Traveling Angler Tuesday: 10 DIY Tips from Cod

Mista Cod, he of the Chronicles of Cod fame, takes being a Traveling Angler to a whole new level.

Last winter he undertook this epic adventure: 

• drove from Calgary to Houston, flew to Belize & fished permit; 
• flew back to Houston and camped on the Gulf Coast to chase reds; 
• drove from Texas to San Diego and then down the Baja to camp and fish for roosterfish;
• drove back to Calgary, but stopped along the way to pop over to Cuba for a week-long liveaboard  trip.

Needless to say, when he offers up some advice on fly fishing travel, it might be good to pay attention.

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COD'S 10 TIPS FOR DIY FLY FISHING TRIPS 

(not necessarily in order)

10. Use all available resources

Use Google Earth, fly shops, maps, tourist information kiosks - Lonely Planet books are bad ass - every bit of info you collect is good. Sometimes you have to filter through a lot of it to get good stuff but keeping your ear to the ground and at least humour every lead; it can sometimes help you.

9. Observe 

Watch what others are doing. This is a great source of information that's so easy to obtain. If others are catching and you are not, watch what they are doing. It's there for the taking. 

8. Don't beat yourself up 

If the conditions are screwed, if there are no fish around, if you're getting frustrated: take a day off or an afternoon or whatever. If you have time, take a break or a nap. It gives you a chance to mentally recharge. It allows you to add some depth to your trip, learn some new shit, or just generally relax.  

Don't beat yourself up, it's fishing and you are supposed to be enjoying yourself.

7. Follow your gut 

This can save you a lot of grief. Whether it's a road, path, area, or tingling spidey sense, if shit don't seem right...it likely isn't!!  Sometimes you get shit info. If you don't think fish are there, don't like where you are, or just aren't feeling it: make changes! 

I am a firm believer in fishing with confidence; when you do this everything leans a little in your favour.

6. Patience

Super important. "If it was easy, everyone would be doing it." We have all heard this statement before. Achieving hard shit is cool. 

Spin fishing, on a whole, is way more productive than fly fishing; why don't I just huck bait? Not gonna happen. You have taken it upon yourself to "DO IT YOURSELF." Expect a learning curve and be patient. Don't focus on what you're not doing, rather make note of the things you are learning and getting better at.

5. Network 

Hang out in fly shops, at boat launches and places where fisherman congregate. Talk to people, tell them what you're there doing. You'd be surprised of the number of people you can meet and the great info you can find out just by chatting with other fishermen.

4. Know your enemy

Going into the unknown is an often daunting task. If it's a new fish you're targeting, try to get some background info on them; e.g., flies, tides, diet, size or techniques. 

Bring tying material if possible; sometimes you show up with the wrong stuff. It's nice to have the option of spinning up some new bugs. It's a good confidence builder and it adds depth to your trip.

3. Set realistic goals 

The chances of you showing up and shit-canning the fish that you're after are slim to none. Set realistic goals ("I hope I get an eat" or "I hope I can catch a decent one.") 

Don't be disappointed if you don't achieve your goals. Look for the positive: maybe you thought your vision got a bit better or you figured out something that made you cast a little better in the wind. 

If you've never been there or done it before, what makes you think you're gonna whack 'em??

2. Be flexible

When you do things on your own, you need to be a little more flexible than on a guided trip. Expect to fish less, explore more, have more down time, make mistakes, and fumble the ball more generally speaking.  

You might have a few wild goose chases, expect them. That's all part of DIY fishing: embrace it. Thats what makes it awesome and rewarding. You figured it out. Not your guide. Not your local buddy. It's then truly your fish.

1. Time or money

Many people have one of these. Very few have both. Make an honest decision which one you have.

If you only have a few days, or a week, then maybe a guided trip makes more sense. 

If you've got no dough but spare time, do it on the cheap: go longer and expect your pitfalls due to inexperience. 

I justify extended trips by telling myself, "It cost so much to get here, I might as well stay longer." I prefer to have time on my side as opposed to money when it comes to DIY. 

For example, weather can shut you down. If you go on the week with crap weather, your fishing will likely be the shits. If you're there for three weeks instead, you'll likely encounter good conditions at some point. 

Sometimes shit just takes awhile to figure out, too.

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Thanks for taking the time to write this up, AC! 

Be sure to follow Cod's next adventure over at Chronicles of Cod. 

He can be hit up via Twitter at @chroniclesofcod

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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 from the Traveling Angler Tuesdays series, click here.

Saltwater 101 - Making Your Own Stripping Basket for $10

Time/Date: 1140, 13-Apr-11
Location: F'ton (aka, 1.5 hour drive from the coast)

Let me be clear: I'm not teaching Saltwater 101; I'm taking the course. For me, it's been very much a self-directed study course. I'm sharing whatever useful resources I come across for those in the same newbie-boat as I am.

(For a partial list of my winter Saltwater 101 reading list, click here)

In the books, magazines, blog & forum posts I've come across, one necessary piece of equipment always mentioned for saltwater fly fishing is a stripping basket.

The stripping basket keeps the fly line contained when you strip it in to keep it from tangling around your feet due to wave & current action (it can also be worn on a boat to keep it from snagging, etc.)

As I desire to at least look like I know what I'm doing once I start chasing stripers this spring, I did a quick google search to see where a newbie like myself would purchase a stripping basket.

• Orvis; it costs $59.
• William Joseph; it costs $32 (but mesh is not suitable for surf, as waves tend to tangle the line).
• A company called Mangrove (?); it costs $50 at Cabelas.

After a person drops hundreds of dollars on rods, reels, lines, backing, waders, flies & fly boxes, various vests & packs....$50-$60 is kind of excessive for a plastic tub.

Here's the $10 solution.

Material & tool list:

• Plastic dish pan ($3.89 at Sprawl-mart).
• Small, 1 sq ft chunk of outdoor carpet (free from nice dude at a flooring shop).
• Tube of Krazy Glue ($3.99 at hardware store) or hot glue gun (read Step 4 before buying Krazy Glue, please)
• 1 18" bungee-cord or perhaps longer if you're a little...ummm..."huskier" (laying in bed of truck for 9 months).
• A drill or screw or nail + candle or some other method of putting two holes in the dish pan.
• A carpet / utility knife, for cutting the carpet.
• A pen or marker or bloody finger tip or some other method to mark where the two holes in the dishpan will go.

That's it.

A note about the dishpan:

1. Choose a light colour. If you are fishing in low-light conditions (like you should be if you want any success in this whole striper-madness thing), it will reflect the light, making it easier to tie knots, etc.
2. They make various depths of dishpan. The deeper one will help keep the line in place in windy conditions & in heavier waves.
3. DO NOT put drain holes in. Waves will hit the bottom of the basket & water entering will lift the line up, increasing risk of tangles. I will explain how to easily empty the basket of water below.

Making the basket

Step 1: Measure & cut 4 strips of the outdoor carpet. Make the strips 1.25 to 1.5 inches wide, and long enough to fit the width of the bottom of the dishpan. Use the outdoor carpet, the knife & perhaps the marker for this step, in case you're wondering...

Step 2: Take the bungee cord and mark where the hole for the hook will go near the corner of the dishpan. The dishpan will go against your waist length-wise, so along the same (long) side, repeat this near the other corner. This is where that marker comes in handy again.

Step 3: Using some manner of hole-making device, make a hole in the side of the dishpan where you made your marks. SEE BELOW FOR IMPORTANT NOTES!

I used a combination of a screw, screwdriver and a candle to heat the screw to make it easy to start the hole. This was a more quiet method, as I didn't wish to wake my beautiful gf with an 18V DeWalt drill.

• Important note #1 about step 3: if you're using the candle method, use something to hold the screw. Don't whine to me about burning your fingers, dumb-ass.
• Important note #2 about step 3: if you're doing this method indoors, do it in the kitchen & run the range hood fan, so the smoke of burning plastic doesn't set off the smoke detector (and thus waking up your beautiful gf).
• Important note #3 about step 3: Make sure the hooks of the bungee cord A) fit easily into the holes and B) point down so they do not snag your line.

Thought those were important to pass along...

Step 4: Wipe the inside & bottom of the dishpan clean, and glue the four strips of outdoor carpet to the bottom of the dishpan.

(DISCLOSURE: The tube of Krazy-Glue I bought for this sucks ass. Seriously sucks ass & is useless. I will be re-doing this with a glue gun as soon as I publish this post. Honesty & transparency & all that crap...)

Like so:

And BEHOLD! There's your completed stripping basket.

Under $10. And hopefully without any burnt fingertips or smoke detectors going off or loud outbursts of swearing because the type of Krazy Glue isn't useful for this particular project.

Wearing the basket

Here's a quick & easy rundown of how to put on & wear your new stripping basket:

1. Hook one end of the bungee cord to the basket.
2. Hold the basket in place against your waist with one hand.
3. Reach around with the other hand, grab the loose end of the bungee cord, wrap it around behind you, and hook it in the other hole of the basket.

C'est tout.

If you are wearing waders & a longer-style rain jacket, put your waders & jacket on first and put the basket on over top. You can use the bungee cord of the basket to tie down your jacket, which helps prevents water from splashing up underneath.

If your basket fills with water, grab the outside edge of the basket & pull it up towards you. When you tip it, the water will pour out on the front of your jacket & waders, which is N.B.D., right?

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There ya go. Enjoy your new stripping basket & think of me when you have an extra $40 in your pocket.

I must go find a f**king glue gun...

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