Tiger, Say What? Tiger Muskie on the Fly

Josh Eads with his Tiger caught on the 10,000th Cast....NOT!

This tiger was caught last weekend near the Front Range of Colorado, when Dad was at the lake getting skunked and son decided to change tactics. Looks like it worked out alright...
PS Dad ended up going home skunked.

To find out the gear needed to catch these illusive fish see, here.

Alaskan Steelhead Mafia

Living the AK dream, a loaded 45, bear mace, and a stiff 7wt. A member of the Steelhead mafia spotted on a secluded stream.

The results of being the "tough guy" on the water.

This wise guy got a bit smarter after he wore the old cement boots.

Victor Raposo showing off the reason why he has been called the godfather around Front Range Anglers.

How to be a Pimp Guide

A quick breakdown for all you want to be guides and hacks out there. A short list on how to get your name to the top of your shops guide list...listen close because im only going to say this once so turn down the 50 Cent.

Right off the bat open up a cold beverage, it really cuts the tension at 9am. Then when rigging up rig your rod to be the "pimp stick" and give the clients a very average rig. This makes you look like a pro when you say "watch this."

Make sure you catch a few fish in front of the clients, it helps to reassure that you are the pro and not them. A few encouraging words like GOT ONE, or THERE'S ONE showing off the fish is always a classy act maneuver.

Keep them skunked throughout the morning, around lunch feed them a bunch of beers to get their spirits up, it will make the fish there about to catch super memorable. Note the very dark strong CO micro brew in hand...

Here is where your fifteen minutes of "hard work" starts, get into position, ideally you will find some spawning fish to cast to. This really makes things easy, feed them an egg, the "pimp set up" on your rod, and set the hook, hard, if you miss their mouth at least you have them in the ass.

Let them fight it for a while, wear that thing out.

Beer in one hand, net in the other...totally ready and half in the bag, but still looking like a pro. Note the expensive waders and simms shirt, it brings it all together, who cares if you drunk.

Net that biatch! And get a round of fives from everyone, keep that buzz going.

Let them try to hold it once.

Now you take over...because your a P.I.M.P. and you need to be in charge of da fish. Empty beer gets thrown in waders (as seen here) or on bank to be forgotten about. Now your day is over and its time to fish again. Grab their rod and say let me show you some "advanced techniques"...land another few and accept your tip.

Thanks to Molly, Jeff, and Jessie...I hope you like this as much as I do.

Disaster Unflolds Slowly - and contines to destroy

Not to bring anyone down, but this is a reality that is effecting out fisheries. We just got a report that there have been record bonefish caught in the Bahamas, the big boys are fleeing to stay alive.

Here are a collection of images that are well worth looking at.

Tan Caddis Rockworm

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Give this pattern a try this Caddis season!
For the pattern recipe and the tying instructions go to http://lojsflytyingbugstuff.blogspot.com/
Or click on “LoJ’s Fly Tying & Bug Stuff” in the LINKS OF INTEREST Section.
~ LoJ

Team USA Southwest Regional Comp - Loch Style Fly Fishing

This past weekend some of the best sticks in the west gathered for a qualifying competition for Team USA Fly Fishing. Spread out on two reservoirs just outside of Durango, Valliceto and Lemon, this much can be said...a great time was had by all.

This was my first ever comp and first ever time loch style fishing, so needless to say there was a steep learning curve set in place. Lucky for me in my corner I had seasoned comp fishers Rob Kolanda and Jay Alipit who were willing to talk me through the intricate details that is the comp scene and loch style.We arrived two days early to do some recon on the lakes that we would be fishing and it gave me a chance to dial in the little experience that I have loch style. Let me say that this style of fishing can be deadly when done properly. The use of sinking lines, long rods, and a drogue make life easier and drastically increases your catch rate. The basic idea is that you set a drift with the wind at your back, throw the drogue overboard to slow you down, and cast your flies out using different fly lines depending of fish depth, and play with different retrieves. Fly selection usually centers around stripping pimped out buggers a great bottom anchor fly, and then a combination of natural bugs and other leaches makes up your two point flies. The 10 foot rods help with control and casting the 15-20 foot leaders.

A perfect morning on Valliceto Res, our boats resting quietly.

Day one:A perfect morning on the Valliceto, the wind was up 10 mph, perfect wind for Loch as we got out of the car and began unloading our gear: boat bag, extra rod, fly boxes, and long handle net, check. Once it was time to fish the wind had died and we were looking at a glassy lake, not good conditions...it took most boats a while to get the first fish to hand, about the time the wind came back up. The winning number for the morning session was 6 fish all in the 14-16 inch range. Our boat only racked two one a piece.

The comp winner Josh Curtis hooked up on another stocker on Lemon.

After a plate of enchiladas and a beer the afternoon beat started, again fishing seemed to be very stagnate until the last hour or so where our boat picked up four fish before the buzzer all on egg sucking leaches. The winning count for the afternoon beat was four fish, not a bad three hours. By the end of the first day Kolanda was in the top four and Jay and I were sitting middle of the pack. That evening was spent tying up heat for the next day over at Lemon Res and getting a good nights rest.

Late night tying before the next day...

Day Two:

Lemon Reservoir, two weeks earlier it had been stocked with 10,000 trout so our plan was to find a pod of stockies and lay the hurt on them. Most boats averaged 15 fish, but numbers reached as high as 31! Thats about 10 fish an hour. If you had to find fish you were wasting time and we wasted too much in the morning beat shuttling to find a good pod. I walked away third from last with 4 fish, this number totally destroyed chances of a good finish. Between hooking and loosing fish, here is where a super soft long rod makes or breaks a comp, and searching for fish I fell.Kolanda selecting the "winning" fly for the afternoon session at Lemon.

That afternoon we ran laps on a pod of fish and we were knocking them down, until I busted my rod mid cast...I opted for a 9' 4wt super soft Scott G2. The rod was great except for the fact that it was too short. The long rods allow you to leave your long leader outside of the guides while landing, the shorties must be stripped in to the guides and caused me to loose 5 fish in a row, killing me!!!

Overall Kolanda took 5th and I finished towards the end of the pack, but hey thats fishing and I broke my cherry in the comp scene. Many more to come...

What Have You Been Up To?

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Spring = Pike in the Shallows

Read Jay Zimmerman's May article in the mAY FRA Newsletter on about how to get started.

War Eage Creek in AR Produces 36-inch Striper

"The white bass run is a pretty big deal here in Northwest Arkansas, as thousands of the fish leave Beaver lake to spawn in various rivers and creeks. My buddy Gannon Randolph and I were catching white bass on our 6wt fly rods in War Eagle Creek when I hooked into this 36" striped bass on a brown and orange Clouser Minnow. The fish took me well into the backing on an upstream run, then, when I caught up to her, turned downstream and ran even further. I chased here about 200 yards downstream before she tired enough for me to start taking in line. When I got her into about 3" of water, my 8lb leader finally snapped, but I quickly grabbed her by the gill plate, then hauled her back upstream, where Gannon waited with his I-phone to snap a pic. If he hadn't had a camera handy, that fish would have had to go into the cooler, but after measuring her (36" from nose to tail. I don't know how much the fish weighed, since we had no scale.), I put her back in the water and spent about 10 minutes holding her upright and moving her back and forth before she was strong enough to swim off. Watching that giant fish disappear into the depths was a transcendent moment"......Clint Horan ~ Fayetteville, AR

Just Around the Corner

Fishporn entry from Shawn Larson

Loch Style Fishing - Via Canoe

"Is this a bad dream, or do I have to spend the next few hours in this rig?" Kolanda making the call to up his life insurance...

What is Loch Style fishing? Simply defined, loch style fishing is fishing out of a boat with the wind at your back. Bullshit! There is a whole different set of rules to play by in this highly effective and more importantly, fun way to fish. The loch gives you the chance to become connected to every thing that is happening subsurface.
My curiosity of these techniques and desire to catch more, has led me to sign up for a regional competition in Durango on Vallecieo and Lemon Reservoirs, this coming weekend. Growing up a lake angler in the Midwest there is something truly unique about fishing still waters; the amount of time a fish has to think about weather the offering is worthy of a take, conditions that will turn a lake cold in a matter of minutes, and the calming lap of the waves along the shore as you hunt for fish.

Working flies towards the surface on a good day at Union

So, this past weekend Rob Kolanda and I took a quiet afternoon on Union to hone some of the different presentations needed for Loch fishing before this weekend. Rob a "stud" on the competition scene offered to show me the ropes a bit. Always seeking adventure I opted to bring my canoe out to try and match the boats that will be used at the comp. Rob being a married man thought that this was a quick way for his wife to collect on life insurance. I assured him that the outrigger that I built was sound and will stabilize us enough to bomb a few casts. The wind was low so we did not need to set our drouge and started working shelves about 10-15 feet down crawling three fly rigs towards the surface. The fishing was less than hot, but it was a good introduction into this weekends events and the next four days of my life.
The canoe might not be the best way to practice, but in a pinch it got the job done. Angling opportunities like this exist all over Boulder County, see more lakes here and get out and fish!

WE'RE MAD HAS HELL!

FROM THE CURRENT SPORTSMAN'S ALLIANCE NEWSLETTER....."We’ve all seen the network news headline stories, but I’m not sure if you’ve seen the very good blog post by Bob Marshall, one of the nation’s top outdoor and conservation writers (who just happens to hail from Louisiana), about the impacts likely to be felt by the developing situation in the Gulf of Mexico. An excerpt featuring logic that is quite easily applied elsewhere:

"Offshore oil drilling is like nuclear power – it has a pretty good safety record, but when an accident happens the results can be catastrophic. And accidents will happen."

As a nation, we need resource development, there’s no argument on that. But, we need to be sure that development decisions take into account fish and game habitat requirements, multiple uses including hunting and angling, an honest assessment of the risks involved, and long-term ramifications – even in best-case scenarios. In some cases, development is simply the wrong idea in the wrong place."

I'M CURRENTLY IN SOUTHWEST FLORIDA AND WE'RE WATCHING THE SPILL MOVE IN THIS DIRECTION. WHEN IT GETS TO THE BEACHES AND BAYS ALONG THE COAST AND DOWN INTO THE KEYS IT WILL BECOME THE MOST DEVASTATING ENVIRONMENTAL TRAGEDY IN US HISTORY. MANY PEOPLE HERE THINK IT WILL BE 10 TIMES WORSE THAN EXXON VALDEZ.

A Cautionary Tale

I'm passing this story along so that it doesn't happen to someone else with pets or children.

Since arriving back on Sanibel Island in Florida I would take Ike, my 16-month old Boxer, for a long walk along the beach at sunset. At one particular spot there was a crab trap buoy that been pushed close to shore from several storms. At low tide it would be right on the sand and at high tide it would be 10-feet out. Ike loved to grab the end of the rope and give it a tug or wade out and grab it trying to pull it to shore.

Last night he ran right up to buoy and pounced on it. Immediately he was howling in pain. At first I couldn't see the problem, then I saw a five-inch lure with two treble hooks one of which was firmly embedded in his right paw. As Ike struggled, it went in deeper and he was now caught on a front and back leg. I held him to the ground and tried get the hooks out. In the meantime the rope on the buoy was pulling tighter making everything worse. Thank God I had my knife with me and I managed to get it out and cut the rope. Somehow I got the hook out of the rear leg and he jerked forward driving one of the hooks right into the little finger on my left hand. He kept trying to bite the lure which would have been a disaster. I screamed "leave it" and he responded despite the pain. The beach was deserted and we were rolling in the surf. I manage to work the hook out the front paw loose after bending it and forcing it out of my finger.

We were lucky and made our way home in the dark. Early Sunday morning I went back down to the beach to find the buoy to throw it away. I thought about the idiot fisherman who left this lure (I've always felt multiple treble hooks on any lure should be banned) because it was too much trouble to retrieve - 10 feet off the shore its less than three feet deep!

Paul Prentiss