Things of Three VIII

The eighth edition of three items/subjects/places/people worth checking out to make life as an angler and global citizen far more enjoyable.

1. TFM interviewed on Itinerant Angler
Glass guru Cameron Mortenson of the Fiberglass Manifesto spoke with Zach Matthews on the Itinerant Angler podcast the other day, sharing his insights on current trends in the world of modern fiberglass rods.

The discussion ranged from a who's who of modern glass rod builders to the feel of casting slower action rods. The podcast is a great listen; Cameron really knows his stuff.

Since following along to Cameron's glass sermons over the past couple of years, I've dipped my toe into the shallow end of the fiberglass pool. The 7/8wt Cabela's CGR ended up as one of my favourite rods, and I've dusted off my dad's old Shakespeare two-piece rod a few times. They're fun to cast, and playing a 2lb smallmouth on them is a near religious experience.

Though not a devout glass disciple, I've discovered my casting style and technique (or lack thereof) is better suited to slower action rods, and have since adjusted my rod quiver accordingly. Gone are a couple super-fast action rods (eg, TFO's Axiom). Another lightsaber has found a home with me: a new 7wt Redington CPX (I now own the CPX in 7, 8 and 10wts). Casting the fiberglass rods helped me determine what works best for me, and the slightly-slower action of the CPX is it...it just took a few other 7wt rods to figure that out.

If you haven't taken a glass rod for a spin yet, I recommend it. There's a rod loan program over at TFM to give you a chance to demo a few. It's worth looking into.

Listen to Cameron on the Itinerant Angler podcast here, and visit The Fiberglass Manifesto website to get your inner glass geek on.

2. Google Nexus 7
You might recall me singing the praises of my iPod Touch in previous posts. And while I still believe it's a amazingly useful device for communicating, snapping pictures and listening to music (especially when traveling light), the Nexus 7 otherwise blows it out of the water.

With a 7" screen and larger touchscreen keypad (equipped with Swype), it's far easier for reading and typing content, and videos can be watched without holding the device 4.5" from your face. Synced with my Google account, it has everything I need (email, calendar, contacts, etc) for my jet-setting ways.

The Nexus 7 is also far more comfortable to read my ever-expanding ebook library than my iPod Touch, and the screen allows me to read with the lights off, unlike the Kobo e-reader. As both Kindle and Kobo have Android apps, I'm able to keep both libraries on one device. Brilliant.

Am I retiring the iPod Touch? Hell no. I'm still a big fan of Apple products. But it's a lot easier on my brain traveling with the Nexus 7 & iPod instead of my MacBook Air, which remains my HQ for all things Mat in the digital world.

And another bonus: it's far, far cheaper than an iPad. I wouldn't own a tablet if the Nexus 7 wasn't the price it is ($250 for 16gb model).

Web: google.com/nexus/7/

3. The (updated) Saltwater Fly Journal
Blatant self-promotion? You bet.

But a couple evenings of sleeplessness from jet lag brought some flashy renovations to my little side project, The Saltwater Fly Journal.

Gone is the plain-Jane minimalist look. A flashy header pic and a few coloured fonts later and I'm ready to take on Midcurrent*!

* - No I'm not.

Though still existing as an aggregator of news, videos and info from the salty realm for now, I'm excited about putting more effort into the Saltwater Fly Journal. Expect content about community supported fisheries and eating seafood to accompany the usual fare of saltwater fishporn, gear and fly tying. And yes, there will be some original content in there, too...eventually.

Note - Don't fear, for the rambling bullshit that you've been used to seeing for nigh onto 270 posts will continue here on mattrevors.com.

I'd be pumped if you clicked over and checked out The (new) Saltwater Fly Journal.

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Enter your email address to subscribe (I will never, ever spam, sell or trade your email address):

5 Things I Learned in Belize

Here are five things I learned on my trip to Belize last week:

1. Line speed is extremely important.
I knew line speed was important in the salt before leaving, but rarely gave it a second thought...until I was on a pancake flat with a super-spooky school of cruising bones in a very stiff breeze.

We didn't have very many shots in the first two-thirds of the week, and the few shots I did have were exactly as described: cruising fish, long-ish shots, stiff breeze.

Mark my words, bonefish: it'll be a different game the next time I'm around.

Louis and Kent over at Gink & Gasoline frequently post good stuff on this, e.g.:

2. I like eating seafood far more than I ever imagined.

I caught some snapper on a handline off the back of the boat one night with one of the guides. The kitchen staff cleaned them & dressed them up in beer-batter. I topped them with Marie Sharp's and it was heavenly.

And don't even get me started on snook. We had it one night & it was amazing, but they're just too fun to catch to make a habit of eating them. But man, they are delicious. Commence moral dilemma.

Related note: we had caught a couple snook and the guides wanted to keep them. Our boat kept one, and the other boat kept two. I was sort of ok with this. Then I caught a big snook, which they also wanted to keep. I wasn't ok with this. Dylan suggested a picture of it in the water, as I leaned over the gunnel. This photo op was convenient; I 'dropped' the snook, giving it a little shove into the current to help it along. 

3. There's a place for glass & slower action rods in the salt...

...and that place is short-shots, mangroves and docks. 

I brought my CGR 7/8wt with me to Belize, and it really shined for making short shots under branches & in between roots and dock pilings. 

Whether or not the CGR would have the backbone required to yank a decent-sized snook or baby tarpon out of structure remains to be seen: I didn't hook anything on it. But it reinforces my belief that super-fast action rods are not the cat's ass at all times, as I discovered this summer in Charleston.

Note: I would have gladly blown that rod up on a 20lb baby tarpon & replaced it with another. I consider that the price of admission, and better to blow up a $99 rod than a $450 custom-built glass rod, huh?

For more reinforcement on glass in the salt, check out the backcountry fun Dr. Aaron Adams had with glass here on The Fiberglass Manifesto.

Side note: Some day, possibly soon, or maybe next year, I will be actively searching for an 8'-8'6", 4pc 7/8wt glass rod for light salt duty. I believe it would be epic for reds, specs & bones in certain situations. And I want the reel seat to match my Tibor Backcountry, fyi...

4. I am very emotionally-invested in catching fish.

By day four I was getting bummed out.

The trip was awesome, food was delicious, bunks were comfortable, but I wasn't seeing many fish, and the shots I did have weren't easy by any stretch of the imagination. Frustrated would be an understatement.

Side note: I'll mention Dylan, aka the guy who does this for a living, hadn't hooked anything at this point either, so it wasn't totally my incompetent angling skills at play here. Things were friggin' tough.

Fortunately day five turned things around. If it didn't, Dylan would have woken up to the following on day six:

5. i) Loop knots are my favourite knots.
Simple. Elegant. Effective.

5. ii) My Tibor Backcountry is my favourite reel.
Simple. Elegant. Effective.

Back to reality

I'm sitting at my desk for the first time in over fifteen days.

Fifteen days on the road. Living the dream.

Over 7,000 kilometers traveled...that's 4,350 miles, my American cousins.

I could prepare a nifty little infographic for the number of provinces (three) and states (fourteen) we traveled through. I could also display the number of fly fishing writer/blogger/guide-types I met in person finally (four). And the number of days my brand-new Diablo Paddlesports Chupacabra kayak sat on my truck before seeing water (nine).

And, of course, the infographic would display all the fish I caught on the trip (one) and the number of shots I blew at carp (one) and redfish (countless).

But I neither have the time (I'm leaving for work in Nunavut in less than 40 hours) nor desire (I'm feeling lazy) to figure out how to build such an infographic.

Instead, here's a rough geographical sketch of the route we traveled (and had an absolute blast on):

Thanks to everyone who took time out of their schedule to meet us for coffee, dinner, beer, fishing and everything else. Like lessons in eating steamed clams (which I can never bring myself to call steamers due to thoughts of Cleveland).

I hope to see you all again soon.

Especially Scotty D, because my shoes are stinkin' up his truck and I'd like them back.

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My sincere apologies for not having a Traveling Angler Tuesday post this week. Unfortunately the interhorn hasn't reached family campgrounds in Maine as of yet, and planning and preparation has not reached my brain, as well.

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Music is definitely in order. I could think of no better way to be welcomed back to Canada than hearing a new Tragically Hip song playing on the radio as soon as we cleared customs. Enjoy the track.

Traveling Angler Tuesdays Tip #5: Networking

Traveling Angler Tuesdays launched June 26th, 2012 on mattrevors.com. My mission is to prove the concept of fly fishing travel abroad is not just the realm of old rich dudes and magazine writers & photographers. Keep checking back regularly as I share tips & tricks to get you to fly fishing locales you dream of going to. To see past articles & tips, click here.

Oh Asheville, you so crazay!

Greetings from beautiful Charleston, SC!

This is edition of Traveling Angler Tuesdays will be short. This Traveling Angler is on vacation.

My lovely girlfriend and I departed Fredericton last Tuesday afternoon, embarking on an epic road trip. We swung through southern Ontario to hit the Toronto Zoo and Marineland in Niagara Falls, then pointed south to the Carolinas.

What's the draw of the Carolina's, you might ask?

For one, redfish. Of course.

But secondly, there's a cluster of cool dudes living down here that I wanted to meet and (hopefully) fish with. Guys like David from Southern Culture on the Fly and Cameron of The Fiberglass Manifesto.

Herein lies the Traveling Angler Tip of the week: learn how to make friends. In the professional world, this is called networking.

I briefly wrote about this in the Traveling Angler Tuesday post about research:

Hitting up Twitter, Facebook and Google+ and asking the right people if they or anyone they know have information might give you some leads as well. New to the social media thing? Sign up for Twitter and follow me. Then follow the fishing people I follow and politely ask us some questions. Twitter folks have all the answers.

The guys I've met or will meet I have spoken to before, either on Twitter or Facebook or Instagram or SCOF's web forum. To finally meet with them in real life after "knowing" them for months, if not years is pretty amazing.

And that is why networking in the fly fishing world is awesome.

Pro tip: Don't network in the douchey professional sense. The anglers on twitter & who write don't really like it. Don't be greasy or selfish. Follow some people on social media, read their stuff, make informative comments when necessary, share their links to their online content. Be friendly. Most people in the fly fishing online realm are extremely friendly & willing to share information, but be helpful to them in some way as well. Putting SCOF & TFM stickers on the new fairing of a roof rack is a start :)

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I'm under the gun to get out of the hostel room & get to a beach, so that's it for this week's Traveling Angler Tuesdays (I didn't proofread this as much as usually do, so please excuse any typos).

The new Chupacabra

I'd like to give shout-outs to the following folks for helping our epic road trip so far with tips, information and other awesome stuff:

• Thomas at Diablo Paddlesports, for helping with lots of questions & calling the dealer ahead of time for me.
• Luthi's Fly Fishing in Greenville, for setting aside my new Chupacabra kayak and helping me instal my roof rack for it in the parking lot!
• Cameron of The Fiberglass Manifesto, for Chupacabra info, restaurant & sightseeing ideas in Asheville and Charleston, and helping pick out a PFD for me in Columbia.
• Dave of Southern Culture on the Fly, for the campsite referral and taking us out fishing on Lake James, where I knocked off a bream for my Species Journal!

We're off to see the fellas at Lowcountry Fly Shop this morning on our way to the beach.

I'm goin' redfishin' this week. I hope y'all wish me luck.

Another Redfish Fix

(aka another lazy-ass video post)

Here's two vids, both topwater redfish, one on the fly rod, the other on spin gear.

I wonder, since I can obviously spend an entire winter watching redfish videos, if I could ever spend an entire winter chasing reds I.R.L...

...I'd like to think I could...

- From probably the only Canadian (in Mexico or not) wearing a hoodie with a redfish on the back (thx again, Cameron!)

Enjoy the videos!

BULLS ON TOP from SHALLOW WATER EXPEDITIONS on Vimeo.

Confession of a Southern Wannabe

Time/Date: 2035, 30-Jan-12
Location: not the South

Today was a good day for receiving the mail, even though the repeated banging on the door caused Awesome the Dog a few freakouts.

All in the same day, I received my FFF membership package, the new Orvis catalogue (even though I requested not to be sent it; I work in an authorized Orvis fly shop), the new TFM redfish hoodie, and a cap from Southern Culture on the Fly.

My Southern apparel collection grew a bit today...

Some might ask, "Why would you get a redfish hoodie & a hat from some southern fly fishing e-mag? You're from Atlantic Canada."

An easy, and partly true, response would be, "I respect what they do & wish to support them."

But really, the whole truth is...I (not-so) secretly want to be a Southerner.

That's right.

I'm a southern wannabe.

This goes beyond my affinity for hot sauce & chicken wings, people, so why don't y'all just grab yourselves a tasty mint julep and set yourselves down & hear me out?

My main issue is this little tidbit right here.

It's called weather.

Here's the weather here at home for the next few days (note: I converted from Celsius for y'all):

Fredericton, NB

And now a few selected locales in my wannabe-adopted homeland:

Charleston, SC

New Orleans, LA

Islamorada, FL

What you don't see in the extended forecast for Fredericton is a stick-figure with a noose around his neck on Wednesday.

Then there's the whole fishing thing.

I'm not necessarily shitting on the fishing scene here in NB. I mean, it's alright. But the season opens April 15th (May 1st on lakes/ponds), and closes Oct.15th...or Nov. 30th on tidal water, if you're brave enough to handle it.

And if you break it down into some sort of spreadsheet-thingy (Table 1A), the scales tip a little more to fishing in the South.

Table 1A: Ummm, yeah...it isn't that bad here...

And it's not like I haven't been there before; heck, I even brought some reds to hand before some of your own have (you know who you are...):

It was only 3 days, and it left a serious impression on me.

I've been calling myself a semi-retired country gentleman for almost two years now...how much more epic would it be if I could replace 'country gentleman' with 'Southern gentleman?' That's almost worth the price of admission right there.

Other random positives about the south:

• Open liquor laws: here in NB, get caught with open booze, it's a fine of over $85. From what I saw in NOLA, the police officers cheers you.
• It appears the Antiques Roadshow comes through regularly. This would make my lovely girlfriend quite happy.
• Going to see if Hazzard County really exists sounds far more appealing than visiting the Shivering Songs Festival (no offence to Shivering Songs, but 'shivering' doesn't sell me).
• Barbecue is a way of life & state of mind. Here, barbecue ranges from common novelty (summer) to ordeal (winter).
• My blossoming bass bug skills would be appreciated more there than here.
• Running from a hurricane sounds more fun than sitting through a blizzard.
• I could use being there as an excuse to listen to Willie Nelson more often.

So, my southern readers, I'd be properly honoured if y'all would consider harbouring a northern illegal alien...and his lovely girlfriend...and his adorable dog...and quite possibly a few other northern refugees that might pass through next winter....

This northerner wants to wage a war of aggression...against being cold, bored & fishless all winter...

And I even have the southern rock thing down...sort of...  Enjoy the track:

PS - Mom, Dad, I'm not really moving to the south. At least, not yet...

Boat Bass Bike Beats

Time/Date: 1320, 01-Dec-11
Location: Fredericton, NB

Anyone & everyone who is reading this should take 20 minutes & totally clean their email inbox. Delete all the unnecessary, and archive the necessary.

Or just go & declare email bankruptcy, and delete all of them.

JFDI. You'll thank me for it later.

Onto the good stuff.

Boat

I can't remember if (or how in depth) I mentioned my boat.

Right before I went to Idaho for work, a friend sent me a text saying he was selling his boat & looking to upgrade. I replied back, "how much?" My next text message was "Sold!"

The boat is a Grumman 1752 aluminum hull with a Evinrude 50hp two-stroke motor.

And I can't be happier (though I still dream of someday owning this).

Not only did I purchase the boat via text message, I also paid for it via email Interac transfers while in Idaho.

Ain't technology wonderful.

Of course, due to various travel & changing of the seasons, I only got out once in it before we winterized it. But it's ready to rock for next spring!

Bass

Of course, now being a boat owner, the logical next step would be to fish more from a boat. To facilitate that (i.e., having even more of an excuse to fish), I decided I'm going to enter a few of the local bass tournaments next year.

But I'm doing them with the fly rod.

Kicker is, rods must be less than 8' in length for tournament angling.

My 6wt Redington Predator setup, at 7'10" fits the bill nicely, and I've had considerable good fortune fishing with it already. But I wanted another bass-specific fly rig, preferably in the 7/8wt range for tossing bigger bugs and such.

To top it off, Cameron Mortenson of The Fiberglass Manifesto and his unholy army of glass geeks might have been able to brainwash me a bit on the smooth casting actions and fun fish-fighting capabilities of fiberglass rods.

So I posed Cameron the question: recommend a decent 7/8wt fiberglass rod that is under 8' in length.

He came back pretty quick with Cabela's CGR. At 7'6", it does the trick, and at $99, it does said trick quite affordably. Conveniently enough, I was in Idaho & heading back to Boise, where there is a Cabela's located pretty close by to my hotel.

Cabela's CGR. 7'6", 8wt, 3pc. My bass-buggin' rig.

I'm all about supporting your local fly shop. As much as humanly possible. But sometimes you have to bend your own rules. Especially when it comes to a 7/8wt fiberglass rod, under 8' in length, and under $100. Besides, where do you think the reel, backing, line & bass-bug fly tying materials are going to come from?

On top of that, when Chris at Fredericton Outfitters starts carrying the Sage line up this winter, do you think I'll be able to resist this?

So support your local fly shop. 97% of the time, at least.

I did get the CGR out once before things shut down for the year (same day I took the boat out for my one & only ride as a boat owner). The unholy army of glass geeks were right: it does cast smooth...once  I figured out the action & how to cast it...

Thanks, Cameron! And sorry, Chris...I won't ever do that again.

More Bass

I ordered a couple fly fishing for bass books. They should be here soon (edit: I just rec'd a call; one of them is at my local independent book seller awaiting pick up now!!)

Once I dive into them a bit, I'll share what they are & whether or not they're worth your hard-earned time & money.

Ummm....Support your local independent bookstores!

Bike

In my quest to be a cheapskate, burn less gass & save money live a more sustainable lifestyle & lessen my impact, I'm gonna try to become a bike commuter.

(Note: I'm not sure what I'll be commuting to, however. I don't work locally. I'll figure something out.)

I got in touch with Kent, local twitteratti and guru of all things pedal-driven. Never settling for something easy & always looking for something I can leave incomplete (fly tying app? learning photo editing software? building a homemade wind turbine?), I wanted to build my own bike and perhaps learn some (semi-)practical knowledge of bike maintenance.

Kent set me up with a frame, seat, fork, derailleurs, cranks, and a bunch of other thingies I don't know the name of, as well as a shopping list of other do-dads. The two local bike shops, Radical Edge & Savage's, filled out the rest of the stuff on the list. And Kent is gonna learn me how to wrench a bike this weekend.

(Note: I can't say enough about how awesome & helpful the dudes at Savage's were. Go there for all things bike. Seriously.)

Kent's asking price: fly fishing gear & local knowledge.

Mat receives: bike & bike maintenance knowledge.

For the second time this post: "Sold!"

I'll post some pics of the bike build we're doing this weekend in an upcoming post.

Ummm....Support your local bike shop!

(Sense a theme yet? This wasn't planned. Seriously)

Random Cool Thing #1

Using Google Maps to outline the route on an envelope.

Random Cool Thing #2

This piece of graffiti.

Beats

More reggae. Enjoy.

(click here if you can't see the video below)