New post on Mooseknuckle Lanyards site

Just posted a new Dispatch from Canada (from Mexico) on the Mooseknuckle Lanyards blog site titled Six tips to improve your fly fishing this winter.

You can check it out here or click on the image below.

Best. Logo. Ever.

Packing List - Pt. 2

Time/Date: 1005, 09-Dec-11
Location: F'ton

2 days until departure.

To continue from part 1 of my packing list for Guatemala, this is where that whole 'packing light' thing somehow gets tossed out the window.

I've done fishing trips before (obviously) and I've done 4-6 week work trips before, but this is the first time for flying to another country for a week of a metric shitload of fishing for multiple species.

And I mean multiple species...like sailfish plus a host of other fish that might be around (marlin, mahi-mahi, shark, etc., etc., etc). Possibly some inshore stuff, including roosterfish. Stillwater fishing, with largemouth bass and carp. And also tilapia, which I only heard of because I think I ate some at a Tapas restaurant in Mexico.

I'm still trying to pack light, but shit quickly gets out of hand:

Sailfish rig:

• Temple Forks Outfitters TiCrX 9012-4pc
• Hardy Zane Saltwater 3 reel (not the Titanium one...I'm sick but not insane)
• Cortland's Billfish line (13wt/65'/clear intermediate sink tip)
• 500 metres of 50# gelspun backing

All-purpose Big Gun:

• Redington CPX 9010-4pc
• Redington Delta 9/10 reel
• Rio's WF-10I striper (?) line (clear sink tip)
• >300 metres of 30# gelspun backing

My lightsaber (i.e., don't leave home without it):

• Redington CPX 908-4pc
• Lamson-Waterworks Litespeed 3.5 reel
• Rio's WF-8F saltwater line
• Orvis WF-8I line (clear sink tip) - on spare spool
• >225 metres of 30# gelspun on both spools

The Little Gun:

• Redington Predator 7106-4pc
• Redington Rise 5/6 reel
• Rio's WF-6F smallmouth line
• 150 metres of 20# gelspun backing

The Fly Boxes:

• Saltwater box: Umpqua UPG, filled with everything from Clousers, Deceivers, crabs, Gotchas, rabbit strip flies and anything else that looked fishy.
• Misc box: Umpqua UPG Doublewide, filled with foam & deerhair poppers, freshwater Clousers, salmon bombers, hoppers, streamers, Stimulators and anything else that looked (freshwater) fishy

• Sailfish flies: big, f**k-off poppers in obnoxious colours with 6/0 & 7/0 hooks

Misc Fishing gear:

• Pliers, nippers, hook sharpener, etc...
• Mooseknuckle Lanyard
• Hip pack
• Leaders, etc.
• Buff, sungloves, sunglasses, etc; mentioned in part 1.

As long as I don't end up small stream fishing for trout, I should be covered...

Enjoy some music:

Random Idaho/Joseph Conrad Post

Time/Date: 1205 MST, 21-Oct-11
Location: The dark recesses of my mind, Idaho

"I watched a snail crawl along the edge of a straight razor. That's my dream; that's my nightmare. Crawling, slithering, along the edge of a straight razor... and surviving."
-  Col. Kurtz, Apocalypse Now

Seriously, though...It's not that bad here.

But I am definitely looking forward to getting home to my girlfriend, dog and friends, & finishing this field season.

Here's what's going on:

• Though I've been slack posting on here, I have posted two dispatches on the Mooseknuckle Lanyards blog. You can read them here (Dispatches from...Idaho?) and here (Dispatches from…wherever..: Red State (of mind)).
• I'm working on a new page to add here. Time is limited here due to the length of the work days & 45 minute commute each way, but I think it's gonna be kinda cool. I'll let you know when it's up. (UPDATE: the page is up. It's called Species Journal. Give it a look)
• I'm getting slightly concerned with the aquaculture industry on both coasts. Read this article from the Atlantic Salmon Federation's journal & judge for yourself. Weigh in on the comments section if you so desire.
• Travel: besides getting home from Idaho, there's a trip to Mexico for my friends' wedding in early November (Yucatan bonefish, maybe?) and a sailfishing trip to Guatemala in mid-December. And I'm having dreams of (more) redfish and tarpon, so we'll see how that works out.

Here's some music.

Randomness

Time/Date: 1320, 28-Sep-11

Location: F'ton

I haven't caught any fish in over two weeks.

The bastard's back & welcoming me
with open arms.

Two additional outings to attempt to wash the stench of skunk off in the Miramichi River have failed.

I had one salmon take yesterday, but I thought the fly hung up on a boulder and was thoroughly surprised to see a a salmon jump when I gave the rod a snap to dislodge the fly from the so-called boulder, thus dislodging said fly from said salmon's mouth.

'Surprised' quickly changed to 'pissed off at self.'

There's no feeling like the self-loathing one does in the midst of a slump.

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For those unaware, I've been writing a weekly Dispatch from Canada on the blog of Mooseknuckle Lanyards. Being busy with launching a new startup, the owner, Jeremy, asked a few of us in the online fishing tribe to contribute articles to the blog site.

Excluding the dribble I'm spewing on a weekly basis, the writing is really good; it comprises trip reports, gear reviews, beer reviews, and lots of other miscellaneous content. You can check it out here.

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Enjoy some music:

Click here if you can't see the video below

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