Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Monday, January 30, 2012

Faceless

If you haven't seen this yet, it's a trip worth taking.  Enjoy.


PLAN B FACELESS FLY FISHING from FACELESS FLY FISHING MEDIA on Vimeo.

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Humble Bows

Stumbled on this video of the humblefisherman catching a couple chunks of meat, courtesy of the Fish Fly.  These Alberta bows look like they would put a good bend in the rod.  I love catching a spunky bow!

Friday, January 20, 2012

Proverbial cliffs

A couple weeks into the semester and I am already tired of homework.  When it is a topic you find little interest in it can push you to the edge.  What is over that cliff you may ask?  Well I will tell you.  A river.  Today the homework, namely chemistry, pushed me over that proverbial cliff and I found myself standing in a river.  And what luck, I happened to have a fly rod in my hand.

Here is a short video...



This medium sized cutthroat trout took a streamer pattern I created.  I call it the "Cutty Candy."  The name may already be taken by some other fisherman, but I'll claim it till I hear otherwise.

Todays fishing was not fast and furious.  In the short while I was out, this beautiful cutty was the solo catch.  I didn't mind.  Being outside was refreshing.  The wind was hardly noticeable, and the temp was in the upper 30's.  I wish I could have been out there longer, but I am grateful for even this quick outing.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Making plans

Cabin fever has set in.  BAD.

I will be headed out to poke a hole in the ice on Monday, but ice fishing can lose its appeal pretty quick.  I enjoy it and the diversity makes the seasons all that more enjoyable, but the rivers start calling again shortly after early ice.  This may be because drilling multiple with a hand auger in over a foot of ice is... well... for lack of a better word, work!  I just picked up a new Nils Master 8 inch auger, and look forward to shaving some ice with its famed ease.  It has a lot of good reviews.  Augers aside, there is also the sled and any other things you want to tote along with you.  Between a tent, heater, poles, pole stands, snacks, chairs, and kids if you bring them, the weight adds up quick.  I suppose someday when I get an atv or snowmachine it will be easier, but even then those machines have an upkeep.  It is work, and I do enjoy it, but nothing compares to casting a fly.

Once cabin fever hits there is no stopping it.  My mind moves into planning mode and there are so many opportunities to get into good fishing.  I have slowly realized all the fishing opportunities there are, many of which have come to my attention within the past five years.  While on a fishing excursion one day a friend pointed out how they plan their year according to months.  It was a definite "light buuuuulb" moment.  Now I find myself doing the same thing.

January-February
Trout, Kokanee, and Perch are the targets.
The new year begins on the ice.


with some rivers thrown in the mix...


March-June
Steelhead, Carp, and Trout are the primary targets with a little bit O' Bass.
Chasing these fins with a fly rod is a blast.  It is so kind of them to travel so far so I can catch them.  Maybe they know I don't have the time to make the trip, yet.



Ignore the demon eyes...  

As for Carp, I didn't think the Golden Bones could be successfully caught until late April or early May, but this last season Jared and I ventured out a bit earlier with some pleasant results.








Gus with one of his first carp on the fly!

Nice shot with the Velocity


July-August
Trout are the focus, but Salmon can also be caught.
This is the time of year when there are too many weeds to chase carp on a lot of the "usual areas," and the rivers and streams have all cleared and lowered from runoff flows.  High mountain streams get my attention.  I love to find new places.  There are so many little gems that people ignore because of the hiking, smaller fish, or they just don't like catching trees much.  So many people miss out on the rugged beauty of both terrain and wild fish.  And nothing compares to an explosive dry fly take from a wild trout.

















Salmon River salmon fishing...
There is usually a short window in July that F&G allow for the season, and it is on a pretty small stretch of the river. 




September-October
With the Fall gearing up hungry trout are the target, but there may be some dabbling with early Steelhead.
I had a hoot this last Fall, and managed to catch some surprisingly nice fish in places I never would have thought.  I also took another step toward streamers, which I have only been doing in gesture until now.



November-December
Steelhead and Trout are where it's at.
The sections of river where the steelhead are found this time of year are more geared toward a casting setup, or those using spey rods.  I would love to get into a spey setup, but all in good time.  I usually break out my casting rod and reel and if you hit it right, the fishing is great.



Toward the end of November and into December is when the early ice fishing gets going.  Henry's is usually the first place to hit and the whole yearly cycle starts over again.

I love how diverse fishing can be.  I have preferences like most people, but when it comes down to the "nitty gritty" I would have to say that I simply love catching fish.  This year has already started out awesome, bring on the rest!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Bucket listed

I have a brother moving to Michigan in a year or two.  I'm sure he will need a visit annually.


Saturday, January 7, 2012

Fickle Weather...

With the way things have been here in southeastern Idaho, I am not sure what kind of fishing I should be craving exactly.  Our temps have reached the mid to upper 40s on a couple of days, and the rest seem to be in the upper 30s.  We had a light dusting of snow just in time to make it feel like Christmas, but most of that has since melted and we are left with a pre-spring thaw feel.  It has me craving carp flats and steelhead stalking.

This video did not make things any better!  I'm ready for the Teton to unfreeze so I can break out my flyrod between classes.  It's only a half week into school and I cannot help my mind from wandering to moving water with feisty trout!



Fly Fishing in Fernie, British Columbia from Tourism Fernie on Vimeo.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

The Off Season... Sorta

Okay, so the title is not really appropriate considering the fact that for those who love fishing, there is no "off season."  However, there is a kind of off season for different ways of fishing.  For example, in the middle of the summer it would be amusing to watch a person try and walk out on a lake to drill a hole.  And in the middle of the winter it sure becomes difficult to fling a little three weight at high mountain stream trout when they wriggle under four feet of snow and ice.

 When mid summer hits and the runoff has come down, my mind looks toward those beautiful little streams up in the mountains.  They are the ones that usually require some hiking, ambling through thick brush, or slipping over large smooth boulders.  With the effort these little gems require to navigate, it's nice to have less tackle to carry.  I usually wear a fishing vest, but as I have come to better understand, the more you know what you are doing the less gear you need.

Here is my first attempt at a minimalistic approach to fly fishing.  And it begins with a homemade flyfishing lanyard.



This is a little neoprene bag, coated with plastidip.  I made it to carry my Frogs Fanny.

This is a little container for split shot.  I don't know just yet whether I will be keeping this on the lanyard since most of the fishing I do in these streams is with dries.

This is a clip that I placed right in the bottom center of the lanyard, so I can attach it to my shirt or waders.  This keeps the lanyard from moving around too much or getting in the way when leaning over.

This is a small container that will more likely hold flies than indicators, but right now it is their temporary home.

This is my liquid fly flotant.  I'm not sure that I will keep the quick release on there.

Nippers are a must have.

I considered attaching these to a swivel with a retractor and I still might, but figured I would give them a try here first.

This is a tippet holder.  It is made from a bic pen tube, 20# mono that is braided, a swivel and a clip, and it is all coated in Plastidip.  You can see the swivel in this picture.

A view where the clip can be seen.

I had some help from my wife with this part.  It is the neck pad.  It is made from neoprene (I had some old waders).  I cut out a rectangular strip, folded both ends in and then ran a cross stitch down it to form two tubelike sections.  The cord is paracord, and each tube has one cord run through it.  The ends I bought from Sportsmans Warehouse for just over a dollar.

Here is Will modeling the lanyard.


There are definitely some refinements that I will be making, especially after I start field testing it, but for all intents and purposes it is ready to fish!  Now I need to think of something else to work on, or maybe I should just tie some flies or paint some jigs.