40 Rivers To Freedom

I’m so fed up with “paper” Fly Fishing Magazines. You know, the ones you get at the store or in the mail. When I decided to give this fly fishing thing a try 3 years ago, magazines were one of the first things I started spending my money on. I needed knowledge. I’ll admit, I learned a lot from them. But I learned a lot more from surfing the internet. As time went by I was seeing less and less info in them that I didn’t already know, or stuff I didn’t need to know. 48% of the articles were some writer with a Bugger Barn sized ego trying to teach me how to tie a clinch knot. 48% of the articles were some other guy with a bigger ego trying to convince me to over complicate what I was already doing. Yet I’d still buy every issue of every one I saw. I was, and still am, thirsty for knowledge. I always walk up to the magazine rack with the high hopes that maybe, just maybe, there will be something worth reading. I pick them up, flip through the pages, and throw them in my cart. I get home and head straight for the shitter.

These are the only trips into the bathroom where I don’t need to worry if my kid used the last of the toilet paper and didn’t put a fresh roll on. Although magazine paper isn’t teddy bear soft, it feels good to wipe my ass with another Hughes or Klausmeyer editorial.

There goes my shot at writing for them.

I’ve had a stack of these Magazines. Every issue of the “name” ones for the past 3 years. This morning I threw them away. I picked up the latest issue of Fly Fishing & Tying Journal last night. After I finished reading it I took it to the pile, and it occurred to me I’ve probably spent over $500 on them all.

I’m done with them. The latest one pushed me over the edge. I’ll miss some of the writers. I always enjoyed Al Beatty articles. Dave Whitlock had a good one every now and then. Shane Stalcup’s articles were good too. Other than these I could probably count on one hand the number of articles I read that were worth my time. Sometimes the most entertaining reading in their magazine was the letters to the editor.

You see Mr. Magazine Editor, I don’t have to read your crap anymore to keep up on new gear, new fly patterns, exotic destinations, or conservation issues, etc. There are some kick ass Online Mags that blow your stuff out of the water. Leading the pack would be This Is Fly.
I’d be happy to pay for it but guess what, I don’t have to! How cool is that?

The only problem with online ‘zines is that you can’t read them in the bathroom. Guess I need a laptop…

“Action expresses priorities”

Mahatma Ghandi

I could care less about BMW’s, cell phones that I can check my email with, or having a house with central air. Why will I drive on fumes for a couple days because I spent my last $20 on marabou? Why do I have to suck in my gut to put my jeans on cause I can’t afford a new pair, yet I didn’t hesitate to drop $200 on new waders? Why don’t I look for a better paying job when we’ve been living paycheck to paycheck the last 12 months? Cause I have a job now where I can pretty much come and go as I please. I can go into work as early as 5am, be done by 2pm and on my way to the nearest body of water.

I have 3 priorities. Family, Friends, and Fly Fishing.

Family and friends are the same. If you’re my friend, it means you are someone I fish with. If we fish together, you are family. I don’t have many, okay, I don’t have any friends I don’t fish with. People who don’t fish slow me down. My wife and kids are my number one priority. I spend much of my day focused on them and enjoying their company. That leaves little time to think about my other priority.

But is family my #1 priority?

GASP!!!

I’m just being real. If actions express priorities, then it would be easily argued that Fly fishing was my number one priority. How many times have I skipped a family event to go fish? How many times have I realized my wife didn’t have to work on a particular weekend and planned a fishing trip instead of something with her?

But if I had to choose between my family or Fly Fishing, the choice would be simple.

My family.

So why do I often put fly fishing in front of family? Is it one of those deals where I’m seeing how far I can push before it becomes a problem? Or is it just the fact that I need to get out on the water to just chill for a little bit without the stresses of everyday life to worry about? Probably a little of both, but more the latter. I wouldn’t be a good dad if I didn’t fly fish.

There was a huge push of Salmon up the Salmon River today. HUGE! It would definitely be worth driving up in the morning. But I think I’m gonna hold off and spend the day with my wife and kids. Carp on Sunday morning…

The song of the day for Saturday is “The Unknown Soldier” by the Doors. One of my favorite songs of all time.

The Fly of the Day should be in everyone’s boxes. The Clouser Minnow.

Hook: Streamer Hook
Wing: Bucktail, colors to match local baitfish
Eyes: Hourglass Eyes

Tie it sparse

Before I get started, today’s Song of the Day is “Badfish” by Sublime. Hit play now! You’ll thank me later.

Today’s Fly of the Day is a Bunny Strip Dahlburg Diver. Great for many, many species. Mine get most of their use for Pike and Bass. I’ve seen Larry Dahlburg catch Tiger Fish in Africa on them, and some weird fish on the amazon river with a mouth full of teeth that would give you nightmares.

Hook: Bass Bug Hook
Tail: Flash/Rabbit Strip
Collar: Marabou
Head: Spun Deer Body Hair clipped to shape.
Weed Guard: Heavy Mono(optional)
Eyes: Doll Eyes(optional)

I hit the Carp flat last night with Geoff. Got to the parking lot and the trees were really whipping around. Geared up, walked the trail down to the water and it was surprisingly calm. Geoff was out about 150 yards fishing and I started rock hopping my way over to him. The water level was low. That morning the damn dam people dropped the release rate about 75%. Geoff had already worked 3 fish over on the first flat with no success so we decided to go down to the flat Robin and I fished on Labor Day. As we’re walking downstream we came across 2 guys who had just flipped their kayak. We got past them and I took spotting duties first.

I climbed up the cliff and it didn’t take long to spot Geoff an active fish.

“45′, 1 o’ clock”
“Another foot to the right”
“Good”

I hear a loud splash and see that 2 guys we passed on the way down flipped their kayak again.
Woulda been nice to get it on video. I spot a fresh mud plume and direct Geoff to where it’s at. At this point the wind is really starting to pick up and you can’t see any fish, just mud. I’m watching the general vicinity his fly should be as he’s retrieving it and see the water swirl and a sudden burst of bubbles hit the surface. I look at Geoff and just as the words, set the hook, are about ready to come out of my mouth, a four letter word came out of his. It took line right out of his hand and was gone before he even had a chance to do anything about it.

As he kicked himself in the ass on the way up the cliff, I was making my way down to the water. I waded through the area he just came through and waited for some direction.

“Right in front of where I’m at, a couple feet off the shore”
“There’s one tearing it up”

I get within casting range and make a few casts, nothing. I look up and Geoff isn’t there. He’s up ahead working his way along the shore looking for another fish. A few seconds later he’s back and suggests we hit the other side of the river. We got over there and the wind was a lot stronger. I caught one smallie waiting for Geoff to find me a Carp. I’m always amazed by the fight they put up. That little 12″ fish put a nice bend in my 8wt.

Geoff came back and said he had a fish way down. I got down to it but it had already moved on. Geoff couldn’t see anything else so we decided to go back to the other side. The sun was behind the trees now so spotting any fish was near impossible there. We decided to head back to the flat near the access and see if we could find one or two tailing. As I was bringing my line in I caught the little guy at the top of this blog entry.

We got down there and couldn’t keep the smallies off. Pretty sweet when Smallmouth Bass are a back up fish. There’s a hip new picture pose called the Bandito. The 2 guys who “created” the pose are having a contest on their website where you can send them your Bandito pics, and the Top 5 photos will win the new Beattie Outdoor Productions DVD (Slovenia/Alaska) and be featured/showcased on their site. Beware the Bandito!

Mike at www.riseformstudio.com just did a really nice video on fishing the flats for Carp. You can see it on his site, Or click the pic below to see it at www.theanglersnet.com

Well it’s that time of year. You can see your breath in the mornings, leaves are showing signs of old age, and fishing for everything is about to get really good. I never know when it’s gonna happen. It isn’t something where you can look at your calendar in February and say, “On September 5th I’m gonna get Fall fever.” It’s a 6th sense that let’s me know it’s time to prepare. Not preparation of flies or gear. But preparation of what I want to fish for and when. Salmon and Steelhead are always high on the list, the Fall is the time for them. Spring and Winter Steelheading is fun, but Fall is where it’s at. Then there are the other fish to go after. Brown Trout, Brook Trout, Pike, Bass, Landlocked Salmon, and even Panfish. They’re all a little more aggressive this time of year cause something has told them too that it’s time to get ready for the long, cold winter. This is the only time of year where the possibility of a real trophy is possible no matter what species I decide to go after on any given day.

It’s also time to start reflecting on the last year. What worked, what didn’t work? What spots should I go back to, what spots should I forget about? What did I learn? What do I need to stockpile over the winter for the next season?

I’m already in the mindset that I’m not going to use any dry flies for trout next year. 100% subsurface. I want to master nymphing and this should be a good way to do it. Of course emergers will be fair game.

Sometimes I think I might be missing things that are happening around me by thinking ahead so often. But on the other hand if I didn’t plan ahead, I could also miss what is happening right now. It’s a delicate balancing act.