All the other stuff

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24
Jul 14

Patagonia has a fly fishing blog

Did you know Patagonia has a fly fishing blog? I think I saw something like that, but forgot about it just as quickly (I have a 7 month old and I forget LOTS of things rather quickly these days).

I’m a fan of Patagonia. I like the ethic of the company, if not the price of the gear. I know you pay for quality and they certainly stand behind their products to the nth degree. Money plopped down on Patagonia gear is usually worth the investment, but it is still painful.

I’ve long been a fan of Yvon Chouinard and I’ve met a few other Patagonians over the years, good folks all.

Glad to see a little love directed toward fly fishing specifically. I know the roots of the company are in climbing, but sometimes it seems all I see from them is climbing and some form of extreme winter sport. I ski, infrequently and not to an extreme. I don’t climb, except to climb over a rock in a river or down a steep bank. I don’t consider fly fishing extreme, but I’m glad Patagonia is giving it the love it deserves anyway.

I would like to work for Patagonia… just say’n.

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08
Jul 14

What is a day worth?

I have a friend heading to Grand Bahama for his honeymoon. He a guide here in CA, so he’s looking to get a day of fishing in and is shopping the indie guide scene.

He found one “Captain,” who I have it on good authority doesn’t himself guide and sends hapless Americans out with local lobstermen who have no idea how to guide on the flats for bonefish. He reached out to a lodge who offered a day rate and got a quote of $650.

Now… $650 sounds a bit high for me. I know guide days vary a lot from location to location and still the most expensive guide day I’ve heard of in the Caribbean is about $850 (Turks & Caicos), but this still seems about $100 too much to me.

I think we paid Sam Taylor either $500 or $550. When I first went with Captain Perry I think he was $450, but that was a few years ago.

What are you paying for a day of guiding (not a lodge day, just an indie guide) on which islands?

Dad and Sam on the flats of Grand Bahama

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04
Jul 14

Aquatic Fireworks

I can think of little with the explosive potential of the GT… so… Happy 4th of July.

http://youtu.be/NBSF8lWxRpM

Good way to see them, but let’s not chum.

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30
Jun 14

The add-ons

I love bonefish. I think that is pretty clearly understood. I love fishing for them and being where they live and I’ve been fortunate enough to do some of it.

What has been a little surprising are all the other things I’ve come to love which come along with bonefishing. I’ve come to really love the sharks and rays and cuda. I’ve been surprised at how much I love fishing for tarpon, how much I love the humble jack.

I’ve come to love lobster and cracked conch and the Bahamian mac and cheese.

I love Kalik and Sands and Belekin, although probably more for the location than the taste.

What are the add-ons that you’ve come to love about bonefishing?

Just a cool environment.

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23
Jun 14

Grand Slam from 2010

I was getting out of my car at work today and I noticed my grand slam pin, given to me at El Pescador in Belize on the occasion of my grand slam. I still think about that magical day, the day it all came together. The permit was tiny, the tarpon was a baby, but it all counted just the same.

How many of you have managed to get a grand slam and where did you do it?

And a tarpon makes three.

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15
Jun 14

My first fishing guide

It is Father’s Day today, so I need to say “Happy Father’s Day” to my dad.

Dad and Sam on the flats of Grand Bahama

My mom used to say parents are a child’s first teacher. That is true. It is also true, in most cases, to say that a Dad is a child’s first fishing guide.

Dad on the Metolius

My dad is the guy who got me interested in fishing. He did it in such a way that I craved the experience and never felt pushed into it. I don’t know how he did that, but he did. It didn’t work on my brother, but for me, it stuck.

My dad mostly took me steelheading and shad fishing as a kid, but I started out with a worm on a hook and some willing pan fish in a little creek he knew as a boy. I have fond memories of orange soda (for luck) and those little fish.

There was a lot of “Keep the rod tip up” and “Reel in the slack!” in those days and there was some early success, which seems to matter a lot.

Later, my dad got me into fly fishing by getting me a day with a guide, thinking it was something I might enjoy. That act changed my life, giving me a new passion which I’ve chased in mountain streams and ocean flats. I am a fisherman, not just a man who fishes. A passion is a fantastic gift to give a child and my dad gave me that passion, sprinkled with lots of opportunities to be on the water and to spend time together.

Here’s to you dad.

I strive to be that dad. I hope you both had that dad yourselves, or work to be that dad in your own life.

My dad pulled out the cast of his lifetime to get this pretty fantastic mutton snapper.

Happy Father’s Day!

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09
Jun 14

Things I love about the Bahamas

When I think of the Bahamas, I think about fishing, sure, but I also think about Kalik and Conch. Conch is not one of those things you can get just anywhere. That is saying something in this day and age. You can get a Starbucks Latte in Nassau. You can get Pizza Hut and KFC in Freeport. But Conch… sure, you can get it in the Keys, but you don’t find it on menus in California.

If you have some Conch hanging around though… here’s how you make some fritters.

Goodness from Long Island.

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04
Jun 14

Finding Nature

I was in the car driving my daughter to school. I looked up at the hills on the east side of the Bay. The thought occurred that the mountains didn’t look too dissimilar to the mountains along the Madison in Montana. Of course, there was all this development and a few million people down at the base of these hills/mountains while in Montana there is none of that and a great river running through the valley.

I thought about all the wildlife in MT and the lack of it here and I asked my daughter if she had ever seen a bear in the wild. She had not. This was a bit of a shock to me. I grew up seeing a few bears every year. They were along the Klamath, they were along the highway, they were in neighbors’ and friends’ back yards. I grew up in the mountains of Northern California and while we didn’t have the elk and pronghorn of MT, we did have a fair bit of wilderness around.

My daughter has seen sharks in the wild, and barracuda and crocodiles, things I didn’t see until I was much older, but it I couldn’t’ help but think I needed to get her outside more, and my son as well (although he is only 5 months).

No one else is going to take your kids out to see nature.

I’ve got some trips to plan.

The girl and her shark.

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26
May 14

For Memorial Day – a book recommendation

I am not a soldier. I can’t talk personally of the sacrifices of those who have served, as they have not been my sacrifices. I’m thankful for them, but I do not know them personally.

I have an interest (and degree) in history, so I have sought out books on military histories, both of the generals and the soldiers. One of the best books I’ve ever read is about Afghanistan, written by Jack Tapper.

The book is “The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.”

Read this.

It is one of the most powerful accounts of war I’ve ever read and sheds light on the challenges our troops have faced in this war, now the longest in American history.

I suggest you get it and read or listen to it. I may just give you a sense of appreciation for what has happened over there, so far away and so little commented on.

I’d also like to say “Thank you” to those who have served and continue to serve this nation I call home.

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19
May 14

Always prepared… the Fly Fishing Merit Badge

I was a Scout. I was not a good one, but I was a Scout. I don’t recall what I was interested in back then, but it was probably keeping other kids from knowing I was a Scout. I’m not sure why I thought it was so un-cool, especially since I was pretty un-cool anyway, so how would I have even known?

Some serious first aid merit being done there by my brother.

Today, you lucky kids, there actually is a Fly Fishing Merit Badge. I’m not sure why the first thing the kids have to do is go through all the various ways you could get hurt fly fishing and all the ways you have to treat said maladies, but that happens to be the first step in the process.

1. Explain to his counselor the injuries that could occur while fly-fishing and the proper treatment, including cuts, scratches, puncture wounds, insect bites, hypothermia, dehydration, and heat reactions.(How about barracuda or shark bits? Rattle snake bites? Drowning? Allergic reaction to native plants? Getting abducted by narco-terrorists?) Explain how to remove a hook that has lodged in your arm. (Your ARM? How about your ear? The back of your head? Your eye-lid? Your friend’s eye-lid?) Name and explain five safety practices you should always follow while fly-fishing. (Um… there are safety practices? The best I can think of would be, 1. Use a wading staff in swift rivers. 2. Use a wading belt any time you are wearing waders. 3. Don’t bite your tippet, unless you want to break a tooth at some point. 4. Wear a lot of sun screen and generally cover yourself to reduce sun exposure. and 5. Make sure you carry a bottle opener in your pack so you don’t break the beer bottle while trying to get at your refreshingly cold beer.)

> 9. Explain what good outdoor sportsmanlike behavior is and how it relates to fishermen. (More than a few folks could re-learn this bit.) Tell how the Outdoor Code of the Boy Scouts of America relates to a fishing enthusiast, including the aspects of littering, trespassing, courteous behavior, and obeying fishing regulations. (Yes kids. Never trespass… but sometimes… well… as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone…)

> 10. Using the fly-fishing techniques he has learned, catch two different kinds of fish and identify them. Release at least one of them unharmed. Clean and cook another fish. (So… no dice for the pure C&R kid. You NEED to kill and eat the fish to be a real angler?)

All said, it seems like a fine program and I hope they have luck getting a few more kids into the sport. I also hope, one day, they let people like my brother back into the Scouts. He is currently barred from taking an active role in the Scouts, while they would take me willingly. He was an Eagle Scout and I was a Disinterested Scout. Go figure.

Bonefish on the Brain Bonefish and all that relates (maybe a bit about tarpon too).