Daily Cast Archive

This week's fly is a nice, simple saltwater pattern that will do a turn on loads of species: the E-Z body sand eel. A excellent fly for the beach that's worth having anywhere sand eel are found, which is a lot of places.

Details >

Tracy and I are now back in Wales recovering after our trip.  My feet still feel like I've just walked off a rocky flat after an eight hour day of wading, and my sand fly and mosquito bites are still a bit itchy.  I was pleased when I weighed myself though, I've lost at least half a stone (7lb) which is exceedingly hard to do at my age (I've been trying to lose some weight since Christmas).  I think the weight loss is testament to how hard we hit the fishing – however the effort paid off, it was a very successful trip for us.

Details >

It was a holiday weekend. I stayed behind and watched the commemorations for Anzac Day, our local memorial for armed personnel who served. The rumours I'd been reading online about the starting winter run of trout read like code. It was happening, but fish numbers might not be high and they'd likely take some finding. Still, the weather was nice and I've had luck at this time of year. The fish tend to be bigger early season, and catching those ones is worth a trip. Work had been heavy lately and difficult to get away from, which was another good reason to escape for a fish. Fired up the car and loaded the fishing gear.

Details >

As anyone who knows me well, will know that I think 3000 days of a specific type of fly fishing is enough to know about 95% of it. Here on the jungle lake I’m on about 3500, pushing 4000. 3000 is enough to be a guide. I am a guide. But I need to get out of here soonish and become a beginner again. I prefer learning the big stuff and I believe that the greatest attribute of fly fishing is that you can become a beginner, many times over, simply by changing fish species and/or sometimes location. Two things have to happen before we go. 1) I need to acquire a sailing boat, so I can be a pirate. And 2) I need to learn Malay in order to get Permanent Residence, in case we come back. I think it’s unlikely we will actually come back, but I’d like to leave that door open. I think it’s much more likely that we end up living on a pacific island, or shipwrecked and living like Robinson Crusoe, but I really don’t know. I don’t plan my whole life out. It’s not an exploration if you know where you are going or what you will find!

Details >

Home sweet home Los Angeles. It’s been a minute. The world turns, the world burns. What a mess. Interesting times. It’s very hard to know what’s going on these days. The legacy news sources (NYTimes, and networks) all announced the impending departure of fric and frac to Islamabad for negotiations with Iran’s foreign minister, while many independent sources said it wasn’t gonna happen. It didn’t happen. I’m a little disgusted with the Times. They’ve pretty much become a puzzle app with some news features. They’re not meeting the moment. I do like their puzzles - solved the Wordle in 2 tries two days in a row! I’m home enjoying my secret little family of roommates and my 18 year-old cat who took a couple of days to realize I was here. He’s now returning to papa, with greasy fur and bad breath asking for his sugar and napping on my chest. 

Details >

I had a practice session today. Just to check that everything was in order for tomorrow’s competition. It was hard to tell. The wind was all over the place. I could not tell which direction it was blowing, it felt like I had a head wind in both directions. On top of that I had a crosswind that showed up here and there. Then the fucking cat shows up from nowhere. It is the fucking cat because it seems to need to be walked on a leash and at the same time manages to sneak out from home and find me. Starting by just watching me and what’s going on. Then see the brightly coloured line. I don’t want to know what it will do if I let it get close to my line because my guess it is will be kind of the same thing that would happen if a pike or barracuda takes a bite of a fly line. The fluff could be acceptable to chase a bit, if practice goes well. So I just end up in a situation where I snap the line around to keep it away from the fucking cat.

Details >

Last weekend went for protecting reindeers and trying to figure out where wolf is. Wednesday it was around farm and two nights later in neigbour's surveillance camera during night figuring out how to get in dog's fence. And next two nights around horse stable just 1 mile from our farm. Horse stable has also sheeps and pony which they had to lock inside, totally new thing for those animals as they are out all year round. And after Monday there is no sign or footprints from wolf, so danger avoided at this point. Tuesday I went check our lake and ice from there as on Thursday they would group coming for ice fishing. Every two year same group has come and after them we have been off on vacation, both times in Malaysia. This would be their third time now.

Details >

This week I thought I'd give you a wee break from the saltwater stuff this week with a nice dry fly: the tape wing caddis. It's very good.

Details >

Earlier this week I was pondering what to write about whilst wading down a flat having just lost a bonefish to a leader breakage, it then came to me that I should write about the various ways I've lost fish on this trip.  Having decided on the topic a thought popped into my head – I'd not been 'sharked' once in over four weeks of fishing.  Now obviously this moment of cerebral smugness was not going to go unpunished by the fishing gods and the very next fish I hooked, literally no more than fifteen minutes later, was eaten by a super fast moving lemon shark.

Details >

There is a moment in the year when the weather suddenly cools in New Zealand. I usually accidentally lock my cat in the garage around now — he's in there hunting the lizards and insects that have come indoors to escape the cold. This is the time of year when the trout start to migrate up the rivers from the lakes. There are some all-year fisheries around NZ after the seasons close — often in the cooler spots, places like the Taupō tributaries. Winter brings rain and occasionally snow. The trout don't really mind — they have their winter business to do. Living up north, I watch the weather. If a gap opens up between work, family, and a decent forecast, I go for it. Sometimes it's a quick day or two away. I pack the car, line all the rods up, charge my torches and weigh up various fishing methods. Start driving. Fish the evening, fish the next day, drive home satisfied.

Details >

Thirty years ago to the month, I took my first fly casting instructor exam. Three decades ago! How time flies. Two and a half years later I started Sexyloops by mistake. It’s been an amazing journey.

Details >

Let’s start with the ugly. I have an EARLY flight to Los Angeles tomorrow morning and reserved a room at the Airport Econo Lodge at ORF (Norfolk, VA). I returned my rental car and called for the 24 hour shuttle. Contrary to their bookers website they don’t have one. Despite their near airport location the round trip uber will be $50. Fuck. I got the room. Without getting graphic lemme just say it’s the worst room I’ve ever rented. This includes a hotel I stayed in once in 1969 that had sand floors, cots to sleep on and bamboo slat walls with animals. Maybe that was worse but somehow excusable as it cost $4 per night and came with two meals. I’m going to sleep in my clothes. 

Details >

”The first 30 feet excluding the level excluding the level tip.” I’ve been sick since the last FP. I started to get sick somewhere around last Wednesday. Some mild fever, a bit of coughing, a bit stuffy nose, a bit tired. Nothing too bad, but too bad to do anything. So not the best time. No fishing, a few minutes of casting. Actually some quite good casting, which is good as I’m arranging a competition next Saturday. Today Friday is the first day since I started to get sick that I’m feeling somewhat fine. I don’t think my swimming last week is to blame for me getting sick. But one thing is for sure it didn’t make me feel better or more healthy, like some cold swimmers like to claim. It seems like the first rule of winter swimming is to talk about winter swimming.

Details >

That's old saying in Finland, not sure if you are familiar with this. It refers to the typical, harsh and dramatic depiction of nature in Russian films. And wind on those is very strong, cutting or chilling. If you think about  you can even hear it fi-uuuuuu.   Last weekend we handled our reindeers at farm and drove Satu's reindeers to little north and enjoy summer, calfing is just behind corner, well in one month. They got gps devices so it gives us peace of mind.   Weather has been mostly sunny and warm and we have been having two ice fishing day during week, not huge success yet some decent perch to cook. It has been little slower life, except Wednesday.

Details >

If you read these regularly, you'll maybe have noticed that I strongly prefer deer hair for my topwater bass bugs. I'm absolutely convinced it's the best choice for most freshwater situations.

Details >

If anyone asks “how's the fishing going in the Bahamas”, my initial response is “it's very very windy!” however it is also amazing. Besides catching the fish, there's lots of ospreys pretty much on every flat we go to (they seem as common here as red kites in Oxfordshire), plus rays, a few of which I have nearly stood on before they have startled and fled away. The one positive about the strong winds is that they keep you cool in this heat, a downside is that besides making the casting tricky, the constant waves can drag your fly line before you've started to strip the fly, sometimes causing the hook to snag something on the bottom. I've had this a few times where the snag has such a hold of the fly that I can't move it and I've just had to frustratingly watch the bones move around where the fly is – where I could have got a take, or if not, could have recast a few times to improve the chances of catching one of them. On these occasions I pray that the bone may dig up the snagged fly, however this has only happened on one occasion that I remember.

Details >

Paul messaged me the other day to say a cyclone was coming in. I confirmed that yes, one was indeed on the way. His response was not concern for life or property, but encouragement to go and try for 200 feet in the wind. There is nothing quite like a challenge from Paul to get me out there on a stormy day. Staying motivated is important. With casting, there comes a point where improvement stops being accidental and starts requiring actual work. Someone I used to train with in another sport had a rule: don't practice the 80% you can already do, practice the 20% you are not so good at. That's where the gains are. So I appreciated the message. It was well timed.This is not a story of training that 20%, but at least the weather conditions are difficult and mastery of this represents improvements.

Details >

In my opinion AI is total bollocks!!! Anyone who has tried to navigate the complete incompetence of AI virtual “assistants” will know what I’m talking about. It is so incredibly frustrating. Is this really the future that everyone wants? We can’t talk to a real person now, but instead a completely useless AI bot? Who is that helping exactly? It’s certainly not helping me – the customer. Vast amounts of money are being spent on this display of incompetence. Why not instead invest this money in real people? In society, health and education. Jobs are being taken away from people, who were actually quite capable at doing this work, and instead being given to annoyingly stupid systems that don’t work!!

Details >

My visits to New York are always nostalgic. I lived here for thirty-five years and will again someday. My days are filled with a greater variety and number of activities than I enjoy in LA, mostly curated by Jackie, who has ants in her pants and doesn’t value naps. Many of her friends are active in migrant Asian community’s political and cultural organizations. The museum exhibitions and cultural events we go to are often eye-opening. Some shine a new light on my past experiences. 

Details >

So last week I mentioned my eye. It seems good now and I don’t have to run around with blurred vision any more. But it caused a bit of a problem when I attended a small competition during the easter. Wounded eye and I couldn’t use contact lenses, so I was not able to wear sun glasses. And this isn’t the first time for this happening. So I should probably get a pair of prescription sun glasses. What’s the best allround lens colour for a fly fishing competition?

Details >

Warm weather is still here. Snow and ice circumstances are similar than normally two weeks from now. Good thing is that it is clear weather or at least not raining anything.   We are still hoping to have ice fishing group end of this month. There is small change that it will happen as this week we have had some cold nights around - 7 celsius and even days have been barely zero or just above in sun. Wind has been helping also so spring has been slowing down.

Details >

This week's fly is Bob Popovics' siliclone. Like so much of what sprang from his mind it’s deadly. In my opinion it’s probably the best mullet imitation ever devised and unlikely to be superseded.

Details >

We've had a two consecutive days off from fishing this week, both due to a weather system that brought 40kph winds, thunderstorms, torrential tropical rain and wall to wall heavy cloud cover.  It must be tough for people who are on a week long fishing break knowing that a third of their fishing time has been lost due to the conditions, however Tracy and I can be a bit more relaxed about it given the length of our stay.  In fact, I think it's fair to say that we both needed a rest as we'd been hitting the flats pretty hard, spurred on by some great fishing.

Details >

It's early autumn now, as is the way of New Zealand, and in Auckland the ever-present wind is here to greet me. I launched early and went looking for fish, not sure what target species would show. Classic harbour fishing. Boats on the move, a tanker sliding past, the Waiheke ferry thumping through. Not quite what you picture when you think fly fishing, but that's part of the appeal. Auckland is busy, noisy and working, and the fish are there anyway. Plus it's close and doesn't involve a big drive. Although I must admit I'm starting to feel the pull of winter trout fishing — with the right timing it can be productive in the limited open waters around the country, and the boat might come in handy for a few of those adventures. That's for another day.

Details >

It’s Sunday at the time of writing this. Yesterday night I had my weekly in-boat endurance bike ride. Indoor riding I find harder than outdoors. But indoor-riding, when it’s 32->28C and 80->98% humidity, is an absolute kiler. I have two small fans that blow warm hunid air at me as I ride. 5hrs and 150 virtual KM. There is absolutely no way I could run a marathon after this. It’s far harder than 180KM outdoors. Still that’s why I do it! It makes the outdoor 180KM Ironman ride seem like a pleasant training ride in the park.

Details >

So after practicing in the park with the 20’ leader for a few days, I had a chance Sunday, to see what it would take to fish it in the river and to find out how the carp like it.  

Details >

This week started out a bit odd. During the Sunday my right eye was itching and irritated. I don’t really know when it started I just noticed that I had scratched so much on the eye lid that it was starting to get irritated. So I figured it was best to actively avoid touching the eye any more. Come Monday and it didn’t  feel quite all right but didn’t think much about it. When I checked the eye in the evening I saw that there were a lot of blood vessels visible in they eye and when I asked Minna to have a look she thought it was some small injury in the eye. 

Details >

As we know in English you have these silent letters as many other languages. I don't know who come up this idea, but for Finnish person this is stupid. In English you write letters on paper and then you just don't say all of them. In Finnish you say all the letters you write. We are equal even to letters.  At least we don't waste paper for nothing.   I have been tying flies this week, it is slowly coming together. Some are still ugly as hell and some even start look pretty decent. All of them will catch a fish, or will they? I saw few interesting comments when dropping rabbit hole in tying. 

Details >

This week, I'm giving you another saltwater fly; the polar fiber minnow. It's a pattern that's been kicking around for a few decades but maybe isn't as popular as it should be.

Details >

Last week I mentioned the interesting feature of our hire car's entertainment system in that it shows music videos on the screen in the middle of the centre console whilst I'm driving – I'm pretty sure that would be illegal back in the UK, driving without due care and attention and all that. I've also been struggling with another supposedly simple bit of technology this week – the action camera. It's Tracy's idea that we both wear these, mainly because we tend to separate when we're on the flats and therefore have no record for prosperity of some of the catches we made (or perhaps she didn't believe my stories of the monster bonefish that I'd caught and wanted proof!).

Details >