Catch Mag.

I saw this on Dave Wiltshire's blog and I gotta share.


Catch Magazine

I've been there before but thoroughly enjoyed it this go round.

If you are a fan of photography or fishing, this should do you right. This is a combo of the two and greatly done. Next issue will be out May 1st.

Fishing Addiction or Somethin.

Oh by the way, I wanna go fishin'.

Like I really neeeeed to go fishin'.

I haven't been fishin' in so long that I forgot what it's like.

Ok that last sentence was a lie but really...

I gotta go soon.

Is that too much to ask for?

I don't care if I lose all my flies.

I just wanna go fishin'.

I don't care if it rains.

I just wanna go fishin'.

I don't care where I go.

I don't care what I catch.

1 week till I'm done with school and then...

I can go fishin' anytime I want!! YES!!

Royal Wulff

It's been raining here for about a day or so, maybe more I can't remember. The rain storm from the Rockies is supposed to head this direction and get here tomorrow night sometime. I've got 1 week of school left. I've got a few more pages left on this research paper and I'm done. Just another week and I can go fishin'. Expect a fishing report soon.

I've been working on these Royal Wulff's. I don't have enough money to buy any brown hackle so I'm using what I have. I've had a few tutorials and 'lessons' from one of the best, if not the best dry fly tier in the world and I'm coming along slowly. He says that the Royal Wulff is in his opinion the fly that teaches you the most. So I heeded his advice and have tied up quite a few. I'm nowhere near his level but it takes practice. I'm posting up the one's I have tied this week. A bad day at tying beats the heck out of working on a research paper. Once the verdict comes back, I'll probably destroy the bad ones and keep the good ones. Take the good ones fishing in the next few weeks.

So far I'm having a difficult time getting the post to sit straight up. On all of my flies I seem to have the post pointing too far forward. I also can't seem to get the deer hair to cooperate so I've just settled with the Moose mane. I've also been working on the proportions and the head. Thanks for lookin'.


A little scary...


Gaining some weight in the mid section...


This is a tad better...


Gettin' there...


Definitely not perfect...



Last one...

Gloves for Cold Weather

These wool gloves from Barbour kept my hands warm in Michigan this past fall, nice and dry in mountain rain and even somewhat toasty on a windy 20 degree snowfall morning. This is my second pair. I was so confident in their warmth keeping powers that I gave my last pair to a homeless man on a cold rainy day. Hopefully they kept him warm on the cold windy days here in town...and hopefully many more to come.

I keep these in my fishing bag at all times and wear them anytime it's raining or somewhat chilly outside. With the fingerless style, I can fish easily and the nice thing about these gloves is the fact that they don't have a flap to cover the fingers. I always found that it just gets in the way, line gets hung on the velcro or something else. If it is really cold outside I sometimes put my Patagonia liner gloves underneith but for the most part, these gloves do the job on their own. I'd definitely recommend them for next winter's fishing trips or for some that are in the Rockies...I'd recommend them right now. Haha. They are a great deal at 18 or 19$. You can order them from Orvis and sometimes find them in your local outfitter. I could be mistaken but I believe they only come in Medium and Large and 2 different colors, grey and olive. I have the olive version and they are almost identical. They aren't itchy and they keep you warm. What else could you ask for?

What is the worst thing about these gloves? Well most people think they are ugly and look like a homeless persons glove, which they do. If you have friends that aren't into fishing or hunting, they won't understand, but then again..they probably don't understand anything else you wear either.

India Fishin'

My friend Anand lives in Southern India and came over to visit 2 months ago. He asked me to teach him how to fish and to take him to buy fishing lures. I told him I would try my best as I had never been to India to fish. He also wanted to buy a rod and reel for under 60 dollars. I told him that it was almost impossible to get all of that for under 60 bucks but he is pretty willing. So I took him to all places(fly shops don't have the proper equipment) BPS. We went over there and shopped for a good hour or so. I took him directly to the soft plastics, jig heads and like. He kept asking me what he could catch and how to fish the lures. Then he'd ask me if he could fish sea or whatever and I said, I guess so, I have no idea Anand. It was quite funny as I was just guessing what the fish would take. I grabbed him some jig heads, soft plastic curl tail jigs, plastic worms and a few road runners. After we got all that, he got the rod and reel craze again and we went looking around. I showed him all the expensive stuff to try and steer him clear, hoping he would get something over in India or order online. He also kept saying he would go to Cabelas in Chicago, maybe his sister would buy for him. I said that sounded like a plan. We kept looking though and he liked the telescope rods but they weren't strong enough for what he wanted. He wanted the rod like his friend had...no such thing.

Got home and I had to show him how to tie knots and drawings on how to do so. I also drew him a picture of how to rig the lure onto the hook, the bead and weight(carolina style) for the ocean. Guess it worked.

Anyways I told him that he had to send me some pictures of the fish he caught and he finally sent me some pictures today. He called it a Corp fish and Snakehead. Pretty sure he meant Carp, too bad it ain't a Pink Carp and this is a small, he said 12" Snakehead. Glad my lure choices were good.

Great to spread the love of fishing over to India. Thanks Anand!!

How bout' some Art?

Some boring days here in the Carolina's. I've got 4 papers to finish for school that I'm really not in the mood to work on so I spent some time drawing and since I haven't been fishing in months, I decided to draw some fish, boats and...eyes. Hopefully I'll have some fishing updates, clothing reviews or other things for you in the next few days. In the mean time, have a great weekend.

Wyoming Day Dreaming

Whafeesh!

Thank you so much to all my new veiwers!! All around the world, literally. It means so much to me and it is so wonderful to know that people are reading it in all areas of the world. I'm doing my best to improve my blog weekly so that it is an enjoyment you all. If you have any questions or need anything please send me a message via my blog. Thanks again!

Brawnie

Patagonia Guide Jacket

I could live until I die and never need another jacket but Patagonia got the best of me again with their Guide Jacket. This quality jacket caught my eye at the store, sitting all by itself. I said to myself, it couldn't be my size...and it was. The first time I noticed it, it was regular price. I went back a few weeks later and got it on sale. All in all with the sale and a store gift card I got it at a steal: 75 dollars compared to it's retail price of $175. Well worth it to me. Another piece of clothing that I will most likely own for life. The fit was nice. Good fit in the shoulders, maybe a little tight when arms are crossed but not too bad. For my short stature, the arms were a tad long but I settled with it. It's got a nice soft shell that claimed to be "highly breathable and water resistant." So far the highly breathable has lived up to it's name, the water resistant part not so much. But don't let that stop you from buying. I bought this jacket for daily wear as well as biking and for a layer in my cooler weather fishing arsenal. The bright red isnt' a good color for spooky fish but neither is my yellow hat. It's a super comfortable jacket and I'm glad I purchased it. If you need a comfy, versatile jacket, take a look at the Patagonia Guide Jacket.



It's a regular fit jacket with a short body length, which works well with my height.



The sleeves have a nice velcro strap to keep the water or snow at bay.



The large chest pocket is big enough to hold a good sized fly box, wallet or phone.


Retail Price: $175
FAbric: 92% Polyester, 8% Spandex
Made in Vietnam

Patagonia Guide Jacket

What Lies Ahead

Though I'm not on here much to update, which I hope to change soon, it's exciting to see the visitors to my blog. I'm sorry to those of you who have visited, whether it be once or 20 times. I hope to give you better reading in the not too distant future. I appreciate your views!

Ever since our honeymoon, my wife and I have longed to be out west. It was our first times out there and unfortunately for us we didn't get much of a taste, just a teasing of the palet. We were very fortunate, and I mean very fortunate to have an amazing older couple offer us a trip out to Idaho and spend the time out there as long as we wished on their dime and come to find out later...on their time. We took the offer and spent a week in Idaho Park. I was excited, especially since John took the time to book us a trip in the Box. I spent the entire summer before going, researching the area, excited to fish the streams in and around the Park. If we only knew what lie ahead...