DENVER - LOOKOUT

Denver - I'm coming for you!  I've got a plan ticket booked for October 21st through the 28th.  No real agenda other than to explore, hike, fish, and camp every single day.  Sounds like a good plan, right?  Of course it does.  I have been relying on the interwebs to provide me lists of places to go/see and things to do, but now I am asking for help from whoever I know that is there in Denver or the surrounding area to provide me with your hot spots.

I'm kidding.  I'd never ask anyone for their hot spots, but if you would be so kind as to tell me cool places to hike that have some epic views near camping and fishing, that would be killer!  I've never been to Denver or the state of Colorado, and this will definitely be my first time exploring the Rocky Mountains.  I am super stoked for the trip.

One thing I do have on my list of things to do is eat at The Buckhorn Exchange and have some Rocky Mountain Oysters.  Crazy to think that one would be excited to willingly put Bull testicles in his/her mouth, but I'm game.

Any other recommendations for places to go hike, camp, fish, must do's, and maybe your favorite brunch place.  All information is much appreciated!

Maybe I'll even get to visit with +Howard Levett! 

MUSKY HUNT WITH VOYAGEUR PURSUITS

Since moving up here to Minnesota, I had visions of hooking up with monster musky - regularly.  That's definitely not the case, and you're probably thinking to yourself, who the hell does this guy think he is that he's going to catch musky all the time.  Trust me, I think that same thing, but what can I say, I'm a dreamer.

My homie Tom Hazleton of Voyageur Pursuits heard I was on the hunt for my first Minnesota musky, so, he invited me out.  The conditions seemed almost too perfect.  It was the evening, and there had been gray skies all day.  I had such a great feeling that today was going to be the day I caught my first Minnesota Musky.

Well, the evening did not go as planned, but it was a great time none the less.  There were no musky caught, but we had a few beers, and brought a few pike to the boat before calling it a night.  Huge thanks to Tom for inviting me out and showing me that musky really don't exist in Minnesota.

Catching Northern Pike on the Great Wall of China.
Photograph: Tom Hazelton

Voyageur Pursuits

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Update - I'm back from the Bitchin' Tour

Recently, the PIG FARM INK crew borrowed a van from punk rock band Teenage Bottlerocket and set out across the Midwest and up to the Northeast to spread the good word that fly fishing is rad, and that we should all care about our environment.  

Being a Pig Farmer, I jumped aboard after the event we hosted here in Minneapolis - American Flydol (Fly tying and Karaoke), and originally I had planned to stay for 4 days, but I ended up staying for roughly 15...and yes, I still have a job.

I have a lot of catching up to do, and photos and video to sift through.  I just wanted to check in with all of you, and let you know that I'm still here, and that I am looking forward to sharing all of my stories of good times, and the people we met along the way that made this trip such an amazing experience.

Here's a taste.

Get Trashed

Delaware River Club

Starlight, Pennsylvania

Low riding on the Delaware River.

71 tires were collected!  That's not including the other trash that was picked up and out of the great Delaware River.  Everyone came back with a drift boat chalk full of garbage.  I mean how freakin' awesome is that!  71 tires!  There were so many left behind, too.  There was simply just not enough room in the boats to transport them back.

We're not stuck...or are we...

QUICKIE

Found myself in Wisconsin with some time to spare, so, I did the logical thing....I went trout fishing.  I was out and about enjoying the weather and hiking around Willow River State Park, and afterwards, I decided to head on down the road to the Kinnickinnic River.  I grabbed my FSA custom 3 wt, Vedavoo hip pack, and Tacky fly box, tied on a top water bug I've been working on, and walked on down to a new spot I scoped out back in June.

EATER

The no name fly I've been working on was the ticket and my fly box was not needed.  I found some rising trout on the tail end of some small riffles, and they were picking off anything that was drifting through.  

Vedavoo hip pack.

Wet waded up the river just a little bit in to some skinny water, and found some a few more fish drifting that same fly.  I don't know if it was the fly or the amount of fish caught, but the fly was starting to come undone.  Need to do some tweaking...I kind of want to think that the trout were just beating it up throughout the short outing, which is very possible.

Brook trout like to party.

Came across a floating fish, and upon further investigation - I determined it was the biggest trout that I have ever seen with my own eyes in the Driftless Area of Wisconsin, and that it was a brook trout.  Didn't have a wallet on it, so, I wasn't able to determine it's age or where it came from.

What a shame.

All in all it was a solid 1.5 spent fishing on a beautiful day, and a reminder to me and to all of you that live here in the Midwest to get out there and enjoy the outdoors and the kick ass weather while we have it....Winter is coming.

PIG FARM INK: AMERICAN FLYDOL MINNEAPOLIS

PIG FARM INK PRESENTS:  BITCHIN TOUR

Come on out to tie flies and belt out some jams with the Pig Farm Ink Tour crew at Otter's Saloon for AMERICAN FLYDOL! Bring your vice, tie some flies, or just come on out and party.  Jay Johnson, Nick Halm, Jonathan Jones, Casey Anderson, and myself will be there.

WEDNESDAY - AUGUST 16TH @ 8 PM

OTTER'S SALOON

617 CENTRAL AVE SE

MINNEAPOLIS, MN 55414

PIG FARM INK

BOB MITCHELL'S & CONSERVATION CORP - CLEAN RIVER CRAWL

Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop and Conservation Corps have teamed up with a few different breweries to host 4 separate river clean ups around the Saint Paul/Minneapolis area.  I attended the first one, and had a great time.  It was my first river clean up, and it was such a positive experience cleaning up some trash around the waters that I fish.

Scavenger Fly and Lift Bridge Brewing table.

I got to explore a part of the Kinnickinnic River that I hadn't fished, and it was beautiful.  I had no idea there were some small waterfalls just up river from the usual stomping grounds.  There wasn't a lot of trash found on this part of the river, and that was surprising to me.  It also, told me that there are definitely others out there that care.

The Kinni. (Kinnickinnic)

Couple hours later we all met back up at the tents and David from Lift Bridge Brewing began to grill up some goods, while we all drank some Lift Bridge brews and told fish stories.

David grillin' up the good.

Hazel the Tiny Dingo keeping cool.

Bret and Evan ready to chow down after a long hard day of cleaning the Kinni (Haha)

It was a great day on the water, and I didn't even wet a line.  I will definitely be back to that section of river with my 3 wt and some small flies.  I spotted quite a few small trout zipping around while I was cleaning up.

Post clean up BBQ.  The yellow bags contained the trash picked up.

Fish stories with Aaron, Robert and Bret.

I won't be around for the next clean up, but I should definitely make it out for the last one.  For a schedule, links, and more information about these river clean ups - please check out the links below.  Big thanks to all of those that did the organizing for these events!  Cheers!

Free the Kinnickinnic.

BOB MITCHELL'S FLY SHOP

CONSERVATION CORPS

LIFT BRIDGE BREWING

UPCOMING DATES FOR THE CLEAN RIVER CRAWL

===CLICK HERE===

June 17th: Lift Bridge clean up on the Kinnickinnic River

July 15th - Fulton Brewing clean up on the Mississippi River

August 19th - Odell Brewing clean up on the Vermillion River

September 16th - Lake Monster Brewing clean up on the Minnehaha Creek

PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY @ MIDWEST GOLDEN BONES FLY TOURNAMENT

PIG FARM INK PRESENTS:

IRON FLY at THE MIDWEST GOLDEN BONES FLY TOURNAMENT

I will be hosting the PIG FARM INK: IRON FLY at the 2nd annual Midwest Golden Bones Fly Tournament.  The kick off party will be Friday - August 4th, and will start at Noon with Towee Boats Crew showcasing their versatile boats on the Fox River, and then at 8 PM the IRON FLY will commence.  

Come on out!  Tie some flies, drink some beer, eat some food, talk fish, and have a bitchin' time.

If you have and questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at carfoutdoors@gmail.com

PIG FARM INK

COSTA

POST FLY

MIDWEST GOLDEN BONES FLY TOURNAMENT

MIDWEST WATERS ANGLING CO.

OUT FOR A ROW

Alright - There's no doubt about it, that I have been slacking on my blog.  I don't want you all to think that I'm going to let this die off, because, I won't allow that.  Now that I'm pretty settled in up here in Minnesota, and have spent so much of my free time exploring and learning the lay of the land, trying to make new friends, fishing, and learning an entirely new job, I am starting to find my groove.

Good things are on the Horizon - Possibly another contest where the winner will receive their prize 1 year later...How does that sound, +Howard Levett ? :)

In the meantime while I figure that contest out.  Here's a VLOG of an outing I had with my new Flycraft Stealth.

Jake Keeler musky art on a gose style beer from Fulton Brewing.  Yes Please!

The Carf Outdoors #icatchsmallfish tour still in full effect!

Pretending to look like I know what I'm doing.  The reality is, I have no freakin' clue what I'm doing.  Just trying to look cool.

JAKE KEELER ART

FULTON BREWING

FLYCRAFT

PIG FARM INK

FLOATING THE ST. CROIX

READY TO ROCK N ROLL

Got out for a float with my homie Aaron of Scavenger Fly on the St. Croix River.  The plan was to row up river and drift back down in search of musky, pike, and smallmouth.  Our friend Ted surprised us when he said that he was on the river, too.  He met up with us, and generously offered to tow us up river.  THANKS TED!  You da man!!

Ted with the clutch tow.

Aaron...Focusing in on his precision casting.

Overall it was a great float and we all hooked into some fish.  No musky, but that quite alright.  There's always next time, right?!?!

Teeth in the net.

Backhanded casting. Photo by:  Aaron

Check out the short video I made of the outing.  I'm still working on brushing up my recording and editing skills, so, please be kind. :) 

If you liked the video, give it a THUMBS UP!  Oh, and don't forget to subscribe.

Looking forward to the next float on the St. Croix.

Check out the link below.

SCAVENGER FLY - Website

SCAVENGER FLY - Instagram

I BOUGHT SOMETHING BIG

I bought a Flycraft Stealth boat/raft...whatever you want to call it.  I can't seem to make up my mind, so, I've been referring to it as both.  Big purchase for me, but I am stoked to own it, and get it on the water.  I know what most of you all are probably thinking, that's an expensive raft, but the way I see it is...

1. I don't need a trailer.
2. I don't need a garage or driveway to store trailer or an actual boat. (Wish I did, though.)

I can put this thing away in a closet in my bedroom....or I can leave it inflated and use it as a couch in my living room.  I don't think my roommates would mind.  Hahaha

Here's a video of me unboxing it and setting it up (not the full installation)

Big round of applause for my roommate Ben for posing for this picture...for America...and my entertainment. Haha

Don't forget to subscribe to my 

CARF OUTDOORS YouTube Channel

(Click the link above to be sent to the channel)

I Still Fish

Just a little reminder to all of you, and me, that I still fish.  In fact, I have become a master of catching small fish.  #icatchsmallfish - It's my new thing.

In the picture below, my white sunglasses are still alive and well.  You will all be happy to learn they will soon be making a return.  Superglue is a wonderful thing.

Casting for small fish with my 5 wt.

...and below is a random picture of a water tower near my place in Saint Paul.  It has a moon attached to it.  I believe I shared a picture of this water tower, but it was at night.  Well, here it is during the day.

GRANDERSLAM 2017 IS A GO

Let the 2017 Grander Slam games begin!

The week long contest kicked off on Friday the 16th at 6 PM with a run down of the rules at Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop.  The rules will clear and simple - Don't be a dick.

Wasting no time this weekend, I did quite a bit of fishing.  I am traveling to Sioux Falls, South Dakota for a work training thing, and I'll be gone until Friday the 23rd...the day the contest ends. **UPDATE** I am not a smart man.  I was kindly reminded the contest ends Sunday 6/25.  That gives me more time to fish. :) Thanks, Rhea!

It's Monday morning now, and I am pretty much done fishing until this coming Friday when I return.  I'll have a few hours before the final buzzer and I'm hoping to knock off a few more fish, but we'll see.  For now, below you'll find what I've caught.  I'm positive that this will not be enough to win it, but whatever, it was fun!

Species: Bluegill

Length: 7.25 inches

Species: White Crappie

Length: 6.25 inches

Species: Green Sunfish

Length: 4.25 inches

Species: Pumpkinseed

Length: 5.75 inches

Species: Largemouth Bass

Length: 15 inches

Species: Blue Floss Fish

Length: 2.75 inches

To keep up with all of the 2017 Grander Slam action search the hashtag on social media (Facebook, Instagram etc.) 

#GRANDERSLAM2017