After 4 days of driving with a daily stop to fish, my son Jacob and I finally arrived in Utah on Thursday afternoon. We traveled nearly 2500 miles, ate at Burger King more times than I would have liked (I let my son choose our meals along the way and he opted for a plain double cheeseburger at least once a day) but we were able to fish four beautiful streams along the way:
Dry Run Creek in Arkansas
Bear Creek in Colorado
Diamond Fork watershed in Utah
Lower Provo River in Utah
I'll save the details of those fishing excursions for another blog entry and/or podcast, but for now we're glad to be in Utah. The water levels are higher than normal but the Provo river is certainly fishing well. I've been told that there is even the occasional hot topwater action.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Tomorrow's the big day!
Well, tomorrow has finally arrived ;)
Ok, that didn't sound quite right but the point is this: I've been anticipating this year's "vacation" (in quotes because I have to bring my work with me) to Utah for quite some time and tomorrow my son and I are finally heading out. We're leaving from NC and it will take us several days to get there. My wife and daughters will fly out and meet us there at the end of the week.
We're driving rather than flying so that I can haul all of my fly-fishing related shtuff across the country and, trust me, it's a lot of stuff. Plus since I'll have to work at least a few hours every day I'm also bringing three computers, two monitors, a printer and a multi-sheet scanner. The back of my minivan is pretty much exactly what you'd expect to find if an Orvis delivery truck and a Best Buy delivery truck collided head on into one another on the freeway. Especially if you threw in a few bags of Cheetos and a cooler full of Diet Coke.
Ok, that didn't sound quite right but the point is this: I've been anticipating this year's "vacation" (in quotes because I have to bring my work with me) to Utah for quite some time and tomorrow my son and I are finally heading out. We're leaving from NC and it will take us several days to get there. My wife and daughters will fly out and meet us there at the end of the week.
We're driving rather than flying so that I can haul all of my fly-fishing related shtuff across the country and, trust me, it's a lot of stuff. Plus since I'll have to work at least a few hours every day I'm also bringing three computers, two monitors, a printer and a multi-sheet scanner. The back of my minivan is pretty much exactly what you'd expect to find if an Orvis delivery truck and a Best Buy delivery truck collided head on into one another on the freeway. Especially if you threw in a few bags of Cheetos and a cooler full of Diet Coke.
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Patience is NOT a virtue
I recently had a conversation with a bait fisherman who commented to me that fly fishing must require a lot of patience. I simply smiled and nodded but what I wanted to say was "What?! You mean compared to parking your lazy arse in a lawn chair staring idly at the water while your fishing pole rests on a Y-shaped stick? Now *that's* patience, pal!" Seriously, fly fishing is the perfect sport for impatient people: you're moving constantly and even when you're not catching anything you're always working.
In fact, my advice to novice fly fishermen everywhere is: be less patient! If you're fishing your way up a small mountain stream and come to a nice pool, make a few drag-free drifts and then MOVE ON TO THE NEXT POOL. Fish don't get more and more attracted to your fly the more times they see it. You'll catch more fish if you take your best shot and move on to the next pool.
Unless you're fishing in crowded conditions or where wading is dangerous, I'm convinced this principal holds true even on bigger streams and tailwaters that hold lots of fish. Sure, if the stream is 20-feet it will take you longer to cover the water but there's no point sending your fly down the same riffle thirty times if you're not catching fish.
In my experience, the Green River is an excellent example. During the summer there are fish that hold along the edges of the river waiting for terrestrials to get blown into the water. If you walk cautiously along the bank, you can see these fish before they see you. If you can cast far enough and with accuracy, you have a pretty good chance of hooking these fish. My approach is to give each of these fish a few casts and then move on up to the next fish. Yeah, I might walk have to walk 50 or 100 yards until I see the next fish holding along the river's edge but who cares? There are miles and miles of stream to work with.
You might argue that since the Green River holds as many as 7000-10000 trout per mile by some estimates I'm just wasting time and energy covering so much distance between casts. Maybe so, but when I come upon one of those bank-feeders I have a pretty darn good idea that it's looking for a meal and I can sight-cast to it with a whopping dry fly. Call me crazy, but that's a whole lot more fun than watching a strike indicator come to a stop somewhere above a size 22 nymph hidden deep under the water.
In fact, my advice to novice fly fishermen everywhere is: be less patient! If you're fishing your way up a small mountain stream and come to a nice pool, make a few drag-free drifts and then MOVE ON TO THE NEXT POOL. Fish don't get more and more attracted to your fly the more times they see it. You'll catch more fish if you take your best shot and move on to the next pool.
Unless you're fishing in crowded conditions or where wading is dangerous, I'm convinced this principal holds true even on bigger streams and tailwaters that hold lots of fish. Sure, if the stream is 20-feet it will take you longer to cover the water but there's no point sending your fly down the same riffle thirty times if you're not catching fish.
In my experience, the Green River is an excellent example. During the summer there are fish that hold along the edges of the river waiting for terrestrials to get blown into the water. If you walk cautiously along the bank, you can see these fish before they see you. If you can cast far enough and with accuracy, you have a pretty good chance of hooking these fish. My approach is to give each of these fish a few casts and then move on up to the next fish. Yeah, I might walk have to walk 50 or 100 yards until I see the next fish holding along the river's edge but who cares? There are miles and miles of stream to work with.
You might argue that since the Green River holds as many as 7000-10000 trout per mile by some estimates I'm just wasting time and energy covering so much distance between casts. Maybe so, but when I come upon one of those bank-feeders I have a pretty darn good idea that it's looking for a meal and I can sight-cast to it with a whopping dry fly. Call me crazy, but that's a whole lot more fun than watching a strike indicator come to a stop somewhere above a size 22 nymph hidden deep under the water.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Gearing up...
I've already mentioned before that I'm stockpiling the flies I think we'll need this summer. I'm also stockpiling gear and since I'm driving rather than flying there's really no need to try to conserve space. In addition to flies here's what I have so far, most of which is stuff I already owned but some of which is new for this trip:
- At least 5 fly rods ranging from a delicate 6'8" 3wt bamboo rod to a 9' 5wt workhorse. If I had a 6wt rod, I'd bring it just in case we fished streamers but based on the water we're planning to fish I probably wouldn't end up using it anyway. And that's partly why I've never bought one.
- Four fly reels, three of which have an extra spool. It's much more likely that I'll break a rod than melt down a reel, but I might as well bring most of the reels I own even if they won't all see use.
- Two pairs of breathable waders and two pairs of felt-sole boots. I kinda wish I had some boots with spikes but I don't and haven't yet been able to justify the cost. I take a wader full of water every now and again but at least so far it's never been something I can blame on the boots.
- Two pairs of neoprene socks and two pairs of wet wading pants. I'll be honest: wet wading is a lot of fun when it's hot outside. I suspect that most of my days will be spent wading wet.
- A five-piece wading staff and belt. I'm not sure how often I'll need to use a wading staff (if at all) but I figured I should bring the one I own in case the outrageously high water levels have not subsided by August. Crossing the Green River on foot is arguably a bit easier with a staff but most of the time when I bring a staff, it just hangs there by my side waiting for the chance to reach out and get tangled up in my fly line.
- A whole bunch of 7.5' 5wt leaders and a few other leaders in different lengths and weights. The 7.5' 5wt is pretty much my go-to leader. If I need to go smaller and longer I can add 6x and 7x tippet. If I need to get heavier for streamers, I can clip back the end of the leader and tie on a 4x tippet.
- Flourocarbon tippet in sizes 4x through 7x. Yeah, the flouro is expensive but from everything I've read this is one of those new-fangled technologies that actually makes a difference when it comes to catching fish.
- Moldable tungsten putty and small tin split shot. This is my first year using moldable putty (rolled as needed around a small tin split shot). The idea is that you can change the amount of weight you have on the line quickly and easily. I hope it works for me but my observation thus far is that the putty tends to leave a residue on my fingers that doesn't wash off in water. This is still a work in progress.
- Various strike indicators from footballs to "Don Kings" to moldable biostrike stuff to those foam stick on indicators that fall off as soon as you move them up or down the leader. I haven't yet decided on a favorite yet, but it's not for lack of trying. For whatever reason I have problems with slippage no matter which indicator I use so I'm still on the hunt for the perfect solution. If you have a suggestion (the more specific the better), feel free to leave a comment.
- A waterproof, shockproof camera. I'm always so worried about getting my camera wet that I end up missing out on photo opportunities because the camera is never out when I need it. I finally broke down and bought a camera that can handle the bangs and spills, so for this trip I'm going to keep the camera on a zinger so that it's always at the ready.
- A big net with a magnetic vest release. I almost never use a net but since we'll be fishing tailwaters that hold big trout and require light tippets, I'm going to carry one on those days. To make it as easy as possible to get the net out when a fish is on, I'm going to use one of those nifty rare-earth magnets that will hold the net on my back when it's not needed but allow me to just reach back and yank when I'm ready to land the fish.
- A back pack, a chest pack, a fanny pack, and a lanyard. I'm still undecided as to which of these I'll use on any given day but I'll say this: for whatever reason, I find a regular fly fishing vest to be extremely uncomfortable. My favorite is the goofy looking fanny pack but it can't quite hold enough stuff and certainly cannot carry the food, water, and sunscreen I'll need on the day we hike down into Cheeseman Canyon for the entire day. On days when we'll only spend a couple of hours each on two or three different small streams, I'll probably just wear a lanyard and put a small box of flies in my pocket. The idea as a fly fisherman is to have about 15 different things all within easy uninhibited reach and I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I've spent obsessing about how to position everything on my body to be able to carry the most easily accessible gear with the least amount of discomfort.
- Four pairs of polarized sunglasses. I actually already own this many polarized sunglasses so I'm bringing them all. I have a history of losing sunglasses so I buy the least expensive ones I would dare use and I always buy two pair at a time. I have one pair that I prefer for driving and one pair that I prefer for fishing, but in a pinch either pair will do for either task. Since I have two sets of each each, that makes four. I guess that means I haven't lost a pair in a while. My sheer dorkitude amazes me.
- A hiker GPS. We're going to be fishing lots of streams I've never fished before, so I know then only by topo maps and trail guides. We'll probably get lost. So the point of a GPS isn't so much to lay down a waypoint at every honey hole as it is to help us get back to the car at the end of the day.
- A car GPS. I'm completely incapable of reading a road map and we'll be doing lots of driving so this is probably the single most essential piece of equipment for me other than maybe a fly rod. You would not believe how incapable I am of finding my way around places I have been to let alone places I've never been.
I'm sure I'm planning to bring some things that I've forgotten to mention and chances are good I will forget to bring some of the things I had planned to bring. (That, friends, is called Chiasmus and is a subtle yet profound indicator of my inspirational writing.) If worst comes to worst I'll break down and create myself a little checklist. Or maybe I'll have my wife make a checklist for me. She's good at that.
- At least 5 fly rods ranging from a delicate 6'8" 3wt bamboo rod to a 9' 5wt workhorse. If I had a 6wt rod, I'd bring it just in case we fished streamers but based on the water we're planning to fish I probably wouldn't end up using it anyway. And that's partly why I've never bought one.
- Four fly reels, three of which have an extra spool. It's much more likely that I'll break a rod than melt down a reel, but I might as well bring most of the reels I own even if they won't all see use.
- Two pairs of breathable waders and two pairs of felt-sole boots. I kinda wish I had some boots with spikes but I don't and haven't yet been able to justify the cost. I take a wader full of water every now and again but at least so far it's never been something I can blame on the boots.
- Two pairs of neoprene socks and two pairs of wet wading pants. I'll be honest: wet wading is a lot of fun when it's hot outside. I suspect that most of my days will be spent wading wet.
- A five-piece wading staff and belt. I'm not sure how often I'll need to use a wading staff (if at all) but I figured I should bring the one I own in case the outrageously high water levels have not subsided by August. Crossing the Green River on foot is arguably a bit easier with a staff but most of the time when I bring a staff, it just hangs there by my side waiting for the chance to reach out and get tangled up in my fly line.
- A whole bunch of 7.5' 5wt leaders and a few other leaders in different lengths and weights. The 7.5' 5wt is pretty much my go-to leader. If I need to go smaller and longer I can add 6x and 7x tippet. If I need to get heavier for streamers, I can clip back the end of the leader and tie on a 4x tippet.
- Flourocarbon tippet in sizes 4x through 7x. Yeah, the flouro is expensive but from everything I've read this is one of those new-fangled technologies that actually makes a difference when it comes to catching fish.
- Moldable tungsten putty and small tin split shot. This is my first year using moldable putty (rolled as needed around a small tin split shot). The idea is that you can change the amount of weight you have on the line quickly and easily. I hope it works for me but my observation thus far is that the putty tends to leave a residue on my fingers that doesn't wash off in water. This is still a work in progress.
- Various strike indicators from footballs to "Don Kings" to moldable biostrike stuff to those foam stick on indicators that fall off as soon as you move them up or down the leader. I haven't yet decided on a favorite yet, but it's not for lack of trying. For whatever reason I have problems with slippage no matter which indicator I use so I'm still on the hunt for the perfect solution. If you have a suggestion (the more specific the better), feel free to leave a comment.
- A waterproof, shockproof camera. I'm always so worried about getting my camera wet that I end up missing out on photo opportunities because the camera is never out when I need it. I finally broke down and bought a camera that can handle the bangs and spills, so for this trip I'm going to keep the camera on a zinger so that it's always at the ready.
- A big net with a magnetic vest release. I almost never use a net but since we'll be fishing tailwaters that hold big trout and require light tippets, I'm going to carry one on those days. To make it as easy as possible to get the net out when a fish is on, I'm going to use one of those nifty rare-earth magnets that will hold the net on my back when it's not needed but allow me to just reach back and yank when I'm ready to land the fish.
- A back pack, a chest pack, a fanny pack, and a lanyard. I'm still undecided as to which of these I'll use on any given day but I'll say this: for whatever reason, I find a regular fly fishing vest to be extremely uncomfortable. My favorite is the goofy looking fanny pack but it can't quite hold enough stuff and certainly cannot carry the food, water, and sunscreen I'll need on the day we hike down into Cheeseman Canyon for the entire day. On days when we'll only spend a couple of hours each on two or three different small streams, I'll probably just wear a lanyard and put a small box of flies in my pocket. The idea as a fly fisherman is to have about 15 different things all within easy uninhibited reach and I would be embarrassed to admit how much time I've spent obsessing about how to position everything on my body to be able to carry the most easily accessible gear with the least amount of discomfort.
- Four pairs of polarized sunglasses. I actually already own this many polarized sunglasses so I'm bringing them all. I have a history of losing sunglasses so I buy the least expensive ones I would dare use and I always buy two pair at a time. I have one pair that I prefer for driving and one pair that I prefer for fishing, but in a pinch either pair will do for either task. Since I have two sets of each each, that makes four. I guess that means I haven't lost a pair in a while. My sheer dorkitude amazes me.
- A hiker GPS. We're going to be fishing lots of streams I've never fished before, so I know then only by topo maps and trail guides. We'll probably get lost. So the point of a GPS isn't so much to lay down a waypoint at every honey hole as it is to help us get back to the car at the end of the day.
- A car GPS. I'm completely incapable of reading a road map and we'll be doing lots of driving so this is probably the single most essential piece of equipment for me other than maybe a fly rod. You would not believe how incapable I am of finding my way around places I have been to let alone places I've never been.
I'm sure I'm planning to bring some things that I've forgotten to mention and chances are good I will forget to bring some of the things I had planned to bring. (That, friends, is called Chiasmus and is a subtle yet profound indicator of my inspirational writing.) If worst comes to worst I'll break down and create myself a little checklist. Or maybe I'll have my wife make a checklist for me. She's good at that.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
The Lifetime Warranty
Pretty much every high-end graphite fly rod comes with a no-fault lifetime warranty these days. If you accidentally roll the tip of your fly rod up in a car window (been there, done that) they'll fix or replace it for you. If you slip while walking down a hill to get to the stream and launch your rod into a boulder (been there, done that), they'll fix that too. Bill broke the tip on this Sage rod on Wednesday during our fishing trip to Virginia and had the rod back from Sage this morning, less than a week later! That's pretty amazing.
I mention this because this is the second time Bill has broken a rod in the last several months. He broke a rod clean in half while trying to free the umpteenth snag on a particularly frustrating morning of nymph fishing. It was entirely his fault. I should know because as I stood there watching him flail away in anger trying to free his nymph I kept saying "he's gonna break that rod, he's gonna break that rod" and sure enough he did.
The only problem was, he wasn't fishing a high end graphite rod with a lifetime no-fault warranty. He was fishing a delicate hand-crafted bamboo rod made by, um, me that I named after my only son shortly after he was born some eight-and-a-half years ago. So the immediate question we both had simultaneously within seconds of hearing the sickening snap was "I wonder if the builder of that rod is going to fix it?" Truth be told, it has been so long since I built a bamboo rod that I've pretty much forgotten how and my tools are either packed away deep within one of the 117 unlabeled boxes in the garage or are lost forever. Or both. And since Bill's rod broke right below the nickel-silver ferrule it was going to require a new one and those bad boys are expensive.
So for the last several months I've been making Bill sweat it out, refusing to commit as to whether or not I was ever going to get around to fixing his rod. I figure the punishment fits the crime: if he's gonna disrespect a bamboo fly rod in such an overtly crass manner, he shouldn't be allowed to fish one for at least six months. But since our big FRAA2008 adventure is coming up and because our travel schedules are such that I'm not going to see Bill between now and the end of July when he arrives at the SLC airport to kickoff our fishing trip, I finally broke down and fixed the rod.
It's not too shabby of a repair job, if I do say so myself, but the varnish on the new wraps isn't nearly as good as I used to be able to do. The ferrules fit better than ever, though, and I hope that the next time he breaks that rod it's on a huge fish. Otherwise, I think his warranty period will have run out.
I mention this because this is the second time Bill has broken a rod in the last several months. He broke a rod clean in half while trying to free the umpteenth snag on a particularly frustrating morning of nymph fishing. It was entirely his fault. I should know because as I stood there watching him flail away in anger trying to free his nymph I kept saying "he's gonna break that rod, he's gonna break that rod" and sure enough he did.
The only problem was, he wasn't fishing a high end graphite rod with a lifetime no-fault warranty. He was fishing a delicate hand-crafted bamboo rod made by, um, me that I named after my only son shortly after he was born some eight-and-a-half years ago. So the immediate question we both had simultaneously within seconds of hearing the sickening snap was "I wonder if the builder of that rod is going to fix it?" Truth be told, it has been so long since I built a bamboo rod that I've pretty much forgotten how and my tools are either packed away deep within one of the 117 unlabeled boxes in the garage or are lost forever. Or both. And since Bill's rod broke right below the nickel-silver ferrule it was going to require a new one and those bad boys are expensive.
So for the last several months I've been making Bill sweat it out, refusing to commit as to whether or not I was ever going to get around to fixing his rod. I figure the punishment fits the crime: if he's gonna disrespect a bamboo fly rod in such an overtly crass manner, he shouldn't be allowed to fish one for at least six months. But since our big FRAA2008 adventure is coming up and because our travel schedules are such that I'm not going to see Bill between now and the end of July when he arrives at the SLC airport to kickoff our fishing trip, I finally broke down and fixed the rod.
It's not too shabby of a repair job, if I do say so myself, but the varnish on the new wraps isn't nearly as good as I used to be able to do. The ferrules fit better than ever, though, and I hope that the next time he breaks that rod it's on a huge fish. Otherwise, I think his warranty period will have run out.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
We need more gnarly flies
Bill's friend Clyde was kind enough to tie up some big hairy nymph prototypes for us to experiment with prior to our upcoming trip, so I took Dani with me over to the bass pond to try them out. Since we would be fishing in still water for bass rather than stream fishing for trout, I kept telling myself that the mission was primarily to get a feel for how easy it would be to cast these weighted fluffy nymphs with a 4wt rod and a 5x leader, but since we saw quite a few bass schooling up in search parties hunting the very edges of the pond we decided to go ahead and try to catch them.
What I found was that the fish spooked very easily, but if we stayed low to the ground and placed the fly right on the nose of the fish (literally no more than 3-5 inches from the rocks at the edge of the water) and then stripped just fast enough to pulsate the soft hackles on the nymphs the fish went crazy. Sight fishing, even if it's not for trout, is an absolute blast.
I was happy that I was able to make long, accurate casts with my 9'5wt rod but I was even more happy that Dani was able to catch and land 4 or 5 fish all by herself. She doesn't cast with incredible distance yet but she's figured out how to move the nymph, set the hook, and land fish. In fact, she managed to catch and land one of the larger bass in the pond (2+ pounds).
Anyway, I ended up losing a couple of Clyde's prototypes so I'm going to have to see if he'll tie up some more for us. The gnarlier the better.
What I found was that the fish spooked very easily, but if we stayed low to the ground and placed the fly right on the nose of the fish (literally no more than 3-5 inches from the rocks at the edge of the water) and then stripped just fast enough to pulsate the soft hackles on the nymphs the fish went crazy. Sight fishing, even if it's not for trout, is an absolute blast.
I was happy that I was able to make long, accurate casts with my 9'5wt rod but I was even more happy that Dani was able to catch and land 4 or 5 fish all by herself. She doesn't cast with incredible distance yet but she's figured out how to move the nymph, set the hook, and land fish. In fact, she managed to catch and land one of the larger bass in the pond (2+ pounds).
Anyway, I ended up losing a couple of Clyde's prototypes so I'm going to have to see if he'll tie up some more for us. The gnarlier the better.
Monday, June 9, 2008
The FRAA2008 Fly Boxes
I've been researching, purchasing, and organizing the flies Bill and I are going to need during our 15-day fishing trip. Obviously we won't know exactly what we'll need until we actually get to each stream--but our agressive travel/fishing schedule doesn't really allow for spending very much time at fly shops. Plus, we're going to burn through enough flies that I'd rather buy in bulk and save some money if possible.
Here's what I've got so far:
All told, it's nearly 800 flies. I probably have about 200 more that don't fit in the boxes (most of which are extra quantities of flies already represented in the photos). I never understood why some fly fishermen would get so devastated by losing a fly box. But that was before I had 500 flies in a single box.
Here's what I've got so far:
All told, it's nearly 800 flies. I probably have about 200 more that don't fit in the boxes (most of which are extra quantities of flies already represented in the photos). I never understood why some fly fishermen would get so devastated by losing a fly box. But that was before I had 500 flies in a single box.
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