We received an email last night from a David Grace asking us to help promote the idea of a National Fishing License. Ever heard of it? What do you think? I read the website, and it sounds reasonable. Of course, I won’t have to worry about it. Heck, I don’t even get to fish here, so I sure wouldn’t need to worry about fishing licenses for five or six different states. I’m almost resigned to my fate of eternally mowing the yard, attending IPT meetings and making Insane’s coffee, but there’s still that tiny spark of hope that some day I can fish until I tire of it.

I admit to not knowing much about this. All the research I’ve done is to read the website promoting the idea. You won’t find dissenting opinions there. Also, I’m typing this really late at night, it’s been hours since I’ve had caffeine, and I’ve been wrapping tiny silk thread on a rod for a couple hours. I’m in no condition to form political opinions. The floor is yours,

hawgdaddy

The Hiwassee at low flow after a thunderstorm.

This summer Jacqulyn and I will again be traveling to Yellowstone. The group will be different from last time. Gina will be the only other returning member from the ‘06 trip. Replacing Insane, Ronald, Casey and Jonathan will be our parents. Jacqulyn’s parents have become hooked on travel. They’re already talking about a fly fishing/camping trip to the Florida Keys next year. My own parents have always wanted to see the West. My father even plans to join us fly fishing. He’s genuinely excited about it. I’m building him a 6 wt fly rod for the trip. All of these plans are, of course, dependent on gas prices leveling off at some point. I saw a sign this weekend proclaiming “$144 Million!” There was a moment of overpowering nausea before I realized the sign was for the Tennessee lottery as opposed to the latest gas prices.

The parents going on the Yellowstone trip is good and well (we all, thankfully, get along wonderfully), but we’re talking about folks who haven’t done a lot of (any) camping in years. Yellowstone will involve ten straight days of camping. We’re attempting to break the parents in with a few short acclimation trips. Trip No. 1 came this last weekend at the Hiwassee. I suggested the location figuring, in a thrilling display of characteristic genius, that I could get in a little fishing in the process.

Hawgdaddy surveys the terrain. Our basic tactic was finding rising fish in the channels with flowing water.

We arrived on Friday and set up camp with time to spare for a little afternoon fishing. In what can only be described as “Vintage Hawgdaddy,” a spring-time monsoon commenced the moment we parked the van at the chosen fishing location. We decided to take a look at the swinging bridge and waited for the thunderstorm to pass. Then we started fishing just downstream. A variety of bugs were in the air. Trout were jumping clear of the water chasing caddis and mayflies in the braided channels. I managed to catch two rainbows, including one nice one over a foot long, stockers both. I hooked three others that came off, and I missed the hook set on two more half-hearted rises. I was using a size 14 dark brown/olive St. Vrain Caddis (which I hoped would be near ‘nough to the caddis I saw fluttering around) with a size 16 grouse and orange soft hackle trailed behind (which I used because I like it). They worked well enough, although I had a lot of trouble keeping fish hooked. Read the rest of this entry »

As the warm weather and cloudless sky was much more than I could possibly handle, I managed to sneak out of work a few hours early on Friday. I’m sure the boredom of work didn’t help much either. Not to mention I will be heading to Jamaica in under 3 weeks, and my skin is still pasty white. It’s true that all I usually manage is what they call a “farmer’s tan”, but it’s better than nothing. I figured I could get a little sun before I go, to save myself some pain after a full week on the beach. Anyhow, I fished for just a few hours and only managed two small bass. Although it sounds like more of an excuse than anything, I really was just scouting….Nonetheless, I did have a great time and even got a little sun. Both fish came on a wooly bugger pattern, sizes 10 and 8.

good luck,
Insane

Well, I finally got some fishing in this weekend. I had sent out an email the night before, letting my fellow TVangler buddies know I was going to give the Flint a whirl. This time of year the early morning bite isn’t much different from the mid afternoon. In fact, the fishing seems to get better once the sun warms the water a bit. With that in mind, my goal was to be on the water around 8 or so. When there is something that I really want to do, my biological alarm clock never let’s me down. I woke up around 6:30, sluggishly arranged my gear, and was ready to head out around 7:15. I was too lazy to fix coffee, so I made time for a short pit stop at the Shell station.

When I arrived at the river, Jason was already there trying to get a few fish ahead of me. I wasn’t afraid, after all he was merely a disgruntled razorback faithful trying to pay me back from their loss to the crimson tide last season. Despite not being worried, I just had to ask….”Catch anything?” Whew, so far he had only managed a smallie. One fish down isn’t too bad I thought. After putting our waders on and comparing flies for a few minutes, we were ready for some fish action. Read the rest of this entry »

We have recently added a new member to the TVangler field staff. Following in the footsteps of Matt, Jason has decided to break the ice and give us a different angle on fly fishing. Despite the fact that he is a loyal Akansas fan, we still allow him to join us on our fishing outings. I still have high hopes that he too will one day proudly sport the crimson and white. I hope you enjoy reading Jason’s report as much as I did!

Spring is here, and I managed to squeeze in a little fishing in between yard work and high water. I decided to fish the Flint due to its location. I met my wife in the driveway as she pulled up returning from work and off I went. I jumped into the nearest hole and got warmed up. A few nice bass and a gar were swimming around in sight, but would have nothing to do with me. Some young children showed up, and since I had my waders on, I pointed out the fish, gave them the hole, and began my journey to new water.

Nice fish caught on the Flint River

You ever have one of those perfect days? After about fifteen minutes, I came to the conclusion this was one of those afternoons. The temperature was great, wind was calm, and my cast was pleasantly cooperating. A perfect day, but I had not caught a fish. I was ok with that fact, and was going to enjoy my day with or without them. I guess they sensed I was not going to leave, and became a bit more active. I managed a few Rock bass (at least that’s what we call’em in Arkansas) and a bluegill. The fish were definitely a bonus to an already perfect day.

Closeup of Jason’s Redeye (Wonder why they call them Redeye’s?)

With the sun getting low, I needed to start towards the Jeep. That’s when I managed to find myself in fairly swift water, trying to navigate a long stretch of river, with a solid rock bottom, covered in moss. I think I moved down river about twenty yards without lifting my feet. After skiing, shuffling, and mustering up every bit of balance I had, I managed to find some not as solid ground (I really need some felt boots). I just knew I was going to take a swim, but the perfection of the day would not let that happen.
I wish I could experience the satisfaction I felt this day, every time I went fishing. I am not saying I don’t enjoy every trip, but sometimes all the pieces don’t come together quite the way you want them to. I am sure I will return to the Flint soon, searching out another perfect day.

WoooPig!!
Jason

Well, I believe the cold weather is finally behind us. Now it’s time for some hardcore fishing. You’re right, I could have already been fishing if it wasn’t for my pre-wedding “honey-do” list. My latest project involved laying sod in the front yard. Don’t worry Reed, I put the green side up! Well, guess what….I am finally finished!

I came across an article on the ESPN fishing page the other day that definitely got me fired up about fishing (as if I need fired up…). Although trout fishing sits in a league of it’s own, there is much to say about warm water fly fishing. Perhaps one of my favorite fish to catch is the green sunfish. It’s not the size of this hungry predator, but it’s the fight that I enjoy. Not to mention that you can actually put your thumb in it’s mouth. Some sort of added bonus I guess. It’s just one of those things that makes a fisherman feel good. If it feels good, then do it! Right? This hungry beast will not just sip your fly off the surface, but will blast it as if it was a do or die moment. Once it takes the fly, hold on to your rod!

On another note, I will having to bail Hawgdaddy out of jail today. Yes, you heard me right. Two sips into my second cup of coffee, and a lady who works in our building informed Hawgdaddy that “they were waiting for him up front. You are arrested!” I don’t think I have ever seen Hawgdaddy’s eyes that big since the day I almost broke his new Legend Ultra rod. Ok, so it was a prank for a fundraiser at work…..We still got a good laugh! I guess he can thank his lovely wife for that. Way to go Jacqulyn!

Also, I will be building two rods in the next few weeks. One is a spinning rod for a guy at work, and the other will be a new fly rod for yours truly! The fly rod will be built using a Tiger Eye blank. Hawgdaddy and I have been quite curious about this blank, so I figured I would give it a try. A few nights this week I have also been tying a few flies. I am trying to get my wooly bugger collection back to where it should be. I ended up losing quite a few of them last year and never restocked my supply. So far, I have been pretty pleased with most of them. There is a great advantage to fishing for warm water fish. They aren’t very picky, and the fly doesn’t have to be perfect!

let’s get out and do some fishing,
Insane

Many of you probably remember the article or “review” I wrote a while back regarding the Bissel Turbo Vac and Temple Fork fly rod. Well, we aren’t going to relive the tragedy that happened, but I wanted to brag for a moment on Temple Fork Outfitters. I had pretty much wrote the incident off as a loss and planned to build me a new fly rod in the future. Nearly a year later, don’t ask why I waited so long, I decided to check out the Temple Fork Outfitters website for warranty information. Who would have ever guessed that their was a “NO FAULT” warranty that comes with all of their rods. I emailed the warranty department and just told them that my rod had broke, like I said, no need to relive this horrific travesty. Only an hour later I received an email from an extremely polite gentleman instructing me to send my rod to them and they will either repair or replace the broken rod section. All I had to pay was $25 for their shipping cost. Imagine getting a fly rod replaced for $25 when stupidity was the defining factor in the said breaking of tip. For those who have never owned a Temple Fork fly rod, I suggest you give it a try. Not only do they have a wonderful warranty and customer service department, but the rod casts like a dream. I have two of them and wouldn’t trade them for anything. Well, I just wanted to give a shout out to these wonderful people…thanks Temple Fork!!!

Insane
(rod breaker extraordinaire)

The market is littered today with fly tying stations ranging from just under $100, barely enough to balance a spool of thread, to those costing in the upwards of several hundred dollars. Oh yes, they are quite catchy to the eye, but are they really worth the money? No, I don’t think so. Do you even need a fly tying station? No, probably not. But if you are like me and need to add that extra zing to your fly tying man cave, then look no further! I will show you how to build a cheap yet functional tying station for just under $30. Hey, maybe it’s not what an A.K. Best would use, nor a Hawgdaddy, but it’s well worth the money in my opinion. Just tell people that Insane uses one, so it must be cool.

Ok, here is the quick and dirty version.

Materials and Tools needed:

some sort of drill
saw
tape measure (you don’t really need it…)
3/8″ drill bit
1/8″ drill bit
hole cutting bit
wood glue
3/8″ wooden dowels
1/8″ wooden dowels
magnetic tape
3 wooden cutting boards of different sizes

The power tools should be easy to come by. If you don’t have them, don’t go out and buy one for this project. The thrifty man borrows stuff! You can find the wooden dowels, magnetic tape, wood glue, and cutting boards at Wal-Mart. When I built mine, I had found a 3 pack of wooden cutting boards for about $10. I haven’t looked since to see if they still have them, but don’t get anything fancy. As an alternative you could just cut some scrap boards to make your surfaces. Now, let’s get started…. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m posting a few photos from my latest rod work. I’ve been working on a 9′ 6wt fly rod for my sister-in-law, Gina. She needed a stronger rod for heading out West this year. The rod features a Struble nickel silver reel seat with burl madrone insert, nickel silver winding check, red-banded agate stripping guide, rose and silver silk windings, and a grizzly hackle and lady amherst pheasant feather inlay. You can see the feather inlay below. It’s my first one. Nothing fancy. I typically like the simpler ones anyway. I didn’t have any feathers to match the rose color scheme, so I reckoned a simple black and silver inlay pattern would look classy. I like it so far. Everything is color-preserved and ready for epoxy.

Feather inlay on Gina’s rod. Grizzly and lady amherst feathers.

This is the entire handle area on Gina’s rod.

The distress comes from the purchase of my first bamboo rod! Yes, I finally joined the dark side, figuring the nation’s economy was in trouble, and I might as well do my part. Hasta la vista, stimulus check (and I haven’t even got it yet)! You can see photos of the rod below. It’s a 9′ Granger Aristocrat, bought off a gentleman in Colorado. It being 9′ and therefore heavier, I was able to get it for a good price, and it’s in great shape. I’m going to call it a 6wt because that’s what I’m casting on it, a 6wt DT Cortland Peach. I went out for a first casting session in the yard today (Sunday). I wondered at first how it would feel. You know? The whole aura surrounding bamboo rods, and this would be my first time casting one. Well, once I took it out of the tube and put it together, I found I was just holding a fishing pole. A pretty one, a cool one, but still just a fishing pole. I’m more than a little puzzled, but I cast it better than most of my graphite rods. I thought I’d have to go through a learning curve to figure out the action. My loops were tight and controlled. The line landed softly on the ground with each cast, whereas with graphite I often punch the line into the ground (or water). Not only that, but I was getting great distance from it, just as much as with my normal 6 wt graphite. Maybe I was just on today, but the thing is, I’m never on. I’m not much of a caster. I think I tend to “jerk” faster graphite rods which translates into an ugly line path. With the bamboo today, the line traveled easily in graceful loops. Maybe I was made for slower rods. Up till now, I always cast best with an old, cheap graphite rod that’s slower than my more expensive rods. With the bamboo rod, I was even able to toss a few roll casts in the yard without the help of water resistance! Never could do that with my graphites. I can’t wait to get it out on the water. Why is this distressing? Because I’m liking it too much. I see myself and money parting ways far too often in my future.

Granger bamboo rod with practice fly.

Another shot of the rod.

Stripping guide on the Granger rod. This thing is tiny, probably meant for a silk line. I’ll have to see if I can accommodate it.

Take care,
Nathan

Last weekend, Jacqulyn and I began our quest to explore the local small creeks. There are between 20 and 30 decent little streams in our immediate area suitable for wading and/or canoeing. I should be ashamed for not exploring them sooner, but I often find myself pining for more exotic locations full of trout. Anyway, several of these streams are rumored to have some nice smallmouth bass fishing. So, with the help of google maps and freshly-downloaded USGS maps, we headed out in search of good access points to what we’ll call Stream A. The little stream proved ideal for wading, and I was into a fish on the first cast. We only fished for a couple hours before a storm chased us from the water, but we managed to catch five or six fish of various kinds. All came on a size 12 woolly bugger. No smallmouth, but we didn’t complain. Like I said, we should be ashamed for not trying this stream sooner. I suspect it holds a few nice fish if you know where to look. You can see some shots from the trip below. This coming weekend, I plan to hit a new stream if the water doesn’t get too high from our latest round of storms (for which I’m very thankful, by the way - good-bye drought…hopefully). If the water is too high, I’ll be where I probably should be anyway: building rods.

Jacqulyn plying the cold, slow-moving waters of Small Creek A.

Okay, what the heck is this thing? I thought it was a redhorse at first, but it didn’t have a sucker’s mouth. I’m guessing it’s a shiner of some sort. The fins had red tips. The fish struck hard and fought like a bass. I’ll be going after these beauties with a bamboo rod before long.

I did catch one bass. The photo makes the fish look like a spotted bass, but it was actually a little largemouth.

A beautiful sunfish Jacqulyn caught just before the storm arrived.

Take care,
Nathan