Biggest moment of my life!

As the 21st of August starts to approach I look back to a month ago, when I took the biggest step in my life, and married the love of my life. I was lucky enough however, to spend the week before my wedding to explore some new water in Colorado, with my good buddy Muzzy!

The first stop was at the Arkansas River.

This was the first time in all my travels to Colorado, that I had spent any time on the infamous brown trout fishery, that is so renowned for it’s prominent caddis hatch!

Not only was it my first time fishing the Arkansas, but it was also the first time I had been able to fish my 4wt Circa almost exclusively. Dry fly fishing is not my favorite method of fishing, and I’m pretty inexperienced when it comes to presentation, and fly selection. However the Sage Circa paired with an AZwanderings Furled Leader made the transition pretty simple, not to mention Caddis and Green Drakes were everywhere.

With that being said I did nymph a little bit, but a majority of my fishing was throwing double dry fly rigs!

Muzzy was having the same amount of success!

Fishing was so relaxing, and enjoyable pictures weren’t on the top of the list.

I did get out and fish the Blue River, running through the outlet malls in Dillon Colorado. As always this fickle fishery challenged me. Landing 10+lb trout on 6x tippet is always a fun one. I hooked a couple brutes, but couldn’t muscle them into the net. I did however land one beautiful fish, that I have stalked now for close to a year.

With 4 days of fishing under my belt, the real reason I was in Colorado had arrived. As a way to relax a little the morning of the big day I took my dad out to one of my favorite quickies just south of town. The goal was to put my dad on a fish, that ate a hopper. While my dad didn’t land a fish, and I only caught one, it was awesome to share the last day as a single man with my father on a river.

By far the best catch of the trip, was my new wife!

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Northern Arizona Photodump

So long time no post, it’s been a busy month here and I just haven’t had the time to post. So as I sit here watching Diamondbacks baseball I figure it would be a great time to post up some shit from the last month. Before my 2 week hiatus up into Colorado I had some time to explore a new creek in Northern Arizona with 2 of my really good buddies, and then spent another day on a well known creek in search of some decent dry fly fishing.

 

Super Moon

So you want to catch big fish in the middle of summer in Arizona? Good luck! It’s possible but it is extremely difficult. The water temp is high, the oxygen is low, and the water is low and clear. This fish know you’re there before you even see them. So how do you approach these elusive giants? Fish in the black of night!

KC texted me and let me know he had a day off, so of course we decided to fish. I had been inspired a year back to attempt night fishing here in Arizona by the guys over at Outsmarting Fish. So I threw the idea up to KC and of course he was into it. So Kenny, KC, and I left the valley at noon and headed north to fish some streams during the afternoon, and then change out the 4x for 20lb flouro and throw meat, and hopefully hook a pig! As the sun dropped, the super moon rose, and illuminated the creek. We knew it was going to be a good night.

This is not a story about how I hooked a monster and you then get to see a hero shot. This is more or less a story about how my buddy Kenny finally landed the giant that has been eluding him for the past 2 years. A couple weeks ago Kenny had told me that he felt like he had paid his dues and still hadn’t caught his big fish. I just reassured him that it would happen eventually, and sure as hell it did. KC and I left skunked, but that didn’t matter this was a team effort. Kenny threw a cast to the head of a giant pull, stripped twice and came tight to a fish! I think his exact words were “I think I have a fish.” All three of our head lamps came on, and we see a deep bend in Kenny’s rod. Kenny fought the fish properly as it bulldogged him at the bottom of the abyss. Finally Kenny got the upper hand on the fish, brought it to the surface, and at first glimpse we all lost it. KC netted the pig, and I was honored to take the pictures of Kenny’s beautiful Arizona stream brown trout and his OH face!

Thanks to Kenny for letting me post this up. I feel like I caught that fish as much as Kenny does. It was phenomenal to see such a specimen in an Arizona stream, and awesome to see Kenny finally catch his monster.

Homeward Bound

So I recently got back from my trip to Nevada where my buddy, who is soon to be married and I fished for 5 days of bliss. We joked about how it was a bachelor party fishing trip, and it was. However I knew that not soon after arriving back at home in Arizona I would be leaving once again for my true bachelor party in Whistler B.C. The day had arrived and at 3:30 AM I left for the airport, Seattle bound to meet up with my family. After landing in Seattle we headed north to the land of maple syrup and “eh.” I won’t fill you in on what happened just in case my fiance decides to read this post. So make something up, and try not to picture it, because that could hurt.

But I just can’t fly all that way, and spend so many days away from the Arizona heat without some fishing. So I contacted a guy by the name of Derek Young from Emerging Rivers Guide Service. I had been referred to Derek a couple months back, but was unable to connect with him when I was home in February. So this time I contacted him again and he was nice enough to offer me a day on the water, and we did just that. I have never had a bad experience on a river with a guide, most of the time we get along, they put me on fish, and it’s a pretty solid day. This day was no different, however this day does, and will stick out in my memory for the rest of my life. Derek is unlike any guide I have ever floated a river with, he is outrageously supportive of conservation efforts for the water he enjoys to fish so much, as well as those he doesn’t. Derek could accurately identify bugs coming off the water in an instant, and the best one of all, Derek fishes like I do. Let me tell you, there is nothing like having a guide, that can put you where you need to be, to effectively fish a run the way you need to per your skill set. This was effortless for Derek, and without me having to say anything he would maneuver his awesome StreamTech boat, to the perfect spot and I would get the drift I wanted. No wonder he was the 2011  Orvis Endorsed Guide of the Year.

According to Derek, I am a “Subsurface Presentation Angler.” I don’t throw dries, and very rarely do any kind of dry/dropper rig. My most memorable moment from the trip, was the very first hole, Derek handed me a streamer rod, and says “why don’t we throw some streamers, I’ve done my research on you and figured you would enjoy that?” My expression my not have said what I was thinking, but it was something along the lines of “fuck yes, please!” The day went like this all day, streamers were followed by heavy nymph rigs, and back to streamers. And not pussy little 2 1/2 inch guys, we threw Galloup streamers, articulated patterns and salmon smolt patterns with big dumbbell eyes. Just how I like to fish.

The fishing wasn’t epic, still reeling from the massive drunk fest for the past 3 days a lot of that had to do with me. I missed the most aggressive strikes due to being very late on the hookset. But the poor fishing due to me was offset by the fact that Derek and I shot the shit all day long with ease. He even got to experience the hero shot gone wrong. I think somebody on Facebook called this a “Double backflip gainer with a twist!”

 

Needless to say Derek is the man, I can’t wait to fish with him again and maybe learn to row a boat. If ANYONE reading this is in Washington and has a day to get away, I would highly recommend you get ahold of Derek. Bring some PBR and your day will be set. To book a trip check out his calendar and see what he has available here!

 

So I flew home yesterday, and before I headed for the airport I had the luxury of walking 100 yards out my parents back deck to fish the river they live on. It is a glacier fed freestone river (I think). The fish in this river don’t get very big due to not enough food, but my dad had told me that they are pretty. So I gave it a shot, and in my normal fashion, the first thing I tied on were 2 giant nymphs, split shot, and an indicator. Needless to say my dad was wrong, and it is possible to fish “his” river with an indicator rig. The fish I caught were small, but man were they pretty. I usually despise catching rainbows, because here in Arizona 90% of them are ugly, finless, silver bullet stockers. This was a different story, and really did change my opinion. It’s a gorgeous river, full of beautiful fish only 100 yards from my parents back door what is better then that.

 

 

Nevada Bachelor Party Photo Dump

So let me start this off by saying, for those of you getting married, or those thinking about getting married. I have one word of wisdom for you; elope! Have a wedding ceremony for you and your wife, and families, but forget the theatrics. THEN throw the party afterwords for everyone you want there. Rant over.

So about a month ago we got a great report from Kyle over at Sleep When You’re Dead and Ben from Arizona Wanderings about their recent trip to Nevada. DJ and I are both getting married within the next 2 months, and we both needed a trip to celebrate the last few weeks of being “non married,” men! While most bachelor parties are filled with titties and beer, DJ and I are fisherman, so what’s better then a fishing trip as a bachelor party!?

So DJ and I started planning a trip. The goal was to catch fish, and hopefully get a shot at some large fish. We got everything planned, and finally the day rolled around. DJ and I left the valley at 7pm with the jeep loaded and headed north for Nevada. I do have to say, during a 12 hour drive in the middle of the night shit gets loopy!

We made it to the first river somewhere around 8am after having a killer breakfast at a local cafe. We had some success over the 2 days on this beautiful river.

 

Fuck white fish!

 

While the fishing was pretty damn good, one thing I always look forward to when with DJ is the experience. So 2 things you should know about DJ when you go on a trip with him. #1 is you will probably lose a toenail at some point, and #2 you’re going to eat like a king while with him.

So the fishing while good was a lot tougher then hoped for, so DJ and I moved elsewhere. However the conditions elsewhere where not conducive to fishing, and it was tough on the third day. A few fish were brought to hand, but DJ and I had something else in mind. So we headed to the infamous Pyramid Lake. Prepare for the Pyramid Lake photo dump!

 

So one of my favorite moments from the trip was watching DJ catch his personal best fish, and just hammer it at Pyramid Lake.

 

It was an awesome time, and trip with DJ. We caught some amazing fish, listened to some great music, and bullshit for days! DJ is amazing road trip company, and I can’t wait to go back to Nevada with him next year. Here are some more random pics that should be in here!

 

So I wish this post was more personal, but it was 5 days worth of fishing, and I can’t really put it all into words. So this is my attempt. Thanks for reading.

Orvis Guide Sling Pack Review

Welcome to my first review, and this one is a doozy!

A couple things you should know about me first and foremost. Number 1, I am a gear whore, and not the kind that just holds on to everything he owns! I am the kind of gear whore that will purchase a product I think I will like, I will then hate it with every bone in my body, and one of my buddies will benefit by getting it for free or extremely cheap. Number 2, I hate Orvis, I hate their products, and don’t believe they are truly a fly fishing company. Now that may piss some of you off, and thats fine, however it is my belief. It wasn’t until the Helios 2 that I felt that they had finally produced a rod worth purchasing. However I digress, this isn’t an Orvis bashing blog post, it is rather an awakening. Let me explain.

A while back, I was searching on the google machine just reading anything that involved fly fishing, and I came across this YouTube video of some guy unboxing his brand new Orvis Guide Sling Pack. My interest was peaked, and so I watched it. My initial impression was, “This pack looks worthwhile to at least take a look at.” So on a trip to the San Juan River in New Mexico back in April, I stopped off at the local shop there and put my hands on this pack, needless to say in my gear whorish ways I bought it. It is the first fly fishing item I have bought at full retail in almost 9 months, and it kind of hurt. This is my review!

I fucking love it! Not the kind of way you love your fiance or pets, no this is a special kind of love. The kind where I will purchase probably 2 more in the coming weeks, just to make sure I have some backups for when it gets discontinued, because lets be honest, once a company does something right with a product they always discontinue it. Once I have some backups, I will cheat on them with my other Orvis Guide Sling Packs, because I don’t want one of my beloved packs to feel unloved.

 

Appearance:

I’m a sucker for Digital Camo, and this pack is all decked out in Digital, not to mention the new Orvis logo is pretty damn sexy. It looks good and is functional.

Storage/Comfort:

You always hear the phrase, “The problem with a large pack is that you will fill it to the brim.” In this case, you can seriously fill this thing. I think on my recent trip I packed it full with 4 slim magnet fly boxes, 4 C&F Design fly boxes, 50 packs of leaders, cell phone and snacks! And that was just the main compartment. In the secondary pocket I put a water purifier, splitshot, indicators, spare cups of flies, floatant, dry shake and spare tippet. As you can see from the picture above, I have my spools of tippet hanging as well as my net, and a Nalgene full of water. “God damn,” you say, “that is a lot of shit.” You’re right it is a lot of stuff, and it didn’t make a single difference in how comfortable the pack was. I have now worn it on multiple fishing trips, and it is still as comfortable as I remember it. It doesn’t hinder your casting, it is easy to access the compartments and all of your gear. But what really blows my mind about this pack is the storage for your hemostats. On the front shoulder strap there is a small sheath that has a magnet clasp that holds on to your hemos, making them easily accessible for when you need them.

Overall:

So I don’t know if you can read between the lines while reading this review. This thing is amazing! It’s comfortable, holds everything I need it to, everything is accessible without much effort, and it is just logically built. Whoever designed this pack should lead the design on everything Orvis makes, because he/she obviously is a fishy dude/dudette! I have now worn this while fishing the San Juan River, Walker River, Truckee River, Quemado Lake, Pyramid lake, and multiple small streams in Arizona and I will continue to take it everywhere with me. I refuse to use any other pack at this moment in time.

Pros:

• Looks Sexy
• Comfortable
• Fits everything and then some
• Easily Accessible
• Doesn’t get in the way of casting

Cons:

• I wish it had a D-Ring for a net

So kudos to Orvis. You guys killed it, and hopefully you continue to do so. I don’t work for an Orvis dealer and yet I still send everyone who asks about packs to an Orvis store to check it out. So back to thing you should know about me number 2. Orvis isn’t all bad. I love this pack, their slim magnet boxes are pretty slick too, and I find myself migrating to those as well. So maybe it’s time to change what you should know about me number 2, to something like, “I like some things from Orvis, but I sure do LOVE Simms, Sage and Abel.”

Words of Wisdom #1

Words of wisdom from someone who works in a fly fishing shop:

Regardless of how much you spend on a fishing trip. Whether it is 100$ or 10,000$ don’t use tippet you purchased years ago! You are planning your trip, and preparing to catch hopefully a fish of a lifetime, or something you are proud of! Why chance a failure by using tippet that has sat in your stash for 2 or more years? Just something I have noticed quite often lately!