CARF Outdoors - New YouTube Channel

I have decided to create a new YouTube channel dedicated to all of my fishing and outdoors shenanigans.

You may still follow my original channel, because, I will be uploading other random videos up there such as my acoustic covers and other things.

Here's a link to my newest video, and you can access my new channel from there.

MONSTER BLUEY'S ON THE FLY

            

Here's a cover of a song from my favorite band, Thrice.  You can follow this video to my original channel where you can expect more of this and other random, non outdoor type things.

                                 

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.

Hardly, Strictly Musky: Kickoff Party & Day One Fishing

Kickoff

Dave, Chris, and myself arrived in McMinnville, Tennessee, and our agenda looked like this...

1. Scout the put in's and take out's we had marked on our map.
2. Store - Pop Tarts, bananas, lunch meat, bread, chips, and beer.
3. Scout more water.
4. Find some BBQ
5. Check into the state park and set up camp.
6. Foglight Foodhouse for the Hardly, Strictly Musky kickoff party.

Here we have Dave and Chris checking out the map, while I take a picture and ponder how soon our next U-Turn will happen.  We made a couple thousand of them at this point.

What do you think about a U-turn here....

We found some barbecue at Blue Smoke BBQ in Sparta, TN.  I had the brisket sandwich, and it was excellent!  I wanted to get another, but I didn't want to spoil dinner.

Here here piggy piggy.

After some food we did some more scouting.  We arrived at a bridge that overlooked a river we deemed "Plan A" ...but it looked more like a last resort.  I was actually pretty impressed with the color of the water.  Never in my life had I seen an opaque river.  You could have slapped a Yoohoo Chocolate Milk logo on the bridge and I would have believed that's what the river consisted of.

Disappointed, we were.

What did not disappoint was dinner and drinks at the Foglight Food House for the kickoff party.  They served us a Cajun style blacked catfish with some dirty rice, and jambalaya...Damn that was delicious.  Todd Gregory of Towee Boats gave everyone a great big welcome, and layed the ground rules of the event.

"Don't be an Asshole" 

Begin Day One

Up early, and on the water by 7/7;30 AM.  We were fishing from a canoe, and kayak.  Dave constructed some pretty sweet outriggers on his kayak, and it really helped him and Chris stand up, and cast at the same time.  The first 10 minutes of the float, Dave, had a follow from a upper 30's low 40's musky.  That got us all pumped for the rest of the day.

At approximately 10:05 AM we were working this deep pool.  I was casting a 4/0 single hooked fly that I tied to look like a rodent over some submerged timber piles.  Out of one of the piles, a musky came out and SMASHED my fly.  I set the hook, felt the weight, and the fight was on!  1 second later, my line went slack and I felt nothing at the end....  

...My heart sank, and I just thought to myself I just lost a great opportunity to get on the board.

Next thing I know, my rod doubles over, and my rod tip goes into the water.  GAME ON!!!  The musky had swam right underneath the kayak in search of deeper water.  After quite the battle, I was able to wrangle the musky in, and received some help from Josh, Dave, and Brent netting the fish, and even more help from Austin Green and Katie Blizzard photographing and measuring my fish.  Thank you all, for the help!!

After the release, the rules stated we had to text the time, and length of the fish to Todd.  My musky weighed in at 31 inches. I received the following text back, "Right on! You're first!"

I could not be any more stoked than I was.  I just hooked up with the first musky of the tournament!

Later in the day we stopped for a shore lunch.  Fellow flat landers Kurt @Midwest_Waters and Mark floated by us, and we started back up with about 150 yards between each other.  Approximately 10 minutes after I took the picture below, Kurt lost a very big musky.  We all heard and saw the splash.  

I could tell, that it was one helluva fish, and as we floated by them, Kurt just stood on the bow, and Dave said, "Dude."...Kurt, simply said, "I don't want to talk about it."  A feeling we all know too well chasing these apex predators.

We arrived at the take out a little sooner than we expected, but I think we were all pretty happy about that.  Downed a few more beers before taking our time loading up the gear and calling it a day.

Dave and I ended the day with a couple follows each.  For some odd reason Chris did not see any action at the tail end of his flies.  I caught the only musky for our team on Day 1, and that had us on the board.  Looking forward to Day 2 on the water.

Day 1 of the actual HSM tournament is in the books, and we all had to meet at Towee Boats headquarters at 7 PM sharp.  Beer, burgers, and other food awaited us.  There was live music, the beer was flowing, and musky was the topic of all conversation.  Then there was a raffle for all of the door prizes provided by all of the sponsors Patagonia, Monic Fly Lines, Flymen Fishing Company, Costa, Flood Tide, and many more.  This was just the end of the first day of fishing, how much more awesome could it get!

Stay tuned for Day Two.

Tennessee Bound - Hardly, Strictly Musky.

At 15:30 Hrs I begin my trip south to McMinnville, Tennessee for the 2016 Southern Classic - Hardly, Strictly Musky.

Well, I have to pick up Dave and his canoe in downtown Chicago, and then we have to meet up with our homie Chris in Southern Illinois Carbondale (I think).

...and then we'll be on our way to McMinnville, Tennessee.  Tomorrow morning.

We're all pretty stoked about this trip, and I'm sure it's going to be one helluva time.  My musky box is loaded and ready for what the flowing waters of Tennessee have to offer...Hopefully, some musky.

Also, I would like to apologize for my absence.  It's been dead around here, and I've been a bad follower to those who I follow, but I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things upon my return.

Until then, I'll leave you with the words from the great Wayne Campbell and Garth Algar - PARTY ON!!

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.

Ice Jigs for FSA Custom Rods

My homie +Ed Schmitt of FSA Custom Rods reached out to me, and asked if I would be interested in decorating some ice jigs he plans on pairing up with some custom ice rods he's building for some Veterans.  Without hesitation, I agreed to the job.

About 2 weeks later, my GF was going through our mail, and asked what I ordered from the "Used Anal Bead Emporium.  Wait...what did you say?!?!  I got something from the WHAT? HAHA!!!!  Luckily the contents of the envelope contained zero anal beads - used or new, and only some tungsten ice fishing jigs, stickers, and a note from my buddy Ed.  Oh, what a funny guy you are!  Haha  I got a really good laugh out of that.

Now what the heck to do with these jigs.  Very different than what I'm used to, but a hook is a hook, and after much thought, I had an idea.

I painted them all orange.  In retrospect, I should have only done half in orange, and the other half in another color or left them the original color, but oh well.  I'll just blame it on the beer that I'm pretty sure I was drinking that night.

A little flash, Senyo Fusion dub, and viola, ice jigs completed.  Hopefully, these will go great with the ice rods that Ed is building, but more importantly I hope they catch some fish for those Veterans that need some fish action through some hard water.

Ed is a Veteran of the Marine Corps, a very talented rod builder, and obviously a funny guy who is a fan of used anal beads.  He's built rods for quite a few of us here in the Chicagoland area.  He can do any type of rod; casting, spinning, fly, or ice.  Some others that can attest to the quality of his work are Brookfield Angler, and The Impractical Fisherman.  

So, if you're in the market for a new rod, shoot Ed an email at - ed@fourseasonsangler.com and be sure to like his Facebook page FSA Custom Rods.

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 -

Hardly, Strictly Musky

McMinnville, Tennessee Musky, I am coming for you, but totally not expecting to catch you or even see you.  I'll be attending the 2016 Southern Classic - Hardly, Strictly Musky hosted by Towee Boats.  The event runs May 12 though the 14th.  

The Team - Dave and Chris.

The Goal - Have Fun!

While I'm not too positive that I'm going to even see a musky, I do expect to have a great time spent drinking beer, and talking with other musky nuts.  There's actually going to be quite a few guys from Illinois making the trip down.  Few of them I haven't met, but I am looking forward to meeting.

There's still time to register if you're interested in the event.

- CLICK HERE FOR REGISTRATION DETAILS -

 Tenetive schedule for this years event.

- CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS -

I should note, this event is fly fishing only.

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

NEW PRO STAFF OFFER

So, more than a few months ago, I was sent a direct message on Instagram.  The message was from "Keep It Reel Fishing."  I was not the only person this message was sent to, there were, I think 19 other recipients.  (Whatever the max per message is.)  

The message read as follows:

So, after reading that, you're probably super jealous that myself and those 19 others received such a tasty deal, and you didn't....AM I RIGHT?!?!?!

For real, after I read that message, I laughed, and read it again.  Now I know what you're thinking, there's no way that pitch worked.  I was thinking the same exact thing.  

Well........

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!

IT WORKED?!?!?!

I couldn't believe my eyes, and that's when it hit me.  All of the individuals that responded that were "interested" were young kids.  What a low low thing to do...that terrible sales pitch combined with the use of the term "PRO STAFF" just fooled these young kids.  They saw the term "PRO STAFF" and got excited, and bought a shirt, because, they're going to be on a pro staff.

I get it, you want to make money with your shirt sales.  I'm cool with that.  They should have just said, "the only way to be posted on our page, is if you buy a shirt, and are wearing that shirt in your fishy photo.  In turn this could lead to more likes and followers on your personal page." ...and left it at that.  Maybe I'm wrong about the message they sent, maybe some of you will agree with me, and some of you won't.

Just remember, I get it.  They're just trying to capitalize on the free and glorious open market that is Instagram, and I've got no issue with that.  I just disagree with how they are doing it, well in this case particular.

I did end up replying, and it went like this.....

Not a bad deal, right??  I was really hoping we could work out a deal, and Pro Staff each other, but Keepitreelfishing, doesn't fly fish.  Boo hoo.  Not to worry!!  I am always prepared.  I've also got codes of my own, too!

Unfortunately, I was ignored by all.  I think I should have used the term "PRO STAFF" more, and maybe I could have hooked Keepitreelfishing to join forces.  Not the case.  Keepitreelfishing continued to "fish" for more sales the next day, and then I left a comment that was 100% true.

I received a new private direct message from keepitreelfishing sent to me, and me only soon after my comment.  Did they finally cave and decide to exchange Pro Staff titles????

Nope.

Unfortunately, they were not happy with my comment, because, it was the truth.

Apparently, I am a broke, jealous, hater, that catches half pounders....

Then why offer me such an amazing deal to be a part of the Keep It Reel Fishing - Pro Staff!?!?!  If you know I'm broke, why ask me to buy something.  If you don't like the 1/2 pounders I catch, why ask me to be on your "PRO STAFF"!?!?!?!

Well, after informing them that Pro Staffing was a competitive market, I was blocked, and could no longer communicate with them.  I was just trying to keep it real, but it's unfortunate, they were not.

SAD FACE.