Blame Me

Certain days just feel right, but that doesn't mean things don't go left for no reason.  Earthlings were constructed with the need to know "why", "what" and "how come" to a fault, especially when the end of the game doesn't end up like it was planned. It's called blame and anglers are a group of anxious little haters who are always looking to convict something or someone for ruining their good time.

 Most of you angler people should learn to blame me.

Every time you move a fly rod I want things to end up looking like this.

I am one of the true villains in this sport, I am always waiting to spread my evil wherever anyone is trying to catch a trout. I can mess a cast up like no one's business, doesn't matter how long you have wiggled and waved graphite.
Stare me down and use me to mend with and you can float your feathers long believable distances, panic and I take advantage of you badly. Go ahead, don't let that rod load, after your forward stroke I will be right there in front of you all piled up, pissing you off.
One of my all time favorites is when you invite me along while you chuck streamers; if you include me in your fun, all that strippin will never move yer meat, or a fish....just me.

The pressure of fishing around a SIR can mess with your game if you let it.

Drift, Drag, Fly, Sun, Moon, Clarity, Line Management, Air Temperature, Water Temperature,Bara-effing-metric pressure.

Shitty Oars man, Bad knots, Dull hook points, Some power generating dam and the guy who messes with flow, ice in the guides, Bad guide.........whew, I could go on, it's a huge list of things to possibly blame.

Truth is, all on the list are but minions to me, just a few of the demons that help me to ruin your day. If more than one of them join forces with me in tormenting you, we can make fly fishing way harder than it's supposed to be.

Blame me, my name is Slack

Booze, good food, bad food and long nights are all necessary parts of a good fishing adventure that when not handled carefully can end up devilish minions in your boat.

BTW, I am having more fun than I should giving a few people heartburn with the titles of my last few blogs. The only other times this blog had better traffic was when I put the words sex appeal and terrorist in the title.

Don't Crosse me

Like fly fishing, the sport of Lacrosse has taught me many things. I grew up in the heart of the games birthplace, The Iroquois Nation (its called Western NY now) where kids slept with their sticks and the relationships born because of the game ran deep into our souls.

I am one proud Dad right now as my little lefty starts his journey this season after already explaining to us that if he doesn't make the NHL, he wants to play Lacrosse at Syracuse (sorry Kermie). During a wall ball session  yesterday he wanted to learn how to roll dodge.....he's 6. This is going to be awesome!

Enjoy the video, it got my motor running this morning.

Talking to your 3 wgt

Just one of the highlights of my week on the river, just happened to get some video, but it's the audio thats priceless. What do you think you sound like when you realize your 3 wgt may not be enough??

Thank you Vail Rod and Gun Club

 Fun afternoon researching a possible venue for America Cup and the up coming World Championships that will be hosted by our valley in 2016.

K.I.S.S.

One of the perks of guiding in the winter is the talent pool can be full of actual anglers. At most, I find myself fine tuning already solid techniques this time of year, which offers up a refreshing break from blurting the word  Mend 1423 times a day, thank you. But Fly Fishing teases us just enough to understand that there is something more to learn, another switch to turn on during the path to receiving your ninja card, so we never stop looking for answers. Expert Anglers understand this weird thirst for knowledge, that's how they became "experts" in a sport which can seem impossible at times if you are not paying attention.

Once the battle to conquer the cast, drift, reading water and the trouts is under control and contained, most anglers look to filter the complication out this sport and make it simpler. Everyone with mad skills tend to ask more advanced questions about short cuts, magic pills or the newest sneaky secret guide techniques, but they often find out guides are trying to make things as easy as possible while still producing results.

   

Love shots of people admiring their prize, so much better than your typical grip and grin.

So here's some of the random tricks of the trade tips (none of which I take credit for)that came up over the last few weeks of my life on the river.

You do not have to improve your clinch knot.

Tying droppers to the bend of the hook does not create a force field preventing fish from becoming stuck.

You should be carrying markers in your pack.

Just buy 9' 4X Leaders, I recently received a shipment of 36 of them just to get me started this year. If you need a stronger leader chances are it can be shorter, so simply cut 2 feet of leader off and you are into 3x or better. Need a finer leader? Usually finer means longer so start adding 5x and smaller tippet for those picky trout presentations.

The show it to your buddy shot is cool too.

Keep It Simple Sport.

Respect, Censorship and #20 Stoneflies

The few of you who read this crap  have noticed a blog post missing.
I in no way meant to disrespect any one, any place, any fish, any guide and especially any river. My opinion on bought or stocked fish was just that, my opinion. My goal was to show respect for a river that was already perfect in my eyes, but my lack of skill with words left too much for interpretation and I apparently butt hurt some of society. Every fish that I net gets treated to thanks, praise and gratitude; Every single fish....... big, small, Rainbow, Brown, Whitie, Sucker(maybe not), Wild or Stocked has helped contribute to my little families well being as well as my clients happiness and I am always thankful. Moving forward, I promise to work harder at expressing my often off center, stupid takes on a sport that takes it self way to seriously with more clarity and attention to grammar.

#20 Golden Stones are still showing up in my friends faces

Bought Fish

So I scribbled this down a long time back and was threatened with being fired if I didn't take it down, I was a puss and gave in. The guilty parties explained to me that today's client wants the "Boxwood" experience. THE Eagle river does not need to be stocked. No healthy wild trout stream should be stocked so some rich peep can pay extra to hold a giant fish that he or she or the guide for that matter is not talented enough to catch in the wild. I am sick and this is criminal and Oh Yeah I already got fired.


If every 12" wild trout in the river was rising to dries, would you nymph for stockers still??

Lets call this the Rocky Mountain version of STOCKERS VS WILD FISH, not nearly as serious as the the Pacific Northwest Steelhead version. None of this bullshit should be confused with any controversy over Wild vs Native either, that's another soap opera all together. And I know this subject has been done, it's just that I never had to deal with it consistently here on THE Eagle River until last August, when into the mix of my favorite fish on the planet a mysterious truck dumped a bunch of pen raised freaks that everyone wants a picture of.

If they stocked Permit would you chase them instead of their pure bred, hard as hell to catch step brother?

NOT A STOCKER, same stretch of river though

Last week I ran some photos trying to highlight  the gorgeousness that is wild trout. The color difference between a stocker and a stream born fish are night and day, but I thought it fair to give Mr. and Ms. Pellet Belly from down on Concrete Chase Way their day in the sun. These pictures had to surface sometime or another, the guilt has eaten away at my soul anyways. I need to come clean I guess and admit to my transgressions and let the dirty little secret out, I sometimes fish for stockers and take lots of pictures.

Does it crush my already shaky credibility with some of you? Make me look like some silly rookie posting pictures of giant fish thinking it's the ticket to being famous in next years brochure?

STOCKER

Pictures of stockers combined with the social media disease can destroy the reputation of a wild trout stream. It all starts innocently; Some amateur fly fisherman looking forward to his fur collar fluffing in Vail sees some fish porn and wants to be in a pic with that giant fish he saw on the web. Every wild fish that used to be held in the highest honor for their beauty and difficulty all become 2nd class chump change while people pay extra for a dance with a fish that should not even be there.That young lady pictured above will be let down by every other trout she ever holds. That sucks and yes I am partly to blame by using very limited skills, basic knowledge and flies my 6 year old tied to make that GMO Fish partly famous.My bad, it is my job after all.

STOCKER but a great family picture

We call them working fish in the industry. We bought 'em so we could sell them to you. Guides and outfitters make a living finding fish, who could blame a guy for doing things the easy way until the new implants die, it's in our nature. I get paid for putting people on fish, fish they can catch easily is good and  if they are giants that is all the better, but it always takes me back to a line I heard from Hate years ago "Nothing easy is good". A large portion of my clients have no idea ol' Fat Albert was a bought fish anyways, they just think they landed the biggest Rainbow of their lives. And lets face facts here, a 20" stocker is soooo much easier to catch than a 20" wild fish, any day, any place, anytime, period. None the less a 20" fish is a picture almost everyone wants, I guess it's OK if that hog is a big farm bred, scuffed fin, pellet feeder. I have 100's of them on this machine, I just prefer everyone didn't know.

STOCKER, excellent handling for the camera though

IF YOU MUST shoot great exposures of store bought fish, start with good planning and a creative grip to hide the more obvious scrapes and dents. Hold that beat up propeller of a tail with the classic over hand grip, not because it might use its great strength and mass to over power you; No, it looks like your boy ran it's tail over with a lawn mower. Take care to point major scars and maybe that missing eye away from the camera. Try adding a distraction or two in the back ground like epic scenery or a photo bomb to draw attention away from common flaws like the anal pucker all stockers seem to come equipped with.

STOCKER and one of my favorite clients

I know they make for fantastic pictures and in most cases it is the biggest fish that will ever hang on a persons office wall, but do they belong in the marketing department of your fly shop if it is going to ruin an incredible fisheries reputation?
Just my opinion, but posting obvious stocker pics on your social media  (ego blaster) shows you as a bit desperate.
To anyone who knows better it can show your short cuts or even make you seem lazy. I will not, nor can I stop taking people's pictures with our version of migrant workers, but I can choose to be careful where I make them accessible.  Love the small things in life and maybe those special "little" wild trout that used to be held in such high regard for their challenging ways will get a few more chances to be on someone's wall.

DON'T STOCK WILD TROUT STREAMS!!!!

Want more information?      Like scientific junk you can't get here?    Read this and learn stuff          Montana does not stock any more, find out why 

Mayfly eggs Hatching

Very Cool Video