Lazy Days

I'd just like to share some recent flies with you all, and my secret ingredient to all of my flies.

Pictured below is articulated bass fly.  Also in the picture, you will find the secret ingredient to all of my flies.  Yes, it's true.  Fish love hot sauce!  I use Tabasco for my flies and I favor Cholula on my food when giardinara is not available.

No Name Fly Ingrediants

1. Partridge of Redditch Predator X 4/0 Hook
2. Black Magnum Zonker Strips
3. Bronze Polar Chenille
4. Black Polar Chenille
5. Flymen Articulated Shank (Medium Sized One)
6. Misfit Holo Head
7. Tabasco Sauce - Spice it up!

THAT FLY IS HOT!!!!

If you're a follower of The Fiberglass Manifesto, then you should be aware of a recent post of his that was a - Step by Step - pictorial of a Panther Branch Bugs fly named the "Mini Mouse."  It's a great looking pattern, and simple to tie.

Inspired, I was.  I got to tying my own, and played around with some different variations.  I'm happy with all 3.  Now I just need the fish in my area to start hitting top water already.

...And here we have my dogs, Daisy and Bo, doing a great impersonation of me the past 2 weeks.

Bumming around.

Hardly, Strictly Musky: Final Day

Day Two of fishing was looking promising.  We were on pace to get on the water earlier than we did on Day One.  We got to the gas station where I had planned to take our friend, Adam Alexander Photo's advice of, "F the pop tarts.  Eat a hot breakfast, and be happy."  He also recommended the biscuits and gravy, and mentioned the cheap prices of the diner, but I had a slight problem - I couldn't find my drivers license or debit card.

D'OH!

After quickly doubling back to our campsite, and returning, we were able to get on the water before anyone else, and about the same time, as the day before.  I also, opted out of getting the hot breakfast.  Bummer.

On the water, I had a follow from a micro-ski 15 minutes into our float.  Then I had a mid to upper 20's musky follow out from some cover.  Funny thing about this musky is he gave me 3 follows the day before, but he kept on letting me down.

Then in a spot about 10 yards from that musky, I had a low to mid 30's musky come out HOT and take a swipe at my fly, but missed.  Then it just watched as I went into the figure 8, before it slowly swam off into the deep hole behind me.  Was never able to get that fish to come back a second time.  Damn.

The rest of the day went as follows:

Casting, figure 8, casting, casting, figure 8, beer, cast, chips, cast, figure 8, beer, more casting, and a whole lot of nothing.

Hey Dave, anything? ....Nope.

Hey Chris, anything? ....Nope.

Same here

Let 'er rip!

After some leisurely floating, drinking beer, and taking pictures of Chris and Dave, I decided to wet a fly.  Soon after, I hooked up with a decent smallie who put up a heck of a fight.

When you're the only one catching fish, your friends use sign language to say congrats.  Birds everywhere!

Catch.  Picture.  Release.

That was the end of the final day of fishing.  Few follows for myself and Dave, and Chris, yet again, did not see anything.  I was really hoping he would get at least 1 follow, but that's musky fishing.  No matter what region you're in.

Before heading over to the Park Theater in downtown McMinnville for dinner and awards, we had to make a quick pit stop a few blocks away and check out the musky mural that we've only seen in pictures.  Pretty damn cool!

Dinner was outstanding!  Todd had catered out to a local BBQ joint, and they provided some fantastic meal that I'm sure everyone had seconds of.  Costa Del Mar had Jungle Fish playing on the big screen, and the same as the night before...the beer was flowing and musky was the topic of conversation.

I'd like to say congratulations to Katie Blizzard for winning biggest fish with a 42 3/4 inch musky that she worked her tail off for.

I would also like to say congratulations to the winning team who boated 3 musky - Blane Chocklett, Mike Schultz, and Chris Willen.  Blane had a 40, and Mike hooked up with 2 musky - 41 3/4, and a 36 incher.  What a day!!

Such an honor to be on the board and help put my team in contention.  I'm just super stoked to have gone to Tennessee and hook up with a musky, and be apart of this outstanding event.  I'm not the only guy from Illinois that hooked up.  Our buddy Adam Alexander Photo (Mike Allen on the sheet) hooked up with a gorgeous 32 inch musky on Day One, as well.

Another great thing about this event, is that I was able to meet and chat with so many awesome people.  Some of those whom I follow on Social media, and some who follow me.  It's good to put faces to screen names.

It was great meeting all of you!!

(I apologize if I have forgotten to list you below)

Mike Allen, Kurt Nelson, Mark Messer, Austin Green, Katie Blizzard, Josh-Dave-Brent, Drew Cook, Nate Hensley, Kyle Burnette, Matt (From Greg's Boat), and Steve Tatarchuk of Monic Fly Fishing.

Greg Morgan - The Most Interesting Man in the World!  Hands down one of the nicest and coolest dudes you'll ever meet.  If you're looking for a guide in Georgia, Greg, is most definitely your man - G.R. Morgan Outdoors.  I've never fished with him, but I can promise you, that you'll have a lot of fun.

The Most Interesting Man In The World - Greg Morgan.

Team U-Turn. Left to right - Me, Chris, Dave.

Hats off to Todd Gregory (owner of Towee Boats) and the Towee Boats crew for all that they do to organize such an awesome event, and for wrangling in such great sponsors like Patagonia, Monic Fly Fishing, Costa Del Mar, Flood Tide Co., Temple Fork Outfitters - TFO, and Flymen Fishing Company, and the city of McMinnville.

Thanks again, Todd!

Sweet Home Chicago.

Looking forward to next year!!!!

Hopefully, fishing from a boat.

Setting Up The Camper

It's that time of year, again.  I usually head up to my grandparent's camper with my Uncle and Cousin Donny, but this year was different.  My Grandmother and Father were already up at the camper, and my Father called and asked if I could come up and help out.  Of course my answer was, yes.

I didn't have to clear the screened patio of any leaves this year.  What a relief!  That made things go much quicker.  We were able to get the canopy over the patio, no problem.

Zip tie the canopy to the supports, because, you can't fully trust the velcro to hold when there is a storm with strong winds rolling through.

That be my father.

No Carpet....

My Grandmother and Father

With carpet.

Once we were done with all of the heavy stuff, we decided to eat lunch, and then my father and I headed down to the lake to see if anything was biting.  My father has never used plastic artificial worms, so, I rigged him up with my spinning rod and a wacky rigged senko.  I told him to cast it out, let it drop, pick it up, reel in the slack, let it sink, and repeat.

What do ya know...he hooked up with a feisty male on his 2nd cast!  Pretty cool, and kind of funny how the tables have turned.  He taught me how to fish when I was a little kid (1st grade) using live bait and watching a red/white bobber, and now here we are, roughly 27 years from those days, and I'm teaching him how to fish using artificial lures.

He ended up hooking up with 3 more after that first one, while I was tossing a fly and receiving no attention from anything.

CATCH AND RELEASE

My father got hung up and lost the worm he had on, and called it a day.  I on the other hand, put away the fly rod, and took the spinning rod and rigged it up with another wacky worm, and there you have it.  I beat the skunk.  My father bragged about how he had me beat 4 - 1 when we got back to the camper.

Daisy Meets Larry Largemouth Bass

My first decent sized bass of the year out of the backyard lake.  My dog Daisy was there, too, and it was her first time seeing a fish.  It freaked her out at first, and then I got her to come on over and say hi.

I present you, the many faces of a confused happy dog.

Pike On The Mind

My buddy DanK found this picture, and shared it with me not long ago.  I posted it on my Instagram, so, you might have seen it.  I really wish I knew the orgin of it, because, I LOVE IT!  I've tried a few Google searches but came up empty.  It gets me excited for the upcoming season.  I cannot wait to get into some predator fish with teeth!

I've been slowly building a stockpile of flies.  Some for myself, but most of them are for others.  The one below is an articulated double, and it'll find it's way into my personal box, and hopefully, it's next stop is the jaws of a musky or pike.

2016 Great Lakes Kayak Fishing Series

GREAT LAKES KAYAK FISHING SERIES

With a new year comes a whole new Great Lakes Kayak Fishing Series aka GLKFS is a lot of fun and organized by some knowledgeable kayak anglers such as +Colin Belle and Brookfield Angler.  I have participated in a few of the events the past 2 years, and have always had a great time.  Unfortunately, I do not think any of the dates will work out for me this year, but I highly recommend you give 1 or all the stops a shot!

2016 SCHEDULE

May 14th - Fox Chain O'Lakes

Target Species - Walleye, Catfish, and Panfish

June 11th - Madison Chain of Lakes

Target Species - Smallmouth & Largemouth Bass

July 24th - Mazonia/Braidwood

Target Species - Smallmouth & Largemouth Bass

September 10th - Manitowoc/Lake Michigan

Target Species - All Trout/Salmon

Tournament entry fee is $45 per event, but if you pay up front for all 4, it's $160, and that nets you a total of $20 in savings.  There are cash and gear prizes for placing in each event, but there are also a ton of door prizes to be raffled away to everyone at the event after the winners are announced.  Like I said, I had a great time at past events, and while I never placed, I walked away with some pretty sweet gear won in the raffle/door prizes.

- CLICK HERE TO GO TO THEIR WEBSITE -

Trouterspace & The Remedy Fishing Channel

The dudes at Trouterspace and The Remedy Fishing Channel have uploaded a new video, and it's a fantastic.  Short, sweet, and get's me jazzed to get on my kayak to do some fly fishing for smallies and pike.

If you don't already, I suggest you follow them, because, they're always putting out quality stuff.  They also have one of the cooler blog names out there.  I'd name a few others, but I'll save that for a future post.

Click here for their website.

TROUTERSPACE

Zombie's Need More Cowbell

The weather has been super fantastic here in the Chicagoland area.  (That's sarcasm.)

Rain - Rain - Sunny - Rain - Snow - Sunny - 30 degree's - 50 degree's - Snow - Sun - and more rain.

With that said, it gave me some much needed time to get some cleaning done around the house, and more importantly get my fly tying desk in order, so, I can once again sit at the vise and fill some spaces in my personal fly boxes, and to fill some orders.

With the end of my favorite show The Walking Dead last week, and the start of their other show Fear The Walking Dead, I was in the zombie mood, and the flies I whipped up yesterday displayed just that.

Zombie inspired Minimum Cowbell's

Zombie's need more cowbell, right?

Tenkara Angler - Spring Edition

The Spring Edition of Tenkara Angler is out, and if you haven't yet, I suggest you check it out.  Whether you're a Tenkara angler or not, you will most certainly enjoy the articles in this magazine, and maybe, just maybe you'll find yourself wanting to pick up a Tenkara rod, and giving it a shot.  I know I want one, and definitely see one in my future. 

The articles/essays I enjoyed.

Brookies & Beer

The World in Black & White

Matching Nature

Tenkara Abroad

Click on the link below to view the eMagazine

TENKARA ANGLER

CARF's Renegade

I've been working on a new fly pattern, and trying to come up with a name for it.  I have finally decided.  

I present to you, CARF's Renegade.  An articulated streamer that will surly get the attention of both large and smallmouth bass, meat eating trout, and bluegill with big cahones.

2016 Illinois Fishing License

Just a reminder to all from Illinois.  Our Illinois fishing licenses have expired, and it's time to get to your local tackle & Bait, or big box store to get your 2016 Fishing License.

To purchase your Illinois fishing license online click the link below.

CLICK HERE

...and remember.

Dead Weight Fly - New Lids

My homie Ryan of Dead Weight Fly recently put up some new lids on his site for the 2016 season.  Go ahead and check them out.  

This one is speaking to me.  Would look great with my sunglasses.  What say you +Howard Levett ??

If you're not following Ryan on Instagram or FB then you're missing out on some of his killer work.

DEAD WEIGHT FLY INSTAGRAM

River Falls Fly Fishing Expo: PART TWO

Part Two of the River Falls Fly Fishing Expo.

I would just like to start off by saying, it was really great meeting and talking with everyone at the show, and I really wish there was more time to shoot the chit and chat all things fly fishing.

Erik Thue of Catch and Capture.  It was great meeting Erik.  I've been following his stuff on Instagram and Facebook for awhile now, and he ties some great flies, and has some great photography skills.

I've met James Durbin of Big Pike Flies a Way of Life has been around for awhile.  I've met him once before a few years ago at a Chicago Musky Expo.  He's a great fly tyer and has perfected his patterns for pike and musky.  Oh, and James definitely had thee most impressive mustache at the expo.

Ike of Chasing Fins Guide Service tying up some predator goodness for the St. Croix River.

Kevin @redbeard.flyfishing on Instagram is a great young fly tyer.  It was great meeting you, and I hope those flies catch you a lot of fish!!

redbeard.flies@gmail.com

Andy Selvig had one of the simplest displays, but it was surely the coolest one of them all.  It was a really awesome old milk crate/box.  Andy had 2 seminars throughout the day, one for intruder style flies, and another for deer hair divers.  He's a great fly tyer and his flies really show his skill.  I wish I would have taken a close up picture.

Didn't get a chance to talk with them, because, they were packing up, but I must say that Luke Swanson of Livin' the Dream Guide Service has some serious chops at the vise.  A few of the musky patterns that he still had out on his table really blew me away.  Keep up the impressive work!!

livinthedream365gs@gmail.com

Photo taken from the Livin' the Dream Guide Service Facebook.

I didn't make many purchases at the expo, but I did purchase some much needed trout flies from a few fly tiers, one of those purchases coming from Phil's Phly Shop.  I picked up some random small dry flies.  Phil had a huge selection to choose from, so, I had him and his lovely wife pick them out for me.  Phil is a Navy Vet, and his wife is Filipino...My father was in the Navy, as well, and I am 1/2 Filipino, so, I had to give them some support!

Phil is teamed up with his friend Dan, and not only do they tie all of the flies shown above,  but they do some fantastic custom rod work.  They had some beautiful rods on display, and the custom cork work is stellar!  They don't have a website, but I'll leave the information from their cards below.  It was great talking and meeting all of you!

Phil's Phly Shop

Quality Phlys and Rods

Located on the South Fork of the Kinni

River Falls, Wisconsin

715-426-0118

Dan Rach

Custom Fly Rods - Custom Flies - Rod Building Instruction - Fly Tying Lessons - Fly Casting

danthefishinman@aol.com

262-271-5915

For everyone else that I met, but don't have any pictures of, it was great meeting all of you, especially, those of you that I follow on social media.  It's great putting a face to a screen name!

Matt Ebbers -  Matt has some exceptional skills at the vise whipping up streamers and trout flies.  Check out his instagram - @ebbsforce1

Joel Ebbers - Brother of Matt has some of the same skills, and visits Chicago often.  Maybe we'll get to wet a line one of these days when you're in town! Instagram - @ebbs81

Aaron Przybylski - I mentioned Aaron in my Film Tour night post.  He ties some really cool small streamers that I'm looking forward to sinking into some fish face!  He grew up in my area, and visits sometimes.  One of these days when he's in town, we'll definitely wet a line and catch some local bass.  Check out his instagram - @stcroixpeezworth

Eddie Rivard was at the show, but we did not know that either of us would be there until it was all over with.  Would have been great to meet you.  Eddie owns the blog Eddie Rivard Fly Fishing.

Grant Meyer - Great meeting you, dude!  A fellow Fig Parmer.  Check out his instagram - @meyer.grant.d

River Falls Fly Fishing Expo: PART ONE

Late write up.

I had a great time at the River Falls Fly Fishing Expo.  +Brian J Smolinski of Lunds Fly Shop located in River Falls, Wisconsin organized a great event, and I am already looking forward to next year.  There were so many great vendors, guides, and fly tyers that I am breaking this up into 2 posts, so, be on the look out for part 2.

Not really a local hero. Ha

This was my first time participating in an expo, and tying in front of complete strangers in this type of setting.  I must say, that I truly enjoyed myself.  I had such a good experience, that I am already checking out what expo's are on the agenda for the rest of the year, and next year.

It was great meeting so many people, and having so many people enjoy my work.  I met +Ryan Frick of the blog On a Fly! and didn't even know it until I had returned from my trip.  Haha!  It was great talking with you on Friday and Saturday.  Wish I had known it was you, I would have loved to pick your brain about fishing your areas of the Driftless.

Musky poppers were a big hit.

Here are some more pictures from the expo.

Urban Assault Fly Fishing - Dave Kuntzelman

Another familiar face from Illinois was at the expo.  

PJ of PJ's Guide Service.

pjguides@sbcglobal.net

One of the artists at the at the show was the talented Bob White.  While he was there, he was working on a painting of a brown bear and a cub on a hill.  It really was an honor watching him work on the painting.  It was really cool, and different.  All of the artists I've seen at shows just have their work on display, but this was the first time I've witnessed someone actually working on a piece.  I cannot wait to see the finished piece.

Bob White Studio