Showing posts with label fly tying. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fly tying. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Wisconsin Driftless Trout Opener 2020: Part 2

Aaron has been found, but he's been acting weird.  I found him down by the river fishing which is nothing unusual, but he was hooked in to a fish when I saw him...that's highly unusual!  He's literally the worst at fishing.



There was a lot of fishing the rest of the day.  No catching, but a lot of fishing.  When you're in company the catching doesn't matter much.  After seeing a few posts from others about the Wisconsin Inland Trout Opener, it was a slow day for all in the Driftless.

Bobby Nachos keeping a low profile.

Area Man watching Bobby Nachos work a streamer through some riffles.
Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast.

Dirty Harry hero shot with a brown.  Love this reel case!
My Brown Trout and Bridge Beers Podcast sticker box always makes it out to the river when I'm fishing for trout, and so does my Vedavoo Dirty Harry patched Reel Case.

Area Man searching for the right used fly.

Area Man found it.
All in all, it was a solid first outing of the new year.  A fish was caught, Area Man was abducted then found, and I got out of the house and away from my computer.  Cheers and Happy New Year to all of you out there!  I hope 2020 brings you all the awesome!

Area Man working an area.

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Thursday, December 19, 2019

Final Hops & Hoppers of 2019

Tuesday December 17th marked the last Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop Hops & Hoppers open tie night of 2019 at Lake Monster Brewing in Saint Paul.  The turn out to these open fly tying events is usually good, and there's a lot of diverse fly Tyers that attend to tie flies, drink craft beer or soda, and talk about past and future fishing trips.  It's also a great excuse to escape the house and shake off the cabin fever if ice fishing or winter trout fishing is not your thing.

Lucas Gluesenkamp aka Strange Bugs sits amazed that a ziplock baggie appeared on Jim's vise.
Lucas Gluesenkamp whipping up some bass bugs that are not strange.
Bobby Regan lining up some feathers 
I cannot remember the last time I brought my vise to an open tie.  I've learned over the years, that I never tie flies at these things, and I spend more time taking photos and talking to others.  I'm okay with that.  I prefer to tie my mop flies in the comfort of my own home, so, no one can steal my secret mop fly recipe.

Mike and Sam focused on their bugs.
Micah Crider tossing the whip finish on a winter trout streamer.
Micah Crider getting ready to start another fly.
All kinds of flies were being tied.  Trout flies, musky flies, dry flies, and streamers.  The only consistent thing I noticed on this night were the laughs.  There were a lot of them.  I think we all need to get out and fish.

Driftless Drew whipping up a bug the same size of a Driftless brown trout.

Armone Vang tying a chironomid that ended up in one of my fly wallets.

Looking forward to future open tie night, but more importantly, I'm looking forward to 2020.

Cheers to all of you!

Monday, November 18, 2019

Vedavoo x Dead Meat Customs November Giveaway

With fly tying season here, Vedavoo and Dead Meat Customs have teamed up to bring you a pretty sweet fly tying giveaway!

Prize Offerings:
- Dead Meat Customs mixed eye package (63 pairs) that includes some custom Vedavoo logo eyes ($90 value)
- DMC and Vedavoo Stickers
- DMC bar coasters

How to enter:
1. Follow both Vedavoo and Dead Meat Customs on Instagram
2. Like the photo in the original post. Link: CLICK HERE
3. Tag a friend in the comments.  Each individual comment tagging a friend counts as an entry, so, enter as many times as you want!

Contest starts 11/15/2019 and closes at 10 PM CST on 11/21/2019.



Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Fly Tying Season

Snow is now on the ground, and based on the future forecast, it's not going anywhere.  Enter fly tying season...and half assed ice fishing season. I'll most likely spend more time tying flies than sitting on the ice.  I'm really good at catching trees during the warmer months, so, I need to get those boxes filled back up.

Vedavoo Fly Tying Wallet keeping all of my tools organized. 
My Bench Basin is always near my vise ready for scraps and whatever else I toss in it.
My fly tying gear you see in the 2 photos above.
  1. Vedavoo Bench Basin - Perfect if you go to open fly tying events, trips, friends houses, or other parts of your home.  Also works great for an on the go dog bowl.
  2. Vedavoo Fly Tying Wallet - Great for keeping all of your tools organized at home or on the go.
  3. Vedavoo Pinch Pouch - Another great piece of gear for organization.  Perfect for keeping all kinds of small things together while you're on the go.
  4. Rite Bobbin Half Hitch - My favorite bobbin to use for all of my trout, bass, and similar sized flies....I even use this for my pike and smaller musky flies.
  5. Rising Stellar Scissors - Hands down my favorite pair of scissors out there.  I've been using them for years, and have several pairs of them.

I probably sound like a broken record, but I'm definitely not giving up on this blogging thing.  I really need to contact the Google and figure out why I cannot "reply" to comments in the comment section.  It's not recognizing my Google account name/log in information.  Maybe it's because I've been neglecting the blog.  More to come.

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Smallmouth Bass Float

Got out in my Flycraft to do a solo smallmouth float down a river in Wisconsin.  It was a beautiful day, and it was the first time in a long time I was able to get out on the water to just do some fishing, and it was awesome!

The CARF Flycraft ready to float.
Morning coffee on the river, taking in the sights and sounds.
The smallies seem to eat literally everything I tossed their way...clousers, other various streamers, and I even brought my spinning rod and tossed some paddle tail plastic baits.  All of my offerings were crushed!

One of the many smallmouth I hooked up with.
Of course I lost track of time out there, and was late getting back for dinner.  I think we've all done that once or twice...or 100 times.

Links to gear used/seen in post

Thursday, May 30, 2019

Vedavoo: Reel Service Project VI

VEDAVOO started the REEL SERVICE PROJECT as a means to raise funds for worthy causes and in this case, Captains for Clean Water.  VEDAVOO messenger bags featuring the original artwork of marquis artists Paul Puckett and Jorge Martinez were built as prizes for those who support these efforts.  100% of the proceeds from will directly benefit the featured charity.  All construction, materials, artwork and administrative expenses have been donated.







Artwork by Jorge Martinez

Artwork by Paul Puckett

The Vedavoo Reel Service Project VI ends on June 1st



Sunday, May 5, 2019

Gear Swap at BMFS

Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop in Saint Paul had a gear swap.  There was a lot of cool stuff there.  There were also a bunch of cool people.  Here are some photos I took while I was there.

Outside of the shop.
Outside of the shop Patagonia was showing off their new wading boots, and then under the BMFS tent the grill was going and there were hot dogs and chips for all.

Steelhead Talk
There was a lot of fish talk going on, and in the photo above Mr. Sherlock was talking about steelhead, per usual.  He likes to toss an egg pattern first before using a streamer - I'm kidding.  That's how you get him "triggered" haha :). 

Hot dogs and chips.
Sam trying to get Aaron to give him all of the goods for free.
There was a lot of old gear that found new homes, and will find new fish.  There were so many fly rods this year! So many!

Inside the shop
The Legend - Wilderness Bill
The Man, The Myth, The Legend - Wilderness Bill made an appearance to the gear swap.  He's known to wrestle Canadian gators in his sleep, and chug bottles of maple syrup by the gallons, and destroy Costco sized pizzas with 1 bite.

Wilderness Bill scores!
Wilderness Bill is also good at hunting down some seriously good deals!

Big thanks to Bob Mitchell's Fly Shop for the hot dogs, and hosting a fun event!

FYI - I don't know what is going on with my Google account and blogger, but it won't let me traditionally reply to your comments.  I have to instead create a complete separate comment to reply back.

Thursday, April 11, 2019

Ted Hansen Art

Recently, I stopped by Ted Hansen's studio to pick up some stickers and a smallmouth bass canvas print I had ordered from his Etsy shop.  During my visit we had a beer, ate some Girl Scout Cookies, spun some Hank Williams and Bob Dylan on the record player, and bounce around some ideas for this summer.

Classic.
During out chat, Ted set up a blank canvas on his easel and started to paint the entire thing red.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what comes of that piece since I got to see it from the start.

Blank canvas meets Ted Hansen and red paint.
At the beginning of the year, Ted has taken up a challenge other artists have done in the past to invoke some new ideas.  He has been doing a daily piece - Study a Day.  After he was finished painting the base layer of red on the blank canvas, he grabbed a pencil and a pad of sketch paper (I think), and began whipping up daily study #97 of 365.

Working on daily study #97.
Ted Hansen is incredibly talented artist, and all around rad dude.  You should totally check out his art, and give him a follow on the socials.

Ted Hansen Socials/Website

Minnesota Fly Fishing Artists

Friday, September 21, 2018

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:


Wednesday, September 12, 2018

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.



Friday, July 27, 2018

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

Monday, June 18, 2018

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
GoPro 5 Black - https://amzn.to/2JrjSHY
GoPro 6 Black - https://amzn.to/2LuA8IO
Trolling Motor - https://amzn.to/2sVNrKB
*The above links are Amazon Associate links**
*

Monday, June 11, 2018

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


**The above links are Amazon Associate links**

Friday, June 8, 2018

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.



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.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

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.