Hawg

The first fish (& only fish, so far) in my new Jackson Kayaks Cuda 14 was a personal-best smallmouth bass.

It measured a shade under 23", putting it in the 7lb range.

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I was casting into extremely heavy cover - a lot of fallen trees & such; for an extremely pregnant pause of 3-4 seconds, I thought I was hung up on a branch. Then the line moved.

For what seemed like eternity, the bass stayed deep. I didn't see it but the bend in the 6wt told me it was big. Finally seeing it gave confirmation; the bass jumped once then dove deep again, running for cover of the downed trees. I couldn't afford to give it any line, so the bass was towing the kayak and the rod was bent almost double. Once the line pointed vertically below the kayak into the mess of branches, I thought all was for nought.

I switched the rod to my left hand and, keeping the rod pressured, I paddled one-handed to horse the bass out from under the branches, hoping all the while the #8 fluoro tippet would hold up.

The tippet did its job: the bass was free of trees and soon at the side of my kayak. Having lost a ~5lb smallie (which would have been a personal-best at the time) boat-side a few weeks back, I didn't f**k around: I lipped the fish, bringing it aboard & dislodging the fly almost simultaneously. I then snapped some quick pics with my Camera+ app, took a fast measurement of its length, and sent the bass on its way.

I drifted aimlessly in the 'yak for the next half-hour, mumbling prayers of thanks to both the bass and Bob Clouser, shaking too much from excitement to make another cast.

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Gear:

• #4 chartreuse & white Clouser minnow
• Redington Predator 6wt rod 
• Redington Rise 5/6 reel 
• RIO Smallmouth taper line
• Blue Sky furled leader with Maxima #8 fluorocarbon tippet

Location, time & date:

• Name Redacted Lake, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
• ~1545h, 04 June, 2013

Bass and boats and beats and other good stuff

It hasn't been intentional neglect of this website over the past few months. It's just there's so much to do & to see here.

It doesn't seem proper to hide away with a laptop, indoors, for the 2-4 hours it takes to research/write/edit a post. Especially since enjoying the climate of Vancouver Island was the main reason for us claiming Winter Refugee Status here.

That being said, it's been six weeks of living in our new apartment. It's time to develop an iota of self-discipline and a sensible personal schedule to ensure content is posted here in something resembling a semi-regular manner.

At least I haven't been idle: I've been planning, scheming, and taking notes for all sorts of topics and actually fishing a few times. 

Here's a preview of what's to come:

• Addicted to SMB - see photo at right.
• Must-have add-ons for the Diablo Paddlesports Chupacabra
• Paddling my new Jackson Kayak Cuda 14
• Trying (& failing) to develop a great smallmouth fly - Working title: save time/money, tie a Clouser Minnow
• (Slowly) becoming a fishing pier rat - more relaxing than you think
• Product reviews for some cool new stuff from Columbia Sportswear - emphasis on 'cool.'
• Evernote + Fly Fishing - it's a thing. Seriously.
• Music - expect a return of music at the bottom of most articles and posts.
• Essays - some of which will be posted after they've been rejected from magazines.
• Book reviews - and possibly not all fish-related. Oh, the horror, right?
• More music - get your speakers/headphones ready.
• Recipes - why the f**k not, right? A man's gotta eat...
• Fun and adventure - photos may be included.

In addition, be sure to check out my racket over at The Saltwater Fly Journal; there's a bit of a new look along with a new 'About' page, updated Links and the all-new SWFJ Bookstore.

And, as always, thanks for reading. Y'all are alright in my books.

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Ross Neilsen & company are getting ready to release their new album, Resurrection, later this month. Leading up to the launch date, Ross has been releasing one track from the new album each week.

This track is called Need You More, and I think it's pretty damn good. Check 'er out.

Unable to see the video in your email? Click here to view the full post

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The Promised Land

I've yet to load the Diable Paddlesports Chupacabra on the truck

Much like the Clampetts, we'll be soon taking our lives west. But not to Beverly Hills.

Ignoring the minor details of not yet knowing where we'll call home (Vancouver Island landlords aren't very good at responding to emails), we'll be arriving in less than three weeks.

Preparing both physically and mentally for a move from one side to the other of the world's second-largest country whilst in West Africa should be a breeze in this current age of technology...but it isn't.

A typical email to a prospective landlord would go as such:

Hi,
I came across your ad on Craigslist; is your house still available to rent? 

If so, could you tell me if there is carpeting or not, and if the bathroom has a bathtub?   

Also, our dog is approximately 35lbs (Brittany Spaniel mix); is that too large for you? 

We are moving to Vancouver Island in late February but would have no issues renting for Feb. 15th if it works out.  

Thanks in advance & have a great weekend!

This response to those four fairly precise questions was returned:

"im showing it tmr at noon, 250-898-****"

So I guess the house is still available to rent.

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On the bright side of things, I've almost forgotten about one significant (and awesome) detail about fishing on Vancouver Island...besides steelhead, cutthroat, pink salmon, coho salmon, chinook salmon, ling cod, dungeness crab and oysters:

Whether it is the infinite number of Bass that proliferate its waters, or the fact that these fish attain weights of up to 4 kg.

For my metric-deficient American cousins:

I can deal with less-than helpful potential landlords for 8lb smallies.

Heck, I'd sleep in my truck for 4lb smallies (my lovely girlfriend is another matter altogether, though).

Vancouver Island is the promised land.

SADness

Yes, I'm alive.

No, I haven't been fishing...except for a few hours chucking fowl-sized flies for muskie. And no, I didn't hook (or see) any.

The vise was hauled out a few nights back, tying a few mid-sized ugly flies to refill the bass box for next season. But even that burst of spontaneous creativity was short-lived due to traveling for work.

It's -12°C here in Idaho (about 10°F in Yankee units), with snow on the way. I didn't bother to bring any fishing gear this trip for my post-work / pre-flight pilgrimage to the Boise River. Time constraints and such.

If you can't tell, I'm about three weeks deep into the winter blues and we're not even past the midway point of November.

I'm hoping for Sage to release a high-priced, angler-themed ultraviolet light to combat Seasonal Affective Disorder. I'll be one of the first to buy.

Only 154 days to go...

Note: my SADness is self-diagnosed and caused almost exclusively by lack of fishing. And probably not real. I'm sorry if people who truly suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder are offended at what they may perceive as insensitive humour. It's not my intention to offend, only to entertain...and whine...

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One thing that isn't 154 days away that I'm looking forward to is going to the International Fly Tying Symposium!

I'm going to help spread the word about Clear Cure Goo and its overall awesomeness, so if you're at the show this coming weekend, stop by the CCG booth to say hi to Brian and I...and buy some Clear Cure Goo!

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One of the mid-sized uglies I tied up the other night came out pretty good, if I do say so myself:

It's pretty simple, can be done in any number of colours, and only has seven ingredients including hook & thread:

• Hook: TMC 8089 #10
• Thread: black 6/0
• Tail: rabbit strip w/ Krystal flash above (long) & below (short)
• Body: Cactus chenille (black & copper shown above)
• Eyes: Medium dumbbell eyes
• Silli-legs

I used some Clear Cure Goo on the eyes & to finish the head, but any head cement could do the trick.

In the bass bug pictured, I used three legs per side (resulting in six legs/side), which, in the end, is a little excessive & a bit of a pain in the arsehole to deal with when wrapping the chenille. I'll only use two legs per side (four legs a-danglin') in the future.

This was the first fly in my new Bass Fly Philosopher's Collection, in which there are two components:

1. Surface flies: Sexy is good. Flashy is good. Precision is good. Think of deer hair bass bugs, hand-crafted foam & balsa poppers, so on, so forth. Care & effort is worth it.
2. Sub-surface flies: quick & dirty ties. Clousers, buggers and their variants that can be tied quickly, cheaply, and thus lost on bottom or structure without too much grief for time and dollars spent.

Most of my bass fishing is in a smallish river; hence, the majority of bass flies I use (and lose) are weighted flies I dead-drift along bottom or toss into structure. Because I'm one of only a handful of bass-on-the-fly guys in the area, the fish aren't all that heavily pressured by seeing a lot of flies. I don't need to antagonize over near-perfect appearance of crawfish claws to get some fish to eat.

For subsurface, simple is better. And cheaper.

The Ancient Greeks said it best, lamda phi balla ding dong: Keep it simple, shithead!

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A couple of notes about the TMC (aka Tiemco) 8089 bass bug hooks:

They are awesome. Big, wide gap & a good, stiff shank (that sounds dirty, huh?).

They're sharp as f**k (if you need a translation for that, here's a handy guide on understanding my people). I wasn't paying attention while palmering some rabbit hair, and, well, it really fuckin' hurt.

They are really big. Like, big. Don't think a TMC 8089 #10 is equivalent in size to some Mustad streamer #10. Because they are not. Not at all. I even did a little graphic for y'all on how goddamned huge these TMC 8089s are:

Yes, that's your standard Mustad 34007 saltwater hook. Like redfish, baby tarpon, snook-sized fly hook. The TMC 8089 #10 is almost the exact same size, albeit with a thinner gauge wire. The Tiemco engineers must've been huffing a little too much glue when labelling the 8089 series...

But still an awesome hook.

The quest for the perfect 7wt

I somehow developed an infatuation with seven-weight fly rods this past winter.

Not actually owning a 7wt fly rod didn't prevent this infatuation from forming. That would make sense. As one would expect, logic cannot be allowed to step in the way when it comes to fishing gear. Thus the search for a worthy 7wt began.

Note: I will henceforth refer to it as 7wt Fever.

My research began with targeting smallmouth and was expanded to include Atlantic salmon and then light saltwater angling.

And it was based on this maxim:
Choosing the rod for the size of flies you wish to cast, not the size of fish you wish to catch.

I'll break this down into the various species:

Smallmouth Bass
For smallmouth, my Redington Predator 6wt was great for casting size 4-8 flies, including weighted flies like Clousers and crawfish patterns. But it was severely lacking the backbone necessary for big, wind-resistant deer hair poppers and beefy flies like Barr's Meat Whistle and larger, heavier Clousers. And, while I can easily cast these flies on my 8wt, the fun of 1-3lb smallies is slightly diminished on the  big stick.

And fun is what matters, right?

Enter Doug from Smallmouth Fly Box (with a quote from Tim Holschlag of smallmouthflyangler.com):

If you are going to pick out a favorite rod you have to start with the perfect overall line weight for the species you are after.  The type of water you fish, wind conditions, fly sizes etc. are all factors when choosing a line weight, but many agree that the ideal line weight for smallmouth bass is a 7wt. 

First off, a 7wt is a nice weight to lug around all day, avoiding arm fatigue is always a good thing.  I can toss a large popper as well as a beefy streamer with this weight rod.  If paired with the right line a 7 weight can punch through wind, but if cast correctly it can quietly lay out a bug without a splash.  The 7 weight is the perfect balance between brute force and finesse....and it give you options to toss top water poppers or streamers. 

Smallmouth legend Tim Holschlag had this to say about the 7 weight: 

"What if a person wants to fish different types of water, but can only afford one good rod?  That's simple--get a 7-weight, 9 1/2', medium-stiff, medium-fast action good quality rod.  7-weights may be out of style right now, but they're still the best all-purpose smallmouth rods available.  Over the course of a year, I probably use a 7-weight more than any other type of rod." 

I agree with Tim completely, but I tend to deviate from his recommendation for medium-stiff and medium-fast action rods.  Who am I to contradict Tim Holschlag, a guy that fishes more in one year than I have fished in my lifetime.  Good thing all of this is personal preference! 

So mark one up for 7wt Fever for smallies.

Note - As mentioned in numerous previous posts, my go-to bass rig is now the Cabela's 7/8wt CGR, perfectly paired with Sage's 230gr Performance Bass (Bluegill) line spooled on a Hardy Ultralite 7000DD reel. If I do say so myself, it is the best combination of rod-reel-line I have ever pieced together. And it does support 7wt Fever, as it is officially listed as a 7/8-weight.

Atlantic salmon
Ask any number of New Brunswick fly anglers what rod weight to use for Atlantic salmon and the majority will swear up and down you need an eight or nine weight fly rod.

But applying my rod-for-fly-size maxim above, I decided an 8wt might be too much rod, and a 9wt could definitely be considered overkill* - especially with the cast-cast-step-cast-cast-step methodology used for fishing salmon pools. It's a lot of damn casting.

* - Two contrasting points here: One, the Main Southwest Miramichi is a big river, and the wind can definitely howl. So an 8wt could definitely be beneficial in those situations. Conversely, the typical salmon angler on the Miramichi is almost as old as the river itself, so one would think they would appreciate casting a lighter rod. Just something else to think about.

The fly-size factor was a non-issue: no Atlantic salmon fly is as heavy nor as wind-resistant as a smallmouth fly. For one, current New Brunswick salmon fishing regulations do not permit weighted flies. And the biggest salmon bomber is nowhere near the size of a deer hair popper.

Salmon flies, for the majority of patterns, can be easily cast with rods as light as 5wt.

As for fighting and landing the fish, the rod weight, should be a non-issue. Though a number of 15-20lb salmon are caught each week during the fishing season (except, of course, by me), the majority of salmon hooked are in fact 3-7lb juveniles called grilse.

And that doesn't take into consideration the conventional thinking for leader/tippet test used on the Miramichi is 8lb test, quite often used as a straight piece of 8lb-Maxima tied to the fly line (only us "fancy city boys" or "know-nuthin' youngsters" would ever use a knotless tapered leader...).

So I came to an extremely profound observation in my 7wt Fever study:
Eight-pound test is still eight-pound test, no matter what rod weight you are fishing.

Chalk another point for 7wt Fever.

Light Saltwater
The species (sea trout, snook, redfish, baby tarpon, bonefish) included in this portion of the study were more difficult to justify for 7wt Fever. For me, that is.

For one, as much as I love it, I don't saltwater fish enough to call myself a 'saltwater fly angler'....yet*. So I have to pay attention to guys like Austin Orr, Bjorn Stromness, Davin Ebanks, Captain Gordon & others for a lot of their knowledge and opinions.

* - More on this in the near-future. Some of you (Cameron, Dave, Dean, Scotty D, Tara...if you guys actually read this shit) already know what I'm talking about :)

Secondly, the oft-present sea breezes an angler encounters on the flats can definitely warrant the ubiquitous 8wt saltwater rod. As does the heavier, more wind-resistant fly patterns the angler might be throwing at any given time.

That being said, I am of the opinion there are times where a 7wt would be an ideal choice for light saltwater fly fishing. Especially if the angler can cast. Which I can't, sometimes...

I'll give a half-point for 7wt Fever in light saltwater.

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As the winter months waned, one, shortly followed by a second, 7wt rod fell off the rack at the shop and into the back of my truck (somehow).

However much I stumble through life trying to use critical thinking and not being susceptible to marketing propaganda, the lack of fishing and extreme cold of winter can really throw a wrench into the works. This is breakdown in sanity is often magnified by my addiction to appreciation of fly fishing gear, and a generous staff discount at the local fly shop.

The first rod was a Loop XACT 907-4. It had a medium-fast action and a really comfortable cork-mix handle. In fact, I think I may have bought the rod solely for the handle. I liked the feel of the handle. I mean, I really liked the feel of the handle. Enough to buy the damn rod without casting it.

But it turns out, I didn't like casting the rod. In my quiver post, I had this to say about the XACT:

I have a little twinge of buyer's remorse over this, as I don't necessarily love the medium-fast action on this rod & sometimes wish I would have went with a TFO TiCr, TiCrX or Axiom. But it is what it is, so I'll cope (for now).

Another minor issue was the stripping guide was of an extremely small diameter. I don't know why, but it bothered me...but it doesn't bother me on the CGR. Go figure.

Needless to say, I didn't end up coping for long, as the shop received an order of TFO's Axioms at the end of March. And the XACT was eventually sold to my uber-friendly British Smallmouth Fishing Client (more on that in a future post).

Once the Axiom came along, it was all over. Comfortable grip. Lightweight. Fast action. Big stripping guides. Heck, even the components matched up with my new Tibor Backcountry. On Instagram, I called the Axiom & Tibor Backcountry combo my "one rig to rule them all."

Matched up with an Airflo Ridgeline freshwater fly line, I felt I could cast this setup until the end of time. Salmon flies, weighted bass flies or deer hair poppers, it didn't matter. It truly was one rig to rule them all.

(Cue happy, running-through-flowery-meadow music...like Ray Stevens's 'Everything is Beautiful')

Until I had to make a shot at a tailing carp, less than thirty feet away.

(Cue 'Everything is Beautiful' suddenly stopping to that record-scratching noise)

Fifteen feet of fly line did not, would not, and could not load the Axiom. It was the only shot at a carp that day.

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A few days later I was in the Charleston area on a flats skiff with a new 8wt Airflo saltwater line for the Axiom-Backcountry rig. I figure over-lining the rod would solve the rod-loading problem. I was wrong.

Now, if I was a smart man, I would have spent some time practicing short shots in the days leading up to this fishing trip. But nobody ever said I was a smart man.

I did manage to make some shots as the afternoon progressed. But even with the Axiom over-lined with the 8wt, making short shots was extremely difficult. The rod just didn't load...or, at least I couldn't find the sweet-spot of it loading with so little fly line out of the tip.

Perhaps this wasn't the one rig to rule them all.

Note: I am not absolving myself of the blame. I'll be the first to admit I am not a great caster, and I don't practice my casting enough. Especially short, quick shots typical of sight casting. And that day in particular, this rule was made abundantly clear to me.

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The next night I went out for a quick fish with Captain Gordon outside of Morehead City, NC. The fish were not biting, and we each only took a few casts (it was a fun detour to make, and totally worth it, fish or not).

That night I decided to use the Backcountry on my Redington CPX 8wt. My lightsaber. I truly love this rod. It's fast, but not uber-fast like the Axiom. I could feel the line load the road. My casts were going where I wanted them. I felt my casting mojo return slightly.

I hoped the Axiom was jealous.

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Yesterday morning I clicked over to my Google Reader feeds for the first time in almost three weeks. Amongst the 150 unread posts, I discovered this gem written by Davin Ebanks as a guest post on Bjorn's blog.

I read it twice. Lightbulb moment. Especially this part:

Here’s the straight skinny: ultra-fast rods are the worst rods for bonefishing. I say this for both the expensive and inexpensive sticks. If you can’t feel a rod with less than 30 feet of line out the tip, you’ll miss most bonefish. Bonefishing happens between 30-50 feet. That’s pretty close, and they’re usually moving toward you. You have very little time to get the fly out and feed the fish. If you’ve got to make half-dozen false casts just to load the rod, that fish will be inside 30 feet by then and you’re done. Game over. Redo from start. What you really need is a rod that allows you to cast to that sweet spot in 1-2 false casts. You should not be struggling to feel the rod, and you should be able to accurately present the fly inside 30 feet.

That's a decent summation of what happened in Charleston, except I didn't make a half-dozen false casts. I just tried to force the line. And failed miserably.

Davin's post definitely shed new light into my quest for the perfect 7wt.

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But it's a quest that is now on hold.

I'm in one of those "be happy with what I have" states of mind. The CGR is my go-to bass rig, which I love casting & fighting fish on. I have the Airflo 7wt freshwater lines for the Axiom once I make my return to Atlantic salmon fishing next year. The CPX 8wt and the Backcountry pair up nicely, which will be my go-to rod in Belize next month.

So I guess my case of 7wt Fever has subsided....for now. There is a Redington CPX 7wt back at the shop, after all...

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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.

#FrederictonHasA(Fishing)Scene

This article originally appeared as the Faces Outdoors column in the May 2012 issue of Faces Fredericton, a local lifestyle & entertainment magazine that features those who partake in the city’s nightlife, dining, shopping and entertainment events in and about Fredericton.

Saint John River smallmouth, caught in Fredericton

Click to visit Faces Fredericton

Something that seems to regularly surprise people I speak with about fly fishing is when I tell them where my favourite spot in New Brunswick to chase fish is: Fredericton

The reactions are varied, ranging from mild shock (“Fredericton?!?”) to receiving a look one might get if they had just sprouted a second head from their neck. Once I explain myself, however, they’re usually asking me to take them fishing.

Sadly, it seems some people here in Fredericton view the Saint John River only as an obstacle to get across during rush hour, but unbeknownst to many residents of our fair city, the waters of the Saint John River hold big fish. Trophy fish, such as four-pound smallmouth bass, muskie over a meter long, and the powerful striped bass, some weighing over forty pounds.

Of these three piscatorial local residents, my favourite is the smallmouth. While the number of people chasing ‘smallies’ or ‘bronzebacks’ on a fly rod here might be on the small side; throughout North America, smallmouth fly fishing fans number in the tens of thousands. Kirk Deeter, an editor at Field & Stream magazine, called them “the ultimate fly rod fish” in an online article in June, 2011.

Smallmouth had big fans way back in the day, too: “Inch for inch, pound for pound, (they are) the gamest fish that swims,” wrote Dr. James Henshaw. Back in the day in this case means 1881, that is.

I can say not much has changed in how much fun can be had chasing smallies on the fly rod. And I must not be alone, for even super-high-end rod manufacturer Sage makes a $550 rod for them...and it’s on its second, updated version!

Smallmouth bass are native to the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River and the upper Mississippi River, but due to stocking programs in the late 1800s, they are found in all ten provinces and every state except Alaska & Florida in the USA.

New Brunswick was first stocked with smallmouth in about 1870, and they have since thrived here. In fact, prolific smallmouth angler, guide and author Tim Holschlag consistently puts the Saint John River in his list of top 100 smallmouth locations in North America, and we’re regularly featured in Outdoor Canada’s annual list of top fishing spots in Canada.

If you’re a new to fly fishing, or attempting to help someone get started in fly fishing, smallmouth bass are the answer, for two main reasons:
1. they are (usually) very willing to eat.
2. they fight like green demons once they’re hooked, with multiple jumps and rod-bending runs for cover.

Besides, if you only have 4 hours to fish after dinner, do you really want to spend two of those hours driving to & from Boiestown or Doaktown?

Save the gas money & give fly fishing for smallmouth in Fredericton a chance; once you’re hooked up with a couple pounds of bronze fury, you won’t regret it.

Birth of a Tournament Angler

Moments before the starting horn.
Downtown Fredericton in background

This past Saturday I participated in my second-ever bass tournament.

In last year's tournament I mostly used spinning gear until we caught our limit. I had fun, and I managed to catch my first bass on the fly late into the day.

Fast forward 13 months: a lot has changed since that first smallie on the fly, with the one of the biggest changes being smallmouth usurping trout as my favourite local fly rod species.

I had been pretty excited about the tournament for the past few months. But it had nothing to do with money, nor did I expect to win it; if anything, I just wanted to prove an angler could compete in a tournament using fly gear (without embarrassing himself, of course).

The event was being held by the Fredericton Anglers Club, a local group that holds five for-fun tournaments per year. 'For-fun' means exactly that: it costs $10 per person for an annual membership, and $10 per boat for each of the tournament.

The lead-up to tournament day wasn't without hiccups, however: my truck had fallen ill and was unable to tow my boat to get a spring tune-up. And my partner Pat had his boat trailer's axle snap while towing the boat a few days prior to the tournament.

Then there was the weather. A cold front was scheduled to move through, with wind gusts shooting up to 45km/h throughout the day. Not necessarily the best conditions to be flinging a fly line back & forth.

But Pat's trailer axle was fixed in time, and I rigged up a spinning rod as a worse-case solution to deal with high wind speeds. We were good to go.

The morning of, I woke up a few minutes before the alarm on my phone went off. It's funny how anticipation causes that to happen as often as it does. After getting the dog fed & out for a quick stroll, I grabbed my pre-rigged rods and backpack and was off.

When I pulled into Carleton Park, I was a little surprised at the number of boats, either in the water already or lined up for the launch.

The boats (and sometimes, matching trucks) always amaze me, especially when you compare them to the love-hate relationship I have with the Magnificent Basstard. I have less than $5000 tied up in the aluminum bastard, including purchase price, registration, accessories and boater safety course. Some of these guys have 8-10 times that amount tied up into their boats & gear...that blows my mind!

Looking around the parking lot and boat launch, I started to hope I could meet the goal of not embarrassing myself. It's about setting the bar high, folks...

Pat & I decided to have a more relaxed start to our competition: we weren't even in the water for the starting horn. We could barely hear ourselves think with the roar of some of the boats taking off; some guys were not letting the price of gas get in the way of a quick launch.

Meanwhile, back on terra firma, coffee was sipped while we loaded our gear on his boat. Ten minutes after the starting horn howled, we shoved off at a leisurely pace, bound for fishing fun & glory.

It was a good day.

And at no point did I feel embarrassed. By any stretch of the word.

I look forward to the next tournament.

Stats for the Day:

• Winners' total length: 90.5"
• Winning lunker: 19"
• Total prize: $170
• Our boat total: 67"
• Biggest of the boat: 16.5" (shown at left)

Flies:

• Top fly: #4 Clouser, all-white (3 bass, including one 15" scrapper)
• Lunker fly: Barr's Meat Whistle (16.5" bass)

Rods: 

• Redington Predator 7'10", 6wt, with Redington Rise 5/6 reel & Rio Smallmouth line.
• Cabela's CGR 7'6", 7/8wt, with Hardy Ultralite 7000DD reel & Sage Performance Bluegill line

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.

Book review: Clouser's Bass Book

Fly Fishing for Smallmouth in Rivers and Streams by Bob Clouser

Pros: Lots of tips, tricks, techniques, flies & pics of big-ass smallies. Plus there's something about the bluntness of old timers trying to teach you something, as in "you can't catch anything if you can't cast to it, dumbass" (I might have paraphrased that).

Cons: it's a little spendy, and it's a bitch for carry-on reading material (trust me on that) due to size.

Overall: Love this book. I've read it cover-to-cover a few times, and pick it up very often just to re-read certain sections. Worth the price.

Ask for it at your local fly shop or local independent bookstore.

********
As you're probably all tired of reading, I had a little techno-brainfart with regards to my domain name, RSS feed, links to earlier posts, etc, etc, etc.

I managed to get a redirect in place, and I've gone back 90 previous posts to update links to other posts...and will complete the task on the other 100 posts in the very near-future...yeah, I was as surprised as you are about having 190 posts...

However...those of you who were subscribed to RSS to the old 411number3.net domain: there ain't nuthin' I can do about that.

If you could resubscribe using the link on the upper right of the sidebar, I'd be honoured (if you haven't subscribed before, you can do it via FeedBurner RSS or email at the top right of the sidebar).

You fine folks that have me on your blogroll: I would be eternally grateful if you updated the domain name so the current post would be listed.

Thanks, everyone!

********
Here's some music.

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...

Beginner Bass Bugs...

Time/Date: 2235 AST, 16-Jan-12
Location: My tying bench

I decided to plunk my ass at my tying bench to give myself a crash course in spinning deer hair for bass bugs...and try out my new Peak Rotary Vise in the process.

My lovely gf gave me a gift card to the bookstore for Christmas so I ordered up Bass Bug Basics by John M. Likakis to help speed the self-taught crash course up a little bit. If you're interested in tying bass bugs, it's definitely a handy resource to have on hand.

For my first tie, I decided on trying my hand at Tap's Bug, which was declared the "best bass bug ever" in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Fly Rod & Reel magazine. You see step-by-step pics & instructions to tie the bug on Fy Rod & Reel Online here.

This is what the finished bug is supposed to look like (from the Fly Rod & Reel article):

And, after a few thread-snaps, a lot of trimming and minor cursing, this is what I ended up with:

I'm usually pretty critical of my tying...but realize bass aren't typically as critical & selective; if they're eating, they'll eat that. So I'm ok with this first effort. I'm not going to fish it; instead, I'm keeping it as a benchmark to measure up future bass bugs to. And yes, there will be many future bass bugs.

A few things to point out if you're going to start tying deer hair bass bugs:

• make sure your tying scissors are sharp;
• pick up some old-timey, flexible razor blades for trimming the deer hair. I found a package of Wilkinson Sword Classics at Shoppers Drug Mart. Ten double-sided blades = 20 razor blades for sculpting bass bugs; just snip 'em in half with a Leatherman or similar;
• get a strong thread. I'm using UNI BigFly thread...and snapped it a few times while tying my first bug
• be patient! I ended up cutting off my second bug of the night to start over due to trying to rush. Take your time & follow the steps;
• be prepared to make a mess. I don't think I have ever done a recreational activity that makes a mess like this. If you're married, do NOT do this at the dining room table if your better half is within a three hours' drive radius of your home. Bass bugs are that perfect excuse to set up a personal tying area, far from any potential marital disputes.
• In addition to the razor blades, other items that are handy to have are: rounded-tip tweezers (for pushing thread/knots along the hook shank) and a fine-toothed comb (for cleaning underfur from deer hair).
• If you want to put on those rattling, googly doll eyes, you can pick up packages of 300 for cheap at craft shops. A drop of ZapAGap or similar cyanoacrylate adhesive will keep them on the bug through most battles with bronzebacks...or bucketmouths...

Once I improve spinning/packing/sculpting these bad boys, I'll post a few more.

Enjoy some music:

Playing with foam

Time/Date: 1900, 02-Jan-12
Location: F'ton

Seeing this is the first post of 2012, happy New Year, everyone! I hope all had a enjoyable & relaxing holiday season with friends & loved ones.

I'll be continuing with some posts from last month's adventure in Guatemala soon enough (like, tomorrow or the next day).

As a solid form of procrastination from doing anything overly productive (such as cleaning & organizing my tying bench), I tied up a few bass flies using some craft foam. Foam is a material I'll be diving into more over the course of winter for tying smallmouth patterns; it's quite versatile, comes in a wide variety of colours, and it's CHEAP!

This Sneaky Duck fly recipe, by Roger Duckworth, was in Fly Tyer magazine a few months back. It's a pretty quick & easy fly to tie.

Unfortunately you'll have to wait at least 104 days until I can give them a solid run-through on the water.

Here's some music:

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)

On slumps.

Time/Date: 2300 MST, 06-Oct-11
Location: Yellow Pine, Idaho

I'll be honest: this post might not apply to the occasional weekend warrior that fishes every second or third Saturday morning for a few hours. I understand (without any sort of prejudice at all) that, while you enjoy fishing, it's not high on the priority list; wives/kids/jobs/household chores/whatever have to be attended to before fishing can be even thought of.

This post is more for the three or four or more times a week guys & gals that are obsessed with fly fishing. Out on the water, fishing hard, for hours on end, for days at a time.

And not catching anything.

My recent (current?) slump started precisely when I released my second Atlantic salmon ever. Which happened approximately 15 minutes after I released my first Atlantic salmon ever. I was feeling pretty good about myself (you can read about it here).

Two days later, I was back at it again.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Hours go by, but, hey, this worked the other day. I did my homework. There were fish around, too; they were jumping throughout the run & the pool. A tug! Damn, it didn't take. Oh well, there's fish around, though!

This is the first stage of slumps: overconfidence, bordering on delusion. It's almost karma that a slump is starting.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Days go by. Changed flies. Changed leaders. Changed spools. Adjusted speed of swing. Started dead-drifting bombers. Flies are changed more frequently. Back to swinging.

Slump, stage two: self-doubt.

Cast. Mend. Swing. Step. Repeat.

Rain for a couple days didn't stop me, nor did the high water from the rain. But it slowed me down. And I started swearing.

The fish are still jumping, though. All over the place.

Stage three: annoyance

Cast (casts start falling apart).

Mend (and mend and mend and mend...and yank the fly out of the fish's mouth).

Swear (did I mention I'm now swearing aloud, and fishing by myself? Great for tourism...).

Swing (fly's hung up on a boulder...give it a tug...fish comes up with it...the fly comes loose in midair).

Swear (again).

Step (and slip).

Swear (again),

Repeat (for 12 out of 15 days).

Stage four: anger & self-loathing.

********

Based on numerous experiences, in life and in fishing, firsthand or secondhand, the following are possible outcomes from here:

• the slumping angler finally catches his fish, and falls to his knees sobbing with tears of joy & elation;
• the slumping angler tells off all the Atlantic salmon (and, inadvertently, the two elderly anglers) within earshot, and goes fly fishing for smallmouth;
• the slumping angler, in a moment of frustration, purposely makes his Helios rod from a 4-piece rod to a 12-piece rod;
• the slumping angler, tired of seeing photos of fish in magazines, books a flight, hotel & guide in New Orleans for sight fishing for redfish.

Wanna guess what two-and-a-half out of four outcomes I've done?
(hint: I don't own an Orvis rod).

********

This is the part that might lose me a few fans...well, I don't have any fans, but it'll probably cause a few people to think of me differently.

The following are things I hold to be true, and they tie in quite well with slumps:

"Well, you know...it's just being out there, enjoying the fresh air and nature and stuff...."

Bollocks.

If I wanted to just enjoy fresh air and nature and "stuff," I would own a backpack and a pair of hiking boots, and that's it. Or maybe a bicycle. Or maybe I'd go sit on a park bench with some breadcrumbs for birds.

I would not own a 3-weight, a 5-weight, a 6-weight, an 8-weight (4-piece), an 8-weight (5-piece), an 8-weight (2-piece fiberglass), a 10-weight, and a 12-weight. I would not be standing privates-deep in 50°F water in the rain in 25mph wind gusts. I would not be collecting Aeroplan & Alaska Air points like some sicko hoarder from reality television for future fishing adventures & schemes.

I do this because the pulse of energy, transmitted from leader to line to rod to me, when a fish takes my fly, is my crack-cocaine.

I fish to catch fish. It's what I live for (now).

And then I let them go. All of them.

"You know what they say: a bad day fishin' is better than the best day at work!"

I say this one myself sometimes. For me, it's largely true: I'd rather fish and get skunked than be at work.

But when it's howling wind, sideways rain, four or five degrees above freezing, and there's a better shot of not catching a fish than catching one...add in waking up at 4AM, spending over $100 on gas (and $35 on beef jerky?!) in three days, arguing with your girlfriend about fishing, losing flies, and chipping your windshield....

...maybe it's just better for you to go to work.

"10% of the anglers catch 90% of this fish."

I don't know if this is true or not.

If it is, I want to be in that 10%. Honestly, I want to be even better than that.

I'm not there...yet. But I'm trying my damnedest by learning one or two new things to help me reach that goal each day.

It's just this effin' slump is getting in my way.

"You can't catch anything without a hook in the water."

Yup.

That's why I go fishing in howling wind, sideways rain, when it's four or five degrees above freezing, and there's a better shot of not catching a fish than catching one. And why I don't mind waking up at 4AM, spending over $100 on gas and $35 on beef jerky in three days; and I deal with arguing with my girlfriend about fishing, losing flies, and chipping my windshield....

Musical Interlude (again)

Time/Date: 1210 AST, 09-Sep-11
Location: HOME!

I made it home.

I'm excited about this; it's five weeks off. In the best part of the season for Atlantic Salmon...and smallies, stripers and muskie...oh my!

I'll have some fishy content next week after I take a few days to win back the love of my girlfriend & Awesome the dog.

My new furled leader, fly box, and a couple books were waiting for me when I returned home. Notes about using/reading them will be included in this so-called fishy content I speak of.

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend. I'm going to Lava Vodka Lounge & seeing Bedouin Soundclash tonight.

Here's some music. Definitely NOT Bedouin Soundclash. Enjoy!

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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.

********
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)

********
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.

********

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.

********
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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(Another) All-Encompassing Blog Post

Time/Date: 1515 AST, 11-Aug-11
Location: Fredericton

This one's gonna cover a lot of bases, so let's get started.

First up, a recap of the mini-odyssey.

Wednesday/Thursday: drove into the New Brunswick wilds, 50 km down dirt logging roads to catch monster trout & salmon.

We caught neither. A few salmon parr and a few trout, the largest for me being 11". Biggest trout of the trip was about 17". Lots of fishing, lots of rain.

Humble abode of night #1

What my buddy Steve refers to as his bear burrito

The five-star kitchen area

Makeshift storage locker

Thursday evening I spent at my folks' place, where I ate. And ate. And ate some more. Herb & garlic cheese rolls, heated with butter. Pasta. Cookies. Cake. Brilliance.

While there, I started some heavy-duty research into my next leg of the mini-odyssey: I flipped a coin. Heads: Gaspe, Quebec for Atlantic salmon; Tails: Fundy short of Nova Scotia for stripers. Oh, the joys of having a full quiver of 5wt, 6wt, 8wt & 10wt rods traveling with you.

Tails it was, so off to Nova Scotia for some striped bass dreams (delusions). With a loaf of fresh banana bread & a bag of chocolate chip cookies, courtesy of Mom.

I fished the incoming/outgoing tide on Friday night. I fished the incoming/outgoing tide Saturday morning. Same for Saturday evening. And on Sunday morning. And again on Sunday evening.

Finally, while on my last legs on Sunday night, in piss-pouring rain, with a Clouser that was also on its last legs, it happened. I hooked and landed my first striped bass on the fly rod.

It was 14" long.

I awoke to strong winds and a torrential downpour at 5AM Monday (I actually woke up because if it). My tent was half-floating, and run-off was visibly flowing by the door of the tent. I planned to fish, but decided enough was enough. I hit the road home.

All total, I camped out 4 of 5 nights, bought only one "meal" at a restaurant (egg mcmuffins on Monday morning on the drive), drove over 1300km and fished over 40 hours for a bunch of fish where the two biggest totaled twenty-five inches.

I'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

Camp Striper, right on the seashore

8- & 10-weights, locked & loaded

Sunset at Camp Striper

Dawn Patrol

Due to the early departure from Camp Striper, I planned on scouting a rumored smallie hotspot on the drive home; however, a few flashes of lightning as I approached the turn off for it scuttled that plan pretty quick. I'm not sure if carbon fiber rods conduct electricity or not, but I didn't really feel like finding out. So no fishing on Monday.

Tuesday I was back at it, with a few 10-14" smallies caught, but H-core fishing was being interrupted by numerous kayakers and unleashed dogs & kids (yes, unleashed kids) going through the spot I was fishing. It became quite apparent that "urban angling" is a relatively unheard of phenomenon here.

(Side note: a kid throwing a rock into where you're fishing is kinda cute & funny the first, and maybe the second, time it happens. When it happens 5-6 times in a summer, I'm tempted to launch a 1/0 Clouser in the direction of the parents. Just sayin'.)

Wednesday was wet & miserable. I drove some coffee & donuts out to the shale gas protesters blockading the road (this blocking the seismic trucks from their exploration targets) and ended up donating a tarp to the cause to help keep them out of the rain. That deed done, I went fishing.

I decided to try out a new spot, Just upriver of one of my usual haunts for smallmouth. I looked at about five square feet of a foamy back-eddy, and thought to myself, "There has to be a bass in there."

All I gotta say, karma can really rock sometime. There was a bass in there. A big-ass bass.

So now I'm done fishing for another three weeks. Packing fishing gear away and packing work gear into my duffel bag.

*********
This weekend is FredRock. If you're in the area, I can't stress how much fun it's gonna be, so go check it out. Click here for more info.

I'm terribly sorry to be missing it (again) this year, but c'est la vie. Small-term sacrifices for long-term gains.

Here's a tune from Sam Roberts Band, the headlining act. I find it semi-appropriate as a post-mini-odyssey tune.

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