Good stuff found trolling around on the Costa website.
I know I have almost an entire fishing season at home to look forward to before I set off on this trip, but I'm already getting excited. Belize is gonna be friggin' awesome.
I've already gotten into tying some patterns for tarpon. I figure if I do 6-8 flies for tarpon, bones & permit per week between now & the trip, I'll have 'er beat & pretty much be set for life.
Tarpon Bunnies are the easiest pattern of life to tie, so I will have my quota of those tied up by next week before moving onto some Whistlers, Cockroaches, Seaducers, and whatever else people might recommend to me.
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Some technical updates: Instagram for Android came out! As such, my tumblr page, The Angler's Android & iPod, has now become shortened to The Angler's Android.
Lots of random pics of gear coming through the fly shop's doors, flies & other odds & ends are being posted to the tumblr page via Instagram, so check it out if you're so inclined.
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I haven't really put much thought into if/where I'll be fishing on opening day on April 15th. had thought I'd be away for work for most of April, including the first week or two of the season, but that hasn't happened yet.
Last year, the first two weeks were fairly unproductive, with rivers blown out due to spring runoff. This year: who knows? That stretch of insane 25°C temperatures for a week in mid-March took care of snowpack, and rivers are already subsiding from flood stage; by next Sunday, they could be quite clear & wadable.
Sea-run trout were being caught in the Nashwaak during the first week of the season of 2010 due to low runoff, perhaps we'll have a repeat of that.
I like to pack light whenever I can. As this trip isn't about working at six or seven thousand feet elevation in Idaho or weddings or anything serious enough for people to judge me (Jon? Joe?), I'm going as light as possible for this one.
Below is part one of my packing list. Part two will be fishing gear-specific & posted later this week.
The clothing & most accessories have been well-tested by me in other parts of the world, so consider the list as Mat's Official Approved Traveling Angler Gear List...whatever that counts for. I've put the brand name + links in brackets, in case you want to research these products further.
This project has been a little busier than normal for me. You see, I'm not sitting a drill rig this time; I've made it to the big-time: I'm the Site Senior Supervisor on this project. So hours are a little longer & more erratic.
But, there's always a positive, and that is a month or so (at least) off after this one is done.
A month to hang with my girl, my friends & my dog.
A month to work on (more) fun projects (at home).
And, of course, a month to fish.
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Speaking of fishing, a few of the client's crew took me out fishing the other night. They figured, since I was wearing my Redington Logo t-shirt, that I would appreciate something like that whole 'going fishing' thing.
(Note #1: add Saskatchewan to Ontario, British Columbia, Nova Scotia and, of course, New Brunswick to the list of provinces I've fished in so far in 2011. That's kinda cool.)
(Note #2: remind me to never, ever leave home without a fly rod ever again)
So off we went.
And I hooked a pike on my first cast (not picture-worthy, however). And then I caught another one (also not picture-worthy).
The third pike I caught was picture worthy.
I was using borrowed spin gear & lures with a treble hook. I wanted to pinch the barbs but I didn't think the owner would've appreciated it too much upon its return.
It took me so long to unhook the pike from the treble hook (it felt like forever to me. Maybe 90 seconds, but far too long for my liking) that I couldn't bring myself to put the fish through a photo session. I rushed it back to the water, it gave a tail-wag, and it was gone.
Really cool aspect of it though: I was wearing my Costas I won from Joe at SoCal Salty's contest in the spring, and I had a clear view of the pike shooting from cover like a lightning bolt to strike the lure. The fish covered the 7 or so feet in a split-second and cranked the lure, total ambush-style. Awesomeness.
(Note #3: I would normally link to Joe's site. You'll see why I didn't in the next section)
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Speaking of Joe of SoCal Salty, he of the epic Costa Sunglasses contest: he and Jon from iFished are running a contest in cahoots with Panamax Sailfishing for a trip to Guatemala for...you guessed it, sailfish.
I've been entering everyday.
It has already paid off, as I won the first weekly draw: a shirt from Red Tuna shirts.
I'm not giving you the link for the contest entry form. I really want to win this thing, so you gotta earn it. If you enter, it's one more competitor for me. But....
...you can visit either Jon's or Joe's sites for details.
Use your brains to get there. Or at least google.
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Fishpond's Road Trip tying kit
I brought my tying kit with me, but I've yet to unpack it. This will hopefully change really soon.
One little piece of gear recommendation: Fishpond's Road Trip fly tying travel bag. It's fairly compact, but I have everything I need jammed in there. With some room (& pockets/pouches) to spare.
And here's another little tying nugget:
An unexpected benefit to my beautiful girlfriend studying to be an esthetician: abundant leftover nail polish for foam & cork bass poppers. Plus advice in the form of "this base coat will make the polish stick better, and this topcoat helps waterproof it & make it resistant to chipping." Brilliant.
So hopefully a few pictures of glossy bass poppers will be gracing this website fairly soon.
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I'm saving a few other short, random things to post in the future, in case I find myself with a spare 15 minutes or so between looking at rocks or drill rigs or spreadsheets.
Enjoy some music (shout out to Matt for reminding me of these guys).
Time/Date: 0950 AST, 14-Jun-11
Location: Fredericton, NB
As mentioned previously (a few times), I found myself with two new pairs of polarized sunglasses from Costa Del Mar.
The first pair I bought online. The second pair I won from SoCal Salty's#Salty500 contest on twitter.
Would I have bought sunglasses if I had won the contest first?
Probably not. But now I have two kick-ass pairs of sunglasses to cover both freshwater & saltwater misadventures. And I'm not complaining one bit.
(apparently my occasional minimalist/anti-clutter principles can be bought)
I bought the Zane with the silver frame and blue mirror glass lenses. The frame fits snug on my face, but not uncomfortably. The arms and nose have rubber to help keep the glasses from slipping. They do have some heft to them, but that is due to the glass lenses as opposed to the other options.
On the water, all I can say is they work. The polarized lenses are extremely clear, cut glare and definitely assist in seeing into the water. On top of that, they friggin' look cool. So what more can you ask for from a pair of sunglasses?
The ultimate cool thing about the pair I won: Joe from SoCal Salty emailed me a coupon for the Costa pro staff site and I could select whatever pair I wanted. So that was awesome.
I chose the Brine with gunmetal frame & copper polycarbonate lenses (Joe recommended the polycarbonate...I'm glad he did). I like the looks of them, and they fit well (perhaps just a little too small for my fat face but whatev).
The amazing thing about these glasses: if they were any lighter, they would defy gravity. You don't even notice wearing them.
They have been my go-to for the past week for around town, and the lenses colour is appropriate for overcast conditions as well.
On the water, the copper lenses were a definite plus in our high & semi-cloudy water conditions. If there would have been any muskie present on Saturday morning, I would have seen them. Honestly.
Both pairs came with a protective zipper case (as shown in the pic above).
Overall, for the two pairs, I would say:
Pros: comfortable, clear vision, polarized as advertised, affordable (Brine: free, Zane: <$200), stylish (to me, and that's what matters), gravity-defying weight (Brine), Costas are involved in several conservation groups.
Cons: No micro-fibre cleaning cloth/bag, no stickers for the Tailgate of Fame on my truck, Kenny Chesney has a signature line of frames (ok, I kid, I kid).
Anyway...I'm a Costa guy now, through & through. Check 'em out.
