Riding High

Riding High:  A Season on the Fly from Waterline Media on Vimeo.

On a role here with the postings the past few weeks, but will be slowing down for the next few. I thought I would end the year with what I believe is probably the best internet clip on tarpon fishing ever. Enjoy and happy holidays to you and yours.

Pile Cast

McNeil - Pile Cast from Marshall Cutchin on Vimeo.

From On the Fly Productions , the same filmmakers that brought Once in a Blue Moon (the award winning film about New Zealand trout fishing), have put together a great instructional video on fly casting which can be found on MidCurrent. While there are many (bad) videos on how to cast and beginning casting methods, this video nails it. From the beginner to the advanced caster, you will watch this and learn something new and more important, useful. The above video is on a Pile Cast, which is a cast I use very often for dry fly fishing to difficult spring creek trout. If you are interested you can see more clips from this movie and purchase at Midcurrent

Scott Fly Rod - behind the scenes

Scott Fly Rod Co. | Behind the Scenes from felt soul media on Vimeo.

With fishing equipment  being outsourced to production in the far east more and more, Scott Fly Rods continue to manufacture all of their rods in the USA. Here is a behind the scenes look at the factory by Felt Soul Media who, in my opinion, made the best fishing movie in a long time with Eastern Rises.

Ode to Striped Bass

This new video by Peter Laurelli covering the 2011 season is pretty epic. If that isn't enough to make it through the winter, there is plenty more footage by Peter at http://vimeo.com/user783419/videos

Mosquito Lagoon Redfish

This time of year the redfish are moving through the lagoon systems in search of food on the flats. While they are not tailing as much as other times of the year, they are still moving around the shallows and looking to eat.

The primary food source this time of year on the flats for redfish is glass minnows, anchovies and mullet. With the abundance of baitfish, it is better to try to sight fish for them rather than blind casting at nervous water as many of these bait pods are not holding game fish. While blind casting can produce fish in off-colored water and deeper holes, it is better to find the fish first and then place a lead of 2-3 feet in front and then start moving the fly when the fish gets to about a foot from it. The flies that are currently working are mullet and small baitfish patterns with small crab patterns also occasionally accounting for a fish. In clear water I like to use lighter colors and then use a combination of black and purple for when the water is off colored. I have found that while calmer days allow for using a 7 or even 6 weight fly rod, a soft 9’ 8 weight like the Scott S4S with a Rio Saltwater line and a 9’ 12# Rio leader is a perfect everyday setup for the lagoon.

Holiday Gift Ideas

It’s that time of the year where small gifts for the avid or weekend fisherman are given, but unfortunately most of those gifts wind up on in the garage only to collect dust and then eventually thrown away. In order to try to avoid this predicament I have tried to come up with a list of gifts under $30 that almost any fisherman would love to have and use regularly. Here is a list of a few items:

- H Headwaters Taco Bag: This is a cool bag from Simms that allows for the angler who regularly uses waders to keep the river (and its smell) out of the car. If you use waders regularly whether in fresh or saltwater and always have difficulty at the end of the day finding a place to put the now soaked and sandy boots and waders, this is it. MSRP: 29.95

- Revivex: This is a great gift for anyone who has Gore-Tex products that are starting to age. If Gore-Tex doesn’t seem to shed water like it once did, it is probably time to apply this to the garment. MSRP 14.95

- Sebile Slender Eel: Are you looking for a stocking stuffer for the avid surf angler? If so, the new slender eel from Sebile is a great year round lure. This lure represents a bait / forage fish, the sand eel, which striped bass feed on year round with a profile and action that attracts all fish. This bait in Ghost Violet will be the go-to bait for that person for years to come. MSRP 14.10 - 15.58
http://www.sebileusa.com/slenderEel.php

- Connect (DVD): From the film makers of “Drift” and “Rise”, Confluence Films has released its third and final film. While the film focuses around destination fishing with the fly rod; the music, scenery and exotic fish transcend to anyone who enjoys dreaming of fishing while the weather outside may be frightful. MSRP: 29.95
http://www.confluencefilms.tv/

- Cliff Outdoors Super Days Worth Box: This box can hold enough for a day or years worth of fishing for the minimalist fly fisherman, begins the collection for the new fly fisherman or increases the collection of the established fly fisher. MSRP 28.85
http://www.cliffoutdoors.com/index.php?page=the-super-days

- Seaguar Red Label Fluorocarbon: This stuff is tough, abrasion resistant and strong and a line which I use with confidence for salmon, steelhead, redfish and striped bass. MSRP: 12.99

Salmon River Steelhead

Salmon River is holding a lot of Steelhead right now. As of today, the upper fly section of the river has closed for the season, but fish can be found throughout the river.

In high pressured areas or as the fish move further upstream the best patterns were steelhead candy, black stoneflies and smaller nymph patters. As new fish continue to enter the river standard sucker spawn and egg patterns work well for the fresh chrome fish. The river is also seeing a good share of brown trout and a few lingering salmon are still there, but will not be much longer.

Water levels are really low so while the river continues to hold a lot of fish, these fish are more likely to hit in the morning and then sparsely throughout the day as fishing pressure and the low water seems to slow the bite. Possibly, with the cold front which has moved in less fishing pressure will exist making the bite pick up once again. While winter conditions are quickly closing in, right now is a great time to target steelhead in the river if you can find a nice gap in the weather.