A First Before the First

i finally got to go out and fish an area that i heard many good things about.  the temperature was in the mid-60s, and by the time i arrived at 11 AM, there were a bunch of guys already there, some with light spinning rods, and some with fly rods.  everyone i met was incredibly nice and helpful, freely offering me tips and useful information.  it's pretty amazing how gracious and affable people are when you leave the northeast. 

most of those people were there to catch the recently stocked, 8-10" rainbow trout or the plentiful blue catfish.  i, other the other hand, was on a different mission.  i was after carp.  common, mirror, buffalo, whatever.

i left the crowds of people fishing the same holes and ventured further away, finally getting to an isolated area that contained a large, deep pool, and a couple of close-by sand bars.  i climbed the steep hill nearby for a better look, and i could spot some bass and several rainbows.  there were also two pods of large, slow moving carp, altogether about 10-12 fish.  there was one that might have been 20 lbs, but hard to tell at a distance.  i realized immediately that only a few of them moved as if they were feeding.  good thing i watched Mr. P's video recently.



anyways, i snuck up on the fish, cast to them in 3 feet of crystal clear water, and i'm proud to say that i caught my first buffalo carp on a fly.

i used a 5wt rod, and the fly i used was Roughfisher's Carp Crack that I tied in my custom rust color dubbing.

Close Encounter of the Bird Kind

okay, so i stole out to a couple of local ponds in the area to do some Christmas fishing.  our family decided we were going to do the white elephant Christmas gift exchange, and i had about 1.5 hours to kill beforehand.   i had read that these ponds were good places for carp or LMB, but as i came to the second pond, i have to admit, i freaked out a bit.  as i arrived, a bunch of different birds were going crazy,  flying around, chirping up a storm.  it actually reminded me of how bait scatters when stripers or blues are around.  then i saw it... an enormous hawk.  it was stalking these birds and they were signalling each other.

then the hawk swooped down and i got a good look as to how big it was.  i swear, the wingspan must have been at least 6 feet.  i then thought, given the size, it must be an owl or something. but as i got a good look...it was a hawk.  the thing was big enough that i thought that, no problem, this thing could take me out easily.  i got freaked out and blew out of there.  i know it wouldn't harm me, but holy cow, that thing is a predator.

Norman's Crab

awesomeness.  as his follow up to his description of Norman's Crab fly on his website, Fisherman's Coast, the Flats Doctor himself, Aaron Adams, has posted a video showing how to tie the fly! what better way to spend the holidays than to tie up some bonefish flies!  or maybe tie some up as a stocking stuffer!

Norman's Crab from Aaron Adams on Vimeo.

XXA's Top 5 Videos of 2011

1.


DIY Bonefish from Mr. Erdosy on Vimeo.

2.


BULLS ON TOP from SHALLOW WATER EXPEDITIONS on Vimeo.

3.


AMIRANTE TAILS, Fly Fishing in the Seychelles for GT, Permit, and Bluefin Trevally from Castaway Films on Vimeo.

4.


MOTIV Fishing - GEOFISH Drake Fest Submission from MOTIV FISHING on Vimeo

5.




and a runner up!

DIY Bonefishing

so, hands down, the guys at This River is Wild have it figured out.  holy moly, i want their lives.  their "A Taste of a Dream" trips make me drool like i just came back from the dentist.  this video is definitely in my top 5 best videos of 2011. no other video has made me want to quit my job and do what they do.


DIY Bonefish from Mr. Erdosy on Vimeo.

they also went through a lot of trouble not to reveal where they were at.  good idea, because every guy dreaming of catching bonefish without paying up the wazoo for a guide will want to go there next year.  well, i scoured the internet for some 'off the beaten path' destination where one could camp and DIY bonefish.  i quickly realized this was a futile attempt from the start.  if it is on the internet, it won't be 'off the beaten path'.  all the easy DIY bonefish spots are pretty well written about, and therefore already over fished.  particularly in the Bahamas or the Keys.  i went to Eleuthera a couple of years ago, and every flat i went, there were a few anglers already there.

so, my next logical thought was to research a bonefishing destination that wasn't on everyone's top 5 destinations list.  i came up with the British Virgin Islands.  Here are a couple of useful links.

BVI on the Fly

Top 10 Flats in the BVI

 

Freedom Hawk Rigging

like all of you, my new years resolution is to spend more time on the water fishing.  last year, i purchased a Freedom Hawk 12 in order to give me more access to fishing areas.  around where i live, it's either shore fishing on the LIS, or a few public freshwater ponds that are heavily fished.  all other salt or freshwater access areas are privately owned.










unfortunately, i should have waited and purchased the Freedom Hawk Pathfinder, which is probably more suited to the majority of fishing i do: inshore, saltwater fly fishing. 



the Freedom Hawk kayak is ideal for stand up sight fishing ,and perfect for any sort of flats fishing as the hull is pretty flat.  unfortunately, that means that it is dreadfully slow.  i'm a pretty novice kayaker so i'm sure my paddling technique is affecting my speed, but come on!  i used to row crew, and i have a pretty good idea of what it takes to get efficient paddling (i.e. how the paddle should enter and exit the water).  so chasing blitzing fish and birds can be somewhat frustrating because by the time i get to where i want to be, the fish and birds have moved on. i thought about getting a Hobie Pro Angler or Native Ultimate Propel 12 kayak with built in pedals, but that can provide additional headaches when it comes to fly line management.  plus, i wanted a kayak that was built for stand up fishing.

i also thought about getting a Diablo SUP, but opted for the Freedom Hawk because of the built-in, support bar.  being able to lean up against this bar for balance has been invaluable.  the LIS can get a bit choppy and there have been countless times i would have fell in the 60 degree water if it wasn't for the bar.  in retrospect, i should have purchased the 14' model instead of the 12' because i could definitely use the extra glide and stability.  

the Freedom Hawk 12 model has an attachment where you can mount a trolling motor.  that's a great feature, but the amount of maximum thrust is 30-40, which is slightly less that i would want for the LIS.  

anyways, i'm brainstorming ideas for how to rig up the kayak.  i'm thinking about getting a LineLair Fly Line Stripping Mat so i don't have to worry about my fly line getting everywhere and not take up too much room/weight on the deck.  

 

anybody have any good ideas as to how to rig my kayak?

Conway's Pinky

so i watched Conway Bowman's Fly Fishing the World show on the Sportsman Channel last night.  this episode was on flats/sight fishing for monster carp near Michigan's Beaver Island.





i had two major revelations while watching the show.  first...i want to go to there.  

second, i realized how important the pinky finger can be.  after googling the primary purpose of the pinky finger, i discovered that in addition to just balancing the hand, it is important for having a strong grip, perhaps more than any other finger other than the thumb.  so, the pinky has to be important for fishing, but what about the non-fishing related reasons the pinky finger is so important?

if we didn't have a pinky, we would be cartoonish.
 

if we wanted to take over the world, we need a dominant pinky finger.


if we don't want to appear effeminate, we need to utilize the pinky finger.  link


if we don't use the pinky finger, we can appear outdated.


the key to the pinky finger is to use it in combination with other fingers.  the pinky combined with the index finger = i rock / you rock / keep rockin'


the pinky finger combined with the thumb implies a surfer's laid back, fun loving, adventure seeking perspective.  but without the pinky, a 'hang loose' is just another 'thumbs up'.













Conway, i loved seeing the 'hang loose' on the show!