Wader Duffel / Rod Case Combo $49.95

Kodiak Island Premium Wader Duffel Bag and Fly Rod Case

Soggy waders can really make a mess. Especially when you throw them in the back seat of your new Porsche SUV after a good day on the water. Instead of having the upholstery cleaned after every fishing trip you should probably invest in one of those $100 PVC lined wader duffels.

However, if you are like me and drive a 95 Isuzu Trooper with a few dings, you might prefer to buy this Kodiak Island wader bag and rod case combo for only $49.95. Think of it like getting a free rod tube with your purchase. Take the portrait of U.S. Grant that you save and buy your wife something nice so that you can maintain that kitchen pass.

The Right Action for the Right Fish

The Raleigh News & Observer has a good all around guide to choosing the fly rod action that is right for you based on the quarry you plan on going after.

"There is no difference between battling a 100-pound tarpon and easing a 2-pound, paper-mouthed crappie into a landing net -- that is, if the fisherman is using the right tackle and techniques."

Its Good Work If You Can Get It

Ok, here is your chance to take the plunge, leave the corporate rat race behind and take up residence in Western North Carolina or maybe even East Tennessee. Excerpt taken from the classified section of the Watauga Democrat

LOVE TO FLY FISH?Two positions available at local fly shop. Must have fly fishing experience and know local waters. Must have knowledge of Southern Appalachian fly patterns and fly fishing tackle. Must have good communication and organizational skills. Sales experience a plus. Must be available to work weekends and two to three days a week. Please submit work history, contact information and a list of at least three references to: Box 365, c/o High Country Media, P.O. Box 1815, Boone, N.C. 28607

New Blog Link: The Trout Underground

Here is a new blog link for your enjoyment. The Trout Underground has the sort of attitude I like to see:

"Welcome to fly fishing's Trout Underground. It's the kind of site a guy might build if he thought fly fishing was taking itself a little too seriously."

Tell 'em Where To Get Off

The Chattanoogan tells us about two Tennessee legislators who wants to fund a program to kill off black flies on the Pigeon River in East Tennessee. You might recall that the Pigeon was once a lifeless river that was constantly stained with a yellow tint due to discharge from a North Carolina paper mill. The state of Tennessee sued North Carolina and got them to clean up their act and now the river is clean and clear and full of fish. The fish thrive due to the abundant food source supplied by the black flies...which the state of Tennessee now wants to kill. Anybody else here sense that nothing good could possibly come of this?

Area anglers are being encouraged to send the sponsors of the bill some cans of OFF so that they can deal with the plague of fish food that has befallen them.

"As one of TWFA's board members recently exclaimed when learning of this bill, Introduce them to OFF! We say that's a great idea.

Send your bottles of OFF to:
Representative Eddie Yokely 35 Legislative Plaza Nashville, TN 37243-0111
Senator Steve Southerland318 War Memorial Building Nashville, TN 37243-0201"

If I had Bought That Microsoft Stock in '79..

If you happen to run a major oil company or just have had some other sort of windfall profit, you might want to spend some of your extra dough to join the Spring Ridge Club. The Spring Ridge Club manages almost 10 miles of private trout streams in central Pennsylvania.

For a nominal fee of about $71,000 you can gain access to this exclusive sanctuary. If you are a bit short on cash you might want to consider entering the Little Juniata Classic . It is the one time they open their waters to outsiders.

Hundreds of Campgrounds May Close?

Has anyone else heard about this plan to replace hundreds of campgrounds throughout the national forest system with a few nicer, more modern facilities run by for profit concessionaires? Take a look at this article in Wyoming's StarTribune.net.

Keone Rodsmiths

Today I received an email from Danny Heus introducing me to his company, Keone Rodsmiths. Keone builds bamboo fly rods using some unique techniques. They currently has three series of rods for everything from small native trout to large steelhead. These are quadrate fly rods, meaning they are made from four strips of cane which the builder says gives a greater density of the natural "power fibers" than more common hexagonal rods. The rods are also hollow.

"In order to perfect the design the rods are hollow built with a whole new hollowing technique. As you might know or have read in my article about -design philosophy,- the material around the virtual neutral axis in a flyrod has no use other than extra weight. So, If I want to design bamboo flyrods with perfection in the back of my mind, most of this inside material has to be removed."

The site also has a lot of detail about the rod building process and that alone makes for an interesting read. (Link)

The Joy Of Pike

MaineToday.com contributor Mark Gilbert writes about the virtues of fishing for pike.

"While one dear fisherman tried fishing for them with a fly rod, he asked his friend, who was gearing up on the bank, “Why do you like to fish for Pike with a fly rod?” The fisherman was at the end of his retrieve and just beginning to lift his fly out of the water to recast. At that very moment a bruiser Pike jumped out of the water scaring the fisherman to death. As he ran up the bank, he looked at his friend and said “What the hell was that?!!!” “A Pike!” the friend answered. “That’s why I like fishing for them on a fly rod!”

Afraid to say the "F" Word?

KOIN News Channel 6 in Portland Oregon posted a story about a large number of dead ducks being spotted floating on an area lake. Authorities think it could be a case of avian cholera. Funny thing is that the "F" word (flu) was not mentioned once in the entire story. With all the hype lately surrounding the bird flu, one would think that the question would at least be brought up. Talk about failing to state the obvious. When the media begins to hold back on their "if it bleeds it leads" attitude, I really start to worry.

Fly tiers are already starting to feel the pinch as imports are being banned and many are already resorting to using synthetic materials. Personally, I am holding on to my stocks of well aged feathers (pre-flu) as an investment of sorts.

Conservation Development = Oxymoron?

I suppose I should get a warm fuzzy feeling from the announcement of a "Conservation development" being built in Western, North Carolina. I simply have trouble reconciling the words conservation and development in the same phrase.

I guess it could be possible, after all the press release I got today says that The Shoals at Glen Aire will have 69 "exclusive" (read expensive) homes located on 223 acres of "breathtaking nature."

Don't get me wrong, I am all for developers making a good living. After all it is very important to me that they be able to pay their bills on time. I am just amazed that they can market a subdivision as conservation. I bet a former President or two wish they had spin doctors that were this good. Here is a link to the article that explains it all.

New Fishing Reports - South Holston River

The guys over at Champion Outfitters in King's Mountain, North Carolina have been catching fish on Tennesse's South Holston River and also on North Carolina's delayed harvest streams. Rod and Matt Champion sent us an email to let us know that the fishing has been great. Read all about it by visiting the fishing reports section of Flyfishmagazine.com. Be sure to check out their website with its full featured online store.

As always, if you are and outfitter or just everyday folks who love to fish (like us) you can submit your fishing reports by visiting Flyfishmagazine.com.

SC River Bassin' on the Fly

GoUpstate.com says that fishing for bass in South Carolina rivers can be productive and also get you away from all the crowds on the lake.

"This type of fishing also lends itself to use of the fly rod.
The fly fisherman, particularly those adroit in the use of the roll cast, can place streamers or popping bugs in dark "hidey holes" of precisely the sort bass like to call home."

You Caught What?

What is the oddest thing you ever caught while fishing? Eric Sharp of the Detroit Free Press writes about the time he hooked a small bat that tried to eat his fly on the backcast. I suppose one of the oddest things I ever saw caught on hook and line was the time a fellow angler had a bend in their rod only to land a full bottle of Killian's Irish Red beer. The lure had hooked the bottle right under the crimping on the cap. We spent most of the night trying to catch the other five from the six pack.

Leave a comment and tell us about your strangest catch.

Something's Fishy

Brian Lee at Abbynews.com writes about what can happen when you fib about the location of your favorite fishing hole.

Pop Brings Home the Feathers

My Dad got his first turkey of the year and as a result I will have quite a bit of fly tying material lying about. I am guessing that he will want to keep the tail fan and beard but I can probably talk him out of the wing feathers and the neck/cape. It looks like Paisley, Zugbug, Jay and I will have all the turkey feathers we need for quite some time.

Mom got into the act as well. Besides being in the woods with Dad when he got the turkey she roasted it up into a tasty Easter lunch.

My Dad is quite the adventurer and is currently on a train crossing Romania as part of a project to open orphanages in that war torn area of the world.

Bish on Fish - Hollywood Style

Bish over at Bish On Fish gives his readers some great insight about the lengths Hollywood types will go to in order to make an non-fishing actor look like a fly fisherman.

Fins To The Left, Fins To The Right...

Women anglers are getting into fly fishing in great numbers. It seems that they are not only using their new found knowledge of the sport to catch trout or bass, they are using it to catch men! Behold Gail Ruben's book "A Girl's Pocket Guide to Trouser Trout."

"* The trout hunts by sight. Men and fish are attracted by visually stimulating lures. Look your best, and wear eye-catching accessories that start conversations, such as unique jewelry or outrageous cowboy boots."

I call foul on this tactic! Any woman who would resort to trying to lure a man by wearing some sort of high heels or cowboy boots, or cheerleader costume...or leather ........ sorry, I just lost my train of thought completely.

The First Bluegill of Spring

Ahh wonderful Spring, when a young man's thoughts turn to...panfish.

"Bream, stump knockers, copperheaded bream, bull bream. If a rose by any other name would smell as sweet, according to Shakespeare, then a bluegill sunfish would still be the same sporty fish by any of these monikers bestowed upon them by Tar Heel fishermen."

One of my favorite secret fishing holes is just loaded up with bluegill slabs bigger than my hand and I can't wait to cast my fly to them.

Dude, Look At All The Pretty Colors....

If this gets out it could be the end of catch and release fishing as we know it. You can actually suffer from hallucinations similar to the effects of LSD, just by eating certain kinds of fish.

"Ichthyoallyeinotoxism, or hallucinogenic fish poisoning, is caused by eating the heads or body parts of certain species of herbivorous fish and has previously only been recorded from the Indo Pacific"

I can picture it now, stoned hippies crowding our rivers and streams, carrying huge stringers of fish.

The Ones That Get Away...

Bill Anderson at Muskoka Outdoors has posted a great story about one that got away and the "Ole Dock" the fish lived under. It seems that the ones we always remember best are the ones that never actually brake the surface.

Norm Norlander's Fabulous Spinning Vise

The anchorage Daily News has a story about ex-engineer Norm Norlander and his finger powered spinning fly tying vise known as the Nor-Vise. Norlander has created a sort of fly tying lathe that allows tiers to turn out flies at a much faster pace than with a traditional non-spinning vise. If anyone has had any experience with this vise drop me a line and let me know what you thought of it.

Chicken Porn?

Until I became a fly fisherman I never really thought of chickens as being beautiful. Tasty, and hard to catch (from my days as a youth on a farm) but never beautiful. Now that I tie flies all that has changed. Chickens can be very beautiful, especially when they have long size 18-20 hackle feathers. With that said I present you with hackle porn from the site of CR Bird Farm out of Elk Washington.

Fly Fishing on the "BIG" screen

What could be better than watching fly fishing on a big screen television. How about watching it at an IMAX theater. (I found this over at Moldy Chum)

Blue River Runs Orange - End Times Neigh?

Vail Daily reports that runoff from an abandoned mine has turned the Blue River near Breckenridge orange. Officials are taking water samples and trying to assess the damage to fish stocks. In the words of the guy from those Hemi commercials "That can't be good."

Fly Fishing And the NASDAQ

I believe that if you read a writer long enough, you can almost always tell when they are also a fly fisherman. Invariably the fly fishing creeps into their writing no mater what the subject. Cher Price of TheInquirer.net gets today's award for using a fly fishing reference in something totally unrelated, an article about tech stocks:

"Rambus (RMBS) is rising too, like a trout looking for a fly."

I am not complaining about this. Quite to the contrary, I am certain that there are some corporate credit policies out there somewhere with a few fishy sentences in them as well.

Here's Your Sign

In a moment of news flash zen goodness Fayettevillenc.com reports "Trout Fishing Popular in North Carolina's Mountains." I wonder what team of researchers discovered this obscure fact. Next week they just might reveal that many men enjoy the company of women.

No Fly List?

Bill Anderson over at the Muskoka Outdoors blog has a post about a nefarious Canadian fly tyer who dared try to ship his hand tied creations across the boarder. Thankfully, the shipment which was intended for the L.L. Bean Company, was turned back at the boarder before it could do harm to the security of the United States.

Jay Moore Has Been Fishing Again...

And it seems this time things got a bit rowdy. Jay sent us a fishing report from the Duck River near Normandy, Tennessee and let us know that even with all the distractions, he still managed to catch plenty of fish. It seems some of his fellow anglers decided to drive down into the river to get a closer look at the fish. This isn't actually a photo of Jay's most recent fishing trip but rather sort of how I pictured it while reading his report. Hopefully the trip we are taking with Jay in early May won't be nearly this exciting.

If you would line to see more of this sort of thing you should check out the site where I found the photo, http://www.truckworld.com/Stuck-Of-The-Month/stuck-trucks.html.

Trout Stocking South Carolina Style

This photo (courtesy of the SCDNR) shows the lengths they have to go to in order to get trout stocked into the tailwater that flows out of Lake Murray near Columbia South Carolina.

"The helicopter stocked about 13,000 brown trout (averaging about 6 inches) and 3000 rainbow trout (averaging about 13 inches) over some 9 miles of the Saluda River, a total of approximately 3,000 pounds of fish. The trout came from the Walhalla State Fish Hatchery in Oconee County, operated by the DNR. The trout are transported by truck to a site near the river. The fish are kept in water and transferred to the lift bucket attached to the helicopter. The chopper then pulls away and carries the fish to the river."

Fly Fish Ethiopia

When you think of fly fishing for trout lots of destinations might come to mind, but I bet you never thought of fly fishing Ethiopia. Apparently it can be a real bargain.

"Hussein said that of the 35 Ethiopian birr ($4 U.S.) one pays for a night in one of the five huts, five goes to the local government, 10 goes to a fund earmarked for hut maintenance and 20 goes to the hut keeper and his or her family. "

You have to respect any country that refers to its currency as the Birr (pronounced Beer)

Counting Hatchery Steelhead?

Here's one you don't think about every day. When you consider taking steelehead off of the endangered species list do you count hatchery fish? Trout Unlimited, American Rivers, Pacific Rivers Council, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Native Fish Society, and the Sierra Club all say you shouldn't.

Saltwater Fly Tying Kit - $29.95

Skykomish Saltwater Fly Tying Kit

If you have been thinking about trying your hand at fly tying for salt water species, or even if you simply need some Easter basket filler material, you will want to take advantage of this deal from Sierra Trading Post. It is a pretty basic kit and there is no way I would consider paying the full retail price of over $77 but at only $29.95 its a reasonable deal for a decent starter kit. The tools alone should be worth that much.

Know Thy Trout: Sans Pictures

Here is a guide to identification of Pennsylvania trout. I found this to be interesting since it had absolutely no photos. They describe a grand slam of trout of which I have caught three out of four. I am missing the golden rainbow. I had occasion to cast to one of these on a fishing trip with Cletus to Neshannock Creek a few years back. I could easily see him sitting alone in a large pool but nothing I offered him would make him bite.

Nefarious Fly Tying Ring Busted

Salt Lake County Utah animal control officers seized 40 to 50 roosters while breaking up what they thought was a illegal cock fighting ring. However, on further investigation it seems that investigators think they might have been used for something far more lucrative: hackle.

I sat through three days of management meetings

Finally tonight, fellow fly fishing blogger Pete from Fishing Jones has posted a video of his recent trip to the Galapagos. Pete was required to go on the trip as one of the duties of his "day job" over at Boating Magazine. I suppose they also put him through the mill by making him do other things like test new boats and supervise those advertising shoots with bikini clad models. Oh well I suppose everyone can't be a Corporate Credit Guy like me. Seriously though, check out his great video and subscribe to the magazine to read the whole story of Pete's adventures in boating.

Don't Wear Out Your Welcome

I hate to see a no tresspassing sign along a creek bank, but I can certainly understand why some land owners feel they have to post their land. How many times have you seen a popular fishing spot littered with beer cans and candy wrappers? I really have no sympathy for someone who would litter up the places where I like to fish and what a person who would do so could possibly be thinking most certainly escapes me.

Landowner Dale Moore used to let everyone fish on his property. Ten years ago he started to lease some of it out to a private group because he thought the general fishing public was simply too inconsiderate.
"They'll build camp fires, they'll throw their cigarette butts, their beer cans, soda bottles. Just inconsiderate," Moore said.

Pennsylvania television station WNEP has an article about what groups like Trout Unlimited are trying to do to eliminate this problem.

Do you want to be a Millionaire?

So you have tried the stock market, pork bellies and real estate and yet you still find yourself short of that first million. Perhaps you would do better by venturing up to Maryland and trying your hand at the Million dollar fishing challenge. You might even catch the $25,000 rockfish that they call Diamond Jim. The way I see it your odds are probably better than the lottery and you get to spend some quality time on the water. The tournament is open to all licensed anglers and runs June 3rd - September 4th, 2006.

Nicklaus Named FFF Spokesman

The Federation of Fly Fishers has named golf legend Jack Nicklaus as its national spokesperson.

"Mr. Nicklaus has been an avid fly fisher for most of his life and has visited many exotic worldwide destinations to pursue this passion.
Mr. Nicklaus philosophy is very consistent with that of the FFF. "

This almost makes be wonder if the golden bear has ever caught a golden trout?

Back to Blogging

You might have noticed that I didn't blog for a few days this week. The job that actually pays the bills around here required that I help host a seminar in Roanoke, Virginia. They kept me so busy that I didn't even get a chance to visit the local Orvis store that was just across the bridge from the Hotel Roanoke where I was sequestered. To make up for this I have decided to post a nice picture of me from a recent fishing trip. I hope you don't mind but tomorrow morning when I am back in the office and playing catch up, seeing this will really make me feel much better!

Drive to the River and Putt for Dough

Any angler that can compare fly fishing to golf must have something going for him. In this article in the Concord Monitor Online, fishing guide Keith Hastings successfully makes the comparison:

First, he borrowed from golf to make a point about using short casts to cover a rocky section of where the feeding lanes are obvious to the trained eye.
"In golf, you drive for show and putt for dough," he said. "In fly fishing, you putt for dough."

Don't Mess with Exe's

A British fly fisherman has successfully sued a UK environmental watchdog agency for being responsible for pollution on the river Exe in Devon. The pollution resulted in a fish kill along a section of river on which angler Ian Cook owned fishing rights.

"Mr Cook said that compensation claims were being compiled by the Anglers' Conservation Association. "The agency should have owned up immediately and prosecuted the contractors. But instead they did nothing," he said."

Shake Your Spook

If you ever wondered how the Zara Spook fishing lure got its name you should check out this article about the National Heddon Museum in Dowagiac, Mich.

"After watching a prototype lure zigzag across the water in a test tank, a Heddon worker remarked that it wiggled its butt just like the hookers on Zaragoza Street in Panama City."

The Derby City Fly Fishers

Zugbug has been hanging around Louisville, Kentucky quite a bit lately. He stopped by the house this weekend and while he was visiting mentioned that he was trying to find some fly fishing in that area. Tonight I found this article about the Derby City Fly Fishers. Maybe Zug can check them out for us. The article from the Courier Journal website is about the Derby City Fly Fisher's efforts to get a three mile section of the Cumberland River tailwater designated catch and release.

Theodore Gordon

NorthJersey.com has published a typical opening day of trout season article. However, this one has a nice history of fly fishing included.

"Theodore Gordon is the acknowledged father of American fly-fishing. Born into wealth in 1854, he spent the better part of his life following two pursuits: a failed business career selling securities for which no one remembers him, and refining the techniques for fishing for trout with the artificial fly."

Fly Tying: Using a Whip Finishing Tool

For the person new to fly tying the whip finishing tool can be one of the hardest tools to master. I tried in vain to figure it out on my own by looking at diagrams and etc but I never really caught on to it until someone actually sat down and showed me how to use it. With that in mind take a look at this excellent video. It also proves that you don't have to be a fingernail model to make fly tying demo videos.

Fly Fishing Serling Style

Chances are if you have been fishing very long you have had something strange happen to you. Chester Allen writes about some of his favorite "Twilight Zone" moments in his recent column for The Olympian Online.

I suppose one of the oddest things that ever happened to me was in Arkansas at Rim Shoals. I hooked a small trout on a dry fly only to have it swallowed whole by a larger fish. The bigger trout held on just long enough for Zug and Paisley to see it as well. Else, lacking verification, it might have been just another fish story.

The Price of Fishing is Up

Pete over at Fishing Jones had some good comments about a post from Dave Richey's weblog about high fuel prices affecting anglers. When filling up your boat costs over $600, it can put a real cramp into your off shore fishing style. Be sure to read the posts at the links above.

While both these posts are related to fueling boats large boats, with most trout fishing being a couple of hours away from here lots of the guys who fish mountain trout streams are taking fewer trips as well. I know that the price of gas was pretty much the sole reason Paisly, Zugbug, and I found ourselves going to Arkansas with all our gear in a Toyota Corolla.

Any Tips on Fly Fishing In Jacksonville, Florida?

Later in the month I will be visiting Jacksonville, Florida where my lovely wife will be competing in a Heart's tournament. While she is huddling over her cards in a smoke filled hotel meeting room trying to get rid of the Queen of Spades, I plan on checking out the Saint John's River fly fishing scene. If anybody from down Jacksonville way has any suggestions drop me a line.