Brown Trout & Bridge Beers

I sat down with the guys from the Brown Trout & Bridge Beers Podcast to talk brown trout.  Per usual with me, it went off subject rather quickly and we found ourselves chatting and laughing.  The conversation went from talking brown trout fishing, to whales, dolphins, mop flies, marabou, and I gave some tips on how to succeed out on the water.

Give it a listen to below.

Would love to hear some feedback.

Where you can find the guys of Brown Trout & Bridge Beers:

Soundcloud

Instagram

Facebook

Grant IG

Matt IG

Vedavoo Torchbearer Spotlight

Hello all of you beautiful people out there who still visit.  I am still alive, and I assure you that I have no intentions of ever throwing in the towel here.  Like Stella, I just need to get my groove back.  While I haven't been writing/sharing over here, I have been writing/sharing.  I had a short Q&A session with Matthew over at Vedavoo not long ago, and the interview has been posted.

Click on the link to be brought over to the Vedavoo Workshop Journal to read the interview.

>>>>>  VEDAVOO TORCHBEARER SPOTLIGHT <<<<<

LAKE FLOAT (JUNE)

Back in June I came across some free time, and decided to get out in the raft for a Twin Cities Metro musky hunt.  The homie Travis met me at the boat launch and right when we were about to launch another small water craft pulled up and it was my other homie Lucas.  He was about to call it a day, but decided to stay out on the water and float around with us and fish.

It was a good day on the water, because, Lucas and I raced our watercraft against one another...and I won.  Lucas does have plans to add flames to his watercraft, which in theory give him a few extra ponies, but I still think I'll be able to take him.  We shall see.  Oh, and Travis caught his personal best northern pike on the fly!!  Well, at the time it was his personal best.  He has since caught bigger, and he's totally getting addicted to the warm water game.

Here's a short video from the day.

Travis Instagram - @The_Ravvit

Lucas Instagram - @Strangeflies

Lucas also does art and here's the link to his website -> CLICK HERE

FLAG DAY RIVER FLOAT

Took the Flycraft Stealth out on the Rum River in search of smallies, and gators on a glorious Flag Day.  I tested out how my trolling motor faired against the current of a river, fished some new fly patterns, had a good time, and finally saw some Minnesota beaver.

What'd you all think...I'm pretty smooth when releasing fish, aren't I?!   :)

MY GEAR

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens #1 - https://amzn.to/2LzJ1B0

GoPro 5 Black - https://amzn.to/2JrjSHY

GoPro 6 Black - https://amzn.to/2LuA8IO

Microphone - http://amzn.to/2oGSMEq

Trolling Motor - https://amzn.to/2sVNrKB

*The above links are Amazon Associate links**

*

45 POUNDS OF THRUST

The CARF #icatchsmallfishtour2018 just received a power boost.  A boost in the form of an electric trolling motor for my Flycraft Stealth.  Little fish beware, I am now able to find you faster!

Minn Kota C2 45

The maiden voyage for the new trolling motor was a local lake.  The sun was shining, and I was armed with a 7 and 10 wt rod, a Ziplock bag full of flies, a fully charge marine battery and a new trolling motor.  The table was set for me to dominate, and dominate I did.  These small fish never had a chance.

Pig Farm Pinkie holding up a 10 lb Larry

The trolling motor worked great, and I was able to get out to the spots I know that hold small fish so much faster than before.  They never saw me coming.  I was tossing a small black woolly bugger-esk fly with a conehead, and I SLAYED.  I even slayed while LIVE on Instagram.  If you don't follow me, you should.  There will be more live fishing outings in the future.

5 lbs of crappie

There was a point in time where I was hooking up with a crappie almost every cast.  I must have caught like 347.5 crappie of all different sizes.  If I had a bucket, I might have taken a few home for some table fare.  They were much bigger than the 5lb crappie I am holding in the picture above, but I decided that I'd let them see another day.  I have their address, so, I'll be revisiting them in the future.

The CARF Fish Slaying Water Craft

The trolling motor works great, and is more than capable to scoot the Flycraft around the lake.  Looking forward to getting it out on a river to test it's ability against some current.

MY GEAR

Trolling Motor - https://amzn.to/2sVNrKB

Net - https://amzn.to/2Jz54He

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens #1 - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS

Lens #2 - http://amzn.to/2CLhwQZ

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

BOW & ARROW BROOK TROUT

One of my friends saw that I was on the Carf #icatchsmallfishtour2018 and invited me along to go fish some of his favorite brook trout waters.  In typical CARF fashion I forgot the reels to my 3 and 5 wt rods, so, I had to borrow Cody's spare 5 wt reel.  It seems I'm always forgetting things.  This one time my friend Jim flew up from Chicago for work a day early to fish, and when I picked him up from the airport we immediately went to the trout streams.  I told Jim not to bring anything but his waders and boots.  Well, I should have told him to bring his fly box, because, I forgot all of my flies at home on my desk.  Ha!

Enjoy the short video, and be on the look out for a longer version of the video by subscribing to my Youtube channel.

LINK - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2tl6hO4GM4

Let me know what you think of the video in the comments on the Youtube page, and don't forget to give it a "thumbs up" because it really does help in letting me know if it was good or not.

FIND YOUR SIGHT LINE

There's no doubt that I love showing my love for fly fishing and fishing in general.  I have so many stickers that showcase this stuck to my car, coolers, water bottles, fly boxes, etc.  I have plenty of shirts that also showcase the sport.  I now have a bracelet from Sight Line Provisions that showcases my absolute favorite fish - The Bass (Small and Largemouth).  I love fishing for pike, and musky...but  fishing for bass is where this passion really began.

Before fly fishing, my favorite method to fish was with my casting rod and a hollow rubber frog.  Nothing got me more stoked than tossing one of those frogs in the thick of the Lilly pads or weeds, anticipating the explosion of a bass bursting through the surface to destroy that frog.  Then came along a fly rod and a size 4 sneaky Pete fly in yellow.  Tossing that little fly along the edge of the weeds, Lilly pads, or over the top of some submerged vegetation to see that little fly get annihilated by some bass.  Endless fun.

Now I can really showcase my love for those fish...in style!  At first, I wasn't so sure about the purchase, because, I didn't really know how I was going to like wearing a bracelet.  I've been super happy with the purchase, and it has been the start of quite a few conversations about fishing.  I think I see a musky or pike bracelet being added to my Christmas list for Santa.

SIGHT LINE PROVISIONS

BASS POPPER ADV STEP BY STEP

It's warm water season, and the bass are going to want to eat some bigger bugs off the surface.  Top water bass fishing is no doubt my favorite type of fishing.  5 - 7 wt rods with a floating line while fishing lakes or rivers.  It's a blast!

Below you'll find some advanced instructions on how to achieve a popper that will get the job done, and if you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comment sections or shoot me a message.

Step 1 - Take your Partridge of Redditch popper hook and place it in your vise.

Step 2 - Tie in a clump of Lund's Fly Shop Misfit Wampa Hair for a tail.

Step 3 - Tie in a small amount of flash over the top of the Wampa Hair.

Step 4 - Tie in 2 small hackles from your Whitings Farms bugger pack.

Step 5 - Tie in your Polar Chenille to make a hot spot in the middle of the fly.

Step 6 - Put some superglue down on the thread that the body will be pushed on, and push on the body.

Step 7 (optional) - Poke through some rubber legs on the side to add some extra wiggle.

Step 8 - Super glue some eye on the popper body.

***Some of the below links are Amazon Affiliate Links***

Body
Flymen Fishing Double Barrel Popper Body - Medium Sized - https://amzn.to/2skN38d

Hook
Partridge of Redditch Popper Hook - Size 2 for the Medium body - https://amzn.to/2sfpeiU

Tail
Lund's Fly Shop Misfit Fly Wampa Hair - http://www.lundsflyshop.com/Wampa_Hair_p/mwh.htm

Flash
Crystal Flash - https://amzn.to/2xo3qGL

Feathers
Whiting Farms Bugger Pack - https://amzn.to/2IZVVY1

Hot Spot
Hareline Polar Chenille - https://amzn.to/2Jas42t

Eyes
Hareline Eyes - 4 mm eyes for the Medium popper body - https://amzn.to/2shbRi1

PIKE FOR LUNCH

The snow and ice have melted, and I've awoken from a bit of blogging hibernation.  There is so much to catch up on around here, and especially out there with all of my fellow bloggers.  Yesterday (May 15th) during lunch I opted to not eat - what a lie! I never eat during my lunch time.  There's more important things to do with my time like fish, edit photos/video, or nap.  (I just eat while I'm working.  I mean who doesn't!?!)

So, during lunch yesterday, I stopped by a spot really close to work.  I didn't have any fly rods set up and I wanted to maximize my time fishing, so, I grabbed my casting rod and tossed a swim jig with a paddle tail trailer.  I was sure to have a steel leader on, because, I know there are gators present.

Stirred up quite a few of these during lunch, it must have been the new gator hat from 720 Fly.  I even managed to cast my rod and reel into the water!  Hilarious!  It wasn't hard to retrieve out of the water, so, that's a plus.  It is full of dirt and sand, so, I'll definitely have to clean it up.  I have it on video, so, be on the look out for that sometime in the very near future.

After work, I decided to head over to the same spot with my fly rod.  I hooked several trees and thought I was going to break my fly line each time I was trying to rip my fly line out of them.  I managed to hook up with one gator, and I'm pretty sure it was one I had hooked earlier with the swim jig.  It's great to be fishing in short sleeve again.  Shorts were needed.  It was too damn hot out for my jeans.

Hat - 720 Fly

Net - Rising Fish

***Below are Amazon Affiliate Links***

Camera - https://amzn.to/2L48Idj

Camera Lens - https://amzn.to/2KvIJdR

Favorite Lens - https://amzn.to/2Ipr5aR

GoPro 5 Black - https://amzn.to/2Ipxk2r

GoPro 6 Black - https://amzn.to/2GmyINu

 Favorite Mini Tripod - https://amzn.to/2GotoJl

YOU'RE KIDDING ME, RIGHT?

It's mid April, and it snowed.

It snowed a lot.

14-16 inches of snow fell over the weekend.

Oh, and there's still roughly 20 inches of ice on all of the lakes around the Twin Cities area.

It's mid April.

Spring does not exist.

What is this place?

VEDAVOO UPGRADE

Looking for some new gear to use for the 2018 year.  Vedavoo is offering 20% off their products until April 17th.  That's a helluva deal for some high quality American made products.  While you're on their website filling up your shopping cart, don't forget to read up and donate to the Reel Service Project to donate to an extremely worthy cause...oh and your donation gets you a raffle ticket to win a one of a kind custom messenger bag.

VEDAVOO

WEBSITE

FACEBOOK

INSTAGRAM

TWITTER

PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY TWIN CITIES

PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY

TWIN CITIES

Saint Paul/Minneapolis

When:

Friday - March 16th

7:30 P.M. - Bitchin' (Close at Midnight)

Where:

Blackstack Brewing

755 Prior Ave N.

Saint Paul, MN 55104

BIG THANKS TO OUR FRIENDS/SUPPORTERS

Pig Farm Ink

Costa

Simms

Blackstack Brewing

Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop

Mend Provisions

Jake Keeler

Post Fly

Harmonic Goods

Rising

Whistle Pig

Wish 4 Fish

Vedavoo

Also, my homie Brooks Miller with the Minnesota Twins will be there with a few pairs of Twins tickets to give away, so, this is definitely an event you'll not want to miss!  So come on out to hang, chill, participate, learn, or whatever.  This is open to all skill levels and we HIGHLY encourage people that have never fly fished or tied a fly before to come out and join in on the fun.

POUND THE BOTTOM

Fishing trips are the best with some fun friends.  Before the Minnesota bass, pike, and walleye season closed on February 25th, my homie Ed drove up from Chicagoland to go ice fishing with me and Troy.  The chosen destination was Leech Lake and we were staying at Trappers Landing.

Of course I caught a small fish.  It's what I do.

The fishing was slow, but the beer and laughs were plentiful.  I made a short video of the weekend trip.  Check it out below, and don't forget to subscribe to the new channel.

MY GEAR Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD Lens #1 - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS Lens #2 - http://amzn.to/2CLhwQZ Lens #3 - http://amzn.to/2EoB27q GoPro - http://amzn.to/2FGHKFc Microphone - http://amzn.to/2oGSMEq Laptop - http://amzn.to/2CYjRHa Memory Card Case - http://amzn.to/2CYRWXU **The above links are Amazon Associate links**

VEDAVOO: REEL SERVICE PROJECT IV

The Vedavoo Reel Service Project IV has kicked off.  If you don't know about the Vedavoo Reel Service Project, then you should.  I've copied and pasted the verbiage from the Vedavoo website below.  Entering is free, and donations are welcomed and encouraged! 

Photo from the Vedavoo website.

Here's a blurb from the Vedavoo website.

Behind the creation of each of these beautiful and unique bags is a effort to get you to donate to Project Healing Waters.

In partnership with Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. the REEL SERVICE PROJECT was initiated in 2013 to help raise funds for veteran-focused causes in the Fly Fishing community. That initial effort, which included a series of VEDAVOO packs made out of fabric provided by Patrick over at Recycled Waders featuring original artwork by Jeff Currier set the stage for events to follow.

Proceeds from Reel Service III were enough to pay for nearly 28 YEARS WORTH of FLY TYING COURSES AND MATERIALS for wounded veterans through the efficient use of funds by Project Healing Waters.

Having had the opportunity to receive each artist’s commitment – we are truly humbled and inspired by how quickly and passionately each has stepped up for the cause.  As before, VEDAVOO will lead the effort by providing the materials and labor to build the bags and each artist will provide their time and vision painting their signature aesthetic to each finished piece. This year’s event promises to be the best to date. Enter to win one of these very special bags. No Purchase Necessary.

Photo from the Vedavoo website

This years Artist lineup includes:

Jorge Martinez - Website - Instagram

Derek DeYoung - Website - Instagram

Josh Udesen - Website - Instagram

Andrea Larko - Website - Instagram

Ryan Keene - Website - Instagram

Matthew Stockton - Website - Instagram

Alex Poland - Website - Instagram

Jake Keeler - Website - Instagram

Paul Puckett - Website - Instagram

Borbay - Website - Instagram

Sarah Landstrom - Website - Instagram

Ty Hallock - Website - Instagram

Jeff Kennedy - Website - Instagram

Kendra Leeks - Website - Instagram

If you would like to donate to Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing the Vedavoo: Reel Service Project IV click on the link below.

---->> CLICK HERE TO DONATE<<----

VEDAVOO

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THE HUB PODCAST

Do you like fly fishing? ...Yes.

Do you like podcasts about fly fishing? ...Yes.

Do you like to continuously be let down? ...Yes/No/Maybe/I don't know.

Are you in the market for a new podcast? ...Yes.

This guy did not win $1,000...He just discovered The Hub Podcast by the Fish Porn Crew.

Then The Hub Podcast brought to you by the Fish Porn crew of Jeff and Josh for you!  As their number one listener, I can honestly say, that these guys have no fucking idea what they're doing, but I absolutely love it, and so will you!  I'm kidding.  They only have a partial idea of what they're doing.  Love you dudes!

Episode 9 - Brought to you by the state of Missouri and NASCAR featuring yours truly.  I must forewarn you, drinking some hoppy goodness will enhance the show immensely.

Now I know what you're thinking, CARF you're famous now!  I know, and you're welcome.  That doesn't make sense, but I don't care, because, this is my blog and I can write what I want.  I'm kind of a big deal now.  Excelsior!

THE HUB PODCAST

by the Fish Porn Crew

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

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WEBSITE

Call the Fish Porn Hotline and leave them a tasty voicemail.

(970) 834-FISH

HIGH FALLS WINTER HIKING

High Falls.  A 120 foot drop makes this waterfall the highest fall in the state of Minnesota.  Another unique thing about these falls is that it's located in the Grand Portage State Park on the Pigeon River that separates the US and Canada.

Where's the low falls?

The trail that leads you to the falls is very well marked.  I've been to this place in the summer, and there were definitely a lot more people around hiking the man made trail paths and taking in the views.  For this time of year, I was really surprised to see that the trails were somewhat maintained.  There's some ice on the stairs closer to the falls, but at least there isn't 2 feet of snow covering the trail.

With the there being ice on the trail, it's a good thing I had my Diamond Grip Yaktrax to help me stand up to winter.

#STANDUPTOWINTER

Walking in a winter wonderland.

The Native Americans developed "The Grand Portage" ...meaning "the great carrying place."

High Falls

Upon arriving to the falls, it was clear that it's been frozen for some time now.  It was very cool to see it completely frozen over, and see water still escaping out of the bottom of the ice.  There was also an opening located in the middle of the falls acting as a window, and showing that water is still flowing behind the ice.

That's a lot of ice.

In the photograph below, if you look just left of the center, you can somewhat see the window through the ice.  Granted, it's a still photograph, but you get the idea.

Closer view.

If you ever find yourself up near the Grand Portage, High Falls is a place I'd definitely recommend to stop and see, regardless of what time of year it is.  It was really interesting to see how green and full of life it is during the summer, but equally as interesting to see in the dead of winter where everything is full of snow and ice.

Everybody Chill

MY GEAR

Camera - http://amzn.to/2hnMwkD

Lens #1 - http://amzn.to/2hhdHJS

Lens #2 - http://amzn.to/2CLhwQZ

Lens #3 - http://amzn.to/2EoB27q

Boots - http://amzn.to/2CIGHUc

Yaktrax - http://amzn.to/2DbWDPG

Yaktrax 2 - http://amzn.to/2Eu6CAu

**The above links are Amazon Associate links**