their ability to dive. I caught one tonight on my 8wt rod and even when the fish was with in a few feet of me I could not pull it to the surface. It wasn't until the fish was exhausted that I could bring it up. There's something about catfish I find fascinating. Maybe it's the whiskers or the strange look of them.

From Summer2011

The fish seems to be pure muscle but also has a docile look to it.

From Summer2011

This was a healthy looking channel cat. The recent fish have been caught on flies I tied. I'm not sure if that means my flies are great or that the fish will hit anything. I don't really care either way. Hopefully I'll continue to catch them.

Here Kitty Kitty

2011-08-03T05:00:00.000-07:00

I found a post on the blog Currents about tailing catfish. It inspired me to go after cats again last night. I hit a spillway close to my house. It is gross and has tons of snags at the bottom but it is perfect for catfish. The recent rains have allowed water to slowly run down the spillway. There were shad schooling right at the edge. Some even tried to run up the trickle that had to be no more than a quarter of an inch of water. The bigger sunfish and catfish seemed to be taking their passes through the shad. I threw out a brown DDH Leech and in a few casts hooked this guy. I think it is a bullhead although I have never seen one colored this way.

From Summer2011

It confirms what I've read and experienced. The hotter the weather the better the catfishing. I read an article that said catfish feed heavily in 85 degree water. It has been in the high 90's for almost a month. It is unusual for me to catch catfish in back to back days. Especially at different locations. I might go out again today at lunch and see if I can continue the streak.

The Cat Days of Summer

2011-08-02T05:01:00.000-07:00

I had a Deja Vu moment fishing yesterday. It was at the work pond and I was trying out some new fly patterns. I didn't have any action and the fish seemed shy and reluctant to even follow the fly. Then I saw movement in the water under a tree. It looked like a fish swirling. I cast right in the middle of the swirl and with in a second my line shot away from the bank and headed for deeper water. I yanked back putting the pressure of the 8wt against the fish. Line started stripping and the fish wasn't slowing down at all. This had to be a carp. I watched my reel spin and kept an eye on the line that was rapidly unraveling. In about 5 seconds this fish had almost taken me to my backing. Then the reel stopped. I thought maybe the fish came off but as I kept tension on the line and reeled in the slack I could tell the fish was coming towards me. I tried lifting the rod to bring the fish to the surface so I could get a good look at it. The fish would have none if it. It was bull dogging and keeping to the bottom. Then it bolted again stripping line and I knew this was going to be a fight. The fish kept doing patterns of coming close then running out to deeper water. The fish rolled and I saw its tailfin. It was the unmistakable tail of a catfish. I had caught a catfish last year at almost the exact same time. It was the same scenario too, I saw movement under the same tree cast the line out and the fish hit instantly. I couldn't tell if it was the same fish. This one seemed smaller. It sure had the same fight.

Then at the end I even had the same problem of how to land the fish. I didn't bring my net and there was a small cliff I had to lift the fish up on to. I was using 10lb line but I was still worried about the knot holding. This fish was heavy to just lift straight up. I tried a few times and my line kept getting wrapped around weeds and sticks on the bank. I eventually had a free space to pull the fish up. I grabbed the leader and POP my fly just came off. I thought maybe the hook bent but it was in perfect condition. I have no idea how the fly just came out. When I caught a cat last year I grabbed the fly and tried to pulling the fish up the bank then it shook its head and unhooked itself. I kicked myself for not bringing my net. I'm not sure it would have been big enough but it would have helped. I estimated the fish to be at least 5lbs.

The Frog Hatch

2011-08-01T05:33:00.001-07:00

I fished yesterday at a new location for Carp. I was told this place had a huge population. I really need to check my sources. The last few times I've been told "fish are everywhere" or "there's a ton of this type of specific fish," it has never been the case. The lake wasn't that bad and too be honest I can see carp being there. We had a recent rain that may or may not have turned the water an off color. There was plenty of cover and debris on the bottom to make great holding areas for fish. All I saw were bluegill and the swirl of a carp in the distance. It was too far and in too deep of mud to wade too. Isn't that always how it is? A fish is in an area where the casting is almost impossible or just out of the reach of your longest cast. I was trying some new carp flies that I tied based on ones from this site Missouri Flies. There other fishermen from the Triangle Fly Fishers and none of us were tearing it up. A few gills here and there.

I was fishing from the bank casting towards a back eddy when my line started to move. I tried doing a strip set and I didn't feel anything on the end. I kept watching and my line was still moving at a consistent pace. I stripped again until I felt a hook up. There was resistance and I first thought I snagged a log. But why was the log moving? Then the log turned towards me and came my direction. In the past I would have thought this could be a huge catfish or carp. But after catching those fish with in 5min I knew what I had without seeing it. I even called over to my friends. "I got a turtle." Sure enough, once the animal came closer you could see the shell. When ever I hook a turtle my first thought is I hope it's not a snapper. But even a decent size box turtle can give a good chomp. The turtle came closer and I realized the turtle was hooked in the foot. When pulling on the leader the fly came free and the turtle was released with no harm done.

The rest of the morning I walked the banks and did more exploring than fishing. The neatest thing I saw was a frog hatch. I should have taken a picture. I found this one from another site. While walking the banks I noticed movement by my feet. I thought maybe they were leaf or grass hoppers. I stopped, squatted down and saw the tiniest frogs. I guess they are called Eastern American Toads. They were no bigger than a fingernail and rust colored.The frogs were every where and scattered when you walked. I tried a fly that looked similar but nothing even sniffed it. I didn't see much other wild life except a faun that was feeding. Obviously used to people because she let me get with in about 30ft of her. The deer around here are a little out of control. I've heard it has gotten so bad they opened up bow hunting to with in city limits. The main issue I have with deer is the ticks that follow them. I can check this lake off my list. I doubt I'll come back there are better places to fish with in the same distance it takes to get here.

Fly Fishing Lingo

2011-07-27T09:15:00.000-07:00

Every sport has its own lingo. For basketball if someone could jump high they'd have "hops". If they could dribble well they had "mad handles". If you made most of your shots you were "money". A player lucky enough to have a bunch of these talents had "game." I was thinking today about fly fishing lingo. I thought maybe us fly fishing bloggers could create a glossary of fly fishing terms not so well known to those outside the fishing world. Here are the ones that came to mind.

A Broomstick - A fly rod with virtually no flex. The rod has to be over weighted about 3 line weights to load right.

A Noodle - The opposite of a broomstick. The rod has too much flex and has the flexibility of a small branch.

Pig, Toad, Hog - Labels for large fish by some fisherman. *For some fisherman a large fish is labeled after a different species once it reaches a certain size. No known reason for this behavior.

Slow Fishing - Lets be honest, slow fishing means you're not catching anything.

Lunker - Another term for big fish.

Sketchy - Usually describing an unfavorable condition. Such as sketchy wading.

Chicken - A monster fly that looks as though you've used all of the feathers off a chicken.

Speck - Depends on if you're fishing salt water or freshwater. In freshwater it means a brook trout, if it is salt water it means a speckled trout.

Bucket Mouth - Largemouth Bass

Dink - Small chub or minnow

Bait Chucker - Spin fisherman, bait caster

Blue Line - Water that is not stocked and has not been designated to hold populations of trout.

LDR - Long distance release, when you hook a fish from a distance and it comes off. *technically not a catch to some fisherman.

SDR - Short distance release. *If you touch the leader the fish is considered caught by some fisherman.

Golden Bone - Carp

Southern Salmon - American or Hickory Shad. The fish migrate from the ocean inland to spawn similar to some Salmon species.

Trash Fish - Carp, Gar, Bowfin. Coincidentally some of the greatest fighting fish on a fly rod.

Tailing - the feeding pattern of a fish where there head is down and the tail slightly breaks the surface of the water.

Mudding - Feeding pattern of fish routing in the mud and causing plumes to form. Most commonly seen when carp are feeding.

Windknot - When the wind tangles your leader into a tangled knot. *Sometimes called birds nest.

I can't believe no more come to mind. I'm sure you others can think of a ton more.

When it's good, It's good.

2011-07-24T14:58:00.000-07:00

It only took about a day and a half for people to stop asking where I was every morning. They knew the answer was going to be "fishing." It took even less time for them to stop asking if I caught anything. The answer was always "oh yeah!" I was in the Shenandoah Valley for my wife's Family Reunion. I seemed to be the only one that had fishing as a priority. Others showed interest and I came to borderline begging some to fish with me. In the end most of my fishing excursions were alone. There was a trip where I took my seven year old nephew to the Shenandoah River. I had delusions that we'd be wading together casting at smallies and possibly a muskie. That's not how it turned out at all. I forget how tall the average seven year old is. My nephew tried his best to follow me but every time I turned around he had water almost to his chest and the current was making it hard for him to keep his balance. I ended up carrying him while wading to various shallow spots. My knees took a beating and my nephew was more concerned with the minnows circling his feet than casting a line. I made an attempt to take him to the shallows near shore but he was afraid of the crawfish. No matter how much I told him they were harmless and a good sign fish would be around he wouldn't go near them. So that was basically all the fishing that was done with family.

You have to love the Internet where you can ask a question in a forum and a total stranger is willing to give you creditable information. I was tipped off to a brookie stream near where we were staying. I had no expectations and left to see what the water had to offer. The first glimpses of the stream were a mix of amazing and is there enough water there for fish? The water was also near a road and had to be heavily pressured. It was time to test the 3wt St Croix Avid. I had bought it for this very situation. The stream was so narrow I could straddle it.

From Summer2011

My first few casts went directly into the trees. I started to spend more time untangling my leader than casting to pools. It was pretty frustrating and anyone within a half of a mile could probably hear my cursing. I put a lot of pressure on myself to get the cast perfect and give the best presentation possible. I spooked what looked to be fish but were they trout? I started to get a little lackadaisical. I started to just kind of thrash cast at pools and not really concentrate.

From Summer2011

Then I went over a 3ft wide run and kind of just dangled my line in a riffle, WHAM!!!!!!!!!!! A fish came out from under a rock and slammed the fly. All I saw was a purple shimmer and splashing. I was in such amazement and the fish hit so close to me I almost didn't even bring it in. I kept just staring wondering did that truly just happen? I brought the fish in and saw that it was a brookie. My adrenaline went off the charts. I didn't have my net and this brookie was easily 7inches and slippery. I had my camera around my neck but my nervous reactions knocked the lens cap right in the creek. Who cares? I need to take a picture of this fish. I decided to hold it by the fly and got the camera ready. Literally as I was pressing the shutter the fish jerked and unhooked itself and came out of my hands. After that there was a sequence of slow motion events. Me yelling Noooooooo.... while watching the fish fall back into the water. Just as fast as it was unhooked it was gone without a trace. I sat there for a minute just contemplating. I just caught my first brookie and it was big for this stream. That might be the only fish I catch here. I was happy but disappointed all at the same time. Should I go get my net? That would stop this from happening again. I wasn't sure exactly what to do. I cast again literally three feet down the riffle again a flash comes up slams the fly and a fish is on. This one came off before I could get my hands on it. That's it! I'm getting the net.

I grabbed the lens cap and went back to the car for my net. I knew the fish liked the fly I was using and it was only a matter of time before I hooked another one. I was also a little relieved by the brookies behavior. The perfect cast reputation I had in my head was erased by the aggressive almost bluegill like behavior I witnessed. I learned quick there are scenarios where a perfect case is required and where it wasn't. Perfect casts were needed for pools like this.

From Summer2011

So I did what any great fisherman would do. I skipped those and went for places where my horrible casts would produce results. I finally found a pool where the spillway made a nice run into the middle of the pool. I figured a fish had to be in the middle of the run and hanging low. I went with a hairs ear nymph instead of a dry. The goal was going to be to hope the fish would swing around after the fly passed. Hit the fly and almost hook itself. The theory worked and with in seconds a fish was on. My net was ready and this fish was mine. My first brookie to be caught on film was this fish.

From Summer2011

A picture can not even get close to showing how beautiful these fish are. Most camera's have a hard time capturing their color because most brookie streams are under a canopy allowing hardly any light. Even with this fish I took one picture it made a few lurches and was out of the net and back into the water. These fish are masters of conserving energy. They wait until the exact moment you loosen your grip or unhook them to start flipping around as hard as they can. It must be a learned response to help them survive. I caught a few more fish but didn't want to stress them too bad. I felt I had a pic of a wild brookie and that basically made the trip for me. Little did I know there was a lot more fun in store.

The Shenandoah Valley reminds me a lot of parts of Cenral Virginia. The Shenandoah River runs through the valley and it is fed by creeks from the surrounding mountains. Most of these streams hold wild trout and the river holds a good population of Smallmouth and Muskie. I checked it out the morning after I hit the wild brookie stream. I figured anything I caught at this point was just icing. A guide waiting for a tubing group said "are you fishing?" I said Yeah. "You might want to try another spot, I have about 30 tubers coming down river in five minutes." Normally this would bother me but this day I didn't mind at all. That's fine they shouldn't disturb the water too much. The guide continued to tell me about another spot that did sound good and mentioned the spot I was currently at was pretty dead. "There's a few muskie but not much else." He said. He had me at muskie. That's on my list of fish to catch. I was also a little confused because when I came with my nephew the day before you could see fish all over. I decided to stick where I was at. I just figured I could try the other spot another day.

From Summer2011

The Shenandoah River reminded me a lot of the New River in Virginia. They both are fairly clear and have ledges and rocky bottoms. The ledges have a very strange topography and hold perfect lies for fish. I found one that I could walk on and it was almost like a casting platform. It went on for about 200yds and it was only about two foot wide. I could see fish every where and I watched several follow my fly. As I walked upstream from the boat launch I was stopped in my tracks. Literally where my nephew and I were standing the day before was a muskie just hanging out in the shade. I stood just watching for at least five minutes. In my head I kept trying to make out is that really a muskie?

From Summer2011

It's hard to tell from the pic but the muskie was about 25+ inches long. I had a 5wt and I figured it would be a formidable opponent. But did I have any flies big enough to entice this thing? I don't know too much about muskie. I read they fight hard and can be fairly aggressive. Supposedly the bigger the fly the better. I tied on about a 3inch long bunny leech fly said a prayer and launched it. My cast couldn't have been better and I watched the fly get closer and closer. I like to envision what I want to happen. In my head I could see the muskie charging the fly and peeling off line up river. My fly was with in three inches of the fish, now two, now one. The fly almost touched the fishes nose and it didn't even twitch a fin. Hmmm maybe the fly was at the wrong depth. I cast again this time the fly didn't come as close but still no movement from the fish. Maybe it's the fly. I tried another one, same response. Then a third fly. Is this fish dead? I mean the thing didn't move at all. I decided to just watch it for another five minutes. I took my camera out to get a better zoom on the fish and I could see it's back fin barely moving providing a little propulsion. I took a step forward and the fish started to slowly turn upstream. Was this it's feeding position? If it was I didn't have what it was looking for. I cast another fifty times and eventually got fed up and just walked by the fish. When I waded by the glare from the water camouflaged the muskie and I couldn't see it even with polarized glasses. It made me wonder how many I'd pass through out the day.

It was time to target smallies. I tried green and white clousers first the fish followed but would never commit to hitting the fly. Then I tried the poppers I tied. I had some hits but nothing would stick. I went through a few more flies then remembered the crawfish I saw the day before. During my recent fly swap I received a fly that was supposed to be for bone fish but it made the perfect crawfish imitation. I tied it on and saw a behavior I had never encountered before. There was a smallie about 10ft downstream off the ledge I was fishing on. The water was gin clear so I could see the fish perfectly. I dropped my fly down and watched the fish follow the fly, I gave it a twitch instead of the fish hitting it positioned itself right behind the fly and let it swim into it's mouth. If I didn't see the whole thing I would have never reacted fast enough to set the hook. The fish instantly turned and headed downstream. I had no slack line so the reel sang a little. The smallie fought hard but in the end I won.

From Summer2011

After seeing the behavior I kind of figured the fish out. If they followed the fly I'd give a few twitches and if I felt any tension in the line I'd do a strip strike. I missed a few but managed to catch some more.

From Summer2011

The next days were spent fishing the Shenandoah River and exploring the surrounding streams. It was really hot even for July. The streams were all low and none produced anything like the first stream I hit. I hit it one more time before the end of the trip.

From Summer2011

I went further upstream this time and the water got better and better. The pools were deeper and the most amazing part was it seemed untouched. There were only animal tracks and no trash. It was just how a wild brookie stream should be. I started the morning the same way I did the last time. Defending myself from a monster hornet then descended into the water and battled with trees my first twenty casts. The first run I actually got a decent cast in produced a fish. My net was with me and I was a lot smoother snapping a pic and releasing the fish.

From Summer2011

The coloring on these fish was ridiculous and rivaled the brook trout I caught in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

From Summer2011

These fish are far from stupid. If you move to fast or cast too sloppy you will just see shadows disappearing. If you do a decent cast and get it in the vicinity of a run or pool many times you will see a wake before your fly is slurped down. Eventually I got greedy and time was slipping away. I wanted to go for the biggest brookie I could find. I seeked out the deepest pool.

From Summer2011

This one looked good. The only problem was the log laying across the best part of the pool. I decided to try it any ways. I tied on a big stimulator with rubber legs. My first cast landed to the left of the spillway. One thing I have to mention about these fish is they are the ninja of trout. You won't see them then even after they come up and hit your fly you will not be sure of what you just saw. I had a fish hit and spit my fly all with in about one second. If you let your guard down at all that will be the time the fish hits. Luckily this spot was the jackpot and I had several attempts to catch a fish. I hooked one, fought it for a bit then gingerly lifted it over the log.

From Summer2011

You have to respect what these fish do to survive. These streams are so small they almost freeze over in the winter. The pools aren't large enough to really escape predators. It's amazing there's any fish really. That's why after catching them I treated the fish like a rare artifact. I missed more than I caught out of this hole, even a fish that had to be close to 10inches, but I was already on cloud nine. The fish gods were kind to me.

Blog People

2011-07-15T10:49:00.001-07:00

It is interesting how I can relate to so many people who write fly fishing blogs. Our lives are separated by distance but related in many ways. A blog is an interesting entity in itself. I relate it to waiting in line for something with other people and over hearing conversations you can totally relate too. The beauty of blogs in this example is imagine that same line of people but all of them with the same interest as you. Then to top it off instead of feeling awkward and out of place by making a comment. Your comments are welcomed and usually reciprocated. It really does start to feel like a community. You get excited when you see a blog update and after you've written a post you secretly wait in anticipation for your first comment. It's narcissistic and wonderful all the same.

I hate reading but I can't wait to read what people have written on a blog. It feels more alive because you can interact with the author. There are also serious diamonds in the rough. Authors with the ability to have their work published are hidden and often times by their own choice in the blogosphere. It's some what difficult for me to find things I enjoy for any length of time. I don't seem to have that issue with blogs. They are constantly entertaining and changing. There seems to be a new one popping up all the time and with sites like the Outdoor Bloggers Network it is only going to get better.

I'm writing this from VA. I'm in the Shenandoah Valley for my wifes family reunion. Things are fun but I seem to be the only one that has fishing as a priority. I'll have pics of my adventure later. Unfortunately many of my fishing adventures have been solo missions. I never realized how when you get to an obsessed fly fishing level a lot of people can't hang.

The Affair

2011-07-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

I have to admit what first attracted me was her looks. She wasn’t the prettiest thing I had ever seen but she did have the curves I find attractive. I was teased at first mistaking her for easy but later I realized I had to earn the chance to reap her true rewards. I see her seldom but she intrudes my dreams often. Her demeanor seems soft but she has the power to cut rock. It isn’t always fun times. Some days she is angry and wants nothing to do with me. Dirty and stained by her environment. Other times I’m engulfed in her hospitality and relief from the elements. She understands me. I want to keep her to myself but all I can really take of her is memories. My fear is one day she may be gone, stolen by a wealthy man or corrupted and tainted by society. Happily, I enjoy the time I have with her and it is when I let go and stop trying to figure her out that I enjoy her the most.

Messing with Gills

2011-07-14T18:43:00.000-07:00

The pond by my work is a place where I experiment with different flies and try to observe fish behavior. There are ponds next to one another and the fish will act differently depending on what body of water they live in. The bass are not large in the main pond I fish. I think the blue gill are effecting the population. They seem to compete for the same food sources. I found some blue gill beds today. The biggest gill was spending the most of it's time fending off other bluegill from entering the bed. The bass seemed to use this opportunity to hit any food that came close to the area.
The bass were very aggressive. After this video I caught a few more on the other side of the pond. The bass hit without any hesitation. I will be in VA for my wifes family reunion. I tied up some more poppers just in case I get on the Shenandoah River. I'm not sure really where to fish. I talked to a fly shop and they gave me so many options I got over whelmed. I hope to hit a brookie creek and fish for small mouth one day. I tied up some bass bait just for the trip. Here are my latest poppers and clousers.

Poppers and Pork Chops

2011-07-12T04:59:00.000-07:00

The recent fly swap went well. So well in fact it gave me motivation to try some new types of flies. I'm going to the Shenandoah Valley next week, I decided I'd tie some poppers for smallmouth.

I ran across this Bass Popper Tutorial on the blog Proven Patterns. The tutorial made this look easy enough and I have been thinking about tying poppers for awhile. Even though the tutorial says to use cork I decided to try foam. After getting everything I realized why these flies cost so much. You always think some how you will come out ahead when you tie flies yourself. It never seems to work out that way. Especially for me. I never take into consideration the time it takes to tie a fly. Each one of these took awhile. I found out some interesting things along the way.

The tutorial instructs you to heat up the bodkin then stab it through the head of the fly. I forgot what melting Styrofoam smells like. I was instantly brought back to the days of throwing a cup into a camp fire. Although the memory was fond the smell is horrible and I had to get up a few times. Knowing the fumes are toxic kind of bugs me even though the level I was breathing in probably wouldn't do that much damage. Once getting the legs threw, I painted the fly with sharpie markers. I think Sharpie read this persons blog before selling their products. Because they didn't have a set that had just the three colors I needed. Black, light and dark green. You either had to buy each color separately or buy a set that has colors you probably will never use. Or you will use them just because you want to get your moneys worth. I have to admit coloring the flies was probably the funnest part. After allowing the marker to dry I moved on to applying a seal. The tutorial says you should use Hard as Nails and explains if you don't let the marker dry the ink will smear. I'm not sure if it was because I was using foam instead of cork but the smearing seemed to be based on how much Hard as Nails was on the brush. The more liquid the more chance you were going to smear the ink. The first fly I did that was designed to be kind of a sneaky pete pattern did smear and I think it looks good. Some of the other poppers the ink smeared even though I was trying my best to not let that happen. I still like how the flies came out I just with they looked a little sharper. The last part was tying the tail. The tutorial never goes into how or what materials you should use to tie the tail. I googled poppers and looked on youtube to find ideas for tying the tail. It looked as though you could use anything. I mostly went with bucktail, flashabou, rabbit strip and marabou.

From Summer2011

I'm debating putting rubber legs on the fly in the top right. I like the look of it without them but I think it would look even better with them.

My mother-in-law is from Louisiana. When she goes back home to visit she always brings Cajun delicacies back home for us. I love most of them but there is one in particular that I look forward too. It is called a stuffed pork chop. You can cook it many ways but I recently found it's great coming right off the grill.What is it stuffed with? Oh just a Cajun seasoned meatball. Genius!It takes about two days to digest it but it's more than worth it.

The Fly Swap

2011-07-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. I loathe fly tying. Some may say that's blasphemy coming from a fly fisherman but I just don't find it that enjoyable. I do it more out of necessity and needing a certain pattern then out of fun. So why would a person who feels this way join a fly swap? I asked myself the same question as I was cussing to myself while trying to wrap rabbit strip around rubber legs. My fly fishing club decided to do a fly swap and luckily only 5 people are showing up. That means I only had to tie five flies. Then I had another dilemma. Would anyone even want my flies? I've had people borrow my flies before but they were usually new fly fisherman who had no idea what I was handing them. I started to get a little sensitive about it. To me fly comments should be similar to when you go over to someones house for dinner. You don't criticize the meal you just eat it or pretend to be sick. So would people just take my fly or use the excuse that they already have plenty like that. This bothered me so much instead of just tying 5 flies I tied about 20. I signed up to do bunny leech type patterns for bass. In the end I tied the leech patterns plus quite a few clousers.

From Summer2011

The great part of tying is seeing your accomplishments. You can't help but be delighted when you open a fly box and see it filled with your creations. It's only trumped by actually catching a fish with one of those flies. I might give tying more thought now. We'll see how this swap goes.

Fly Shop Crime

2011-07-07T11:13:00.000-07:00

I was at The Great Outdoor Provision Company today talking to my friend Jim that works there. In the middle of our conversation he stops and grabs a pack of feathers obviously angry. "THIS WON'T DO AT ALL!" He said. I analyzed the pack in his hand and wondered what exactly was wrong. The feathers looked fine they were little off color from the other pack. I couldn't believe Jim would be that anal. Then he told me, "half the pack is missing." I thought why would someone steal just a few feathers and not a whole pack.

"People are stealing them for their hair." Jim said.

I never thought I'd see the day when people would shoplift feathers for their hair. Jim told me how much people were selling them for and I started to understand why. If you have some old feathers laying around you think you'll never use you might want to post them on Craigslist. You might be sitting on a fortune.

Things Started Clicking

2011-07-04T03:36:00.001-07:00

The family headed to the mountains again for the holiday weekend. I wasn't sure how much fishing I'd actually get in. On Sat we went to Todd and checked out The River Girl Fishing Company. It's mainly a canoe and tube rental place but the owner Kelly, does fly casting and fishing trips on the side. I talked to her every now and then on facebook. The shop was having a celebration for Kelly's son and there was bbq, facepainting and other stuff going on. Kelly has a huge pot belly pig that roams around the shop. The pig liked laying in the shade of the bbq tent. It made for a good picture.

From Summer2011

This pig is huge and a little intimidating at over 200lbs. When you pet it you realize quickly the animal is a gentle giant. My daughter wanted to pet it so bad but she was discouraged after Petunia gave a few grunts.

From Summer2011

I had planned on getting a few flies and after exploring I noticed a rack of fly rods. At first I thought they were for sale but then I noticed they were strung up. One was exactly what I was looking for. A short length seven foot 3wt. It was a St Croix Avid. I've never fished a St Croix rod but the reviews I've heard have been positive. I asked Kelly if she'd be willing to sell me that rod. After some deliberation and negotiating. She gave me a great deal and I couldn't wait to fish it. It was going to have to wait, my family was on the way to Galax for a 4th of July slash family get together.

The next day I woke up early. I'm not sure if I was excited to fish or if I just couldn't sleep. I just kind of sat there not knowing what to do with myself. Since I felt so awake I decided to get ready and head out the door. There was a wild creek I wanted to revisit. I couldn't remember exactly where it was. I drove all over this mountain for about 40min with out ever wetting my line. I ended up settling on a hatchery supported stretch. The water was really low but there were fish where you'd expect them. I was excited to see how the Avid cast. After a couple casts I was impressed. The rod could cast small flies softly but it also had the power to throw larger flies. It was perfect for the small tight creek I was fishing. With the water conditions I had to hide behind rocks and almost crawl from pool to pool. I hate this type of fishing, I don't have the patience for it. I also brought too much stuff on the stream with me. I started leaving various things along the creek almost like bread crumbs. I had a few chances at fish but never hooked anything. I decided this wasn't for me and went to check out a new stream. On the way out I went to put my rod down and hooked my finger. I sometimes carry my rod above the fly holder. I was using a dropper set up so I had a fly in the fly holder plus another one about 6-8 inches above it. When I went to set the rod down I kind of let it slide threw my hand and the second fly stuck. Of course right as someone was driving by and stopped. I dropped down and instantly started to try to work the fly out of my finger. It had to look suspicious to the other car with me all of a sudden dropping behind the car as soon as they pulled up. I had a little higher priorities than worrying about assumptions at the moment. I kept playing with the fly and it looked pretty deep. Then all the ways to remove flies started shooting through my head, none of them painless. I kept playing with the fly and eventually it came free. As I stood up the car started to pull away. This wasn't a great way to break in the new 3wt.

There were a ton of fishing options and I was battling which water I wanted to fish. There was a place that I call the gut spot. I've never had an epic day there but I feel there has to be fish there. The water is very scenic and fishy looking. When I got there my finger was still stinging from the hooking earlier. I decided to slow things down and take my time. I did something I've never done since my first days of fly fishing. I picked up rocks and tried to see what nymphs were in the water. Usually I just start fishing with a certain pattern I know works. Today I was switching it up. The first few rocks looked bare giving me a grim feeling. The third rock was full of bugs. I saw a large swimming nymph. I'm not sure what it was then a free swimming caddis rock worm and some other small nymphs. I had caddis larvae nymphs but nothing that matched this larger one. The large nymph was black so I tried a stone fly nymph. The first section was fast and I could see fish in the main run. I cast up stream and watched intently as the line moved across the pool. I could see fish swirling and flashing every where. I set the hook several times but there was no connection. It took me a few minutes but I realized the bigger fish were Red Horse sucker fish. They are fun to catch but extremely difficult to hook. I worked the pool some more hoping for a trout and had a small fish slam my line. The fish had the look of a common creek chub but changed as it came closer.

From Summer2011

A Smallie! I heard they were in this river but I had never caught one. Even though the fish was small I was tickled that my fly selection had worked and that I caught a small mouth. I worked more runs downstream. I noticed fish wanted the flies swinging and worked upstream a little. I started to catch little smallies rather consistently. I cast near a small rock and had an interesting hook up.

From Summer2011

I rarely catch doubles and a Small Mouth, Rock Bass double is pure awesome. I love the coloring on the small mouth. The fishing was really good and the 3wt was the perfect rod for this situation. The morning went on with me catching fish consistently. With a few sunfish and warpaint shiners thrown in.

From Summer2011

I wanted to stay there all day but I couldn't.

I was hoping I could fish in the afternoon. Clouds lingered in the distance and a nice thunderstorm came through. I was thinking maybe the streams had been blown out. The rain came down pretty hard and was accompanied by plenty of lightning and thunder. The evening wore on and it was hard sell to my wife but I was able to get out on the water again. I only had maybe an hour and a half of fishing daylight. I went to the same section that gave me so much luck in the morning. This time I worked upstream.

From Summer2011

Because I knew there were small mouth in the river. I went with my go to small mouth fly. A sneaky pete. I worked the banks and wasn't disappointed. On almost every cast I had a splash or a fish.

From Summer2011

It was a mix of rock bass and small mouth. The evening was surreal. Dissipating storm clouds in the distance, red shouldered black birds skimming bugs off the water and fish slamming my fly. I waded back before it got so dark that I couldn't see where I was walking. There was one more section I wanted to try. I fished it the last time I was here and saw a bass but didn't catch a thing. I wasn't totally sure if I should fish or just go home. A splash from a jumping fish made my mind up for me. I cast towards the splash and let my fly just dead drift in the current. There wasn't any action for a few casts. I was casting from the bank with heavy trees lining the bank behind me. There was a small gap in the trees and that's where I was trying to get my line on my back cast. I was able to work it out so I could get maybe a 90ft cast. When the fly hit the water a shadow rose. I couldn't make it out but as quickly as it rose my fly disappeared. I'd like to say it was my fishing skill that hooked the fish. With the dying light I could barely make out the take. The fish really hooked itself. When I pulled back on the line I knew it was a smallie and a good one. Probably the biggest I had ever caught. I had heard how these fish fight but it didn't seem to live up to the hype. That was at least until it got near shore. Then it bolted and if I didn't have so much stripped line on the ground it would have pulled my drag easily. I was happy I pulled out the 5wt. The fish came to hand and I couldn't have been more happy.

From Summer2011

The fish wasn't a monster but it was a giant compared to what I had been catching earlier. It was a perfect way to end the day.

Hope and Expectation

2011-06-27T05:08:00.001-07:00

Many times when you go fishing you hope to catch certain fish. Then there are things you expect to do. The hopes and expectations can kind of ruin your day if you're not careful. I've been trying to catch a Roanoke Bass for probably close to 2yrs now. I've hit the Eno maybe 20 times and not even hooked and lost one. Yesterday I thought the stars might have aligned and it was going to be my day. My mother came over and brought some stuff from when I lived in San Diego. There were brand new poppers still in the package. I looked them over and was kind of giddy. These flies are perfect for where I was going to fish. While I looked at the back I noticed where they were made. What are the odds that I would buy some flies in San Diego then move across country to less than 30 miles from where they are distributed? I felt this had to be a sign. A Roanoke Bass would be in hand by the end of the day tomorrow.

The next morning I met up with two other TFF members I hadn't fished with before. Everyone was on time and we quickly shared greetings and past experiences then jumped on the water. I was given a lead by a fellow fisherman of a section of river that was supposed to be loaded with Roanokes. The trail and water was new to me. I started working rocks and under water ledges. I hooked up quickly and as the fish came to the surface I saw the orange that signifies a redbreast sunfish. I expected to catch these. There was a section with a nice rock that looked perfect for casting. To the right was a submerged log. On my second cast I hooked up with a nice large mouth. I don't catch too many of those on the Eno although they are prevalent. I kept working the water catching sunfish after sunfish.

Eventually I reached the point in the day where it was starting to get warm and the fish activity was dying down. My time to catch a Roanoke was closing. Every time I hooked a fish and saw the orange belly of a sunfish I kind had an "aaaaaaaaaaaaw" feeling. This was a bad sign, fishing shouldn't get so hectic and stressful that now you're upset because you are catching fish. But that's how it was getting. I started to give up hope that a Roanoke was in my future. I found a hole where I saw another fish I hadn't seen on the Eno, a longnose Gar. Maybe this would be my first gar on the fly. I saw the fish from a bank over looking the water. I decided to back track about a quarter mile and sneak up on the fish from a spill way downstream. As I worked up to the main pool it was hard to see where exactly the fish was at. I started to just blindly cast here and there where I saw bubbles. It was hard to tell if the bubbles were from a gar or a turtle. I got impatient and started looking for other targets. I had some ferocious splashes on my fly near some rip rap but nothing would stick. Time for the walk back. I ran into one of the other fisherman. I didn't want to really know but I asked anyway. "You catch any Roanokes?" The guy says yeah, one. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!? Damnit! "On what?" I asked. On a frog pattern popper he says. I was fishing one of those practically all morning.

So now I fished again with a frog pattern working all the spots I hadn't and even some I had fished earlier. More and more sunfish. UGH! Then I just started to hike back and get mad. I tried finding a short cut up from the river to the main trail. The bank was steep and covered with dead leaves. Hmm I wonder if a lot of these are poison ivy? Then I started to slip and fell on my butt and slid halfway down the hill. I figured maybe that wasn't the best way to go and started to just look for the main trail an easier way. After walking maybe half a mile I realized when I fell I dropped my pliers. Dang it!

Then I started to get really negative. This was a waste of gas, I'm probably sunburnt to hell, I could have spent this time with my family, sunfish suck. Then my conscious kicked back. SUNFISH SUCK? What are you saying? Get a grip man. That's when I realized the whole day was built too much on hope and expectation. It's so much more fun to fish without any expectations. Sure you can hope on catching a huge fish or a certain kind of fish but don't expect too. That pressure turns the whole fishing experience into something different. More like work than a recreational activity or a therapeutic experience.

Nothing Pretty

2011-06-26T18:08:00.000-07:00

I had to navigate a ton of goose crap and 90 degree weather but it was worth it in the end.

From Summer2011

Not a pretty fish but it was rather large. One of the biggest gills I have caught this summer. It was caught on a cone headed muddler minnow.

My Church

2011-06-24T07:09:00.000-07:00

My family wasn't very religious when I was young. I went too Sunday school a few times I think because it was more like free daycare than an education in religion. In my teens I came to the conclusion that I never feel closer to god than I do in the outdoors. I could never really explain it and then I started reading books written by John Muir. His words really spoke to me and I think he explained in his words what I never could.

From Church

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn."
— John Muir

From Church

"Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.
"
— John Muir

From Church

"Keep close to Nature's heart...and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean. "
— John Muir

From Church

"When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world."
— John Muir
The last quote is great because it can be related to so many things. I like to relate it to fishing.

Father's Day

2011-06-20T04:57:00.001-07:00

I went up to my father-in-laws for Father's Day weekend. Not much fishing was done but I did get some golf in. Golf isn't really my forte but I do enjoy playing it on beautiful courses. It was nice to get out and my father-in-law and I had the course to ourselves. My mother-in-law always makes crafts and various things for the family. She told my daughter she had something special for her and her daddy. After a few minutes my daughter came out wearing this.At first I couldn't figure out what exactly was on it. But when I looked closer it was pretty obvious.I couldn't help but think it was adorable.

Eno Morning

2011-06-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

From EnoJune2011

I got an earlier than normal start this morning. The idea was to beat the heat and maybe take advantage of a thunderstorm that came through last night. I had the trail to myself and I think I was the first person to hike it. The reason I think this is because I went through about 100 spider webs that crossed the trail. It was annoying and at first, I would stop to brush myself off and look for hitchhikers. I tried to use my rod as a web breaker while walking the trail. I still found a few. This was a section I had never fished before and I was really hoping to catch a Roanoke Bass. They've eluded me for along time. The advice I was told is look for rocks.

From EnoJune2011

That's what I did. I tried to work pools where the end of a riffle would slow down. The water was so clear I could watch the action of my fly and see how the fish were reacting. In no time I had the most abundant fish on the Eno.

From EnoJune2011

This river is the perfect habitat for sunfish and they thrive. Almost every eddy and pool has panfish in it. The great thing about the Eno is the variety. I saw a few large mouth bass while going from pool to pool. The bass were the biggest I had seen on the Eno. Some looked to be near 4-5lbs. I had a few bass rise to my fly like a submarine surfacing from the depths. They would get close enough to touch the fly to their lip then they'd veer off. The sunfish were so active it was hard to target big bass with them hitting the fly as soon as it hits the water. While working under the trees close to the bank I caught the biggest green sunfish I have ever caught.

From EnoJune2011

The coloring on the fish was unbelievable. My favorite thing about these fish is blue lightning on their gill flaps.

From EnoJune2011

The fish was fat obviously eating well. As the day went on I caught more of the same. The greens were really tight to shore.

From EnoJune2011

I continued to catch sunfish and bream and started to work my way back. I started to just hike and take in the views.

From EnoJune2011

There was a small waterfall that I passed earlier but on my way back I had to throw a cast in. I was rewarded with probably the prettiest sunfish of the day.

From EnoJune2011

The walk back to the car was filled with nature watching. There were families swimming in the river and playing. People walking their dogs and running. It seems everyone was taking advantage of the beautiful day. The skinks were out in force too.

From EnoJune2011

So Much For Spring

2011-06-08T10:56:00.000-07:00

From Recently Updated

Filler

2011-06-04T05:30:00.000-07:00

The cicadas are still pretty thick in the trees. I saw a few dead ones in the parking lot and as I surveyed closer I noticed 10 more. Hmmm guess what pattern I'm trying? I was fishing with two buddies new to the river and the water was the lowest I had seen in a long time.

From Filler

Walking to the edge I could see the wakes of movement that signal a fish fleeing. They weren't big, most likely sunfish but it's nice to see something moving. The weather has been so hot I went to this spot on a hunch that it would be good. The flows are hardly ever consistent and fishing was great the last time the water was this low. We spread out and worked all the spots where over hanging trees made shade.

From Filler

I went with a sneaky pete first and as usual the sunfish demolished it. Sunfish are fun but sometimes they can be annoying and I think they stop bigger bass from going after your fly. Why would they compete with 50 smaller fish? The only luck you'd have is the bass might want to eat one of the sunfish on the way to your fly. After catching a few sunfish I switched to a monster size fly that kept the little guys off. Then I was concerned at the lack of interest in my fly. At least when sunfish hit it, I felt it looked like something good to eat. The fly just sitting there with no small swirls or fins slapping against it made for kind of a boring experience. That's when I started doing what I call filler. It's what you do in between the times the fishing is great and the times nothing is going on. The first is usually an attempt to talk to other fisherman. The comical part is we know it's hard to hear anything someone says over a certain distance, especially when there's running water nearby.

From Filler

But we still try, "Catching anything?!" Usually the yelled at fisherman doesn't even look or just gives back a blank stare, they might say What?!! Or go back to fishing. If they hear you, they usually say something back but now you can't understand what they're saying so you give back the same stare. The conversation usually ends the same way just with one person saying Yeah! or just nodding having no idea what was really said and we both go back to fishing. Another thing we might do if we are close enough to hear one another is the wouldn't it be nice conversation. My buddy and I were observing the water in front of us watching the rises just outside casting distance. There's a point in fishing at times where you're just really hoping something happens, you don't know what else to try. You've switched flies, tried different retrieves, went subsurface, topwater, in between but nothing has worked. Eventually you just kind of make conversation just for filler.

From Filler

My recent one was "this spot would be great if you had a kayak. You could spend the day in this pool." Yeah that would be great but this is reality and neither of us had a kayak so why I even said that was kind of pointless. It's just something you do on the water to pass the time I guess. The next thing I did which is usually what happens when the fishing is slow is start back tracking and fish where I started. I'm not really sure why I do this, maybe it's because I know I'll be closer to my car and can leave shortly. Sometimes I get lucky and there are fish where I think they are. But usually it's uneventful. That's pretty much how the day went. My friends had some decent luck. One guy caught two catfish on a popper. That's rare. The other found some hungry bass in a small pool. This river is very strange. The water looks like it should hold tons of fish but there really doesn't seem to be many bass here. The river might not be the problem could be the fisherman.

Taking it In

2011-05-30T15:52:00.000-07:00

It was nice to escape the ridiculous temperatures in Raleigh by heading to the mountains. Even there the temps were higher than normal. Every day was nearly 80 degrees which is really abnormal. My family went up to spend the weekend with the in laws. I really had no agenda. I knew I was going to get on some trout water but I wasn't positive on where exactly. My brother-in-law and I checked out an unknown stream then hit a wild section we almost always fish close to his house. It is always good and it was nice to just wet wade and leave the waders at home. The creek is very scenic and there were plenty of pools like this one.

Fly selection doesn't matter much on these streams. Don't get me wrong you can't use just anything. But any humpy, caddis, camparadun style fly in sz14 should do pretty well. I also nymph this creek which my brother-in-law thinks is crazy since the average depth is about 2ft. I find many times it is more productive that dry fishing. I have to use an indicator or my fly will get hit about 40 times before I realize it. Most of these fish average around 6-8inches and they are FAST. They have to be to survive in this tight water. I managed to catch a few up top and a lot more by nymphing. I hooked one fish that was around 11inches. It thought it was 20 and tried to go over a small spill way and into another pool. The fish have a lot of fight in them and they know how to use the current. My goal was to take a lot of scenic pictures of this creek but my camera battery died after a few pictures. This was a common theme all weekend. I figured it was gods way of telling me to stop taking pictures and just enjoy the scenery and fish. Which is exactly what I did.

The next day was a family day and on Monday I got a pass to fish in the morning. For some reason again I made my way to a wild creek. It wasn't really by plan I was going to fish a section I usually love fishing on a near by river but I wanted to check out this creek I have heard about but never fished. The creek follows the road and there were some beautiful sections but the water looked skinny. I wasn't sure if I was in the mood for stealth fishing. I like being able to cast and I'm not a huge fan of duck and cover fishing. It has its place and sometimes I'm all about that. But usually I prefer open space with room to cast and chances at really big fish. I was going to pass on this creek all together but one section really called to me. It was close to the road and I figured it had probably been hammered but it was so pretty I wanted to check it out anyway. I geared up and made my way to the creek. This was by far one of the most beautiful creeks I have seen. Just enough water to hold decent fish and nice plunge pools and cascades that seem to go on forever. There wasn't many foot tracks or trash. I only saw deer tracks which made me even happier. I finally turned the corner and got to the section I was looking for. The picture doesn't do it justice at all. Not even close. The camera is not the greatest point and shoot and it was all I had.

In the background you can see the water sliding down the rock and into the pool. I figured it was carrying bugs and fish were just waiting at the edges of the riffles. My guess was right and after missing about 10 hits I finally caught the usual wild fish from water like this.

Again the coloring of the actual fish is lost in the picture. The fish had a lot of pink and orange on its under belly. I'm not sure if the fish were spawning but many of them that I caught had a lot of orange on their belly. I did get some bigger fish but again the camera battery died. This was the second camera to do this. I had to spend the rest of the morning enjoying the creek. I could have stayed on this creek all day but I promised my wife I'd be back at a certain time.

I wanted to check out one of my favorite spots before I went back. On my way over I ran across this rat snake sunning himself.

If you're wondering how I took this picture after just saying my other two cameras had dead batteries, this was taken with my cell phone. I would use the same camera for fish but I tend to drop things in the water. Pliers, flies, weights, nets, reel.... Worried the snake was going to get run over I tapped its tail with my hand.

It wasn't really impressed by that and seeing it coiled I went from a big strong oh it's just a snake guy to a scared little wimp. It really frightened me how quick the snake went from being sprawled out to strike position. I knew the snake wasn't poisonous but in my head when I touched its tail I never thought it would defend itself, I figured it would be scared and just slither off. The unpredictable behavior had took me by surprise. I never made it to the spot I was intending to go. I got distracted by some water that looked like it might hold smallmouth. I didn't catch anything but I am blaming it on being the worst time of the day to fish. The sun was high in the sky and the weather was really hot at that point. Well hot for Boone. It is nice to have a new creek to add to my list of places I will definitely fish again. I'll also be back to test this smallie spot. I did see a silhouette of a bass but I couldn't tell if it was a largemouth or smallie.

Lucky Popper

2011-05-25T18:17:00.000-07:00

Fished with a couple members of Ncangler tonight. We had a great time and many fish were caught. The biggest for me was on the same popper I used to catch a grass carp recently. I think this may be a lucky popper.

Good Size Gills

2011-05-24T05:13:00.001-07:00

While hunting bass I found a bed of nice sized gills. They were aggressive but when I'd catch one it would put the others down. I had to wait about 5min before they would get brave enough to hit flies again. I was using a good size foam popper. There were smaller sunfish hitting that weren't quite big enough to swallow the popper. Then I came to a bed where a huge shadow charged the popper and slammed it. I jerked the fly out of the fishes mouth on the first take. I wasn't quite sure what just happened. That was either one of the biggest bluegill I have ever seen or my lack of sleep from the new baby is making me see things.The gills were so large they had teeth. It made me think twice about lipping them. Once I found these fish I forgot about bass. I did see a bass chasing fish out of the shallows. I threw a frog popper at it. It charged the fly but I think it figured out something was wrong at the last second. It hit the fly but it just didn't seem right. It seem to stop the strike short. Usually if they want the fly they inhale it. It was fun to watch.

TFF Shirts

2011-05-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

The club is working on some custom shirts. These were the most recent. We found a vendor that has special license to David Whitlock's artwork. He is collaborating with us. The shirts look great. I can't wait to show the other designs.

They Were Hungry Today

2011-05-20T17:22:00.001-07:00

The bass were really hungry today. The fishing was quick and nasty. Usually when you fish you hook the fish far out away from you and reel it in. This was the opposite. Many fish were hooked within feet of the bank. Then they'd take off to deeper water. They also were more active when fighting. Jumping several times and making runs for structure. The fish were long but not very fat.

Most of the strikes came on a popper fished close to shore. They seemed to like a certain retrieve. I've noticed when fishing for bass at this particular place the closer you can cast to the bank the better. There seemed to be one or two bass every six feet. When they hit it was to destroy.

What I found today was they wanted nothing to do with the sunny side of the lake. All the bass were hunkering down on the shady side. There were places where there was only shade because of a tree on the bank. Sure enough bass would be hiding out in the outline of the shade. Waiting to ambush anything going by. What's great about this lake is it teaches you a lot about bass behavior. Which seems to be different every time I visit.

My First Grass Carp

2011-05-18T15:11:00.001-07:00

I decided to hit a pond by my house after work. Fish can usually be taken with a dry fly or popper. Today was strange in the fact that different sections of the pond fished different ways. The first part I fished the fly had to be left alone. If I twitched it at all it turned the fish off. I was able to hook a few of these guys.

I love the bronze belly on these fish.

In the second section the fly needed to have some movement. There were bass chasing shad into the shallows. A kingfisher was using this to his advantage. When the fish would scatter the bird would jump right in the mix and pull out a minnow. It was fun to watch. I was moving around the bank where it made kind of a cul-de-sac. I had my line in the water and I was dragging my fly. After a few seconds I heard the sound of a fish hitting the fly. I looked back and saw a swirl near where the fly was. I started to use a quick retrieve with the fly and there were some ferocious strikes. Most of the fish caught were small bass. I fished this way and worked the pond until I was near where I started.

I saw a grass carp lingering just under the surface. I've cast to grassies this way before and had them hit poppers but I never could hook them. I first cast the popper way too far out in front of the fish. It didn't move. My next cast was behind the fish and I was sure it was going to spook it. The fish turned and I figured it was over but then it turn around again and held it's original position. My next cast was right on target just ahead of the fish but in the strike zone. I gave the fly a little twitch and the carp started to move. It got closer and closer and it was moving at a pace you see so many times fishing. Where a fish comes up to the fly nonchalantly sips it then keeps going. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the carp swim up and engulf the fly. I set the hook and the fish immediately turned and headed for deeper water. Then I remembered I was using a 5wt. I have only used the rod a few times and I wasn't sure exactly how much it could take. This fish looked to be 10lbs. The other issue was the reel. I left my 5wt in another case and in a pinch I grabbed my 4wt reel which has a click paw drag and who knows how old fly line and tippet. I was worried the fish was going to take me to my backing immediately. Luckily with the force of the rod I could turn the fish. It was a good enough amount of pressure but not enough for me to have the upper hand. The fish would come close then bolt back away again. This seemed to happen for an eternity. I walked the bank and tried to get the fish in shallow enough water to bank it.

With other carp they always snapped the tipped right when I went to land them. I wasn't sure exactly what size tippet was on my line it had to be old and 5x at the heaviest. I decided to try to snap a pic of the fish figuring the knot would pop anytime.

I made an attempt to land the fish similar to a bear trying to paw a salmon on to the shore. The fish just turned and sped off back into the water soaking my pant leg at the same time. It also decided to try to take my pole with it. I grabbed it just in time and then noticed I had an audience. Not a huge crowd just one woman, I had no idea how long she'd been there. I was determined to land the fish not just for her but for my own peace of mind. I decided to either pull the fish in or snap the tippet. A few times I got the fish in and made a swipe for my leader and the fish would flee almost as if it knew what I was doing. I worked the fish for another minute or so then made the final attempt to beach it. I saw the fly right at the edge of the fishes mouth. I pulled on the tippet and the fish came up on the shore surprisingly easy. I realized the fish had more of an advantage in the water than out of it. Once the fish was in the grass I could see it in all of its glory and actually enjoyed the moment.

This was by far one of the biggest fish I have ever caught on any rod. I snapped a few pics with my phone and prepared to release the fish. A man came down that I assumed was the womans husband. He looked at me, then looked at the fish and just gave me a thumbs up. It was a funny interaction but somehow for the moment totally appropriate. I released the fish and in my head imagined this must be what releasing a salmon or steelhead is like. The fish swam away slowly and it seemed to have the body language the said "ok, you won.... today." Till we meet again.

The Eno in May

2011-05-14T11:06:00.000-07:00

I hosted a fly fishing trip on the Eno today. The trip was for people new to fly fishing. I think everyone had a great time and even though it doesn't matter, no one was skunked. The water level was perfect and the cicadas were singing like crazy. The sound is a little eerie. It's almost impossible to describe. It sounds alien and the bug looks it as well.

Empty husks lined the leaves and edges of trees.If you looked at the ground you could see holes from where the cicads unearthed themselves. After enjoying the scenery we made our way to the water.After removing a few flies from the trees the newbies were getting the hang of it. I was able to branch off and fish on my own some. The sunfish were doing their usual thing smacking top water poppers with a vengeance. They seemed to really like the beetle shape flies which made sense with all the cicadas around. I caught one really beautiful sunfish right off the bat. It was the biggest of the day and I should have gotten a picture but I let it go thinking I'd catch plenty that size. Everyone was catching fish here and there and most of the new people started to create a decent loop.It was a fun day and I hope to get out next weekend. The club is checking out the stretch of stream we are adopting. We're going to take water samples and do some fishing.

Crackers in Bass

2011-05-04T13:55:00.000-07:00

My buddy told me about a hot spot where there are a bunch of Shell Crackers. I had never caught one in the body of water we discussed so I was eager to check it out. He wasn't kidding! The shell crackers were there and they were BIG! Feisty too. I've decided I hate my Olympus WP550. It takes horrible pictures but great underwater video.

Here was the best picture I could muster with it. The lighting wasn't very good but still this is very poor for a modern digital camera. Maybe it was user error.The gills were just as big as the crackers and I had fun just catching fish after fish. They all went after a fly that is basically Chenille and rubber legs. I caught a few bass too. They were mostly close to shore. Inches away to be exact. There were a couple that took some fancy casts. There was a fish in that shade that was the biggest bass I have caught in this lake. I figure the fish was around 3lbs or under. It was a lot fatter than the pic makes it look. Or my maybe my brain just wants to remember it that way. This lake is really bipolar. In the late spring early summer you can't find a better place to fish. Any other time of the year the fishing is just ho-hum. I'm not sure what causes that. I don't really care as long as I can enjoy it while it lasts.

Oh What a Night

2011-05-01T17:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight was one of those times I live for as a fly fisherman. There is a local pond that at certain times of the year gets ridiculous. Tonight was one of those times. When I arrived I saw some fish activity on the surface but didn't get my hopes up. On my first cast I had a hit and the fish fought hard then came off. On my next cast I hooked up again this fish came to hand. I kept getting hits or catching fish and I ran across a bed of monster sunfish. I think they were spawning. I couldn't get them to hit anything. I tried after them for about 30min which is probably 20min longer than I should have. I eventually went back to bass fishing and tied on a crawfish color bass bandit. The action then went crazy. The fish weren't just hitting this fly they were annihilating it. I stopped reaching for the pliers and just kept them in my pocket because every fish was hooked like this.Sorry about the crappy pic it was with my camera phone. My friend showed up and he decided to try his luck on top water. Once he made his way over to where I was fishing he had hook up after hook up. It was unbelievable, I had to switch to a top water fly as well. Top water bass fishing is almost as exciting as it can get. You can't predict when a fish is going to strike but it's always when you least expect it. This is usually how it goes, you cast out make a few strips nothing, your fly line is wrapped around your foot, you got to fix it, STRIKE! You make a couple casts get nothing, your friend says something to you and you look over to answer, STRIKE! You cast out notice some movement by you feet, look down and see a 2ft water snake, STRIKE! Bring in some line figure the fly is too close to shore go to lift the line, STRIKE! This is seriously how it was all night. Luckily the water snake part only happened once. We had several doubles and before we left I was able to entice a gill with a top water fly. It was an evening to remember for sure.

Give a Hoot

2011-05-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

I remember an anti littering campaign growing up similar to Smokey the Bear. The motto would be "Give a Hoot, Don't Pollute." As silly as it was the message stuck. Littering has always bothered me. Especially when it's blatant disrespect for the environment. Triangle Fly Fishers has a clean up on the Haw River every year. We were prepared for one of the worst. Recently there has been bad thunderstorms and tornados that have thrashed the area. We all figured trash would be washed down and plastered around the banks. What we found was the opposite. There must have been a clean up done a couple weeks prior to ours. The river banks were the cleanest I had ever seen them. Usually I can walk maybe 50yds and half way fill a trash bag with bottles and other trash. This year I had to literally hunt for trash. Even things as small as gum rappers. I was really pleased at the conditions but also that others are taking the initiative to keep the river clean. It also gave us more time to fish.

There is a friendly fishing tourney after the cleanup. Points are awarded for certain species that are caught. That tallied with your trash total weight makes you eligible for a prize. Trash is worth more than fish because after all it is a clean up. So you really want to find as much trash as possible so when you weigh in you have a good amount of points. With the small amount of trash abundant the focus really turned to fishing. A friend who knows the area pretty well broke off with me and told me he knew a hole that always held crappie. After about a half mile walk we came to this section.The rocks on the Haw are treacherous. If you're not careful you can find yourself over your head fast. The terrain varies quickly and current is deceiving.We fished the section for a bit with no luck. There was a pretty good hatch going off of something that looked similar to a caddis. The wings looked a little different than a normal caddis, the color was mottled and when the bug settled it had more of a moth wing pattern than anything. In flight it looked exactly like a caddis. They are on the river but the numbers this day were huge. I saw fish rising to the bugs downstream. I worked my way to where they were feeding and tried the smallest fly I have ever used for the Haw. Usually I fish bass flies, clousers, poppers, and rabbit strip patterns. This time I was going to with a sz14 elk hair caddis. I'm rusty on my drag free drift casts. I figured since these were most likely panfish they wouldn't care. Turned out they did. On my one good drift I had a fish on. The way the current swirled it was hard to get a good drift every time. I decided to try something different. I cast at a 45 degree angle down stream let the fly go under water swing it then near the end give it 2 short strips while retrieving it. This was the ticket. I caught fish after fish this way. I was really targeting white bass or other fish but the sunfish were a good way to just get something. They were the only fish I caught and I probably caught over 10. When we came back and tallied our fish totals no one had caught more than 3 fish. I wasn't too proud of catching only sunfish so I just said I got 6 gills. One guy had gotten 3 white bass so I think he was a shoe in to win the tourney. It was a great day to just be outside. The only bad part was the amount of ticks. This area is known for ticks but this year seemed to be especially bad. I'm kind of glad there wasn't that much trash because I would have been covered if I ahd to off the trail. I saw some of the largest ticks I've ever seen. Ever after going home and changing cloths about 3hrs later I found a tick trying to burrow into my leg. I got it off before the head got in. I hate those things. Over all the day was great and I look forward to our next clean up event.

Bass of a Lifetime

2011-04-28T06:56:00.001-07:00

So my friend is all excited and tells me to check my e-mail. He said he caught a good bass the other day. I open the e-mail and all I see at first is caught this bass on a 5wt. I thought, what's so big about that? Then I look at the pictures and my friend is 6'3-6'4 and this large mouth almost blocks out his torso.My jaw almost hit the desk then I asked all the questions you're not really supposed to ask as a respectable fisherman. What did you catch it on? Where was this at? I had lost all reason and proper fisherman etiquette. I wanted to catch a fish like that NOW! He told me the general location and I'm sure after he fishes the pond a few more times he might invite me over. The fly was a creation he tied on his own. Mainly consisting of zonker strips and rubber legs. The fish was weighed and went 10.2lbs. That's by far the biggest bass I've seen caught on a fly rod.It really was the bass of a lifetime.
What I really like about this is it proves you can catch big bass with flies. I think there is some ideology that "yeah you can catch bass on a fly rod but not big ones." This proves that is incorrect.

Snapping Turtles

2011-04-27T05:25:00.001-07:00

I see snapping turtles quite a bit while fishing. This year I have seen more huge ones than ever. I hope this is a good sign. I know it's probably the main reason I don't see that many dead fish along the shore. There's a mtn bike trail by my work where a lot of guys ride. A guy posted this pic today. Imagine running across this on the trail.

Getting Lucky

2011-04-25T18:28:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile it's nice to get lucky. Over the years I have caught several bass with flies. They have always been fun to catch but I always wanted to catch the size of fish that was the norm with spinning gear. My buddy has access to a private lake and invited me to join him. Some of the bass were bedding and you could see splashes near shore from fish busting shad. The conditions were ripe for a good day. I missed a few fish using a small popper. I saw some bass herding shad so I decided to tie on a gulley fish. On my third cast near shore I hooked this guy.The fish was a pretty good size but it didn't put up much of a fight. It ran a couple times close to shore and just kind of gave up after about 20 seconds. I did put a lot of pressure on it but I still felt it tuckered out rather quickly. My buddy hooked something that doubled his rod over. I ran over to help him land it and as I got closer I realized it was a snapping turtle. It was enormous and not happy. My friend had hooked it in the rear foot.As we were trying to figure out what to do the hook straightened out and the turtle was gone. That was probably for the best. There was no way either of us were messing with that thing. The bite slowed down and I had several up and close refusals. The fish really inspected the fly and almost got close enough to nudge it with their nose. I switched to a rabbit fur fly that I tied awhile ago. It's just a olive and black zonker strips with dumbbell eyes. After a few casts I hooked another good bass. This fish had more fight in it but it came to hand pretty quickly.I think it liked the fly.I missed a couple more fish and had to call it a day. It was by far my most successful day bass fishing in just an hour. I had my shots at several big fish and I was glad to get something that would give the 8wt a good bend. It will be fun to hit this lake again. Next time I'm going to target the carp that are large enough to ride.

Buy a Rod, Help a Soldier

2011-04-25T08:39:00.001-07:00

I'm a huge fan of Project Healing Waters. The T.L. Johnson Rod Company is creating rods in honor of the different military branches. The Air Force rod is in the example below. The Rods are built by hand in the U.S. 20% of the proceeds goes towards Project Healing Waters. Here is more details about the rod.

USA Made - Fast Action
"Project Healing Waters" Fly Rod - *Air Force*
Clear Anodized reel seat - StandardNickel Silver - UpgradeGun-Barrel Blued Nickel w/Gunstock Walnut insert - UpgradeArmy colors shown with Blued Nickel upgrade. Air Force will be blue thread & silver accent.Proudly made in the U.S.A.
Click to enlarge image(s)
20% of retail goes to ProjectHealingWaters.org
Buy a Fly Rod... Help the physical and emotional rehabilitation of disabled military service personnel and veterans through fly fishing and fly tying education and outings. The solitude of a trout stream or the calm waters of a lake have a healing power that can't be explained, but also, can't be denied!

The 'Air Force' Project Healing Waters fly rod is built in the U.S.A. by T.L. Johnson Rod Company and is based on their FX fly rod but customized with Air Force colors. This fly rod incorporates a unique graphite resin system along with helical reinforcement. The unique construction provides a rod design that is very light, yet extremely durable. Project Healing Waters fly rods are balanced to achieve low swing weight. They have a FAST ACTION and the Line weights offered are 4-7 to cover a multitude of fishing situations. The rods are a Matte Finish and are proudly made in the U.S.A.
• Project Healing Waters rods begin with a blank made in the U.S. at the T.L. Johnson factory and are all fitted with quality components, but made affordable. They come in 4 piece configuration and are Fast action. The base rod comes with a beautiful Pewter anodized aluminum reel seat with wood insert, extra fine grade cork half wells grip, a delrin winding check, bright snake guides and tip-top. This Project Healing Waters rod is a true workhorse rod that won’t break the bank!

The Air Force rod is customized with Blue wrappings and Silver accent. Rods are hand inscribed with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, rod length, line weight, and serial number. All Project Healing Waters rods will have a five (5) digit Serial number. The first digit will indicate branch of service (Unaffiliated will be 0), the second digit will be year (1=2011, 2=2012, etc.), and the last 3 digits will be the rod number.

These rods are custom built as they are ordered, so please allow 4-8 weeks build time on your order.
Until I get get new photos, pictures are of the TL Johnson FX rod.

Optional Hardware upgrades available (at additional cost) are Nickel Silver reel seat with nickel silver winding check or a gorgeous Gun-barrel Blued Nickel reel seat with walnut insert, Blued Nickel winding check, Titanium stripping guide. All reel seats are custom made by Joel Lemke.
Refrence: http://www.flyfishingcrazy.com/product/TLJ-PHW-N

Gills you can lip

2011-04-20T04:59:00.000-07:00

You know a sunfish is a good size if you can lip it. A friend invited me to a pond where he said there are huge bluegill. He showed me the location before hand and when I first viewed it via google maps I figured it was going to be a nasty rancid smelly type pond. It was quite the opposite. The water was clear and had looked almost pristine. It wasn't the type of gill water I'm used too. I didn't see any craters that signify the sunfish had started bedding. The shallows seemed to be a shelf that dropped off immediately. The water was very dark and it made the bottom invisible to make out. I cast a couple times at a log then I saw a shadow come up and inspect my fly. It was the usual shape of a gill and it sucked the fly in. After it turned and I saw the bright flash of orange and the mass of the fish I could see it was a good size.The fish wasn't really long but it was tall and fat. One of the biggest gills I have caught in awhile. I caught a couple more but the bite slowed down after that. There were fish busting shad in the shallows but I couldn't get them to hit anything I was throwing. The weather was at the peak of a high pressure system. I caught a few much bigger than the one in the picture. The pond was also full of grass carp. I tried casting at a few but they weren't interested. I mostly just spooked them and saw their mud cloud as they bolted into deeper water. This pond is way to good to only fish once. I'll definitely be back.

Tornado

2011-04-18T05:55:00.000-07:00

On Saturday a Tornado came with in miles of my home. The news tracked the storm very well. The most intense time was when my family was watching the news and a funnel cloud was spotted close by then our power went out. My wife sat up by the bathroom with the new baby waiting to see if she'd have to jump in the bath tub. I kept my eyes and ears open for flying debris and anything that seems really abnormal. I tried not to act to different so my daughter wouldn't get scared. She can pick up on things really well. She was oblivious to what was going on and had fun trying to blow out the candles we were lighting. The storm missed us with little damage. What was crazy is how much damage the storm did to downtown Raleigh. Here is a video of the funnel cloud moving in.My family was downtown just a few hours prior for an Earth Day Festival. God was looking out for everyone there. It would have been horrible if this came through while the festival was going on.

Sorry I Haven't Been Posting Much

2011-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

I've been kind of preoccupied with the new addition to the family. I can't wait to cast a line with my new fishing buddy.While the kids were napping I was able to get out today at a neighborhood pond. We had a tornado come a little too close to home yesterday. It gave the family a scare but everyone is fine. The water in the pond was stained and the fishing was really slow. I managed two bass on a pink wooly bugger. I was really just messing around. The other stereotypical bass flies I tried yielded no results. It was a great day to be outside and the snakes and turtles were enjoying the sun. I have never seen as many as I did today.

Last White Bass Trip

2011-04-08T04:48:00.000-07:00

With a new baby less than two weeks away I got out yesterday for probably my last white bass fishing trip. Recently I bought a Redington Red Fly 2 to replace the other one I broke. Figured this would be a great time to test it out. The conditions were perfect and we had some recent rains that knocked some trees down in the water and created new places for fish to hold. I figured the fishing was going to be on fire but it was a little strange. The fish were there but in every hole you'd catch one or two fish then the pool was turned off. The few fish I did catch in each section were decent size. In fact I caught my biggest white bass ever. It took me to my reel and stripped line. I thought my camcorder was recording but it wasn't. That was a major buzz kill but the day was amazing none the less. The river was pretty active. You could hear huge splashes here and there. Walking the banks I could see blue gill roaming the shallows. They hit my fly almost any time it came with in inches of the bank. It was my first Eno slam. Over the course of the day I had caught white bass, sunfish, yellow perch and a catfish. I've never caught a yellow perch before, they are neat looking fish. I wanted to get a picture of one but both fish I had on came off right as the fish came to hand. The camcorder was packed in hopes of getting footage of me and a friend wearing them out. It was difficult to find any spots like that. I did get some footage and I think it gives you a taste of the experience.

Chasing the Southern Salmon

2011-04-01T14:03:00.001-07:00

I have been trying to catch a shad on a fly rod for about 2yrs. The main run heats up around mid March and the best fishing is at Weldon, NC. A boat is pretty much mandatory if you want to get one on a fly rod. My shad fishing luck hasn't been that great. I've tried some local spots with no luck. This year a friend auctioned off a striper/shad trip as a fund raising item for our fishing club. His name is Jim Burchette a.k.a. (Pipes) and he knows the Roanoke River as well as any guide. I've fished with him before for striped bass at Weldon and he always put me on fish. I decided to purchase the trip figuring it would be a great trip as well as a nice donation for the club. The weather lately has been cold and raining. Jim called me and asked if I wanted to go fishing at the end of the week. I wasn't sure how conditions would be since we had a recent rain and the local waters were high and muddy. I decided to chance it and say I'd meet him at the boat ramp at the end of the week. On the drive over I listened to the radio and realized it was April 1st. The theme of the day was talking about different pranks people have done to one another. I started to think about Jim and wonder would he make a prank and say we're going fishing as an April fools joke? It would be pretty much one of the worst jokes ever. First off the location is an hour and a half drive, plus I was taking time off work. I knew Jim wasn't that kind of a person and when I got the call from him that he was at the boat ramp waiting for me it further verified that. When I got there some light rain had started to fall and the temp didn't seem to want to rise above 43 degrees. I wasn't dressed properly for that kind of weather but I tried to make due. One of the guys joining us was name Troy and his nickname was LYM. This stood for Lucky Young Man. I didn't realize how true this was until we fished awhile. Literally two minutes from leaving the boat ramp Jim had us on fish and Troy was wearing them out. He caught fish after fish and I kept getting what I thought were bumps here and there but I wasn't sure. I watched Troys retrieve and the way he was fishing and tried to copy it. I wasn't getting the same results. Troy eventually asked me if I wanted to switch rods. We obviously knew his set up was working. So I cast out now with new confidence knowing I have the right set up. Then I hear, "hey this works...." Troy had on a fish instantly with the set up I WAS JUST USING!!!! I knew then it was about retrieve and not what set up or flies we were using. I was intent on figuring this out and I started to watch everyone else on the boat like a hawk. I quickly became "that guy". Everyone was catching fish but me. Even the guys with me couldn't understand it. I started to feel kind of like I was cursed. The decision was made to move to a new spot, I tried to figure things out and get a new plan of action. Right when we pulled up to the new spot Troy casts out and hooks a fish on his first cast. I launched my flies over in the vicinity of his cast and instantly felt a hard bump. I thought for sure it was a snag or log until the line started to pulsate. I started to pressure the fish and I was afraid I was going to lose it any second. The fish came close to the surface, it's a SHAD! The fish wasn't coming easily though. it dove several times and showed off why it's called the southern salmon. I eventually reeled it in and Jim netted it. I think everyone breathed a sigh of relief the skunk was off the boat.
I started to catch shad at a decent pace after that. We were all fishing a small clouser type pattern with a dropper that was a different color. Troy was still catching fish one out of every six casts. I would hook or catch a fish maybe one out of twenty-five casts. Everyone on the boat was hooking up and several times we had multiple hook ups. Jim even landed a double, catching a fish on both flies. The icing on the cake was hooking up with the largest shad of the day for me, caught on a fly I tied.I wanted to stay and keep playing but I have a pregnant wife and daughter at home. I called it a day early but stayed long enough to eat lunch with the guys and enjoy the company for a little longer. I look forward to fishing with them again. The day was pretty much perfect.

Fishing with Carolina Fly

2011-03-22T16:08:00.001-07:00

I had a chance to fish with Thomas Harvey who runs Carolina Fly. The goal of today was to find some white bass. Thomas had never caught them locally before and was eager to see what the bass run was all about. He is as good at fly fishing as he is at tying flies. It wasn't long before he had his first Eno white bass.The fish was caught on a bugger that was his own creation, a bugger pattern with a red bead head. The fly worked very well and what's funny is Thomas said it was tied based on what I told him a year ago. Apparently we had talked about fishing the Eno before last year and never got a chance to hook up. He had tied all of these flies in hopes of using them on that trip. I'm glad he still had them because the fish ate them like candy.There was one pool in particular that seemed to be stacked with 12inch or bigger fish. I think these were possibly the largest white bass I have ever caught. We kept just missing them or catching them for over an hour. There would have been more pics but we were busy catching fish. I had to go but Thomas stayed on the water to keep wearing the fish out. It was really productive for such a short time on the water. I think Thomas is addicted and will probably be hitting the Eno a lot more often.

Great Day on the Eno

2011-03-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

Today I hosted a fly fishing trip on the Eno. I don't know what I was more happy about the weather or the fact that everyone showed up on time. I hate waiting for people. There was 5 of us and the parking lot was loaded with cars. We debated going to another section of river. I'm glad we didn't. The best thing about fishing with other people is finding out what works quickly. There was a guy with us who never caught a White Bass before. I showed him a run that had been good to me yesterday. On his fourth cast he pulled out this fish.While he was unhooking the fish I cast out and had a fish on my first cast. This was definitely going to be a good day. The bite slowed down and we went downstream. There wasn't as many people along the banks as I thought. I'm not sure where everyone was but I was glad they weren't where we were going. A buddy slid in to a spot where he had cleaned up yesterday. He pointed out the best spots and we all kind of lined up. I caught a few fish but I noticed my buddy catching them fairly consistently. I started to watch him and I noticed he was moving the fly in really short quick strips. I was doing more of a 4 inch strip type retrieve. Once I changed the retrieval it was a different world. I had hit or fish on almost every cast. The fish ranged in all different sizes from small males to decent size females.After everyone got the retrieve down we were all catching fish. The bass seemed fond of smaller flies. Really small for what I was used too. I was throwing a size 8 wooly bugger and the fish really liked about a size 12. The fishing stayed hot and heavy for awhile. It was really nice to catch a few on one bank then do a 180 and catch a few fish on the opposite bank.When you get on a nice school of white bass it's unreal. They fight hard and they seem to be everywhere. The bite slowed down after about an hour. We tried various spots and caught a few here and there but nothing was as great as the first section we fished. All together we probably caught over 100 fish. It's hard to beat a day like that. These are the types of days that keep you coming back and tease you all winter until spring hits.

White Bass

2011-03-18T16:31:00.000-07:00

It's about that time. Every spring white bass migrate from a nearby lake to spawn in the waters of the Eno River. Tomorrow I'm hosting a White Bass fishing trip for the Triangle Fly Fishers. I spent the afternoon scouting out locations and spots where fish would be holding. There is one spot in particular that always holds fish. It's not any surprise. The current cuts straight through the middle of the river and creates big eddies on either side. Fish are found in both places. I cast to the right eddy and worked my fly with the usual strips. On my fifth cast I got this guy.It was small male. A promising start for such a short time fishing. I didn't get many hits after that one fish so I worked downstream. I came to a section where a creek entered the water and there was a submerged tree. This river has so many places where fish can lurk. There's so many sections that have great fish habitat. Submerged stumps and trees. Riprap, eddies under trees and around fallen debris. I worked my fly down the incoming creek and along the submerged tree. There was a flash and my pole arched and the fish dove straight down. I thought this was going to be a monster.I've caught bass three times this size that didn't fight as hard. The fish was on a mission. It looked really healthy too. That's what's really great about spring white bass fishing you never quite know what you're going to catch. I kept working my way downstream and eventually came to a section that I knew for sure had to hold something. If not a white bass then a largemouth, crappie, carp, catfish, some fish. After a few casts I saw a silver flash that looked like a hubcap attacking my fly. That's another great thing about white bass, they don't mess around. If they want your fly they are going to get it. When they hit your line jerks hard. There's no mistake that you have a fish on. This was my only female of the day but she put up a great fight.I met up with some friends and no one had an amazing day. The water seemed low but it was still great to be outside. I went back to where I started the day and caught a few more small males. The fly that worked this time was a pink, chartreuse and white clouser that I use for stripers. I don't think white bass are that finicky about fly selection. If it's flashy and swims, I think they'll eat it. I'm hoping I can get the group on some fish tomorrow. The weather is supposed to be in the mid 70's.

Just How Lazy Are You?

2011-03-18T10:03:00.001-07:00

I've been fishing for the last couple days with my line missing a guide. I'm too lazy to re-string it through the guides. I'll probably fix it today. Anyone ever get lazy like that? Fish with a 5ft leader because you're tool lazy to tie on more or switch it out? Or leave a inch long tag end after tying a fly, or a wind knot in your leader?

Gearing up for White Bass

2011-03-16T07:53:00.000-07:00

A friend invited me on his boat to chase white bass last weekend. The weather and company was great but the fishing not so much. We worked a good amount of the river with only one bass to show for it. It seemed no one was having a very good day. Except for a couple guys in a canoe. They went way upstream from where everyone was fishing and said they caught 20 or more. I tried a small feeder creek and saw a few small male bass tease my fly. There didn't seem to be any big females up in the creek yet. Or they could have already gone past. Who knows? I'm going to find out this weekend. Some of the other fish are getting aggressive. A river chub attacked a white bugger I was throwing which is a first. It was good enough to get the skunk off for the day. The forecast for this weekend is mid 70's. I'm praying the bass will cooperate.

Trout Fix

2011-03-06T15:34:00.001-08:00

Whenever I go to Boone I have to make at least one trip to a trout stream. There was word that the Watauga River DH has been stocked last week. The report I read said some huge brookies had been put in. I decided to try my luck. Since it had been over a week I figured the fish had seen a fair amount of flies. The usual's should work, bead head hairs ear, pheasant tails and copper johns. I tried to think of something they hadn't seen. For about a year I've had a bead headed pink wooly bugger in my fly box. I was told it is a great smallmouth fly. I figured if the trout had seen a bunch of wooly buggers they probably weren't pink. Even with all this logic I was reluctant to tie it on. I cast into the far edge of a pool and started making quick strips. Nothing on my first two casts. Then on my third cast I started stripping really fast, a buttery flash and huge swirl went around the fly. Then the bump that can only be a fish. The fly came loose instantly. The next cast was the same a few bumps and splashes but the fish seemed to be hitting short. My next experiment was to slow the fly down or pause the strips all together. The next cast went out then I did about 6 inch strips. Strip pause, strip pause, strip.... BUMP! Then the line went slack, strip............ Bump! This time the resistance didn't stop.

My rod kept bobbing and I wasn't gaining anything on the fish. I figured I had it wrapped around a log. Then the fish moved from side to side and I could tell it was free and not hung up at all. I couldn't see how big it was because of the glare and distance. The fish didn't take line but it bull dogged and kept a good bend in the rod. Then it did what other big trout have done it slowly swam up stream. It did this almost as if it thought it could tow whatever hooked it. Eventually it realized this wasn't going to work and it back tracked downstream. From the way the fish seemed hooked I wasn't concerned with playing it until it shook it's head above the water and I could plainly see all of my pink wooly bugger. I started to really pressure the fish and tried to pull it into slack water. It would move to the slack water then bolt to the fast water, it did this over and over but was coming closer each time. The worst part is I didn't have a net. I was able to land it and get some pics.

I fished up stream and downstream but no spots were as productive as where I started. I fished for two hours and probably landed 10fish. I was really working on my nymphing technique. I got rid of going with wooly buggers and went with a egg pattern and a hairs ear as a dropper. Fish were taken on both flies. I love this combo because I think the pink of the egg attracts the fish then if they turn that down the nymph goes by and they slam it just out of instinct. This technique seems to work very well. When they get smarter I switch out the egg pattern for a different nymph. The main thing I've been working on lately is the trigger effect. I've been working on this with bass, bluegill, pickerel and now trout. The thing I've come to understand between all the different fish with the attack trigger was based on the fall rate of the fly. If the fly fell at a certain speed there was an instant attack. If it feel too fast or too slow I would get interest from the fish but not a attack response. It was almost a curious type behavior. If the fall rate was at a certain speed the attack was instant. There was no doubt or fluke in what happened. I'm trying to experiment with this more but I'm hoping I can get to where I can film the exact fall rate to trigger the attack.

The rain was pelting me the whole time and I couldn't ignore the cold anymore. It was in the mid 40's and every time I landed and released a trout I kept saying ok just one more. After releasing one fish I soaked half my arm and jacket. That was it. I called it a day but what a day it was. Pretty productive for a short time on the water. That is what's great about DH streams. They stocked a lot of brooks this year. Usually I catch a nice mix of Browns, Rainbows and Brooks. This time every fish I caught was a brook. That doesn't make me feel very skillful. They definitely aren't the smartest of the three. I took a few videos while I was on the water. The big brook I caught took a rest right between my feet.

Off the Chain

2011-02-27T15:50:00.001-08:00

The last time at New Hope Creek was not very eventful. I decided to try again with some people new to the TFF club and this section of water. Really the water was new to me as well. We hiked down and split up at the waters edge. I kept going down stream to a spot where I knew a chain pickerel had to be. I figured something has to be in that tree along the left side. The bass bandit fly I tied has been pretty good to me lately. On the third cast I felt a tug and soon had my first pickerel. The fish inhaled my fly.The tricky part was trying to get the fly out of the fishes mouth with out it biting me. The fish acted very docile when I had it around the belly and side. Anytime I went near its face it went berserk. I decided to check out it's mouth to see what kind of teeth I was dealing with and if I could lip the fish. Maybe these fish aren't as nasty as people say. I had a nice lip hold on the fish when it gave a head shake, snapped my leader and gave me a nice souvenir of why pickerel should be respected. It cut my thumb with the efficiency of a scalpel. Luckily the fish was small and didn't do much damage. If the fish had been much bigger that would have been the end of my day.

I worked more water but didn't have much luck so I walked the banks sight fishing. I did see two fish in habitat just as I've read. Rip rap and fallen trees right against the bank. One fish was so close I almost stood directly over it when looking in the water. This creek gets a ton of foot traffic and I wondered if the fish were used to it. I made a dump cast to the fish and first it swam away. I wasn't surprised but as I took my line out of the water I noticed it charge back. Did I really have another shot? I cast again and made a few twitches with the fly, the pickerel moved closer and closer but didn't commit. I made one last cast and this time I did a type of jerk up and down motion with the fly. The fish moved closer as the fly was falling and the instant the fly was about to touch the ground the fish engulfed it. I went to set the hook and my leader was cut instantly.

I walked maybe 10ft down stream and spooked another fish. Usually with most species that is it you've lost your chance. I cast over in front of the fish and worked my way back the fish stopped swimming, swooped around and charged the fly like a barracuda. I think I've found a fish more aggressive than a bluegill and I am in love. The same action worked on this fish. A few small jerks and a dead dive to the bottom. This fish didn't commit as much as the last one. It slashed at the fly and took off. That was the last fish I saw but my friend and I worked a ton of water. A buddy fishing a different section caught a few pickerel himself but the strange thing was we saw no other fish. No bluegill, bass, carp, catfish nothing. It was really strange. A guy hiking said the creek is really good and has some big fish. It was hard to believe. Mostly because the creek has few pools deeper than 2 1/2 feet. Either way I'll be back to sight fish. It was a great day and a good sign that spring is almost here.

Testing the New Flies

2011-02-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

If you've been following my blog I'm sure you know about the ponds at my work. Well this post is about a different pond. There are about 6 ponds with in 2 miles of my house. I tried one I have never fished before. Seemed like a great time to try the new flies I tied. There was a guy spin fishing and when I asked if he caught anything his answer was "not yet." The conditions did look promising. I saw some activity in the corner of the pond and there was something in the shadows I couldn't make out. The swans were giving it fits. When I walked closer I realized it was a muskrat.It looked to be eating the same thing the swans were but paying a price. There were actually two and one swan had enough and chased a muskrat out of the water. I made several casts and on my second I swore I felt a hit. I continued to work around a drain pipe and while I fiddled with my line I noticed tension. I lifted the rod and an unmistakable flash came to the surface. I thought it was a small bass but when I brought it to hand I saw that it was a bluegill. One of the biggest I have caught in awhile.That was my only fish but not even a stones throw was another pond. The wind had made one side of the pond a layer of leaves. Behind me was a steep hillside. It was a great casting challenge. Cast up the angle of the hill then far enough out over the leaves. With in about 5 casts I had a little bass. I was thrilled to know that my fly indeed works. The bass seemed to be stationed in the sun and sheltered from the wind. The guy who was spin casting came over and politely asked if he could join me. I told him where the fish were in a few casts he had a fish on. I had to leave to get back to work but it was a lunch well spent. I'll probably visit these ponds more when the weather gets warmer.

New Toy

2011-02-22T15:32:00.000-08:00

The Cabelas Custom Glass rod arrived today. The case it came in was pretty neat.

I quickly opened the case and assembled the rod. The quality of the rod looks very good. The wraps and finish is great. The rod has an interesting feel. The bottom half is firm and the top half is flimsy. I'm interested to see how this thing casts. I'm hoping to do a video review later in the week. The thing that puzzled me was where the sections connect together. The rods I'm an used to have a male and female end. The male end is usually totally concealed when the peices are fit together. With this rod there is no way to totally cover the male end. I'm not sure if that is by design or all glass rods are this way.

My first impression of the rod is it is definitely worth the $99 price tag. Everything looks clean and well made. Cabela's might have a huge winner on their hands.It's going to be fun to see how delicate this rod can cast. For my tests I'm going to throw 5 different flies. A dry, bugger, weighted fly, popper, and something in between a steamer and popper. It would be great to get a gill or bass on some of these casts to see how well the rod flexes under pressure.

The Bass Are Getting Active

2011-02-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

I got a chance to get out yesterday and fish the ponds by work. The bass were in the shallows. It looked like they were looking for spawning territory rather than getting warm. I caught a few on a fly I recently tied. The fly has olive green dubbing, rubber legs and a rabbit tail. I used dumbbell eyes to weight it down but I honestly think the fly would work even better with lead wraps under the dubbing. Either way the bass didn't seem to mind.There is a lake nearby that has some big fish in it. I think I will focus on this place next. A friend showed a pic of a 3lb bass he caught on a crank bait and he boasted about catching an 8lb plus before. Big fish could easily be in this lake but the water visibility is so poor I don't really see how big fish would feed. The fun will be finding out.

Small Creek Rod

2011-02-21T05:08:00.000-08:00

I have been looking for a rod to fish small creeks for quite awhile. I wanted something short with the ability to cast in rhododendron choked streams. A week ago some friends had a get together and we were talking about various rods. Cabelas Custom Glass rods became a topic of discussion. The consensus was there is little known about them but from the specs and options they seem to be decent rods. The best part is the price. I looked them up on line the next day and I saw one of the rods is a 5'9 3wt. That rod might be flimsy but I like the length. I pulled the trigger and the rod is in the mail to me this week. I think it will be great for tiny wild trout streams. It should be perfect for the small warm water creeks and river that are local. Seems like a perfect bluegill rod. I'll do a full review once I have it.

Neat Fish Attack Video

2011-02-17T04:44:00.000-08:00

This video shows some fish tearing through bait fish near the shore. The camera angle is a birds eye view. It's pretty cool.

Awesome Fish Attack ... Epic Heron Fail from Mark on Vimeo.

New Hope Creek

2011-02-14T15:08:00.000-08:00

I tried to make the best of the first weekend over 60 degrees by exploring new water. I have heard about New Hope Creek but never fished it. I have been hunting chain pickerel for awhile and from what I've heard New Hope is full of them. I spread the word of my plan and it wasn't long until I had a small band of fly fishers to share my adventure. I had no idea really where the water was or how to get there. I was given directions from a friend but I wasn't given a map or pointed to a particular spot. The directions were good enough and in no time my we were at the trail head. After about a half mile hike we got our first glimpse of the creek. There's something about seeing new water that gives you an adrenaline rush. The opportunities are endless and every knew experience is like a gift. My eagerness was subdued some by the steep trail we had to navigate to get down. There was some some rock hopping but we made it to the waters edge. The creek was clear and was the color of limestone. There was a newcomer with us and I offered him first cast. He passed and as I stepped into the creek I saw a shadow bolt into deeper water. At least I knew there was fish here. I cast my trusty white wooly bugger under a tree and I could have sworn I saw a swirl around my fly. I jerked the rod but nothing was at the other end. My next few casts yeilded no results either. We split up into groups of two.The thing you couldn't help but notice was how scenic the creek was. The feel of it was similar to the Eno River but set in a canyon with features like a mtn stream. The wading was fairly easy and there seemed to be structure set in perfect places for fish to hold.Even with all these great lies there was no sign of fish. The fisherhman I was with had a thermometer and I almost thought about packing up and leaving when he told me the reading. "Looks like it's 40degrees". I couldn't beleive it was that cold. No wonder there seemed to be no sign of life. I turned my attention into looking for deep holes where maybe all the fish were sitting. There was a nice one that had a family playing at the top of the pool.
There were quite a few people near this creek as apposed to the Eno where you might see one person all day. We saw several families and people walking dogs. I'm not sure if there is always this much traffic, it could have been others getting out and enjoying the warm weather. Its been months since it has been this warm. The person I was with was new to fly fishing and he had asked me for some casting advice. I have a hard time instructing people on how to do things. I've learned mostly everything I know from just trial and error. Whenever I want to learn something I first just watch someone do it over and over. Then I try to copy it. Eventually I figure out a way between what they are doing and what works for me. My main advice for this person was practice. I tried showing him how to regain control of line using a double haul. But while I was showing him I thought to myself this is way too advanced. It took me about a year to do that properly. Eventually I just kept finding myself saying practice, practice, over and over.He was a really nice guy and took the advice at face value. I'm sure he and I will fish more. It's hard to fish with someone and not come away friends. That's part of the reason I enjoy fishing so much. It's also the times in between. Where you are walking from one spot to another just enjoying the little things. How the leaves are falling off a tree, analyzing a interesting looking fungus, watching bugs flutter around a rock or just admiring the shadows and how they lay across the trail.The only word I can use to describe it is entertaining. I'm constantly interested and amused by what I see while fishing. I'm hardly ever bored. There's always something around the next eddy that will keep the day going and make you want to stay for just one more cast.

A Blue Gill Video of All Things

2011-02-10T11:54:00.000-08:00

I have several youtube videos of me catching various fish. Stripers, Carp, trout, but none of them have had the interest as this one. A couple summers ago I filmed me fly fishing a small pond for bluegill. It was just kind of the perfect scenario. A warm summer afternoon, calm water, blue bird skies and ravenous gills. I managed to catch 3 fish on 3 consecutive casts which is no big deal really when bluegill fishing. I figured no one would even care when I posted it on youtube. After a month, I received a comment. Then a few more. Then I started to really monitor the traffic and in the videos 6 month after posting the views had sky rocketed to over 1500. It made me happy to see people just love bluegill fishing. It is really a type of fishing that gets you in touch with your childhood since these fish are usually the first to bend a rod. I checked today and there were over 3000 views and the traffic is still going steady. The love for the gill lives on and I think fly fishing for them is becoming more popular.

Experiments on the Vise

2011-02-05T15:54:00.001-08:00

I have been experimenting lately with thinner flies with skinny legs. I'm thinking these may work better for the small streams I fish.

Possible grass carp fly.
These were custom tied by a friend. They are made for going deep. The segmented look of the body is actually a steel wrap. Pretty cool. I wanted to try these out this weekend but the rain changed my plans. The weather lately has sucked.

Pretty Dang Funny

2011-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

My buddy sent me this video today and I had to share. It reminded me of my childhood and the whole movie is put together well.

Bass Bite in the Winter

2011-02-01T12:23:00.000-08:00

I don't really get it but I decided to try fishing another pond even though the weather was in the 40's. This pond had no sign of life what so ever and the water was dark and clear. I decided to fish with the trusty white wooly bugger and on my 3rd cast fooled this guy.This fish is almost the exact same size as the one I caught yesterday. The coloring is a little better and the fish looked pretty healthy. It gave a decent fight too. I've never had this good of luck in early winter, hopefully it continues.

Thank God for Work Ponds

2011-02-01T04:28:00.001-08:00

I decided to try my luck at the pond near my work. The temperature was 42 degrees and I didn't expect much. When I walked up to the water I saw a carp cruising the bottom. I ended up hooking the bass in the pic above. It fought pretty hard but was lethargic when I released it. It was caught with a white wooly bugger. Finally got my first fish of the year!

Fly Fishing Show Reveiw

2011-01-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

This was my first experience at the Fly Fishing Show. I liked it a lot but I came away a little confused. I was told before hand that a lot of vendors were going to have bargain bins with amazing deals. There wasn't much of that. A few places had 50% off apparel but it was pretty picked over and odd sizes. There were some good deals on flies. An example was a dozen flies for $10. I was puzzled that more vendors didn't have good deals. The market they are selling too was literally coming to them.

The best part was probably the speakers. There were professional casters and fly tiers. Bob Clouser gave a casting instruction and Whitlock had a presentation on deer hair flies.

Both drew big crowds. It was interesting that Clouser had different casting advice than someone who gave a presentation just a few hours prior. They almost contradicted themselves. All I took away was casting is really about personal preference and what works for you. There was a nice casting lane in the middle of the show where people could test out rods. You could see people lined up around the sides to not only watch the action of the rod but also critique the caster. There were targets laid out in a pool for people to cast too. Some people got their line stuck in the rafters up above. I think the embarrassing experience made other people reluctant to try casting. I have to admit I was one of those people. It has been so cold and all this fly fishing stuff made me just want to cast a rod. I finally gave in and made my way to the casting lane. I was sure I was going to do something stupid. Luckily I didn't and made a few nice casts to the targets.

I never really knew who David Whitlock was but after seeing his art, fly tying instruction and checking out some of his books I was impressed..

I decided to buy his book about Fly Fishing For Bass. It's a book I need since I rarely catch a lot of large mouth. David kindly autographed it and I was really happy with what he did.

I watched David do this for several other people and it was easy to see that he not only loves fishing but appreciates his fans. He doesn't have to do any of this. He could go to a show and give a talk take his money and leave. I'm sure he doesn't even need money, he's in his 70's and could probably spend the rest of his days fishing. Instead, he chooses to autograph books, give free trying instruction presentations and will talk and share his knowledge with anyone.

The Triangle Fly Fishers had a great presence at the show.

There was a lot of interest. This is what the club needed. Raleigh-Durham is a pretty big area and it's difficult to get exposure to the right people. It seemed people were looking for the same thing, fishing information for local waters. For some reason warm water fly fishing is not getting the same recognition as cold water trout fishing. Our club is trying to show people that you don't have to drive 3hrs for great fishing, there is great rivers in your own backyard. We'll see how the response is in the next coming week. There was also a lot in interest in fly tying. Our club had a booth set up for beginning fly tying where people could tie a wooly bugger themselves. The booth was always full and kids seemed to really enjoy it.

It was nice to talk to other organizations and groups. Thomas from Carolina Fly ties balsa wood poppers that are amazing to look at as I'm sure they are to fish. He is a native from Cary, NC and like most started out spin fishing then eventually moved to a fly rod. The craftsmanship of his flies is top notch.

He had never heard of TFF before and after talking for awhile seemed interested in joining us. The Eno River is one of is favorite places to go and he was pleased about our club adopting a stretch.

The Fly Fishing Show in general was great. It was nice to be at the booth and help spread the word about TFF. It was also fun just to talk to people about where they fished, what they tie and their philosophies on the sport. I wish my job was to talk about a hobby I love all day.

Fly Fishing Show in Raleigh, NC

2011-01-24T07:10:00.000-08:00

There hasn't been much to look forward to this winter when it comes to fishing except for the Fly Fishing Show.

NC State Fairgrounds

January 29, 30 2011

Show Hours: Sat 9:00 - 5:30; Sun 9 - 5:00

Admission: Adult: $15 for one day,
$25 for two-day pass,
Children under 5 free, under 12: $2
Scouts under 16 in uniform: free
Active Military with ID: $10

The Triangle Fly Fishers will have a booth at the show and will also have an area for beginner fly tying. Come by and say hi, then tie a bugger or two. This show should be great. There are going to be tying demonstrations from legends like Bob Clouser and David Whitlock. There will also be casting demonstrations and various seminars and presentations on fishing techniques and destinations. This is show will be fly fisherman heaven.

Still Too Cold

2011-01-17T07:00:00.000-08:00

I made an attempt at fishing last weekend. I tried a lake that is in full sun hoping there would hardly be any ice. I knew it wasn't good when I saw a couple heron standing on top of the ice in t he middle of the lake. I walked down a dock and the water looked to be clear of ice. Then as I got closer I noticed it had a thin layer. I through a weighted fly just to see if it would break through. It bounced off the ice like it was nothing. It was amusing to cast my fly out and see it skid across the ice. Well it was fun for about 5min. Then I decided it was time to go. It's too bad too, the weather was sunny and warm enough to where you didn't need a jacket. The water will be fish-able soon.

Hating this

2011-01-07T06:46:00.001-08:00

I wanted to hopefully hit a trout stream this weekend but the weather is not cooperating. Snow is even predicted locally. Looks like the wooly worm prediction was right so far. The prediction was a cold start to winter, warm middle and cold end. At least the playoffs are going on this weekend.

Epic Fail

2011-01-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

Not only did I get out just once this December to fish. I also never made my goal of one fish per month. I tried to start the new year right this last weekend and looked into fishing a stream in VA. There was snow on the ground from a storm a few days before. The depth impressed me since the surrounding area was mostly void of substantial amounts. The snow at the elevation where the river was seemed to be 8-10inches. There was still ice covering many sections where the water was calm. I didn't want to fish with out a license so I spent the day enjoying the scenery. I'm definitely going to get a out of state and be back to check out some water near by. I didn't realize how close my father in law lived to trout water. Maybe I can get him out on the water. He received a fly rod as a gift over a year ago and it has yet to be cast.

Great White Caught on a Fly

2010-12-30T05:19:00.000-08:00

This post was inspired by a followers comment about fishing for sharks off San Diego. A juvenile great white was caught on a fly in July. The fly looks a little funny from the pic. It's an interesting story none the less. For the full story Click Here.

Back from San Diego

2010-12-29T07:55:00.000-08:00

I made it back from San Diego luckily without having to spend the night in an airport. Winter storms shut down most of the airports on the east coast the morning of our flight. We rescheduled our flight and figured there are worse places to be stuck then San Diego. It was fun seeing family and the last two days we were able to relax and didn't spend our time driving around all over the county. The weather was great and the family had a good time. I was even able to visit some of the fly shops there. I found one I never knew existed. Both shops were great and had good advice. I never knew there were bonefish in San Diego. I guess you can't sight fish for them. They hang in deep water near one of the far ends of a bay where the water stays warm year round. The shops did give me advice on trout fishing in the area and sight fishing for surf species such as halibut and corbina. I didn't bring my fly rod and the weather wasn't fishing weather at all. I still wish I took some time to wet a line some where. Oh well, there's always next time. The two shops I checked out were So Cal Fly Fishing Outfitters and The San Diego Fly Shop. There was a sale ad the SD Fly shop. I picked up a pair of convertible quick-dry Exofficio pants for $35.