Northern Fly Fishing

Northern Fly Fishing from Whip Fly Fishing on Vimeo.

Whip Fly Fishing doesn't have a lot of material on Vimeo... yet... But the videos they have shared with the world so far are gold. And this one is no different. Two men, who have only just begun their journey in fly fishing, take a little trip to find some bigger fish. If you haven't seen it yet, it's a worthwhile video.

Anticipation

Maybe it's just me but I find the time leading up to a fishing trip to be almost as good as the trip itself. There's just something about going through all of my gear; checking and rechecking the line for cracks, tying flies to fill the gaps in my fly box, counting my spare leaders and spools of tippet, looking for pinholes in my waders, and even checking the drag on my reel. Admittedly, I've always been a little bit of a gear weeny, but that isn't why I find the preparations so cathartic. It's the memories that are tied to everything. The feisty bass that defeated my drag and pulled me halfway into my backing. And the ding in my fly box from slipping on an algae covered slab of limestone, fumbling the box and then watching it bounce off a boulder below me and sink straight to the bottom of the stream. The memories quickly turn to daydreams. Daydreams of what the trip will be like, what I will catch, what I will see. The anticipation is absolutely exciting. But then again, maybe it's just me.

Weekend Prep

If you are anything like me you spend almost as much time preparing for a trip as you do fishing on said trip. All the fly tying, looking for holes in waders, checking the line for cracks, checking the drag on the reel, rechecking the line for cracks; you get the point. The hours add up. So take a break from your weekend prepping and enjoy these videos.


Scandinavian Sea Trouts from Whip Fly Fishing on Vimeo.






Mighty Mouse - Alaska Mouse Fishing from Fly Out Media on Vimeo.

GEOBASS: Papua New Guinea

That's right. Another adventure to a very remote location with the sole purpose of finding bass. And this one is a doozy. Enjoy.



If you want to see more check out the Costa Del Mar page.

GEOBASS: Botswana

Look what found it's way to my inbox this morning. This latest installment of GEOBASS finds the guys in Botswana and is probably the best episode to date.

Dreamin'

So the wife is out doing karaoke with some friends for the evening. Which means I have the TV to myself... Broke out the vise and put on some Netflix; Long Way Round to be exact. It has always been a dream of mine to get a dual sport and tour the world. Maybe with a fly rod. So who out there wants to grab a camera and document a bum on a bike with his fly rod?

"Urban Lines"

One more video today. This one is short but it touches on a topic that has been on my mind for a while now. Be looking out for a future post as I plan to write about this very subject. For now, though, check out this video that was included in today's edition of Friday Fly-Fishing Film Festival hosted by Orvis every week.
Urban Lines - Fish Where You Are from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Jazz and Fly Fishing

If you haven't had a chance to check out these videos you need to. I finally got around to watching episode 4 of season 2 and it is one of the best. The blog can be found here and the videos here.

Season Two Episode 4: The Curse from Jazz & Fly Fishing on Vimeo.

Happy Place

I needed a little cheering up this morning. Not wanting to venture too far, I set out on a local river, and found myself surprisingly alone... Exactly what I needed. Growing up in the woods, I never dreamed I would appreciate urban streams. But now that I live in the city, they have become my happy place.

BEST FISH EVER!!!!

My father first took me fishing when I was very young. I have no idea how old I was but there are plenty of pictures of me as a child, with a fishing rod in hand, from before I can even remember. When I was 13, he introduced me to fly fishing. I knew about fly fishing before then and had often gone with my father to watch him. I was always so intrigued by the concept. Mostly because, to my young mind, he was waving the rod around and making cool loops with the line. Which looked like a lot of fun. Plus the line wasn't clear. It was pale yellow. And the idea of having colorful line is pretty appealing when your a boy. Anyway, when I was 13, I got my first fly rod for my birthday. It was stiffer than a 2x4, but it was a fly rod. Yet, it was not just a fly rod, but a right of passage. To me, that rod was symbol that my father thought I was mature enough and patient enough to learn something that, to 13 year old me, was an activity only for the elite.
On our first trip, we borrowed my aunt's camper and went up to northern NH. My father took me to a small stream and set me loose with a few quick instructions. I was having a blast and getting horribly frustrated at the same time. Finally getting the hang of casting, I spotted a small brook trout swimming in a little pool just above the riffle I was playing around in and decided to try to catch it. I must have thrown the fly to him 30 times before he finally took pity on me and sipped my terribly presented Hornburg. I played him for 3 seconds before he gave in and let me bring him to hand. Being only 4 inches at best, he was by far the smallest, and yet biggest fish I have ever caught. That fish was the most satisfying fish I have ever played to hand. Not because he gave me a good fight, because he didn't, but because I was with my father... And because he was passing on his passion for fly fishing to me.
So here's to you Dad. Happy Fathers' Day.

NERD ALERT

Soooooooo... Sometimes you plan to go fishing with a friend and he happens to bring his GoPro. Let's just say we spent so much time trying to get cool shots with his new truck that we ran out of battery by the time we started fishing. And by the time we started fishing it was late and we had to stop. So there wasn't much fishing that day. Oh well. It was still a fun day. And, we got a 'cool' video out of it.

Separated Sections

I've been tying a lot of flies lately, and with fly tying comes reminiscing. Personally, I can't help but lose myself in the experiences I have had while I am at the vise. One day, in particular, seams to stand out the most for me today. I was fishing a relatively quick stretch of river just below the damn where I live. It was a pretty warm day and I chose to where shorts and Chacos as the river bottom is mostly gravel and wading boots are just not necessary. The water felt cool on my legs as it flowed past. We had some rain recently and the water was a bit murky so I tied on a light-olive damsel with silver bead eyes and used a random pattern of stripping to retrieve it. Sunfish, Rio Grand Cichlids, and Small Mouth Bass were hitting almost every cast. I even had an occasional Guadalupe Bass. It was one of those afternoons that you get to stand in refreshing water and enjoy the aggressive nature of little fish. A small crowd formed on the river bank. OK... It was more like a family and their dog. Regardless, I had a small audience. The shadow of a pretty sizable Rio Grand caught my eye in the shallows of the far bank. I pulled my line up off the water into a backcast and proceeded to make a few false casts paying out line with every forward stroke. Soon, I was ready to launch. The line flew past me on my final back cast. I waited for the rod to load... Only it didn't. I looked back in time to see the tip section of my rod zipping down the line and splashing into the water behind me. My heart went into my throat as my head spun left to see if my audience had noticed. They had. And they found the caper quite amusing. I'm not going to lie, this one hurt a little.

I've struggled with confidence my entire life. I let my self awareness and fear of looking dumb interfere with my activities. Up until a year ago, I hadn't been fly fishing since I was a kid. "What if people see me mess up?" "What if they also fly fish and notice my imperfect loops?" A year ago I came to a realization when talking with my father on the phone. He told me he considers himself a novice; a claim that a lot of people who, like him, who have been fly fishing for 40 plus years make. That was the "aha" moment for me. Fly fishing is inherently difficult. It doesn't matter how good you are, how much you practice, or how long you have been doing it. You're going to make mistakes. And other fly fisherman are going to laugh. But they truly aren't laughing at you (at least not all the time). They are laughing because you just reminded them of the time they did exactly what you just did. And often times, the time they are thinking of is a lot more recent than you think.

Starting My Thread

All around me, the sound of keystrokes and mouse clicks keep an otherwise silent room in motion. A phone rings a few cubes down and startles me. I never thought I would be here. I always said that office life wasn’t for me, and I was right. That is why I majored in Environmental Studies (a glorified Biology degree with just enough policy and civics to differentiate it from the other science majors that were offered). Unfortunately, due to the job market at the time of graduation, I was never able to find anything in the field without going back for a masters. Severely in debt, I took a job with the company I still work for today. They have been good to me. Promotions, raises, bonuses, and let’s not forget a steady income. All that is wonderful But something is missing. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when I really enjoy what I am doing and I don’t mind working on a computer. But at the end of the day, I’m not pursuing what I believe I should be, and it’s exhausting.

I recently wrote in to a podcast I listen too; The Open Fly Podcast. Yes, I’m aware of how nerdy that makes me. But if you haven’t already heard it, give the podcast a listen here. There are a lot of good conversations related not only to fly fishing but to the conservation of our fisheries. Anyway, I wrote in asking for some advice on how to get a footing in the fly fishing industry without necessarily becoming a guide. The response caught me off guard. Turns out, the fly fishing industry isn’t so much like an industry but more of a tight knit community of professionals who all share one common goal; to spread their passion for fly fishing. The piece of advice they had for me? Use my current skill sets to contribute to the fly fishing community. The bottom line is this; I have a deep passion for fly fishing and I want to share that with others. So here I am, starting a blog, and attempting to reach for something besides my keyboard so I can live life outside of my cubicle walls.