First Ice Fishing Trip of the Year!

Yesterday afternoon I very bravely stood on the dock and sent Justin out on the ice to fix an aerator. When he came back alive and dry I just knew we would be able to drill some holes early this morning before the sun came out. That is exactly what we did, and boy was it alot of fun!!

Half of the lake has about 1.5 inches of ice on it, but on the eastern shoreline out to about 50 yards or so we had a whopping 2.85 inches of solid ice. My dad, mom, Chad, and Justin were all up for the little adventure this morning before starting our days task of building the hatchery pond and cutting down a whole bunch of trees for some fish structures.

Before I got all the poles set up, dad hooked up with the first fish!




About 5 minutes later and Justin was battling a nice trout as well!



Mom was holding a pole for me while I was fiddling with something and as she was reeling it up the biggest trout of the day nailed her tiny waxworm.



I think my trout actually gave moms trout a run for its money on weight, but me being the extremely humble guy I am I decided to just let her keep the undisputed big fish honors for the day.


Chad posing with his little, but beautiful golden trout:


We kept 6 fish today to turn into smoked trout dip for Christmas! To make the fish dip, I saute the fish in butter and then mix up a whole bunch of cream cheese, chives, shredded cheese, liquid smoke and anything else I can find in the kitchen all together in a bowl. Hows that for a recipe?

Anyhow here are some fun pics of the trout to cap off our first ice fishing trip of the season!



I cant wait till we actually get some safe ice and start guiding this year. This is going to be our best ice fishing season to date!! Not only are our fish looking great, but we actually have more guided fishing trips booked to take people ice fishing on their own lakes, than we do to take folks fishing on our lakes! For the most part we are booked up until mid-January, but I still have a couple weekdays available between now and then.

Dry Fly on the Wye only please!!!

I fished one of my most memorable sessions of the season today and it all come down to the more productive sport Grayling fishing i have ever had to the dry....
I pulled up around Half ten this morning and took a wander over to Peter from the fly tackle shop in Bakewell, i had a quick natter, spent some more money! and strolled across to the town centre..
The river was in fine condition, clear and slightly higher than normal but on its way down, well this spells for fill your boots fishing in any type of river fishing..
I started the day with a Three fly czech nymph set up and worked my way around taking some nice Grayling, some pushing to a pound and a half, most fish coming to the middle dropper.
I had some dinner by the river and sat puffing on my Bensons & Hedges thinking how buzzing it is to be out fishing while all the crowds are rushing around to the stress of xmas..It was one of those special days where the air was freezing and the sky was clear with a blazing sun...
I took a wonder as i want explore other area's of the river that are unfished, i came to a bend in the river where its properly the widest i have seen and in the corner of my eye i spotted a small rise, i sat watching to see a heavy trickle of Duns sailing down a fast rifle and slowing off..
Before i knew it the rises became more and more until the whole section was alive with Grayling hitting the Dun!!
Well i am still learning the method of bugging but i certainly know how to catch them on the dry as this is what pulls me to fly fishing..
I got the old feeling that i usually get around spring when the trout start looking up, i quickly set up a size 21 JT olive and set about presenting a nice dry in the runs of the fish, my first three cast were poor, i surprising how you loose the touch slightly when not fishing the dry for a while, the fish were rising a good 20 yards from me and with no wading i had to get it just right the 'fish the fly', i had to put a upstream mend in the line just before it hit the river, the next problem i had was i could not see my olive from that distance so i had to look for the rise in the vicinity of my fly and strike!, a few more casts, a slight dimple in the surface and a hard fast strike down i was into a nice grayling, 'get in youth!! i shouted with a few by standers looking at me like a twat!!
The fish were on em big time and i took fish after fish in a hour spell all to the dry, the olives soon started to thin out and obviously the fish did but i was buzzing, taking fish to the dry this time of year is amazing and it shows how good this river really is to produce so many invertebrate..
I took a few samples with my fly net and got a mix of BWO and LDO, but the fish were happy to take any..
I wandered back to my van and had a dabble here and there with my bugs but my heart was still with the dry and i decided to finish the day on a 'high to the dry'...
LTD

Nice one
Glen

There are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers

I am convinced that flies are created to hook more anglers than fish. There are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers.

I was browsing through a book on bonefish patterns and there are some really neat flies. There also are some real jokes. How some of them made it into the book is beyond me.

And what else gets me is that someone tweaks an established pattern a little bit and then puts his or her name on it.

The late George Rose of Rotonda was one of my early fly-tying mentors. He told me in his New Hampshire accent, "Steve, there are no new patterns. There all variations on the same theme."

I still believe that.

One of saltwater's truly great flies in the Clouser Minnow, a simple pattern developed by Pennsylvanian Bob Clouser. The fly will take everything from bonefish to carp. All it consists of is an upper and lower clump of bucktail, a little flash and lead eyes. Four steps and you're done.

But there are some numbnuts out there who add a little ice chenille for a body and add their name to the fly.

I created a fly that I named the Myakka Minnow. You can Google it and learn how to tie it. It's a great pattern for panfish and other freshwater species. The beauty of the fly is that it can be tied on any size hook to be used for any minnow-eating species you desire. The fly appeals to everything from bluegill to tarpon.

I posted the fly's recipe on a website, along with photos and the tying procedure. It mostly drew raves, but one disgruntled forum member blasted me for copying someone else's fly and adding my name to it.

I responded that I had never seen a fly like it, but certainly it was possible that there would be another out there. I asked if he would post a link to the site where he had seen it.

A couple of days later, he did. I clicked on the link and it took me to another site. There on my screen I saw my fly. It was on another forum where I had posted the Myakka Minnow photo and recipe.

Guilty! I copied my own fly.

The Myakka Minnow has caught literally thousands of fish. It's a dynamite pattern for oscar and Mayan cichlid in The Everglades.

About a year ago, a fly angler from North Carolina emailed me and wanted to know if I would sell him a few Myakka Minnows. I replied that I would. I said that the flies cost $3.50 each and the minimum order is a dozen.

He said that he was heading down to The Everglades and had read that the Myakka Minnow was THE fly.

About a week later, I mailed the flies to him. I asked that he let me know how he did.

I got an email from him six months later. He told me that they put their boat in at a canal along Alligator Alley and didn't do so well. So, they loaded the boat on the trailer and drove to another canal. They spent a fishless first hour.

"That's when I tied on a Myakka Minnow," he said. "And that's when I started catching fish.

"Your Myakka Minnow saved the day!"

While the Myakka Minnow is somewhat famous, it's not a contest winner. You have to understand that flies that catch fish and flies that win contests usually are two different animals. I entered the Myakka Minnow and another pattern that I created, my Wide-Eye Snook Fly, in a contest last year. The MM didn't place. The Wide-Eye Snook Fly, a pattern that hadn't ever caught a fish at the time, placed third in the nation.

Go figure!

But like I said at the beginning, there are flies that catch fish and flies that catch anglers.

I'm glad the Myakka Minnow catches fish.

A fishing fix is needed!

I just want to go fishing.

I've got cabin fever. It has been more than a week since my kayak hit the water.

Woe is me.

I could have gone fishing Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday if it hadn't been for my wife's car. Her Toyota Camry had a problem, so I had to take it into the shop. She used my Toyota Highlander while her vehicle was being repaired.

No big deal.

However, the only three good days of weather were Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. By the time I returned the rental car and picked up Kathy's vehicle, the weather turn more sour than two-week-old milk.

All is not lost. Since Kathy and I are headed for Grand Cayman in less that two weeks, I used the time to tie a few flies (see photos). And today I tied even more.

I hope to get back on the water on Monday. The weather should be settled by then.

A frosty Grayling day on the Wye (Perfect)

Time for Marshall to name new coach

I'm a fan of college football, and, in particular Marshall University.

I was graduated from Marshall in 1971. I didn't see The Herd win a football game until my junior year.

Marshall's football fortunes changed in 1984 when Stan Parrish, now head football coach at Ball State University, led The Herd to its first winning season in ages. MU then reeled off winning seasons on a regular basis, claiming two Div. I-AA National Championships, advancing to the title game on several other occasions, going 13-0 and finishing in the Top 10 in 1999 and finishing the Top 25 on a couple of other occasions.

Things turned sour after Bob Pruett (at right with stars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington), a part-time resident of Sarasota, Fla., departed suddenly after the 2004 season. Marshall grad Mark Snyder, who played on The Herd's national finalist team in 1987, was named to replace Pruett. Snyder came to MU from Ohio State where he served as defensive coordinator for the Buckeyes under Jim Tressel.

Marshall hasn't had a winning season since.

Whether it was Snyder's fault is anyone's guess. I have nothing against Snyder and I'm sure he gave it his best shot. But his best season among five was this year's version which finished 6-6 and is headed for the Little Caesar's Bowl in Detroit to face the Ohio University Bobcats.

From my viewpoint, what needs to take place is multi-faceted. Marshall needs to hire an up-and-coming coach as soon as possible. Then, the MU administration must make a commitment to winning football. The fan base is dwindling and the school's athletic budget is suffering. Losing seasons and poor play add up to empty seats.

Fans deserve hope. They deserve effort on the field. They need to feel proud of their team. When that happens, they turn out.

Players, I'm sure, can sense the frustration. They see the empty seats. They hear the rumors. They know when the fans doubt them.

And it's reflected in their play.

MU fans have spoken loudly by not attending games. That can be changed by hiring a dynamic coach.

Marshall football long has been known for exciting, high-powered offense and enthusiastic play.

The Herd needs to get back to that style.

Points equal wins. And wins equal fans.

The longer the administration waits to name a new coach, the more qualified candidates remove their collective hats from the ring.

Those rumored to be candidates include Central Michigan head coach Butch Jones, Wake Forest assistant Brad Lambert (a former MU assistant), Florida State assistant Rick Trickett, Arkansas assistant Paul Petrino and Pruett, the former Marshall head coach.

I would like to see a new coach announced no later than this weekend. It's important for a number of reasons, most of all recruiting.

Charlotte Harbor Fly Fishers a great group

My friend, Dusty Sprague, called me in a quasi-panic Tuesday morning. His fly fishing club, The Charlotte Harbor Fly Fishers (http://www.chff.us), was in need of a guest speaker -- Wednesday night.
Seems as if a scheduled speaker has experienced a family emergency.
Gibby to the rescue.
I told Sprague, a Federation of Fly Fishers' master certified casting instructor, that I would be glad to fill in. After all, I have at least five PowerPoint presentations ready to go on various fly fishing and kayak fishing topics.
One problem.
"We don't have a projector or screen," Sprague said.
Hmmm. Well, that's a minor roadblock that could be solved. I figured I'd give Bob Parker, president of the Mangrove Coast Fly Fishers in Sarasota, a call to see if I could borrow the club's projector.
"Sure," said Parker, "but I don't have the cord. My daughter has it and she's in Belize."
No big deal. I'll just hoof it. I'll just make it up as I go.
For me, public speaking is fun. I love it. I'm very comfortable speaking before people. The bigger the crowd, the better.
And when you're asked to speak about something that you love, it's a breeze. In this case, it was fly fishing, a passion of mine for the last 25 years.
I grabbed a few of my favorite flies and headed for Punta Gorda at about 4 p.m. Wednesday. I met Sprague and Jamie Allen, the club's leader, at 5 p.m. at Dean's South of the Border Tex-Mex Cantina, 130 Tamiami Tr. What a great place. The atmosphere is great, the food wonderful and the beer cold.
What more can you ask?
After dinner, we headed for the meeting.
I was immediately impressed. The atmosphere was friendly. Allen carried in a cooler of soft drinks, beer, wine and hors d'oeuvres. All were available to those in attendance -- for free.
The club doesn't even require members to formally join. Just show up at the meeting, sign in and you're a Charlotte Harbor Fly Fisher.
After a few announcements and fishing reports, Allen introduced me. I spoke for about 45 minutes on various topics, then opened the floor for questions. I answered questions for another half-hour. I then spent another 30 minutes answering questions after the meeting.
I met quite a few great folks, including Saltydancingdave, a fellow fly fisher who participants under that name at http://www.flyanglersonline.com. I'd never met Dave before but have read and responded to his posts at FAOL.
People were very much interested in my Everglades trips. They'll start this month, now that the water level in down in The 'Glades. I take clients down there for a full day of fishing for Florida exotics, oscar, Mayan cichlid and peacock bass. We also catch largemouth bass, bluegill, stumpknocker and shellcracker. It's usually a full day of non-stop action.
I'm also available to speak to any fishing group on a variety of subjects. You can schedule me a year ahead of time or on the spur of the moment.
Just give me a call at (941) 284-3406.