I wake up each morning, make some coffee, and watch the sun rise over Coast Mountains, Quadra Island and Discovery Passage.
I like it here. A lot.
Last week I found out there's a public fishing pier ten minutes' walk away; that it's 600' long & I'd missed it for over three weeks is not lost on me: there's lots left to explore here.
So now I'm the proud owner of a couple Ugly Stiks, in both spinning & casting forms, and a box of heavier-than-most-trout metal jigs. Fun times.
I'm still in "Island Fishing Overload:" there's so many species and so many places, it's tough to nail down exactly what to fish for, and where.
I'm still in (what I consider) a shoulder season of fishing, as in, tossing size 18 chironomids for 10" stocked cutthroat is all well & good, but there's 4lb smallmouth kicking around somewhere in this same lake and I aim to catch it...if only the bloody water temperatures would come up a bit... Oh well. All in good time, my bronze-backed friends.
Until the water warms, I can idle my days..evening...tides...away, chucking gear from the pier for rockfish...
Or casting small Rolled Muddlers from the beach for cutthroat.
Or swinging streamers for the ever-elusive steelhead.
Or slowly stripping #18 chironomids from the lacustrine depths while seated (or standing) in my Chupacabra.
Or...
Yeah, so you see what I mean: it's pretty awesome here.
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Much like a child awaiting the arrival of Christmas morning, I'm counting down the days.
There's slightly more than two weeks left to go for me on this project; once I arrive home, I'll be taking a break from work for six to eight weeks. Note I've omitted placing the words 'much needed' prior to 'break.' This past week is the first I've worked since leaving here on December 18th; I won't try to convince you I have it that rough...though the chaps in the picture above (part of my security detail) might suggest otherwise.
After arriving home in February, my lovely girlfriend and I will spend the next week sorting our belongings and packing what won't be sold, donated or tossed. Frantically, I might add.
I'll be attempting to replicate the packing abilities of minibus drivers seen here in West Africa, with assorted baggage, bicycle and fishing kayak towering several feet over the height of my truck's roof.
I'll admit I'm looking forward to this.
A lot, I might add, because it's just another step closer to us getting on the road to our new adventures on Vancouver Island.
And that's what I'm really looking forward to.
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Here are a few Vancouver Island beach flies I've tied for coho & pink salmon.
All are variants on fairly well-known (locally, at least) Pacific NW salt patterns. Changes to the original fly recipes were made not to add in a 'creative touch' but due to lack of availability of the originally-listed tying materials.
The sixth edition of three items/subjects/places/people worth checking out to make life as an angler and global citizen far more enjoyable.
Random, somewhat-out-of-context photo of me & my first bonefish. Yes, I'm proud of it.
(Photo by Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel LLC)
1. SCOF Issue #5
Yes, I'm late to the party. It was released on Sunday. I even read it on Sunday. Things of Three comes out on Thursdays. It's the 'th- th- th-' thing: THings of THree on THursday. It's a principle THing.
Anywho, back to SCOF, aka Southern Culture on the Fly. I think it's their best issue yet. It's the one-year anniversary issue. The redfish footage from Louisiana is cool as hell. Definitely watch both videos, especially Captain Gregg Arnold discussing the strip-strike. Right to the end.
And note my pumping out a little promo/review of SCOF #5 has little to do with the editor rowing my girl & I around on a lake one fine Sunday afternoon a few months back in what turned out to be a guided trip. The issue stands on its own. If Grossman & Co. ever put out a shitty issue, me promoting it will be part of the payback for the fishing trip. Well, that & the case of PBR I left in the boat cooler.
Check out SCOF #5 by clicking here or the image below.
2. Clear Cure Goo Brushable
Clear Cure Goo's brushable UV-epoxy is an absolute joy to use: simple, clean, effective. I've yet to scratch the surface for its many uses, but I've used it on Clouser Deep Minnows for both fresh & salt, for stiffening up deer hair collars on a few different patterns, as well as on the Clear Cure Charlie (which happens to be the unseen fly stuck in that bonefish's mouth in the pic above).
Brian Carson of CCG is a cool dude; he's developed several different types of CCG UV-epoxy, plus the CCG eyes and bodies. From reading along on their website, they put the different formulas & products through the ringer to perfect them before making them available to fly tyers. I haven't tried any of the CCG epoxy besides the Brushable, but I will be real soon. And I'm looking forward to it.
Note: That's called foreshadowing in the literary biz...
CCG's pro staff features some of the rising stars in the fly tying world right now, too; guys like Thomas Harvey, Brad Bohen and Pat Cohen. It'll definitely be worth your while to be checking in on CCG's blog page in the very near-future to see what those guys and many other CCG's pro staff will be up to.
Note: That's also foreshadowing. Trust me on this. Let's just say the next time I write about CCG, I'll need to add in the standard disclaimer. But not yet. The Brushable was purchased on my dime. And worth every penny. web: clearcuregoo.com
3. The Harpoonist & The Axe Murderer
Last Friday I threw out a request to the twitterverse for some new music to listen to.
I received a few replies featuring a lot of good bands.
But this one is my favourite.
Blues rocks. Especially blues that rocks.
H&AM has three albums. I now have all three. They're good. Check 'em out.
The fourth edition of three items/subjects/places/people worth checking out to make life as an angler and global citizen far more enjoyable.
1. Snook
They hit hard. They pull hard. And they look cool as hell.
Note: They're also quite tasty, but they're more fun to catch than to eat.
Photo by Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel LLC
2. Idaho Angler
There's something to be said about walking into a shop and being recognized from a previous visit almost exactly a year ago to the day.
Friendly, helpful & knowledgeable, plus everything once could need for fishing in Idaho or anywhere else for that matter, including a huge tying section featuring materials for both fresh & salt.
If you're in the Boise area, a visit to Idaho Angler is a must.
At first, I thought you were a little OCD about having a website dedicated to only one species of fish. Especially a fish living in waters far from your home address. A fish you have only one or maybe a couple of chances per year to go fishing for.
But then I caught one. And I get it now. I really do.
As some of you might have seen on a recent Facebook post, I'm taking a break from Facebook. This US Presidential election thing is bringing out the worse in some people. These are people I consider friends, either in real life or in the online realm. I respect your right to your opinions but the outright negativity, from both left and right, is depressing as f**k. So yeah, I'm done on Facebook until November 8th or 9th or so (besides, Twitter is far more enjoyable than Facebook). That being said, y'all should get out and vote. No matter what your political leaning is, exercise your right to vote. Canada had a federal election last year and the turnout was downright dismal. Don't be apathetic; apathy is more depressing than the negative shit. Go vote. This link will not be shared on the ol' Crackbook by yours truly. If anyone wants to share it, it'd be appreciated, but it's not necessary. Keep it real. Mat
I am very excited to announce the launch of Traveling Angler Tuesdays here at 411#3, starting this Tuesday (June 26th)
If you caught the Out of Alaska post yesterday, you might recall seeing mention of a new path (or, more accurately, a widening of an existing path) for the site. Well, this is it.
I travel a lot. I fish a lot. I carry gear with me when I travel. I know I can share a few tips, tricks and gear reviews to help out both beginner and experienced traveling anglers alike.
So starting this Tuesday, and every Tuesday after it, there will be a new post to inform, entertain and enlighten you, the Traveling Angler.
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To kick off Traveling Angler Tuesdays, I enlisted the help of Dylan Rose of Fly Water Travel LLC and proceeded to pester him with lots of questions about fishing, traveling, working at Fly Water Travel, guiding Gierach and playing jazz.
So click over on Tuesday, June 26th to read my interview with Dylan!
To find out more about this tarpon & the guy holding it, check out the interview with Dylan on Tuesday!
After numerous attempts, I discovered proper form for redeye flights last night: I fell asleep before we backed away from the gate in Fairbanks and was out cold until the descent into Minneapolis. Brilliant.
Thus closing this Alaskan chapter of my life.
It was a good trip, but the lack of sleep from working night shifts did me in, and yesterday's hunt for pike on my 7wt ended up being more of a snipe hunt.
But there were highlights...
Highlight #5:
Working night shift that far north was cool and it made for some pretty combination sunsets/sunrises.
Highlight #4:
Catching my first grayling on the fly. It isn't a technical fishery by any stretch, but they were fun for a diversion. Small flies, light leaders, etc. Pretty fish, too; though I didn't take any pictures save one. I needed the pic for the Species Journal, after all...
Highlight #3:
This is more a personal thing than an Alaskan thing: I decided on new path for this site. Maybe not a new path; perhaps widening the path is more apt. More on this in a very-near-future post.
Highlight #2b:
Finding this cabin in the middle of nowhere down a random dirt road while looking for a fishy spot. Something about it brought a smile to the cockles of my heart.
Highlight #2a:
Seconds after finding the cabin, the realization that I sometimes can't believe I get paid for this.
This also ties in with Highlight #3...but hours later, while being chewed alive by bugs and being busy as hell, this upbeat attitude diminished slightly. I was still excited about Highlight #3 and the cabin, however.
Highlight #1:
Being present in the precise moment in space and time to be able to see this:
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So that was Alaska.
Quick shout-outs to:
Matt H - may he have good fortune with his new Sage Largemouth rod & not have anymore minor incidents with company rental trucks.
JR at Big Ray's fly shop - thanks for the help. My inability to roll-cast that robin-sized diver on my 7wt in no way diminished the appreciation I have for time spent giving me directions for the pike hunt.
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Here's a tune.
Appropriate title, considering I'm on the verge of wandering over to the complimentary bar to fix one for myself. Aeroplan Elite status has its perks.
That whole sunset-sunrise thing that happens in the span of 35 minutes here in Alaska confuses the hell out of me: I know not whether to take warning, or feel delight.
Meh, last time I checked, I'm no sailor...especially with the dry-docked-in-my-friend's-driveway Aluminum Bastard as my vessel of choice.
********
Still no fishing to be had. The joys of night shifts.
NOTE: I'm trying out a new layout on this, via Blogger's Dynamic Views. I'd really appreciate your input on how it looks/acts/feels/etc.
Some of you who follow along on my Instagram & Twitter feeds (both '@mattrevors') or tumblr page (or even the dreaded Facebook) may have seen these pics already, but I thought I'd post a few here.
As I frequently make public, I'm an ardent anti-winter person. Hate cold, hate ice, wish to live in Florida with white pants pulled up to my armpits & fish all the time, and so on & so forth.
Needless to say, I was completely horrified a little apprehensive about coming within a degree or so of the Arctic Circle in mid-April.
Surprisingly, the project location wasn't all that nightmarish. I missed home (as usual) and its mild weather (as expected), but food was good, accommodations ok, and people onsite were extremely pleasant & friendly...unlike other jobs I've been on (*cough* Saskatchewan *cough*).
I'm hoping to get back in the summer at some point, with fly rods in tow. I fly through Yellowknife, which is situated on a decent-sized lake and apparently has some pike that need introducing to my Redington 10wt. And there are grayling, trout & char present in the vicinity of this project site.
Hopefully the company I'm contracted to doesn't mind me being seconded to the client as official fishing guide/gear-lender for VIP tours of the property. Conveniently, one of the helicopter pilots has just started fly fishing & tying, too. A few flies and casting & tying lessons might be bartered for flight time.
Here are some pics...
This thing is almost cool enough to make winter enjoyable
Ample fly tying materials available, should I run low
C-130 Hercules on landing strip if lake ice, unloading bulldozers at sunrise
Any fans of the show 'Ice Pilots' will recognize this bird
Time/Date: 1130 AST, 06-Mar-12
Location: Fredericton, NB
When I was trolling around on the intertubes a few weeks ago during a shift of standby in Mexico, I found a link to ShallowFish, a website/e-store dedicated to "gifts inspired by angling."
I would be lying that if I said I was casually browsing the site and stumbled upon some cool redfish art; redfish was the first species I clicked on. Within a few seconds, I found exactly what I was looking for:
Soon appearing on a wall near me.
Gyotaku is a very cool art form originally developed in Japan to keep fisherman from bullshitting about their catch. No joke. You can read more about gyotakuhere and here.
I liked that print the best of the few featured on the page but I didn't want to rush to buy it & end up with buyer's remorse; $70 + shipping isn't something to scoff at, after all. I saved it to Instapaper (one of my favourite apps ever, btw) to wait it out & think it over.
Last night I popped on again to take a gander at it...and pulled the trigger.
I'm really looking forward to having it framed & on my wall
One other gyotaku print that caught my eye was one I cannot fathomably order until I catch one, but when I do, you better believe this badboy is getting shipped to Fredericton & hung:
Time/Date: 0130, 05-Feb-12
Location: the intertubes...
First up: a new Facebook pagefor my local shop, Fredericton Outfitters & Anglers (webpage).
Facebook is apparently making some changes to how they handle groups...which kinda sucks, as we had over 875 members in the group, with loads of photos & other great content. I'll slowly be moving the best of it over to the new page, one pic at a time, and have asked the group members to repost some of their photos & videos as well
I've been posting regularly (spamming?) on the various channels to let people know about the switch, but the group has been a regular habit for more than a handful of the members for a couple years now, so I anticipate it being a slow & steady process.
Tumblr is a micro-blogging platform that is not as micro as Twitter & its 140 characters.
I'm sure Tumblr is totally awesome & lots of things can be done with it, but I signed up for it for one main reason: it's a one-stop online home for my Instagram & Lightbox photos from my iPod Touch and Android phone.
Since taking the (mentally-refreshing) step of giving my D-SLR camera, lenses & accessories to my dad (thank you for freeing me, Dave Bruno!!), I've become even more interested in mobile-device photography, but the platforms for having these photos were not the greatest.
Uploading here? Too many steps: take pic, get pic from device to computer, upload & publish a post accompanying the pic.
Instagram is awesome on my iPod as an app, non-existent on the web.
Lightbox is on the web & good as an app, but only about 4 people, including myself, know about it.
Flickr works...but is cluttered with albums & shit like that (in my mind)
Enter Tumblr. Each of my preferred photo apps allow me to share directly to my Tumblr page, and formatting of the 'posts' happens automatically.
I like it.
(Don't worry, loyal readers; I won't be quitting here. Tumblr is essentially a nice photo album.)
I whittled away the evening sorting through which pics I already have on Instagram & Lightbox to share on Tumblr (great way to procrastinate, btw...) and set up the photo apps to post automatically.
Click here to see all posts in the Guatemalan Chronicles
I'm taking the lazy way out: the rest of my Guatemala trip will be displayed in the pictures below. I figure I've stretched this out for long enough.
I'll say it again, though: it was an awesome trip, from start to finish (minus the whole baggage kerfuffle at MEX).
Anyone who wants to do the sailfishing-in-Guatemala thing should definitely contact Captain Tom Boice (@panamaxsailfish) at Panamax Sailfishing.
And you couldn't have asked for a better crew to fish with than Jon from iFished.com and Salty from SoCal Salty, so if they organize another trip, just go!
Note that I took all of my pics on the trip with the Instagram app on my iPod. A few of my faves that have already been posted are included in this batch, too.
Captain Tom & the Que Vela! at sunrise
Jon at the helm
Volcanoes remain "cool" to me
Jon's sailfish...after it bit him
Damage from the sailfish "bite"
My rig, locked & loaded. Spent 1.5 hours at the ready on 1st day of fishing
Sailfish on Instagram = awesome
Salty drawing a crowd
Salty with another satisfied street merchant
Salty must have oozed "rich Yanqui" while out & about :P
Volcano & Lake Atitlan, Panajachel
Local fisherman on Lake Atitlan
The previously mentioned 'Best Goddamned Coffee Shop Anywhere"
Mural on outside wall of Crossroads Cafe, Panajachel
The best friggin' hairstyle in Guatemala, bar none...
World-famous Latin American chicken buses...
...all pimped out
Salty is a fan of the harp, apparently
'da boyz, loitering in the central square in Antigua
Street musicians in Antigua
Antigua, Guatemala
and again...
Sinatra on tour? Nope, just Salty, lovin' life! (Jealous of that hat, btw)
A persistent seller of 'fine' handcrafted (&slightly used) flutes
Pic of the dorado, via Salty's camera, which looked Instagram-y
And that's it, folks. Hopefully there will be another awesome adventure to drag out over three weeks of blog posts coming again soon!
