Andy Dear - Sunday, May 31, 2020
To the San Antonio River Authority, it's known as The Paritas Creek Dam on the Calavera Lake Watershed. On Google Earth, it's identified as Soil Conservation Service Site #10. To us, it was simply Boots Stuart's lake.
Viking Lars - Saturday, May 30, 2020
Orange Terror is the name of a fly that was high (and I mean highly) succesful on the end of the leader of its creator, Niels Jørgen Plougman. Niels Jørgen and I fished and tied flies together many years ago, and with this fly, Niels Jørgen would pull out 2-3-4 sea trout for every one to two I caught. And reluctantly I’d switch over. Reluctantly because I really think the fly’s horrible and I was (and am) always keen to catch fish in flies that looks somewhat like what I think the fish are feeding on.
Martyn White - Friday, May 29, 2020
My 2 fishing trips since the rules were clarified haven't been great, partly because I was too excited to get back on the water and partly because of other factors. First day out I decided to go to a river that holds nice smallmouth with Hiromiki - who I'm starting to think might be my Jonah. It's a tough river, but has regularly produced fish in the 22-23 inch range for me over the last few seasons. Conditions were great and I was feeling pretty good about things. Unfortunately, after covering a couple of hundred metres of river we rounded a bend to see a coffer dam and an excavator working away, and turning the water the colour of chocolate milk. Bugger.
Tracy&James - Thursday, May 28, 2020
I must admit that, given the current situation here in Wales, getting the inspiration to write a front page is tough work. I could compose a decent comparison of the wine selection of our local Co-Op store verses Aldi – getting to both involves a walk down the river, Aldi being a substantially longer trek that is a good 2 hour round trip. As it is, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by Aldi – their organic Pinot Grigio is a particular favourite and the Reisling is very quaffable. I’m perhaps not so keen on their red wines but I’m sure I’ll find a good one as I work through the various offerings. Oh, I should mention that their bourbon is pretty good too. But this isn’t particularly fishy or casting related.
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Two and a half years ago I released a fine pike of 96cm in a small lake near my home. Since then my friend Hansi and I were fishing that lake many times without catching that one pike again. Of course we were wondering if that pike was still in there!?
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, May 26, 2020
When I grew up here in South Florida as a child, among other reasons, the end of May was always on my radar. For one reason, it was the time of year when school was concluded and summer vacation began. The exasperating thing was that it is also the time of year when South Florida commonly experienced a miniature version of a monsoon. Summer, the “wet” season as it became to be called, always seemed to start out with a bang. A few weeks of continuous rain was almost guaranteed.
Paul Arden - Monday, May 25, 2020
I was approached last year to see if I would be willing to assist the Orang Asli community in creating a fly fishing project, to generate jobs for the Orang Asli and an income for the local village, while both preserving and enhancing the local Mahseer fishing. So I paid a visit to the river at the end of last year, and explored it with my Gerik neighbour and good friend, Fong, along with the couple of local village anglers. And it’s a very interesting river! Quite beautiful and full of a small and healthy Mahseer population, that have returned after being virtually wiped up and the river being closed since 2015. There are in fact at least two species of Mahseer in the river as well as some large predatory Jungle Perch that hunt in packs.
Andy Dear - Sunday, May 24, 2020
" I am convinced that the essence of fishing is drawn from memory. I've thought about this a great deal. Why does this sport...if that's what it is, never get old like we do. Why do we still get excited about it, when so many other things in our lives have become predictable. I think it's because we remember when we fish. Not stories necessarily, but feelings, thrills that reside in our emotional memory bank. When we come out here we push certain buttons and the years begin falling away like coppery autumn leaves on the surface of the water, and we are children all over again for a little while. " ---Flip Pallot
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, May 22, 2020
Hello, it is Donald Duck again, at least own life Donald Duck. That is how kids call me. I wonder if reason is that things just seems to happen to me. Last week I wrote about how I sunk snowmobile and we started to renew one room. Well, on Sunday something happen and….. our water heater started to leak. It was coming to end of its road. So I had to get new one and do some extra things around that. We were few days without hot water so we had to use pots to get some. Yesterday everything was fixed and everything is more or less normal. Jippiii…
Tracy&James - Thursday, May 21, 2020
Well the fishing in Wales has re-opened, or has it? To be honest I have no idea what’s going on. The Welsh Assembly, the devolved government of Wales, have said fishing is an acceptable past time. At the same time the country is still in lockdown as the infection rate is still peaking, I guess a few weeks behind England because of geography and population density differences. As such, the initial lifting of the fishing ‘ban’ didn’t really make much difference as you weren’t allowed to go anywhere in your car. From what I have read on the internet, the Angling Trust then got involved and pointed out to the Welsh Assembly that transporting fishing tackle on foot is totally impractical for most people. The Welsh Assembly were subsequently persuaded that allowing driving was the only way to get people out fishing, and issued another communication saying that it was now allowable to drive to a local fishery. So we’re all good then – well apparently not.
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Right now it's 6am and I am about to sit in a chair next to a small canal waiting for one specific large asp to hunt down some small baitfish. He shows up hunting every morning as do I sitting next his home and waiting for a 1 minute chance to catch him!
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, May 19, 2020
As in those that drastic times call for! It almost seems like the universe has been trying to keep me from fishing. And, doing a pretty good job of it, I might add. Of course, COVID was a big player in the game.
Paul Arden - Monday, May 18, 2020
I’ve been friends with Stu Tripney for close to fifteen years. We first met when I was training those in New Zealand interested in becoming fly fishing instructors and taking the FFF CCI exams. I trained Stu, Carl McNeil, Ronan and Chris Dore for what would be the first wave of certified instructors. They were examined by Tom Jindra who was fly fishing around NZ at the time - I took Tom 4x4ing into a river, that must have been quite an adventure for him! He caught a super fish while there too :)
Andy Dear - Sunday, May 17, 2020
Years ago, I was having a conversation over a glass of Bourbon with my cousin John Talley, regarding his opinion on an upcoming pistol purchase I was about to make. John was an extremely knowledgeable firearms enthusiast with an insatiable taste for pre-1964 Model 70 Winchester, and Finnish made Sako rifles...a social condition which I myself share with my good cousin. John was also a fine gunsmith, and a talented long-range marksman, so it was only natural that when I had a firearm related question I couldn't answer myself, I would call on him, As we discussed the pros and cons of various brands and calibers, I happened to mention the popular brand of GLOCK. John's face kind of scrunched up, as if he had encountered an unpleasant aroma in the room. When I asked him, "why the disdain for GLOCK pistols?", he looked me dead in the eye and said: "because they have no soul".
Viking Lars - Saturday, May 16, 2020
The day has come - I know you’ve all been waiting and holding your breath (you can release it now). Last Friday the Semperfli Killer Bug substitute-yarn arrived in the mail box, and I sat down last night and whipped up a handful of Killer Bugs using the new yarn. Considering the prices the original Chadwick’s no. 477 is going for on eBay, I was hoping there was reality behind the words Semperfli has on the label: “The closest match to the original on the market.”
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, May 15, 2020
Last week we decided that we will renew one of our room. We call it back room, but it is kind of guest/kid/drying/work cloth/flytying room, depending who is using it. Before we could start I had to made some room in garage, means sort and clean up. Well it was about time anyway. We have lived here now 5 years and some of moving boxes are still unpacked.
Tracy&James - Thursday, May 14, 2020
Well I’ve finally cracked and started using the strip of mown grass opposite my house for casting practice. Since moving back to Wales I’ve avoided using this common area as it’s in full view of my neighbours and, quite frankly, I’ve felt a bit self-conscious about using it for throwing fly lines about. However the Covid-19 lockdown has forced me to re-evaluate things; perhaps some initial embarrassment of having to explain why I was fishing on the grass and not in the river 200 metres away was worth it. As things have turned out no-one has batted an eyelid – perhaps by now they’re used to stuff getting a bit weird.
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, May 13, 2020
It's wobbling, rotating, jigging, wiggling and rattling. 5 reasons why it can't be a fly, right!?
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, May 12, 2020
When other people have gotten sick, or died, or someone in their family has, or they know someone who has, or they have lost their job and all that might entail, it feels really small to complain about not being able to go fishing! So, I won’t. Lets hope we all, and everybody else, comes out of this with the least amount of damage. Maybe those of us that survive will learn something about ourselves, and maybe even gain a new perspective on so many things that we might have taken for granted. Yes… let us hope.
Paul Arden - Monday, May 11, 2020
Since our original mahseer stealth shirt was designed some three years ago, we have added a few more fish and design options. Last year I added a rainbow trout photo that was kindly donated by my good friend Aitor Coteron, and today, for the first time, you can see the addition of a brown trout (this was one of Ronan's underwater shots - and actually a very large fish!!). We changed the colours slightly (the fish appeared green!) and added a few red spots from another fish (because Richard, who was really after a brown trout shirt, said that the red dots were his favourite part!).
Andy Dear - Sunday, May 10, 2020
Last week Jack and I took our second trip down the Guadalupe in as many weeks. Although the river is a few inches low, the river bottom is almost unrecognizable from what it was in 2019. The entire ecosystem is now teeming with life!
Viking Lars - Saturday, May 9, 2020
Is there anything better than tipping over the super glue, or the varnish bottle, just when you’re finishing a fly? Well, yes - pretty much everything… I’ve done it a few times, but thankfully never really ruined anything of value.
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, May 8, 2020
During the last weekend some things were happening. Most important was that we had some rain and warm (+5 celcius) reach us. That meant that snow started to go away, not all still. Last week we had about 100 cm and now it is only about 60 cm left. Still too much that we could sent reindeer on their summer fielding area but yes maybe after all summer is coming. And fishing season also.
Martyn White - Thursday, May 7, 2020
I'm going mad here with the lockdown. I've been trying to keep busy of course, making daily fly tying videos, home workouts, cleaning/maintaining gear and pickling stuff... I've even started baking bread, which is a bit of a mixed blessing as it tastes much better than the shite that passes for bread in Japanese bakeries, but we're nearly getting through a loaf a day!
Bernd Ziesche - Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Since travelling for fly fishing in Germany still is under quarantine, I am enjoying to fish for all species of fish available in my hometown. Not much big fish usually, but still a lot to learn!
Gary Meyer - Tuesday, May 5, 2020
It had been a long week at work, which was really no different than a normal week at work, but it sure felt different. The difference being I had to attend all week unlike previous ones when I was out periodically for “scheduled distancing”. It is funny how easy it is to get out of the normal rhythm. In any case, by the end of the week I was pretty much beat. It turned out that my presence was not due to an emergency; it was just back to the norm. So, I met my usual requirements and tied up some loose ends. It was rather boring compared to some stuff of late, but it was tiring just the same. I expect it is also an age thing.
Paul Arden - Monday, May 4, 2020
As many of you will recall Stu Tripney visited me in the jungle, for an extended Snakehead and Gourami visit, the summer before last. While he was here, over campfires, Stu talked about writing a book, or indeed many books. Now everyone talks about writing a book, but in Stu’s case he has actually since written it and “Jungle Blues” is due out very soon!
Andy Dear - Sunday, May 3, 2020
Last month Viking Lars wrote a couple of Front Pages where he detailed his fascination with knives and leather work. I have shared the same social condition as Lars since 2015 when I started making knives and experimenting with leather work as well, and I can attest to how satisfying it is to have the ability to make such a wide variety of outdoor implements.
Viking Lars - Saturday, May 2, 2020
When it comes to connecting your leader to your fly line, there are several methods. There’s the now common loop-tp-loop, which has been widely accepted since fly line manufacturers began making small, slim loops (even if you can still makke them smaller, slimmer and probably even stronger yourself - maybe that’s one for another FP). Then there’s the Nail Knot and the Needle Knot (with the only difference being that you insert the leaders through the core of the fly line in the Needle Knot - on the Nail Knot, everthing is tied “on the side” of the fly line). In my fishing, all I use are loop-to-loop connections and Nail/Needle Knots.
Mika Lappalainen - Friday, May 1, 2020
People hook fish and they yell rock’n’roll. I have never get it. Or maybe somehow I understand it, when you have big fish it is like rock and roll but…. still I would say it it more like tango. Your partner is fish, you can’t force it but you have to seduce like in tango. Of course in some point it will be like rock but with that you never net fish in the end. But I started to think otherway.