FFF - Federation of Fantastic Fridays

A distinct lack of interwebz in my new apartment has hindered any & all attempts at posting since last week's Friday Post of Randomness.

Add in moving, fishing, unpacking, etc., and all of a sudden, sitting down for an hour results more in symptoms of narcolepsy than words on paper...or screen.

So this routine should seem a little familiar: go grab a coffee, sit back and relax. It is Friday, after all; it's not like you're actually working.

FredRock 2012 Lineup

My good friends at BabZees Entertainment have announced the lineup for FredRock 2012, being held again in August at the Loyalist Rugby Club. I don't need to say how awesome it is that we're into year four of FredRock, with all but the first festival held at the rugby club.

The lineup for this year's show, being held over two nights, features a lot of talent, with a few of my favourites in there.

Matthew Good headlines Friday night, and Steve Earle...yes, that Steve Earle...headline Saturday night.

Supporting acts include frequent 411#3 embedded youtube talent Matt Mays & el Torpedo, as well as The Trews, AWOLnation, The Sheepdogs, Walk Off The Earth, Elliott Brood and Poor Young Things.

I think this is one helluva lineup for FredRock this year. Congrats to the guys at BabZees for pulling together such an event for the city of Fredericton (and at the Loyalist Rugby Club, too).

Musical Interlude

Here are a couple tunes from two of the acts on the FredRock 2012 lineup.

One of the Coolest Things Ever!

A few weeks ago I wrote about Robert Cunningham's book, Chasing Records; I had downloaded it to keep me warm & fishy while working in Nunavut.

A few days after I posted it, the man himself emailed me to thank me for reading and reviewing the book. Since I'm not bold enough to assume Mr. Cunningham is a regular reader, that's pretty cool in itself.

What's really cool is what showed up in my mailbox this week: a signed hardcopy of his book.

I appreciated just receiving an email from him. I really appreciated this.

Thank you, Mr. Cunningham.

(Note: I still remain envious of his boat & seaplane. I told him so in my email response. He still sent me the book. Honesty, people. Honesty. It pays off.)

The Birth of a Tournament Angler...

...takes place tomorrow morning. Though it almost wasn't going to happen; as I mentioned last week, my truck is awaiting new parts which prevents the towing of the Magnificent Basstard.

No worries, as my tournament partner Pat (he of the City Limits Muskie last year) also has a boat...which suffered from a broken trailer axle a few days ago. Fortunately he has it fixed up & running, so we should be good to go for tomorrow!

The rod quiver tomorrow includes:

• Cabela's CGR 7'6" 7/8wt, matched with Hardy Ultralite reel and Sage's Performance Bluegille Taper fly line;
• Redington's Predator 7'10" 6wt, matched with Redington's Rise reel & Rio's Smallmouth Taper fly line;
• Quantum's most inexpensive spinning rod & reel in existence, in case it gets dirty, stinking windy out.

The Long Stick Renegade, as Cameron over at The Fiberglass Manifesto tweeted to me a few days back. I like the sound of that. Stay tuned for a post-tournament report, and perhaps I will live-tweet the tournament action (@mattrevors).

Upcoming Stuff

• The cool folks over at Redington have sent me a pair of their Sonic-Pro Wading Pants to use & abuse. I had them on yesterday for the first time, and will be taking them to Alaska to test out.
• I'm heading to Alaska! For three weeks! But it's for work, and it's on this coming Tuesday, which is way to soon, considering I only got back from the Arctic last Tuesday.
• Word on the street is I'll have some grayling and possibly pike & salmon available in Alaska. I'm still in the decision stage of what gear to bring, but it looks like it's been narrowed down to my 5wt, 7wt and possibly my 10wt.
• The cool folks over at Rio have sent me one of their specialty pike taper fly lines for the 10wt rod to  demo (hopefully) on our local muskie population. Seeing that there are pike in Alaska, and I do have a score to settle (and asterisk to remove) with pike, I'm leaning towards the 10wt setup coming on the trip....just in case...
• Fly tying has taken a backseat due to the move & such, but I'm hoping to get back on my tarpon, smallie & muskie tying kick real soon.
• I'm currently reading Captain John Kumiski's Redfish on the Fly: A Comprehensive Guide. Read into that statement as much as you like, knowing what you know about my impulsive travel habits. And expect a book review at some point.

More Music...

...from FredRock 2012 performer Matt Mays & el Torpedo.

That's all for now

Have a great weekend, everyone; may all your fish be epic in fun...not size.

Random Nunavut post, S01E02

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

Feel free to check out lots more travel & fishing pics on The Angler's Android and look me up on twitter.

You can also subscribe to this feed via the Feedburner subscription box on the pop-out sidebar on the right.

Lazy-ass video post

Time/Date: 2050 CST, 09-Jan-12
Location: Nuevo Balsas, Mexico

So, yeah. I'm in Mexico for the next three weeks.

I'll be working night shifts with sporadic wifi coverage, so expect some irregular posting schedules...more than usual, even.

In the meantime, check out this quick & easy but bad-ass pike fly (*cough* muskie fly *cough*) tying video from McFluffChucker:

A photogenic pike

Time/Date: 2140 CST, 23-Aug-11
Location: Northern Saskatchewan

This post would seem all over the map without including this little ditty from G+ from earlier today:
(click on the image to open to a readable size)

Note the second last comment, from yours truly. It reads, "Nicely done, Will. I'll add you to the blogroll this evening...when I work on Brandon's fly stock post...after I try to catch a photo-worthy pike :p"

So, as a man of my word:

Check out Will's (somewhat) new blog, The Riparian Corridor. Will has some great posts on there, and it's definitely worthy of being on the blogroll (located on the sidebar to the right). He's redone his layout & got himself a brand new look (and URL). Give it a read!

Next up, FlyStock!  FlyStock has partnered with Project Healing Waters, which is a tremendous charity that assists wounded veterans recover by the awesome power of fly fishing.

If you're anywhere semi-close to Texas, this would be a worthwhile event to attend. Heck, I might even pull some strings to attend (hellllloooooo, Aeroplan points...).

A great event for a great charity. Check out Brandon (& FlyStock) on twitter here to keep up to date with what's planned!

Now for the pike.

I really wanted a photo-worthy pike. Not necessarily for a hero shot, more because we don't have pike where I live. So I wanted a pic of one.

It didn't take long, as like my first time out for pike, this one was caught on my first cast of the night.

And it had some photo-worthiness to it.

Larry's finger makes a cameo appearance.

Chompers...

The fork length measured 38". I found out after the fact that you're supposed to pinch the tail together to get a "legal" length, so...40", maybe...?

After we got back, Luke took me to the camp's record board to see how Mr. (or Mrs...?) Pike measured up to the other beasts that have been caught here, and...he reached for the permanent marker...

Yeah, that's right. East coast rules, bitches!

I told Luke I didn't fish for records...just as I snapped this pic and flashed him a shit-eating grin.

Luke, being from New Zealand, called me a c**t.

(Don't worry, I found out years ago that's proper talk for Kiwis & Aussies)

So yeah. That was my work day.

How was yours?

Enjoy (another) great Tragically Hip tune.

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

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No fish...

...but it was a nice boat ride.

Enjoy this video.

Random Saskatchewan Post (Lots of fishing content, though!)

Time/Date: 2155 CST, 17-Aug-11
Location: Northern, Northern Saskatchewan

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).

Click here if you can't see the video below.

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