From fly fisherman’s perspective, fishing the Snake River in its current form for Steelhead is about like looking through a hole in a fence. You catch small glimpses of what it was, and you keep peering for more with the hope you find what could be. MORE
All I can say about this one is that those neoprene ass huggers, the old school khaki vest, and a tethered C&R net are blasting me back to 1992 again. It's like that movie Hot Tub Time Machine where they travel back in time and hit the ski slopes. Everyone is rocking the uber neon one piece space man suits, six inch high bangs, and carrying a Walkman loaded with a White Snake cassette tape. It's clear to see that the flying fish isn't the only thing wrong with this hero shot!
Just kidding Gavin! You rock in those 5 MILL sweat bags and don't let anyone tell you that you don't!
Please send me your Hero Shots Gone Wrong! dylan [@] skatethefly [dot] com
The boat will travel across the West, passed between fishing guides, who will take it on the water and then accept donations from fellow anglers, clients or anyone else who sees the boat...
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This is the time of year I dream of for 9 months. A chance to leave the waders, nymphs, strike indicators, and sink tips in the car, and just go chase some fish. A clean floating line terminating with a small dry fly, with nothing but tapered mono connecting the two is a special thing. Especially when two-handers, heavy tips, intermediate lines, bead heads, baitfish patterns, and cators have been a steady part of the diet since November.
This session gave us stellar evening sun and happy hungry fish. Skated yellow Stimis and Elk Hair Caddis patterns proved irresistible to them, and the pleasure of fishing with my big bro was an even more special treat.
Good fishing and as always, thanks for reading.
Beauty Back
Modelo Makes it Better
Nature's Masterpiece
Enter Skate the Fly TV. We are truly dedicated to this sport and are fortunate enough to have some incredible friends who are as passionate about it as we are. We hope to bring you their stories, shed a little light on the subject for beginners, and generally bullshit about fly fishing. Of course this is all made easier by generous lubrication from adult beverages. Feel free to comment, our fragile egos can take it! I think...
STF TV offers nothing more than a little cheap entertainment that will hopefully bring a smile to your face.
[WARNING] If you take yourself or fly fishing too seriously, please don't watch! If you have a problem with public drunkenness or profanity also do not hit play.
In this episode:
Our inaugural episode! That's right episode 2 is our first... er something. Episode 1 will forever exist only in the minds of Dave and I. It's contents never to be viewed by mere mortals. Trust us, it's better this way.
Greg Thomas from Angler's Tonic is the sucker in the crowd for our first guest and delivers one hell of a good time for Dave and I. Madison salmon flies, "purity sucks", one stupid Capt., Kim Thomas' smoked salmon, cheeseburgers with hooks in them, and a very big gun adorn this episode!
Links:
]]>This river, like most rivers was in fact beautiful. The filtered light through deciduous bows speckled the water like a billion mini spotlights, and yellow mayflies, winged ants, and small midges dotted the air in numbers that would cause heart palpitations in even the most seasoned fly angler. It soon became clear however, that by no fault of it’s own, this river had baggage.
In many places eroded plunker stations were falling into the water and in the most well travelled paths along the bank, deep sodden troughs of mud would suck your boots in and not let you go. A charred campfire pit revealed remnants of beer cans, paper plates, a syringe, and a lighter fluid can. Styrofoam worm containers littered the small gravel bars, brush, and parking areas.
It’s amazing that even with printed instructions on the container, these littering dip shits still can’t find a way to stop themselves from leaving them on the bank.
Beer cans, chew cans, shitty toilet paper, and horse droppings were all easily spotted. I am finding that the PIO (pack it out) pod is a great invention from Fishpond, although it mostly gets filled with the mono of others so fast, that I rarely have room for my own.
To further the debacle, I find this sign posted on a tree. It seems that we are not only littering this river with trash but also with fish that belong in an entirely different ocean.
It’s an all too common sight, and one that is certainly not foreign to many of you. Unfortunately, these are the places that we as responsible anglers avoid. It’s easy to fish a spot like this and cross it off the list. With so many incredible places to fish, one’s natural propensity is to give up on it, and plan the next trip to a location that will give us that idyllic experience we look forward to. It’s these littered and abused places that cannot be forgotten. They need the eyes and ears of anglers that will respect them more than ever. I will not be crossing this place off of my list.
When next I visit this pretty little flow, two more tools will go with me in my hip pack. A garbage bag for the litter, and a large knife for the litterers.
See... even Rednecks can be bleeding heart, tree hugging, enviro activists!
]]>After all, lettering in junior varsity golf at Shorecrest high certainly didn't help my awesome factor. It seemed that playing Saxophone in the high school marching band and being addicted to fly fishing didn't exactly make me a hit with the ladies either. I did find one lady however that thought I was cool, so I married her. How many chances would an un-cool guy get after all?
In fact, I like gear. When you spend a lot of time outside, it's what you wear and use that can make your precious time doing what you love either a pain in the ass, or pure bliss. Ask a fly fishing, mountain, or whitewater guide who spends 300 plus days a year outdoors how they feel about the equipment they use. You're likely to find out they carry a special little place in their heart for the gear they love.
Being that I call Patagonia products home every day of my life, I felt a little bad about my ealier rip on their socks so I thought I would share my feelings about a product that makes me all comfy, warm inside, and definitely un-cool (I told you I wasn't cool).
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This video had me in tears, but not because I was emotionally moved. But because I absolutely could not control my maniacal laughter. Thought I would share.
P.S. Can someone please hook me up with whatever this dude is on?
]]>Upon wandering into the corner convenience store the other day, I was pondering what tasty treat might lay in wait for me in the well appointed cooler in front of me when I noticed this handsome devil staring me down. Then I read this:
Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
8.0%ABV, 1.071 O.G
At this point I knew we must meet and I promptly made my way to the cash register. When I placed the bottle on the counter, I noticed the $5.99 price tag. For one bottle?! At this point the nice middle eastern man looked me straight in the eye and said, "Have you had this beer before, do you know what you buy here?"
After explaining to him that I had hoped it was beer, and that I had not had it before, he sat down on his stool and put me in my place.
"This beer... It is an amazing beer." He said, "I have many, many customer who want this beer. I only allow 2 bottles per person, and have a long waiting list here." He showed me a list of names scratched out on a piece of paper.
"You are lucky today sir, a new batch came in just now." He then proceeded to give me stern instructions to only drink it out of a clean glass and to savor every moment of it's golden magnificence. Upon getting it home I immediately looked it up online. The comments were amazing and rating after rating proved that this beer was not just ANY beer.
It easily poured a smooth white head and crystalline tiny bubbles speedily made their way from the bottom of the glass to the surface. The orangey, amber color reminded me of dubbing perfect for the body of an October Caddis pattern.
It's no lie, it's aroma truly smells like Ganja and a friend informed me that Hopps are actually closely tied to the Marijuana plant. Undoubtedly this has only bolstered its amazing reputation. The first mouthful washed over my tongue with a slightly fruity taste and but not overbearing and full of crazy flavors. Swallowing revealed a super hoppy explosion that incredibly was not bitter. It didn't give you the pucker face factor, it just loaded your throat and back of the tongue with hoppy goodness. Overall, I savored every sip and drank it slowly making sure it didn't cool off too much before I finished it.
Check out Pliny the Elder from the Russian River Brewing Company. If you can get your hands on it, let me know what you think. I can't imagine anything better than sitting down after a long day on the water than settling down with a Pliny and pondering the one that got away.
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