Guys, Flies & Pies

Tie Like A Girl t-shirt

2012-01-18T23:13:00.000-05:00

Sure, it's called Guys, Flies & Pies, but the truth is we have women that attend the event, women that are great friends and even better fishermen (than other guys....NOT me...seriously, I'd never admit to that, so don't expect it.)

Now there's a shirt designed for all the girls. For $20 you can own your very own Tie Like A Girl t-shirt. The Seriously Shop not only will ship this anywhere in the USA for free, but Guys, Flies & Pies will let you into the event next month for the prepaid price ($10) if you are wearing one...even if you pay at the door (otherwise $12 the day of the event.)

Tie Like A Girl t-shirt

To order yours go to The Seriously Shop on Etsy.

Grasshopper Outdoors

2012-01-16T07:52:00.000-05:00

Many of you who visit this site may have seen the link at the bottom for Grasshopper Outdoors. If you are not familiar with them, they are the ones behind the ever popular monoMASTER, the year old seatMASTER, and the fresh from the stork...Fishin'clips!

For years the monoMASTER has been a simple clean way for anglers to easily carry waste mono out from the water. No mess in the vest, no tangle in the pockets. A simple and easy product.

Master your mono

Last year they came out with the seatMASTER, a seat that attaches to the top of a stick, wading staff, or petrified dinosaur bone. Need a break, crack it open and relax.

seatMASTER

Now, if you are looking for a way to keep your strung up rod tangle free, use the Fishin'clips to keep things where they should be. What a great way to transport your rod, ready to fish, from spot to spot.

Fishin'clips

Again this year at the event (2/18/2012) we'll have some of their products on hand to check out and win. Of course, I'm still waiting for the deskMASTER I suggest they make to easily spin up (like the monoMASTER) and clean off the tying desk mess. Maybe someday....maybe.

Not coming to the Guys, Flies & Pies event next month? Then check them out on Facebook, you can enter to win one of their products. Every Monday until spring they are giving some away!

Event Update

2012-01-15T19:22:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to let everyone know that things are coming together for the event, which is NEXT MONTH. Mark your calendars for February 18th 2012. It's from 3pm until...well, until you leave....we wont kick you out until midnight. Bring your vise and your appetite. Sit down and have a fun evening tying with other fishermen. Get in on the raffles and have a chance to win some great prizes. Around 6pm we'll have sheets and sheets and sheets of pizza pies show up for some dinner, eat all you want. Soda/pop and water are available so drink up! We'll have a few demonstrations to watch, but typically there are plenty of people willing to let you sit down and learn from them. We really have a great group of people who are so nice to share what they know.

Our sponsors are the best out there. Check out the list below and make sure to check out their websites. These companies have helped provide great products for everyone to check out and win. Make sure you tell them you heard about them from GFP.

Photo by Lucas Carroll Photography

Entry into the event is $12, but if you pay in advance you can save $2. Plus, if you wear your Guys, Flies & Pies t-shirt to the event, we'll let you in for $10 even if you pay at the door. If you are interested in buying a shirt for $20 send me an email about what size, mike@guysfliesandpies.com. To pay in advance hit the link at the top left of this page.

We will have some great prizes again this year and as always we'll have a lot of great guys (and girls) tying flies who are always willing to share what they know. Honestly, I host this event just to learn from everyone else about fly tying.

Only 34 more days, I can't wait! See you there!

Jesse James Reel Company

2012-01-07T09:03:00.001-05:00

As we get closer to the event, sponsors are stepping up again to help provide some great gear for prizes. Jesse James Reel Company is joining with us again.

Awesome looking reel in either size!

You may remember from my post last year just after our event, that they now have a few new reels. In addition to this, they have updated their website and have added some other products for sale.

Check them out at www.jessejamesreels.com for more information!

Trout Power Tournament

2012-01-03T21:25:00.000-05:00

JP Ross of JP Ross Fly Rods has done what many people fear will happen to their favorite streams....he's talking about it all the time...EVEN on the internet! It comes down to a simple idea, if no one knows about it, and it's potential, then no one will care to protect it. So, to help save this beautiful water, he's started a Trout Power blog and will be hosting a Trout Power Tournament this summer.

Trout Power is a way for the community around the water to realize the potential the water has to bring business to the community. The tournament will be on Saturday and Sunday June 9 and 10th 2012. So, being that it's a 2 day tournament, consider staying at one of the local hotels and eating out at a local place...help the community, so they help protect the water.

There is a limit of 30 teams, 2 people per team. Sign up is $60 (that includes 2 shirts) with a $1,000 grand prize and other great prizes. If you don't feel like fishing in the tournament, volunteers are needed.

For more information on the tournament and the Trout Power mission, visit the website at http://www.troutpower.blogspot.com

fishpond Road Trip Fly Tying Kit

2011-12-10T00:15:00.001-05:00

Four days ago I entered a contest by fishpond on their Facebook page. Well, I won...I won big time! I won their Road Trip Fly Tying Kit. For four days I've been hoping it would come soon, because I've seen a few of their products and really appreciated their quality and how well they are thought out. And today, the wait was over. Minutes after doing my part to devour a dinner pizza pie there was a stranger opening my screen door, peeking through the front window and leaving a package. Initial thought of fishpond....fast delivery!

Now, although I've only had this in my hands for a few hours, I've opened it up three or four times to check it out and see what they've done. This bag is awesome.

The outside front has a nice small pocket, maybe for a cell phone like my kids suggested.

Front

Back

(Well, I guess there's no point hiding it any longer....) I started sewing a few weeks ago....(there, I admitted it) and so one of things I noticed on the outside is that they straps are sewn to straps that are part of the outsides. This makes the stress point where the X's are sewn to likely never tear through. Even though fly tying materials are often light, the base of your vise is heavy, and so this extra strap in the middle will give this strap strength, which will likely last forever.

Open up the bag and you find the inside cover has a large zippered pocket and 4 pockets. This setup is also found on the inside of the back cover. You'll also see in the image below, the first insert. This one has a hook/bead box and thread storage tubes. Both the box and the tubes have Velcro on them and can be removed when in use.

Inside cover and containers

Flip the insert over and the backside is empty...but has a fuzzy back...ready to accept Velcro. The next insert is a combination vise pouch and tool storage. There are two zippered pouches, one for your vise base, and one padded for your vise. Seriously...your vise will sleep well at night. The outside of this vice bag has 18 slots sewn in to hold your tying tools.

Vise Sleeping Bag

Tool storage on left side

The third insert has 18 Ziplock bags, sewn in groups of 3 to Velcro (shown above). There are two sizes to these bags. The reverse side of this insert has 4 zippered pouches. These pouches are made of plastic backed fish netting and have 2 different colors, to help identify which pouch you need to grab.

Zippered pockets and back cover

And finally, the reason I keep calling this parts "inserts" is because they can be removed and reinserted. Think about it, you get to your tying party (Guys, Flies & Pies for example) and instead of having to flip back and forth like an old trapper keeper notebook, you pull these out and have more stuff laid in front of you ready to grab.

The bag pulled apart into it's individual parts

Overall, having really just pulled this out of the packaging and looked it over a few times, I got to say this bag is awesome. I can't imagine anyone having any complaints with it. It's well built, has great ideas for storage, and looks like it would be great for either fly tying party hoping or for having tying stuff ready for stream side tying.

Like I said in the beginning, I won this bag from fishpond....it's mine...all mine. However, I'd be lying if I didn't initially think about putting it up for a raffle at the Guys, Flies & Pies event on 2/18/2012. Unfortunately, this bag is so freaking sweet, I don't think I can part with it. Hey, maybe I can convince fishpond to be a sponsor for GFP for 2012 and send us another one for someone to win at the event. Hey, you never know!

GFP 2012 Announced! 5 Year Anniversary!

2011-11-10T10:48:00.000-05:00

100 days from this post we'll have the 5th annual Guys, Flies & Pies fly tying event!

The next event is on February 18th 2012

I'll wait while you mark your calendars and tell your significant other to plan on your absence for the night!

In the coming weeks and months I'll keep you updated on the progress. I hope to have another great year full of products to check out and to raffle off. While you are waiting for updates, visit the sponsors links* below...without their support we'd just be another bunch of smelly guys hanging out.

* - some sponsor links are missing the image...that should be fixed soon.

Journal Of Fly Tying

2011-10-17T13:23:00.001-04:00

The Journal Of Fly Tying by John P. Newbury is just too cool to not tell you about. When it comes to fly tying and photographing those flies, John does a fantastic job!

John's DT Orange Crush - Bead Thorax Soft Hackle

I recently connected with John through Google+, but it wasn't until this weekend that I checked out his profile and found his website. What a find! He's got a lot of awesome flies that were photographed way better than I'll ever be able to do. A few videos are tucked away in the Tutorials section, and are nice distraction for your day at work.

Have a look, it's worth your time!

LINK

Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop

2011-10-14T14:02:00.001-04:00

I got a press release from a friend the other day announcing the Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop. This is a pretty nice setup where Recycled Fish has teamed up with West-Fly to provide a source of inexpensive flies, where 30% of the proceeds got to "conservation efforts to help make strong fisheries with healthy fish populations."

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Announcing the Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop powered by West-Fly
New online fly shop delivers high quality flies at low prices, delivers money to conservation.

To catch a fish, an angler needs three things: the know-how, the equipment – and the fish have to be there. The new Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop powered by West-Fly helps accomplish two out of the three. It offers high quality flies at low prices to put the right tools in anglers’ hands, and funnels no less than 30% of every sale to conservation efforts to help make strong fisheries with healthy fish populations.

“We don’t ever want to be a fishing products company,” said Teeg Stouffer, Recycled Fish Executive Director. “We are a non-profit organization. That’s why we’ve partnered with West-Fly, who produces, markets and distributes quality flies. They have created something to help our cause in a new and interesting way.”

So does the Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop powered by West-Fly replace standard bricks and mortar fly shops? “Not at all,” says Stouffer. “Fly fishing needs locally owned shops – they’re part of the culture of the sport. What we’re doing complements traditional shops, it doesn’t compete with them. We won’t, don’t, and can’t offer casting lessons or fly tying classes, guide services, or boots and waders. We can’t tell you what the stream flows look like, or what the fish are eating. But once you figure that stuff out with the help of a local shop (probably after buying an assortment of flies from them), you can order a couple dozen of your favorite patterns from us, or prepare for a destination trip by loading up a fly box with the flies for a faraway water.”

The Recycled Fish Online Fly Shop is available at www.RecycledFish.org/FlyShop or by visiting Recycled Fish and clicking on “Fly Shop.” West-Fly makes a quarterly donation to Recycled Fish based upon proceeds from the sales. All purchases through the site qualify for donations to Recycled Fish.

About Recycled Fish:

Recycled Fish is the national non-profit organization of “anglers living a lifestyle of stewardship both on and off the water, because our lifestyle runs downstream.” The Recycled Fish “Sportsman’s Stewardship Pledge” invites anglers to embrace the Stewardship Ethic and join the organization, free of charge. The SAFE Angling Program — Sustaining Angling, Fish and Ecosystems — is a way to help anglers embrace a lifestyle of stewardship on the water. It involves catch and release fishing, including the use of single barbless hooks, biodegradable lures, and non-toxic lead-free weights. Recycled Fish also educates anglers about invasive species, habitat loss, waterway litter and pollution prevention, urban fisheries, and increase participation in recreational fishing for both adults and children. For more information on the 501(c)3 group go to: www.recycledfish.org

So, if you find yourself with a trip of a lifetime booked...for bluegill...and need a few dozen flies in a hurry, consider Recycled Fish, because not only will you get what you need, but you'll be helping to make things better!

Dear Les Claypool

2011-10-06T16:31:00.000-04:00

Mr. Claypool,

My name is Mike and I am a hack fly fisherman. In just 2 days you'll be jamming in my home town, a town that I still live in! You'll be minutes from my home...and minutes from some awesome fly fishing water. Water that flows into the wonderful Lake Ontario. About this time every year huge salmon, steelhead, brown trout, and other similar fish leave the relative safety of the deep lake and travel up into the shallow waters of the rivers. The females get in early and lay their beds because "She knew what she wanted. She was lookin'
for that stud bull........SAAAY BAAABY!!!"

....Sorry, you know all about what fish do and why. Forget all that biology lesson I was getting into above.

The point I'm trying to make Mr. Claypool is that you'll be MINUTES from this fishing! So, here's what I'm offering.

I don't have the $38+ bones to give up to come see your show (long story, but trying to not end up living in a box), so I'm going to give you a free guided trip to some of the best water Rochester has to offer! That's right, I'm not even going to charge you $38 to hang out with the coolest dad (in my house) in Rochester! That's a deal you can't pass up!

What? Want more? Well, call now and you wont receive one awesome knife but TWO awesome knives! Wait, informercial flashback. What I meant to say was, I'll even throw in a free fly tying session! That's right Les (can I call you Les?), if you can't swing a few hours to go fishing, or if you are allergic to water, you can come over to my fly tying house of horrors (I have 5 kids, that qualifies for all kinds of horror) for some fly tying! You'll be able to go back home and tell all your trout bum buddies "I tied flies with Mike...the guy who started Guys, Flies & Pies!!!" And then after they stare at you like they have no idea what you are talking about, and no idea why they should care, you can say "...well, he's not that famous anyway, so, um, never mind!"

So, if this is something you'd be interested in, please send me an email at guysfliesandpies [at] gmail.com and we can set up a time! Hey, I'll even come to the show and tie with you backstage...but I still can't swing the $38, so maybe that's not going to happen.

I hope to hear from you soon! Thanks and have a wonderful trip and good luck at the show!!!

Sincerely,

MIKE

And for you that are NOT Mr. Claypool, and have no real good reason to be reading this very personal and private letter, enjoy the following video...THEN PASS ON MY LETTER TO ANYONE THAT CAN GET ME IN CONTACT WITH LES!!!

R U Super Fly?

2011-09-29T09:21:00.001-04:00

I've talked about Pat Cohen on the blog before because of his awesome Punk Rockers! He's an amazing deer hair fly tier that is easily gaining much deserved recognition around the world.

Just yesterday he posted up a new website to make purchasing his amazing flies easier. Whether you are looking for a fly to fish, or one of his amazing punk rockers to display at your tying desk for inspiration, he's got got you covered!

Click here for his new website!

My Desk Has Been Hijacked

2011-09-21T10:59:00.001-04:00

That's right....when your desk is the only one that's got space left on it, it attracts other people. My wife has 2 5 foot tables in the ~~craft~~ fly tying room, and since they were all covered in her stuff, she used my desk. Sure, I was a bit upset, but I was there to monitor her use, and to make sure it didn't get out of control. I have to walk a fine line because I have a few sewing projects lined up for her (some fishing related) so I don't want to get on her sewing bad side.

Sew wrong

And then this morning, my 18 month old son found his way onto my chair and started to blow on my unfinished poppers. Yes, these flies are hot!

Caution: Contents are HOT!!!

Thankfully with the new setup tying flies can be done one or two at a time. The vises are quickly accessible, but away from the little guy. Materials will soon be added to the wall for easy grabbing. And with a clean (for now) space, it's easy to sit down and not be overwhelmed by a mess that should be cleaned.

I even got some time to tie last night. Nothing great, and I didn't even photograph it for proof...so you're going to have to believe me.

A New Fly Tying Desk

2011-09-13T10:13:00.006-04:00

For a few years I've had an old sewing machine desk that I've been tying at. Well, I decided it was time for a change.

The old desk

It's hard to see in the crappy photo above, but the old desk was made for small American seamstresses....and I outgrew that category long ago. The leg room under the desk left a lot to be desired. I loved how it folded up, and I converted it to hold materials on a board that secured to the back and kept materials out of tiny grabby hands....which seem to be very prevalent in my house.

The new desk, while the same size as the old one when the old one was opened, is 20 inches deep and 5 feet wide! It's got a lot of room. It's mounted to the wall with 10 anchors that I'm told can hold 250lbs each (that's a combined total of 2500lbs of support).....now that's some comforting support when cranking down on glow bugs or deer hair!

Ché working his magic

Of course, the desk came at a great price......FREE! Well, not completely since I hooked my friend up with a few drinks. Got to keep the free labor well hydrated.

Before it gets all messed up

It's supported by tracks on the wall, so it can be raised or lowered if I ever need it to be. It's currently a few inches taller than a standard table, and that seems to be comfortable so far.

Got the molding cut and put back

Added some more tying stuff

I have not yet tied on the desk, but I've used it for a few other simple projects.....like testing out my new tying desk accent lights! I reclaimed the inside of a light saber when it was destroyed, and I'll have the coolest tricked out desk in town....or at least in the house!

Bling

DISCLAIMER: I had this new desk put in while my wife was out of town. She knew a new desk was coming, but I have yet to know her true feelings on this awesome setup! Will it be too large? Will it be too permanent? Will it be too awesome? She gets home any minute now so I guess I'll soon find out!

JP Ross Fly Rods

2011-08-29T09:39:00.001-04:00

Guys, Flies & Pies sponsor JP Ross Fly Rods has posted a new video. In this video JP talks about the components he uses and various ways your rod can be customized. I really enjoy the rod tubes they have, and how they can laser engrave the cap. Also, you can get the reel seat engraved and the butt cap. All these options, along with choice of wood for the insert and style of reel seat allow you to really have a nicely customized rod.

And, if you have a business and are looking for a nice gift for your employees, give JP a call and talk about getting matching rods for the gang. And, if you are doing this please consider putting me on the books before the rods get handed out! I can always use another rod!

LINK: JP Ross Fly Rods

The First Trunk Loop

2011-08-26T07:52:00.001-04:00

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm having my wife sew me up some trunk loops to make tying down my kayak easier.

Test fit, ready to be sewn

Loading up a bobbin of a different kind

Sewing it together

Check out those cute hands!

The finished product

Late night test run

It works!!!

Just hanging out

I'm excited that this worked well. However, after inspecting my trunk a bit closer, I think I might make these with a rivet instead of the hose, then screw the strap directly to the trunk so they are fixed to the trunk. This would mean they'd be in place all the time and I'd just have to flip them out when needed. This weekend I'll make up a riveted strap and see how well it works.

A Short Float

2011-08-25T07:34:00.002-04:00

This past Tuesday night, my wife and I made a deal, a deal in which she promised I could kayak EVERY day for the next week and a half. Well, I took the deal, not necessarily because of that, but because I knew I had to. But, I wasn't going to let a chance to go fishing from my "yellow banana" pass by. So yesterday after work I quickly loaded up the kayak and headed out for 2 hours. I got to fish for about an hour and a half. A short trip, because like most every other night in the next week and a half, there was something already on the calendar. So, there's a chance a week and a half of kayaking "every day" will turn into 2, maybe 3, trips. I'll take what I can get.

I started off by exploring a very tiny opening in the weeds which was barley 5 feet across in some parts. I got pretty close to a great blue heron and he flew away. I determined with limited time, and the slow speed I had to use to navigate in such a tight area, I'd turn back to the main part of the pond.

The wind was pretty strong and consistent so I kept close to the reeds to keep from getting swept away from the water I was fishing. In the end, I missed all the strikes and caught nothing. It was still nice to get out in the wind and learn that I could be successful in the kayak.

Ready to go

I got home from fishing and found a package waiting. Getting fishing related mail is great!

It was my 24 yard roll of webbing/strapping.

While out at the store I picked up a few more supplies.

I'm going to use this stuff to have my wife sew me up a "soft rack" for the kayak and some trunk loops. Here are pictures of what I've found online, what I'm trying to make myself. I think we'll be successful in making it work, and it will make strapping the kayak to the car easier and quicker.

If you don't tell anyone, I'll let you in on a secret.....I wish I knew how to sew. Last night I wanted to get the stuff made, but my wife had more important things to do. Hopefully in the next week we'll be able to get at least the trunk loops made, since I'm still trying to find a place that has pool noodles (for the soft rack) still in stock this late in the summer.

A Successful Fishnic

2011-08-23T14:29:00.001-04:00

Last night we loaded up the kids and met our friends and their kids at a local park for a fishnic (fishing + picnic). We enjoy some subs and sandwiches for dinner and then off to the park for some swinging and playing for the kids. After a quick bathroom break we headed down to the pond. This is one of those ponds where many skeptical (likely non-fishing) people have asked "there are fish in there?" Well there are fish in there....um...I mean there are NOT any fish in there...regardless of what I show you in the pictures to come.

The walk in photo shoot. "Take my picture."

One of a few small bass

Brian's first of the night

Tyler brings one in

Brooke fighting a bass

Even at only 4.5 years old, this kid can pop a popper like a pro

Say cheese...covered poppers!

Brian lassoed this post, can't leave a picture like this out!

It was a great night fishing with our friends and bringing in some fish for the kids to enjoy!

Brian has a few photos on Flikr....click here!

Buck Pond

2011-08-22T16:08:00.004-04:00

Last Saturday I was able to get out in my kayak for the 2nd time (3rd kayak trip for those who are counting.)

I went to Buck Pond which is a pond that feeds into Lake Ontario. I've lived near these ponds for all but a few years of my life. Growing up I have memories of worm fishing there with my dad and siblings, and even once with my Grandfather on a rare trip to NY. I fished these ponds more when I was younger, and more when I was a lure fisherman. Since I switched to fly fishing over a decade ago, I don't fish those ponds much anymore...and that will now change since my trip last Saturday.

I loaded up my kayak just before 6pm and headed out. My wife picked me up some new straps to secure it to the roof and I was pleased how well they worked, and grateful for the peace of mind that they provided more safety than the way I first strapped it down a few weeks ago.

Strapped and ready

I put in at a small parking spot and got a play by play from some young boys fishing with their father. "He's got a boat. He's putting on his life jacket. He's getting in his boat. He's IN his boat." It was nice having a fan club, and even better that I didn't fall out, since I'm new at this whole kayaking thing.

Google Street View, no weeds

I almost didn't stop at the pond because it was 80% filled with surface weeds. I decided I'd try it anyway and I'm glad I did. I was able to fish for about an hour and a half before I paddled back to the car before the sun completely set for the night. It took about 20 minutes or so, but I caught a nice 12 inch bass. Of course, there's no photographic proof because I'm still too worried about flipping to bring a camera. There were a few big fishing jumping around the pond, and I missed a ton of hits. I'm not sure if I need to set the hook differently since I'm sitting so close to the water, or if it was just bad luck. Either way, I ended up with another 6 inch bass bringing my total fish for the night to 2. I had one nice fish on but while trying to reel up the slack line to fight it off the reel, it went into the weeds and left me with nothing but weeds on a hook. It was big enough to try to get it on the reel. I really wish I had seen and landed that fish.

I got out of the water just before dark and 2 spin fisherman where on shore. We made small talk, about kayaks, and then he noticed my fly rod. He said I was crazy for trying to fly fish on a kayak. I said it's the only type of fishing I do.....and then he called me an elitist. I switched to full time fly because I was more successful...and I like tweed! Of course, I caught 2 fish, and from what I was told, they caught none. So, don't call me an elitist....I'm a "successful elitist!"

As you can see from the image below, I only fished a small portion of the pond, and there is plenty more to explore!

So much water, so little time

New Shelf In The Tying Room

2011-08-18T08:55:00.002-04:00

Recently my wife painted the walls in the fly tying room (sure, it's 3/4 her office and craft stuff, but that other 1/4 of the room is mine....and therefore it's the fly tying room.) Since the painting I haven't had a chance to put my tying stuff back in place, but I plan to move in only some materials at a time, so it doesn't get too crowded too quickly.

Well, last night I added a vise shelf. I have young kids and I figured a shelf on the wall behind the desk would be a good place to put my vises out of the way and out of reach when they are not in use.

Here are a few photos of the progress of setting the shelf up.

One lonely vise

A vise party

Complete with a GFP sticker!

Now I just need to start bringing in more stuff to fill the wall.

About Face

2011-07-29T08:28:00.000-04:00

This week I've done an about face when it comes to my kayak.

Years ago....more than I can remember (about 3 or 4)....my wife got a sweet deal on a kayak and gave it to me for my birthday. I was excited, but after climbing into it, I didn't know if I'd get out if I flipped it....unintenionally flipped it, because I have no desire to do rolls in the thing. Well, that fear combined with everything else that gets in the way of fishing, have kept me from ever (yes, I said ever) taking it out. Well.....that is about to change.

See, this past Tuesday I went out in a kayak owned by a guy that I've never met. A guy who someday I hope to meet and thank personally for the use of his kayak. His wife was home when Matt and I stopped by and picked it up. She was welcoming and made sure we had not just the kayak but also a paddle and a PFD since I was a little cautious since it was to be my first time out in a kayak. I asked her if it was the "lucky" kayak and she told me it was the "tippy" kayak.....yeah....that calmed my nerves!

Having had a successful trip out in it that night, I came home dreaming of the next time I'd get out. So, the next day I went outside and sat in my kayak....and thought "this isn't that bad." I realized the entry into it, although a bit tight, wasn't likely to end up being a death trap if I happened to tip it. I now think there's a good chance I'll never flip it, and if I do, the PFD should provide enough buoyancy to help me stay high in the water and to get out and swim.

....and that brings me to my about face....

My kayak has sat around for years, and even as recently as about a month ago I was trying to sell it....now, I'm rethinking that and looking forward to giving it some time on the water.

So, last night, after assembling some new patio furniture for my wife I pulled the kayak into the yard and had the kids help me wash it up. They loved helping and even got a chance to sit in it and pretend to be paddling around. They all even took a chance to surf on top of it.

I had to clean it up since sitting around for a while got it a bit dirty.

Before the scrub down

My youngest son kept trying to play in the water that was inside the kayak...so we put a bowl of water out so he could splash in that instead. Well, it took about 2 seconds before he decided he wanted to go for a swim!

Cheese ball grin

I had the kids doing the scrubbing inside and out. They helped me take off the stickers too. Next up, a few Guys, Flies & Pies stickers need to be added to it!

Getting all sparkly

Next up I need to get my own PFD, a better back rest, and a good way to tie it to the van or car. I'm even thinking I might try to tie it down to the van to take with us on our next camping trip!

Thanks again to Matt for the trip Tuesday that showed me that I needed to get mine out!

Check out his report from that trip here!

My First Kayak Fishing Trip

2011-07-27T11:17:00.000-04:00

Last night I met up with Matt from FISHINGPOET and we went out in kayaks to catch some bass.

We met up at his secret location (his house) and loaded up the gear and headed over to his friends house to steal a second kayak. I was hooked up with a nice kayak and a PFD in case I decided to take a swim. See, although I have owned a kayak for a few years, I've never gotten it wet...except to wash out bugs. Without a simple way to haul it Matt was kind enough to pick one up for me to use.

Initially the plan was to put in about 6pm, but after a tour of his compound, a trip to pick up the kayak, and the drive down Canandaigua lake, we probably put in closer to 7pm.

I eagerly admitted to Matt that I was a bit hesitant since I had never been kayaking....but as you know, that doesn't stop you from going fishing. Matt on the other hand kept secret his fear that I'd spin in circles and he'd end up being "kayaking teacher" instead of "fishing guide." I'm glad to report that after I got seated I paddle out and kept a moderately straight zig zag path to the creek. Matt said sail boats call it "tacking"....so I went with that since it made me sound experienced!

Have you noticed I haven't posted any pictures? Yeah, I didn't trust myself to take my camera/phone with me. I figured losing fishing gear to a flip is one thing, losing a phone is just unnecessary.

We made it into the creek and started hitting the weedline for bass. It didn't take more than about 10 minutes and Matt was into a nice bass. Soon after he caught a second. Of course, at this time I think he was likely dying for me to catch a fish....because as we all know, you don't like taking someone to your water only to have them skunked. Probably 40 minutes in to the actually fishing, I finally caught a nice 12 inch bass. Matt quickly paddle over with his new underwater video camera to get some footage. Soon after I caught another bass, a nice 14 inch.

Matt finished off the night by pissing off a beaver, who was willing to slap it's tail a few times for us, and catching a third bass.

Bugs, darkness, and no more hits had us heading back to shore.

Zig. Zag.

Loaded up the gear and noticed my clamps were missing. I searched the kayak, searched my bag, and didn't find them. Then, with my phone in hand, I turned on the flashlight app and walked to the water.......and there's my clamps, in 4 inches of water.......and here's your picture!

GOTCHA!

Check out Matt's report from fishing this same water a few weeks ago. I'll be back to watch the video a few more times to help relive my experience last night!

Now, time to get my kayak hooked up to my car so I can take it out more (than never)!

The fishing sucked, but the weekend was great!

2011-07-18T11:23:00.001-04:00

First, let's get all the details about the fishing out of the way....because I'd hate for you to suffer just to be disappointed at the end. The fishing sucked! I caught one bass which was only about 8 inches. Besides that, 3 days of fishing when I could squeeze in a few minutes yielded nothing much to speak about. However, it was the weekend of the Rock family reunion.

Every year my wife's family has a reunion picnic and camp out at her uncles house which is out in the country just south of Letchworth state park. My mother in law is one of 13 kids, so the family is pretty large and the weekend finds us tucked closely together in tents and campers. Family comes from all over NY and as far away as Florida.

Her uncle is a kind, crazy, and generous man. He's so welcoming to everyone that comes and this year he made a ton of grilled chicken that was absolutely delicious!

Every year the bonfire is fueled by wood pallets. here's my oldest son trying to deflect the heat with another pallet so he could get close enough to roast a marshmallow.

My wonderful wife had to work Saturday morning at 4am. Being new at her job she didn't really have any vacation time to take, and with little work recently she took a chance at staying on the schedule for the morning, but hoped she'd wake up to no work available...that didn't happen. She ended up with just over 6 hours of work...at 4am....from a camp ground. She was able to connect to her work with her cell phone and laptop and after sitting inside the van for a few hours, she upgraded to an outdoor office for the last few hours.

The highlight for the younger kids was being able to FINALLY do their lemonade stand. They've been dying to run one, and I had the thought to put it up at the reunion because they'd have more foot traffic than if they did it at our house. It turned out great and they will be counting the money and paying back investors (mom and dad) and likely have a great profit!

Collecting cold spring water for lemonade

A few other highlights were frog hunting and listening to the bands.

The tiniest frog of the day...look closer

Sure, I had hoped for more from the fishing, but with the pond getting hit by fishermen, swimmers, and dogs, it was tough to get the fish to come out and play. Even with poor fishing, I'm already dreaming of going back soon! Might take a day trip down sometime soon, or a single night camping trip.

Fishing and Camping

2011-07-06T13:30:00.006-04:00

I don't get 3 day weekends much so it was nice to have one this past July 4th weekend.

It started off nice with a night out fishing with my wife. First order of business for the night out was a U turn on the Parkway to help a motorist change a tire. She should have changed the tire many many miles ago, it had a lot of wear on it. Plus, a reminder note to check your spare air...we put the spare tire on it was very low on air and barely did the job....at least we hope so because a mile down the road she turned off and we parted ways.

Messed Up!!!

Once on our way we headed to a creek we haven't fished together for likely 9 years or so. We stopped at the first wadable bridge spot and found an old favorite tree had fallen.

Although we found some places from shore to fish from, my wife thought she'd slip into the water and wet wade up to my spot and surprise me. Well, the surprise was on her...when she stepped in, sunk in, and she fell on her butt.

Black and white

We saw one carp, outside our casting reach, so we took off and went to a well producing pond. Soon after arriving we started to catch a few fish!

Now, it's great to get instructional information from websites, that you can apply in your own life. So, here's our educational part of the show. When you want to get going, but you want to fish the spot your wife is in simply say "I'm ready if you are." See, she'll assume you mean you are ready to leave, and she'll reel in the line. While she's doing this you slip down to where she was fishing and start to cast....and then pull out the biggest fish of the night right in front of her! Then, have her take a crappy phone picture of it hoping it's quality will sway people to believe you photoshopped the image.


Bass

Of course, this method might bring some disapproval from your spouse.

Say NO to bass!

....but that disapproval can be reverse pretty easily by getting ice cream.

I ordered mine with 1/2 sprinkles

On Sunday 7/3 my wife convinced me that we needed to go camping for the night at her uncles property. A bunch of her family was there and so we packed up and left. The 1.5 drive went well, with snacks and drinks and kids who behaved.

When we arrived my rod spent most of the night and following morning under the wiper so it was ready to go at a moments notice.

Ready and willing

When we pulled up there were about 5 people on the pond fishing with worms. Reports were that one girl caught a few sunfish and others had caught one or two. But, for the most part, it sounded like things weren't going as well as most had hoped. After about 30 minutes enough people moved and I had room to cast. On cast #2 I landed a bass that was about 15 inches long. One guy, who I just met minutes before, jokingly said he was going to throw me in! Not long after that, he admitted to having a fly rod that he's planning on pulling out and learn to cast it!

The fight

The fish

Besides fishing we had fun eating smores, sitting around the fire, and watching the stars.

It turned out to be a good 3 day weekend full of fishing and a last minute camping trip....and some delicious grilled chicken made by my mother in law!

My Free Fishing Day Report

2011-06-27T17:15:00.001-04:00

So, I'm a slacker. I forgot to notify everyone that this past weekend was free fishing in NY. No license required.

My mom wanted to go fishing with me (it's a spectator sport) but when she saw the news report saying this past weekend you didn't need a license, she decided to pick up the rod and try it out...for her first time ever.

Dad caught two, mom caught none.

Checking out the fake foam alligator head

Dads sunfish, he also caught a bass

If you are interested in fishing for free, or taking someone out for free, I'm almost positive it's always the first weekend of bass season. Check it out for 2012.

A Change In My Morning Routine

2011-06-24T08:50:00.000-04:00

Last week was the last week my kids had school for the next few months. Summer vacation has begun for the kids.

What does this mean to me? I no longer will have to make sure my son is up at 6am and getting ready ~~to fake a shower before watching tv~~ for school. I usually wake him up and leave for work within a few minutes. But now I can get up and FISH before work. Of course, since the sun is up just after 5am, and I start at 6:30am, I don't have much time, but the option is still there.

High hopes to see more sunrises in my future.

I'm Not Fishing Tonight, But You Should

2011-06-21T10:30:00.001-04:00

Today, or more specifically at 17:16 hours, it is the Summer Solstice.

What does that mean? It means it's the longest day of daylight of the year, and it means that I'm not fishing tonight. Historically I look forward to today thinking I'll take off and go fishing till almost 9:30pm, but historically something comes up and I never get out fishing. At least I've figured out the pattern and wont be disappointed when I don't get to fish!

However, with a baseball game tonight for my son, and a pond nearby, I might get another 15 minute fishing trip in before the game starts. But that's hardly using the time that mother nature has provided.

If you get out today/tonight, send me some photos and I'll post them up for everyone to see your success!

My Attempt To Feather A Head

2011-06-20T13:57:00.000-04:00

Maybe you've heard of Feather Heads. Maybe you have not. Well, I have, and as a fly tier I couldn't sit by and let this fad go crazy......without trying to put a feather in my daughters hair.

Starting off I thought I'd probably be able to do it, after all, I had watched a news report on the subject on the internet. See, I'm well qualified.

I started off with some feathers, beads, dental threader, wire, and wire cutters.....oh, and a very cooperative daughter. In the end, I had broken wire, broken beads, and a broken dental threader.....and failure.

I determined that the fly tying beads were not the right bead for the project. The beads big enough to pass some hair through, were too strong for me to crimp. The smaller beads I could crimp, but I couldn't get enough hair into them.

So, it's either back to the drawing board.....or back to the fly tying desk!

And The Winner Is......PIZZA ! ! !

2011-06-17T10:37:00.001-04:00

Oxfam International did a survey a few months ago to find out the favorite foods of people around the world.

And guess what.....in the USA the winner is PIZZA!!!

Proud to be an American!

.....and that's a huge win....almost twice the votes of the next highest....steak.

So, from the staff at Guys, Flies & PIES.....I think this calls for some celebration! (I think the french bread microwave pizza in the freezer will have to do for now.)

If you are not from the USA and are considering starting up your countries best fly tying party that includes food, you may want to consider these names for your group, instead of Guys, Flies & Pies.

Netherlands - Guys, Flies & Pasta
Russia - Guys, Flies & Meat
Guatemala - Guys, Flies & Chicken
Spain - Guys, Flies & Paella
UK - Guys, Flies & Steak
Australia - Guys, Flies & Chocolate
Brazil - Guys, Flies & Lasagna
Ghana - Guys, Flies & Fufu
Kenya - Guys, Flies & Ugali
Pakistan Guys, Flies & Vegetables
Tanzania - Guys, Flies, Bananas & Meat

Spey Nation 2011

2011-06-14T08:09:00.002-04:00

2 weekends from now is Spey Nation 2011.

www.speynation.com

"Spey Nation offers the unique opportunity for enthusiasts and manufacturers of 2 handed rods to gather in a streamside setting. The Location is the Pineville Boat Launch on the Salmon River in Pineville, NY."

In addition to testing out 2 handed rods you'll find burgers and drinks all provide free of charge by The Oak Orchard Fly Shop and various other companies showing off their stuff.

Vegetarians welcome!

Make sure to check out www.speynation.com for details and a detailed map of the location, keep in mind the closest bridge is out so a detour is required.

If you go, wear your GFP t-shirt and you'll get in for free*!!!

____________________________
* - Spey Nation is already a free event, but wearing your GFP shirt will bring you great luck both on the water and with the ladies!

A Great Morning For Bass

2011-06-13T09:54:00.004-04:00

This past Saturday I was finally able to get out with a friend who I've fished with since we were kids. Ché (pronounced like Chay) met me at the house at 6:30am and we headed out for a few of my favorite local ponds.

First stop was Bronze Leaf where there is little access to a the pond which is only .3 acres in size. This is the smallest pond that I consistently fish. Weeds on the shore, and a few trees, makes it hard to fish with more than 1 person for any length of time.

Within a few minutes Ché caught a bluegill. I quickly missed a few fish then realized we needed to move on to the next place....which has more room for the both of us and a greater chance for more bass than sunfish.

First Fish

Next stop was at Twin Rock pond where we found bass willing to fight with us. Within a few casts we were catching bass after bass.

Time for some bass

Ché with a bass

We even caught a few sunfish.

This picture makes him look smaller than he was

Ché caught a nice 13 inch bass...

13 inch largemouth bass

...but the biggest fish of the day with a nice 16 inch largemouth bass that Ché caught.

Ché with a 16 inch largemouth bass

16 inches (After further review, I'll agree it's 15.5 inches)

My largest of the morning was a 13.5 inch bass.

In the end he caught 17 fish and I caught 27...all were bass except a few.

This was by far the most productive few hours of fishing yet this year!

Checking The Mail and Catching Bass

2011-06-10T11:07:00.001-04:00

Any of you who are lucky enough to follow my personal Facebook page may have seen my post about getting out fishing yesterday for about 20 minutes. My cousin seemed surprised how I fished for just a few minutes and commented "Oh, so it's just like fillin' up the gas tank, huh? Pick up the mail--catch a few trout, head home."

YES IT IS!!!

I'll take any chance to fish, and with 5 kids, 1 wife, and a yippy dog, there are a lot of schedules to coordinate and a lot of time spent playing taxi driver. So whenever I have a few minutes between responsibilities and find myself close to a pond, I'll swing over, crank the AC (for the wife and kids left in the van) and fish it for as little as a few minutes.

That's how I do it, and that's how it's done!

Here's what I caught!

Downpour

2011-05-27T09:40:00.005-04:00

Last night while my son's baseball team warmed up before the game, I got out fishing. I managed to hook and release 4 bass and 1 bluegill in the 20 minutes I fished.

T trying to take credit for my fish

The only bluegill of the night

We headed back across the parking lot to the baseball fields and watched a few inning. Then, once the fields manager in charge saw lightening in the distance she blew the air horn and the game was over. We strolled back to the car and were fortunate to get inside before it poured. It was the hardest rain I've seen all year.

Incoming

Waiting for the traffic to die down

On our way out we went back to the pond and it was amazing to see all the water running into the pond. This raging water wasn't even a trickle when I was fishing it an hour before. In 10 minutes or less it went from nothing to this raging "river."

Unfortunately, when a game is canceled because of lightening, it's also not safe to go out and fish. I have to admit, once I was home and had most of the kids in bed, I thought about going back out...but random strikes of lightening kept me home and dry.

Oh, and one of the best parts....we started off the evening with some official Guys, Flies & Pies pizza!

Pepperoni Pizza Pie

NY DEC wants your input on regulation changes

2011-05-25T10:23:00.000-04:00

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation is asking for input on propose changes to various fishing regulations.

http://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/73762.html

Here's your chance to get your voice heard. Send them some emails and tell them if you like what they are proposing! Emails need to be received before June 24, 2011 so get on it!

A Good Week For Fishing

2011-05-16T10:18:00.002-04:00

Last week was a good week for fishing. Some how the stars aligned and I got out 4 times! As noted in previous posts I was able to get out with 2 of my boys and my wife....and the fourth trip was another one of my sons.

Seth and I got out after his baseball team photo session. He called mom and asked if we could go fishing. No, I did not pressure him to do this, unless saying "it smells like fishing out here" counts. Mom said "yes" and we were off. After a quick trip to the post office to send out a shipment of GFP t-shirts (a few left if anyone is interested in one), we hit Twin Rock pond.

All of the 4, 1 hour trips this past week were to Twin Rock, and were all successful, so we had high hopes. After a few minutes of pounding the water I caught a bass and Seth reeled him in.

A standard size bass

Soon after he was into a fish or two of his own!

Seth's bass on a Clouser minnow

Bass on a new popper

The fat one of the day

Seth's second

Bass on the fly

That fly caught at least 10 bass, and on one of the last casts A fish snapped the line. I saw the popper floating on the surface just a few feet from the shore. I walked over to it and with a new fly on the line I was able to wrap the tippet around the lost popper and recover it!

Unfortunately the rain is back. And it's not just back for a day or so.....it's been raining for two days straight and looks like there is rain in the forecast for the next few. I still may make a trip to the pond but it would be nice to have the clouds stop dripping first.

Quick Shots

2011-05-16T09:16:00.000-04:00

This time of year I do a lot of quick shot fishing "trips." See, I am married and have 5 kids, so other responsibilities get in the way of fishing. I have been known to grab the rod from the back of the van and fish for 15 minutes while my wife and kids wait for me. Sometimes that 15 minutes is all I got to fish for the week. Thankfully this week has been better than a 15 minute fishing "trip."

As previous posts show, I've been able to get out twice this week with 2 of my boys. Last night, my wife and I got a chance to get out and fish together....for one hour. So, I took her to the pond I knew was doing well based on the last two quick shots I did.

It was still going well. Within a few minutes I caught a bass. Most of the bass seem to be about 10 inches or so...but I'm still searching for the monster of the pond. My wife was slow to start, but she finally got herself two small sunfish.

Hey Fishy Fishy

She ended up coining a new phrase after loosing a bass and having the line come back and whack her in the face. "I've been bass whacked!"

Protecting Their Investment

2011-05-11T11:00:00.003-04:00

Twice in the last week I've fished a small pond that is tucked in a group of homes. These are my favorite ponds because they are often overlooked and under fished. In fact, in all the times I've been there, I've never seen anyone else fishing it, other than those friends and family I take with me.

Well, twice this week I've had home owners from the neighborhood sneak up behind me and start a conversation. I don't think they realize that sneaking up on a guy casting a hook and 30 foot of line isn't a good idea. In fact one guy started to step back behind me mid cast. I swear he almost got a sharp reminder not to do that again.

Both times these guys came up to talk to me with one thing in mind. Money! Cold hard cash! See, both of them have put in $23 each (presumably with the whole neighborhood) and purchased 7 grass carp. Their hope is that these carp will keep the weeds down and help make the pond "cleaner." The truth is, I wish they hadn't done this. My favorite bass ponds do not have carp and DO have weeds, and moss, and scum, and everything else possible that gets stuck to my hook. The reality, to me, is that this vegetation helps keep the water clear and that helps when it comes to spotting fish, or fish spotting a fly.

"In a pond where largemouth bass-bream sport fishing is an important goal, it is desirable for aquatic plants to dominate 5-25% of the pond. Grass carp are probably not a good choice for a bass-bream sport fishing pond where plants cover less than 25% of the pond." (Source)

Both of the men where very polite, but wanted to ask me to release any carp I caught. I agreed I would, but deep down I think putting them in was a mistake. They have a water fountain they put in during the summer, and I feel that does enough to help maintain the ponds beauty.

I'm not an expert on grass carp and what they do to a pond, but it seems like I might have a year or two before I start to lose this great bass pond to the muddy waters of the carp. .....I better go fishing!

Sneaking Out At Bedtime

2011-05-10T09:27:00.002-04:00

After hearing that I took my 13 year old son out to fish Saturday night, my 4 year old said to my wife "I never get to go alone in dad's car." In the same conversation he told her he wanted to go fishing. He's one of my best fishing buddies and loves to go.

So, last night after the kids where in bed (yes, most of my kids go to bed on school nights at 7:30pm) I told Tyler to go down stairs and see his mom....where she was going to tell him to get his shoes on. The Facebomb post my wife wrote said "Mike and Tyler are off to go fishing and Tyler is just about jumping out of his skin with excitement!"

This kid knows his stuff (or was given insight from his mom), because when I came back downstairs he said "Daddy and I are going fishing at Bronze Leaf." I told him my reconnaissance from Saturday showed that wasn't a good bet, so we'd set sail for Twin Rock. Then, after that he was all talk about Twin Rock this and Twin Rock that!

We had an hour, and we pulled it off. Leaving at 8:05pm we hit the pond and quickly I caught a bass. About 20 minutes later he cast his bobber and crayfish (same that his brother used Saturday) and while I had my back turned he said something about having a tug (a word I rarely use in fishing, but again....this kid knows his stuff.) I turn around to find him fighting a fish! He casted and caught this fish all by himself! After I removed the hook he put two tiny hands around it and threw it back! Fly fish fly!

Bass Attack!

After the sun set we headed home, but stopped for a treat. He picked out a baseball bat that had gum inside.

Baseball bat with gum inside.

When we got home, I'm pretty sure the first thing he told his mom about was the baseball bat with gum....second thing was the fish!

From Cleaning Lockers to Fishing for Bass

2011-05-09T08:30:00.001-04:00

First, how about a picture of a bass to keep your interest?

One of 9 bass for him that night

This past week, my 13 (and a 1/2.....I want the credit) year old son and I went out fishing. It was a looooong time in the making considering earlier in the week we had to clean out his locker to find homework that was due WEEKS ago. Hopefully he'll get some credit for those assignments. Kids keep testing your patience for sure!

His locker

So, after cleaning the locker, and spending the next 5 days trying to get him to do the work, he finally finished and we were able to go fishing!

We first went to Lake Ontario to a place where an old power plant sits. Years ago, and all through my teenage years, this plant use to be in operation and this place use to be a favorite place for me to fish. Since then, I realized there were better places to fish, and the shut down of the plant killed the flow of water, and a recent copper theft led to an oil spill. So, we weren't too hopeful for much luck at this location. We ended up fishing the lake side for about 10 minutes before giving up and taking off to another place.

Stop two was one of my favorite local ponds. Unfortunately, a day or two can make all the difference. This pond just a week ago was clear on the surface, but this weekend, after a few days of sun, and lack of rain, the pond was 80% covered in scum. So, we took off.

Our third stop was at a place I call Twin Rock pond. It was a good decision to go to this place since the water was pretty much clear, and this pond often give up a good number of bass.

We ended up having a great 2 hours on this pond and we each caught 9 bass a piece. One of my favorite fish, was the one that got away. I had a huge hit right as my fly landed and before I could get a second cast at it, my son tossed his fly under bobber rig out and had the fish hit. We both lost the same fish and had a good time recounting our attempt. A while later, we had a double.

This was the first night he released all his fish alone. He got pretty good, and with a little encouragement he lipped even the biggest fish he caught.

Bass Thumb

A nice 10 inch bass

I even convinced him to take my picture.

It was a great night and he was telling me we need to go more often. I resisted saying he has to do his homework more often. Hopefully he'll realize the more he does his homework ON TIME, the greater the chance he can get out fishing!

And, I learned that I have to use stronger tippet when using poppers that I spent a long time to make. Small tippet likes to give poppers away to weeds.

The Tailing Loop Contest to Benefit PHW

2011-05-04T09:57:00.002-04:00

I got an email a few minutes ago from Christian over at The Tailing Loop. He's just announced a new contest to win a 5/7 reel or a fly box from Allen Fly Co.

The contest is pretty simple and you can join in by either buying a raffle ticket or by sending in 3 flies to help fill the fly box. All money raised in this contest will be donated to Project Healing Waters.

So, help out a great cause and get a chance to win a new reel or a fly box with flies.

Click here for full details

The Banksia Bug

2011-04-28T08:49:00.000-04:00

Here's a cool fly using UV Knot Sense. I've been considering getting some Clear Cure Goo lately and seeing different ways to use a product like that gets me one step closer to laying down the cash to get some!

The Banksia Bug

Moms Taxi Get's Pimped

2011-04-25T11:24:00.002-04:00

A friend of mine sent this picture of her minivan all decked out in a Guys, Flies & Pies sticker!

Get your taxi pimped now!

I might discourage off road fishing trips in the minivan

This Is Not Spring!

2011-04-21T12:58:00.001-04:00

Back in late March when the news started reporting that it was spring, I didn't buy into it. Sure, technically it was spring, but in my mind it isn't spring until at least April. So, mentally I prepared myself not to believe the hype about spring in March, and to wait it out until April. But, now that it's April 21st I'm starting to think it's never going to show up here in NY.

Sure, we had a few days that went above 50....60....and one day I think went to 70, but those were single days, and not a long stretch. We had fake spring like days before during the official winter. I'm getting darn close to giving up on spring. Seriously, I cut it some slack in March, knowing it was too much to expect out of nature, but now it's time to live up to the hype.

I'm seeing photos online of our southern friends hitting the water in great looking conditions. This week great conditions would simply consist of NO WIND!

Is it really too much to ask for a consistent run of 60 degree days? I'm not being pushy and asking Mother Nature for 70's, I'd just like 60's CONSISTANTLY to start with. I'll even give up the night, an let the temps dip into the mid 40's, but daytime highs of 60's.....oh, and some sun...would be nice!

I've got poppers to fish and bluegill to harass. See, I'm even being nice and realizing it's too early to expect much from the bass!

Is it too much to ask for weather that brings up fish like this?

18 inches of bass from July 2010

Jim's Travel Fly Tying Box

2011-04-20T10:25:00.001-04:00

A few weeks ago when I was tying at the FFAA show in Utica I was able to check out this sweet box made by my friend Jim.

It fit's together into a nice portable box, but opens up to find a vise and materials. Jim says that it's very handy to take on the road for business or fishing trips. He's known for running back to the truck then coming back to the water with a fresh tied fly.

All Closed Up

Opened

Setup

Abel Belt Buckles and Flashlights

2011-04-17T13:48:00.000-04:00

You might remember my post about the Abel Nippers, or the update showing new colors, and how pricey they were. Well, I've given you enough time to build back up the balance in your checking account....so here it is.

Abel now offers a belt ($100) and belt buckles ($150), or both for a steal at $225.

Keep your pants on!

Sure, you can find other belts out there for about this price, but they usually are meant to keep up more than just a pair of "corduroy trousers". For the price of others online they hold up stuff like handcuffs, guns, tazers, and pepper spray. Things that can come in handy when someone tries to take your fishing hole.

But, to be fair....if these were only $25 I'd be all over buying one!

Now, let's say you have one of those fancy belts that holds up more than your corduroys...then maybe you have a spot for the $250 flashlight.

Light it up!

But, to be fair again, if these were $30 I'd be all over buying one! At $250 I'd hope they'd still work after I bust out a window as my car starts to sink into the lake....and still be bright enough to lead the way back to the main road.

How I Made My Copic Air Can Refillable

2011-04-13T08:54:00.001-04:00

I like the Copic airbrush I bought recently, but the idea of having to drop $12 each time my can of air runs out, or buying an air compressor, just isn't that appealing to me. So, I tried to make the original can I bought refillable.

This photo shows what my original $50 investment got me. 1 D60 can of compressed air, one grip, and 4 markers.

Disclaimer: Many reviews of similar ideas done to other canned products online shows that this might be dangerous, so I'm telling you here to not do this at home, school, church, or the river.....do this at your friends home!

My wife and I thought it would likely be possible to fill the can with a bike pump. First I had to get a valve into the can so I could have a hole into the can.

I decided the cut the valve out of an old soccer ball and use that in my can. Using a razor blade I cut the piece out around the valve, then cut the valve out of the air bladder.

Cut the piece first

The valve before it was completely removed.

Trimmed up the edges.

At this point I wanted to see the inside of the valve as it was in use so I put the inflation needle into it and showed it off to the kids so they could learn how it worked.

Clear through

Then I took the empty can to work and asked my friend Dave to drill a hole in the bottom. This hole had to be bigger than any drill bit I had so it could accommodate the valve I stole from the soccer ball.

The can's hole and soccer air valve

I decided to wash out the inside of the can to remove any dust or metal filings from the drilling. I heard that water inside the can might cause rust so I dried it out in the sun and used a hair dryer. However, moisture in the air that I plan to put inside the can might cause rust in the end anyway. We'll see.

After it was cleaned I roughed up the can and valve with sandpaper and used JB Weld to seal it shut.

Ready to mix the two parts

Applied some to the inside of the valve

Applied some to the can

The squeeze out

Cleaned up the squeeze out

I let this sit for almost 24 hours before I tested it by filling it with air.

Bike pump and refillable can

I inserted the inflation needle to test it. Removed it and put it inside a laundry basket.

Inserting the inflation needle

The reason I put it in the laundry basket, through the side, was in case the thing blew up, the hose would be restricted in it's movement, and the blanket would hopefully absorb most of the shrapnel.

Laundry basket testing safety system. Patent Pending.

After I pumped it up with one pump of my floor stand bike pump (measuring about 20psi) I removed it from the needle, resulting in a little air release sound....likely from the hose, not the can.

1 pump = 20psi

I loaded the airbrush with my black marker and gave it a test spray. You can see the black mist in the image below.

My first proof that it worked!!!

Pumping it once, to 20psi, gave me about 5 seconds of spray. Not that much spray time. Since the official air compressor setup can Copic sells states to set the air compressor for 30-40psi I thought it was safest to stay in that range, or under it. So, I pumped it twice and got just a little over 40psi into the can.

2 pumps = 40psi

With about 40psi I got about 8 seconds of spray time. Still not any remarkable length of spray, but workable for sure.

Some of my kids initials for the test

Only getting about 8 seconds of air out of each fill of the can, I thought I could just keep the needle in the can, and the pump going. My very eager to help (at least this time) 4 year old son started pumping and providing a much more constant stream of air. He couldn't pump it too well, so there was no concern of going past the tested 40psi. Since there was no concern of running out of air, I often took the marker out and ran it with just air to help quickly dry the popper before the next color.

Putting the kid to work!

I found on 2 pumps, 40psi, I could paint around the whole popper. When changing markers I pumped it again, even if some air was left.

My first bike pump popper

After testing the setup, and being extremely pleased with the results, it was time to paint the rest of my poppers. I was able to paint about 25 with the original air in the can, so I painted the remaining 25 with the bike pump system. Here are some of the favorites from the night.

I see frogs in my future

I got the spots on these by wrapping the popper with some fish net material from my wife's fabric stash. You simple wrap it up and spray through it. Keep in mind, if you pull too tightly on the fish net it will stretch and give you a slightly different shape.

Next up, eyes, epoxy, feathers and legs!

The Spring Hike

2011-04-12T09:23:00.000-04:00

Without planning, and without much thought, every year we seem to take our first hike of the year at the same local park. It's a nice place because there is a playground for the kids to run around after the hike.

This area is of interest to me, because it was about 20 years ago when I first saw some fat brown trout and steelhead in there. Of course, this then reminds me of my good friend who 20 years ago caught 2 of them with a net and shot them with a BB gun. We were young, and he was immature. Thankfully, he learned his lesson....and after shooting ME with a BB gun, he's given up shooting things at random......but, back to the hike.

The hike is only .5 miles round trip, and just right for kids that are wanting to go back and play.

We stopped at the creek, where my wife spotted a fruit bowl, and sent my son down to check it out. It was in one piece, and she took it home....but left the orange he found. We have seen salmon in here in the past, but didn't see anything this time.

A dish, no fish

The kids had fun jumping the few trickles we had to cross, and looking for deer tracks.

Jump!

LOOK! A DEER!

The farthest point of the hike was an unused rail road track. The kids had fun balancing on the tracks and exploring.

Kids exploring

We headed back to the playground and found evidence of gang activity.....a LOADED magazine. I did what any responsible citizen would do.....I left it on the picnic bench.


Lock and Load

We got muddy and had a great time. I bet somehow, next year, without planning, we'll end up hiking that same trail and looking for more fish in the creek.

A Bass Popper Painted With The Copic Airbrush

2011-04-11T08:30:00.001-04:00

I had a chance over the weekend to take a few minutes and a few popper heads and tie some tails on them. My wife snapped these photos on her cell phone.

"Tying" the legs on

This fly is the first popper I've ever poked rubber legs through. I love the look of legs and it was nice to give it a try. I'll definitely be adding more legs to more poppers.

Bass-o-matic

We were able to convince my parents to watch the kids and my wife and I got out and fished for about an hour. My first fish of the day was this monster! I'm also sporting the The Fish Fighter Mini-Foam Fly Clip, which is a great place to let your flies dry before they go back in the box!

You're jealous!

I keep telling my kids "a few more weeks and this water will be on fire!" ....and then those poppers I've been tying will be put to the test!

Copic Airbrush and Fly Tying

2011-04-09T08:35:00.002-04:00

After seeing other posts online about using a Copic airbrush to paint poppers I thought I'd have to try it myself.

First - The Copic airbrush is a system that uses markers as an ink source, and this allows the changing of colors to take literally only a few seconds. Clean up of the system is likely not necessary, and I've done nothing to clean mine yet.

It comes in a few setup ups. I got the one with the grip and an air can. Other setups are available with a grip and a can (without compressed air in it) that can connect to your own hose and air compressor. A third setup comes with the grip, the can to connect to a compressor and the hose and a base to hold up the can when not in use.

Of course the cans of compressed air have a time limit to their use. Mine is rated to have about 7 minutes of continuous air. If you connect it to your own air compressor then your air supply is unlimited.

My investment consisted of the grip and air can and 4 markers. At a local art supply store I bought all these items for about $50.

1 Grip + 1 Can + 4 Markers = $50

First I had to super glue the hooks to the popper head. Then I put some Elmer's wood filler in the slot. I did most of them first, then remembered I had heard that thinning the wood filler with water worked well. I did that and found it much easier to push it into the slot than when it wasn't thinned.

Glue hooks to heads

Glued

After the wood filler dried I took a nail file and sanded it smooth.

Top hook slot filled. Bottom hook slot sanded.

Next, I painted the bottom of the popper white. This covers the wood filler and gives an even white color if you want to leave it white on the belly.

Now comes the Copic airbrush. This isn't too hard to use. I just load up the first marker and hold it back a few inches from the popper and make short bursts with the air. Just like spray paint, if you hold it in one spot too long it will get darker and even build up to the point where it will drip.

Light colors first

I typically do the lighter color on the bottom first, then a darker color on top second.

Dark colors second

Using a piece of fish net material (raid your wife's fabric supply) you can make a nice patter by spraying through it.

Once I'm satisfied with the airbrush results, I switch to another source for color. I use markers or acrylic paint to make eyes and other patterns on the popper.

I put the eyes on in 3 steps. First I put black, let it dry, put a smaller white dot, let that dry, then finally a smaller black dot, and let that dry. I use the back end of drill bits for different sizes. I found that dipping the bit into the paint to get a drop on the end, then gently pressing that drop on the popper slowly works best. I don't really try to get the bit to touch the popper, but let the paint spread out gently, which it does uniformly. I found trying to rock the bit back and forth to get it to touch the rounded edge of the popper resulted in poor results. Letting the drop just press itself out worked well and gave good round results.

First black drop

Second drop in white

Third drop in black. A group of poppers just hanging out.

A few more details put on with a marker

After I'm done painting the bodies I put on some 5 minute epoxy to help protect all the work and provide some durability while fishing. Next up, feathers to decorate the tail end!

Overall I'm really please with both the Copic Airbrush and the eyes. Many people that have seen these have asked me if you can use other markers. I do believe that I saw somewhere on the internet where someone said there was another brand of marker you could use, but I don't remember that source. The grip that holds all the stuff together does have a specific shape and size, so the marker has to fit. I did hold a different marker outside of the grip, and it did blow the ink out....so there is some potential. I think having the marker fit into the grip would be the easiest approach. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has success with other (cheaper) markers.

Stay tuned to learn how to get more out of your can of air. Coming soon!

GFP on a Jeep

2011-04-04T10:57:00.002-04:00

I got an email from a friend this past weekend. He sent along this picture showing his new Guys, Flies & Pies sticker on the back of his jeep.

If you want to purchase one for your car hit the "Get Your Shirt" link at the top of the page.

And don't forget to order your GFP t-shirt soon. I'll be taking orders until about the middle of April.

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testing, testing 1 2 3

2011-04-02T23:08:00.002-04:00

A favorite local pond we fished today.

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First Bass of 2011

2011-04-02T22:47:00.001-04:00

My 8 year old son and I got out fishing today. The wind was much stronger than I would have preferred. We started off at a place I call Twin Rock. In past years this pond has offered up many bass and a bluegill that is massive. With the wind today casting was challenging with my 5 weight.

After working one spot for a few minutes with no luck, we headed down the shoreline. My son climbed up on one of the twin rocks and tried his best before giving up to throw rocks. I kept casting into the wind. It eventualy paid off. I caught a massive bass that almost made my rod bend.

Posting this from my phone for the first time, and the photo won't post. I'll try to post it later.

GFP Shirts, Stickers and Furled Leaders

2011-03-30T10:00:00.000-04:00

I'm pleased to announce that we are now offering official Guys, Flies & Pies t-shirts, stickers, and furled leaders.

Check out the "Get Your Shirt" link at the top of the main website for the full details and ordering info.


GFP t-shirt - $20

GFP stickers - $3.50


GFP furled leaders - $5

Foam Bass Popper

2011-03-28T11:19:00.007-04:00

I've always thought that foam should be able to make a good popper. Sure, I've thought about how to form it into a popper, but to date, I have never done it.

However I did find a nice video on how to do it. Thankfully he sped up the playback so it's only 6 minutes instead of probably 30.

A Day in the Buff

2011-03-25T09:32:00.001-04:00

Get your mind out of the gutter!

Last week on my way home from the CNY Fly Tying Symposium my wife and I stopped at the Bass Pro in Auburn NY. It was my first time in the shop, and I did pretty well getting out without paying too much.

We checked out most of the store and even the fish tank....full of fat fish with all kinds of physical deformities.

The fly shop part of the store was nice and I almost got out without buying anything. The only thing we bought at the shop was a Buff. It's one of those fancy fabric things you see often on people fishing the saltwater flats just before they rob a bank.

Wooly BUFFer

Having worn mine only a few times, I have to say I like it. I often wear a hoodie under my jacket since my jacket doesn't have a hood. The hoodie helps keep my neck and ears warm on the walk in to work from the car. The last few days I've left the hoodie at home and worn the buff. Even worn just around my neck it helped to keep my neck warm enough not to cry about leaving my hoodie at home. I've even pulled it up around my lower face and ears and looked ready to rob the gas station after pumping my gas.

The real (reel) test will be to see how freaking hot it gets when I wear it in the summer time for sun protection.

It cost about $23 at Bass Pro.

Ice Flow Video

2011-03-24T08:22:00.003-04:00

A cool video showing an ice flow as it moves towards the camera.

Review of the CNY Fly Tying Symposium

2011-03-21T12:12:00.000-04:00

This past weekend my wife and I took a 2 hour drive to Utica NY for the central New York Fly Tying Symposium. We left on Friday night and spent the night at the Hotel Utica. The next day was the fly tying symposium and it was a blast. We met a lot of great people and saw some great flies. Below are a few of the images I took that day...in random order.

A sweet display, featuring a fly from each tier

Prepped some poppers at home for the show.

The casting competition trophy

My mess

I packed my stuff into a Mary Kay bag...nice organization in these bags

I was glad to eat some pies while there!

The poster, with my sons picture

Crystal at the Crystal Ballroom

Snuck in the night before for a sneak peek of the room.

JP Ross table of goods

Sneak peek of raffle table and seminar room

The seminar room

From the entrance

The cutest girl at the party painting my popper heads

Indoor casting competition

Fishing stillwater seminar

The Guys, Flies & Pies table

Luke & Jonathan tying

Luke tying, and displaying The Drake with his cover photo

Jonathan at his table

1 of 3 times she caught the lamp. I missed it every cast

A cool fly tying box

Indoor casting competition

Fish graffiti benches

Another fish graffiti bench

The symposium was a great time and a great excuse to get away with out the kids for a night! Looking forward to next year already!

A report from a fly from GFP

2011-03-21T06:49:00.001-04:00

The Guys, Flies & Pies Facebook page recieved this message last week, thought I'd share it with everyone.

Yesterday I got an AWESOME steelhead using a fly pattern I learned at GFP! A guy (can' t remember his name. Sorry!) showed me a Gartside Sparrow wet fly he learned from the man himself. I thought it was a neat pattern and made a few myself. When a big fish that showed itself a couple of times refused my egg pattern, I tried that (prompted by the impressive stonefly hatch that was taking place at the time.) Before long a massive, angry fish head was thrashing at the surface!

This made my day when I read it. I love that people learned new flies and are now having fun on the water with them!

Don't Mess With A Mans Pie

2011-03-16T09:06:00.001-04:00

Here's a great video that I've never seen before. It's by a bunch of guys, some of which I've heard of that do some great work in fly rod building. You've got Matt Schliske and Mark Shamburg and a bunch other guys that would make anyone wearing tweed cringe! Pay special attention to the guy in the cast and his story on how he broke his arm. Let's just say, I listened and have stored that information away since I'm often in charge of the very thing that lead to his breakdown.

Nice work guys!

Enjoy the video!

Copic ABS

2011-03-14T09:48:00.001-04:00

This past weekend I found a local source for a Copic Airbrush. Rochester Art Supply had them in stock and ready for me to check out. Although it was a few dollars more than online, the lack of having to pay shipping, and waiting, was worth it.

Maybe you've heard of them, or maybe this is something new to you. Basically, it's an airbrush that uses markers as an ink source, instead of....well, whatever other airbrushes use. You can see I don't have much experience with airbrushes. However, having researched this product I was impressed that by using the markers you can switch between colors in seconds without any issue.

One of the 3 setups you can get

They have a few different types of sets you can buy to get ready to use the system. I bought the Airbrush Starting Set ABS-2. This comes with the grip and a D60 can. Other setups come a grip and a can that allows you to connect your own hose to your own air compressor, and the third setup comes with a can of air, a hose, and the connector can for use with your air compressor.

I decided to go cheap and see what I thought before buying a more expensive option. If you are interested in getting one of these, keep in mind that the setup I got I believe ONLY allows you to use the D60 can of air, not the larger cans of air. I'm ok with that for now, since I haven't even put it to use yet.

I have an order of popper heads coming from J. Stockard that I hope to paint up before the Fly Tying Symposium this Saturday. If you are at the show, stop by and check out the Copic airbrush, and any heads I've painted with it.

Check out this video on how this airbrush is used.

Mommy! Where Do Flies Come From?

2011-03-13T15:54:00.000-04:00

Idylwilde posted (some time ago) a cool video to show how they bring flies from the idea stage to the fly bin.

The Process from Idylwilde Flies on Vimeo.

Check Idylewilde out online

A Saturday With My Son

2011-03-07T14:02:00.001-05:00

This past Saturday I took my 8 year old son to the Rochester Sportsman's Show. It's good to get him away from the rest of the kids and have some alone time (shared with hundreds of strangers) together.

We were scheduled to tie at the Seth Green Trout Unlimited booth from 9am until 1pm. We showed up and found the booth and began setting up the vises so we could get to tying, and hopefully draw people over to the table to learn about TU.

Seth...and yes he's named after the guy on the sign.

Within about 20 minutes of setting up Seth asks me if he can sell his flies. I didn't want to step on any TU toes so I had him ask the TU president who was there. He was given permission to sell his flies and the door were open for business.

Matt...and yes he's named after someone!

His first sale went to the Fishingpoet and his sons. I think that made my son realize he was on to something.

In the four hours we were at the table (4 hours that just flew by), he sold out of the flies he had for sale (some his, some mine.) Just before they were sold out, the Rochester Bassmasters made a deal with him. They offered to buy the remaining 3 or 4 flies if he worked their booth and sold raffle tickets. The deal was made and his flies were SOLD OUT! He went to their booth and used his boyish charm to get people to buy tickets for the raffle. It was fun watching him try to sell, then take advise from the guys, and then improve on his technique. He did pretty well, and probably sold a dozen or more tickets in the 1/2 hour he worked.

Sorry guys, sold out of flies!

Seth's first "reel" job!

We had time to wander around and check out the rest of the show. This was the first one I had ever been to, and it seemed pretty well attended and had lots of vendors. What they didn't seem to have was much fishing stuff...of any variety. There was a kayak group, a fly guide, Casting for Recovery, TU, and a guy with a fly rod behind his antique display, but nothing much more than that.

A live frog harness. Heard about them for the first time on Moldy Chum last week.

An old fly reel

Some old fly reels


Gotta test them out

Some limestone sinkers. Gonna test them soon.

The casting pool

LOOK....A DEER!

Seth knockin' 'em down

At least twice before the day was over he was telling me how he wants to do this again next year. I think I'll try to get him more vise time before then so he can have more inventory!

A Few New "Magazines" To Kill Some Time

2011-03-02T06:47:00.001-05:00

Looking for something to distract you from real life responsibilities? Here's a few new issues of some online magazines. Enjoy!

Blood Knot

Catch Magazine - The Steelhead Dreams Part 2 video is definitely worth an extra 16 minutes of your time. Also, a huge congratulations to Lucas for getting a few pages! Great photos from a local guy! I gotta get my magazines signed by him soon before he starts charging for his signature!

Please Remind Me To Fish Here

2011-02-28T11:41:00.004-05:00

Check out this pond.....or puddle. It's about the size of 2.5 backyard swimming pools. It's a small pond, possibly one of the smallest ones I've fished (expecting to find fish).

I can easily cast from one side to the other, but shoreline to stand and cast from is very limited. There is a raised platform, likely for bird watching, but it's really to high to use as a place to cast. So, I'm limited to on small section. I have fished it, once, for a minute or two, but it was later in the year than this picture and it was weeded over pretty good.

So, I'm just going to ask that someone remind me about this little jewel in about a month or two, before the weeds take over again, because I do suspect that there is a fat bass in there that's just dying to attack one of my flies!

Oh, and while you're in a friendly "Remind Mike to fish" mood, tell me about the even more secluded pond just south of this one!

Two New Reels From Jesse James Fly Reel Company

2011-02-28T11:23:00.000-05:00

I was checking out the Jesse James Fly Reel Company site the other day and noticed they now have 2 new reels out.

There is a saltwater reel with a water proof drag system, and cool double spider webs.

Saltwater Reel

And I found they have a smaller reel, for the rest of your fishing. A nice 4/5 reel.

4/5 Reel

LINK

GFP 2011- Review

2011-02-24T10:08:00.002-05:00

Guys, Flies & Pies 2011 was a huge success! We had a great turn out and many new people attended. It's great to have new people join us and to see the event grow in size each year. As you all probably noticed, we were very close to running out of room. I'll be working on finding a new place for next year, so keep that in mind, and let me know if you have any suggestions.

Scott's nymph with Frogs Fanny

We had some demonstrations this year which seemed to be well enjoyed. This allowed some of the new tiers, and those who never have tied an opportunity to watch a few flies being tied by some great local tiers! Thanks for that help guys! We had a number of people tie their first flies at the event. A big thanks to Tim for helping Dan and his son tie their first! They seemed to enjoy it and have a great time.


Lucas demonstrating a Chubby Muffin

Chubby Muffin, bottom left

First Fly

It's always great to see how willing everyone is to show off their work and help others out. The word on the street is that our youngest tier had a great time tying with Ray and talked about his time with Ray the whole ride home!

Teaching the kids

Our sponsors (see their links below) helped out big time and we enjoyed a table full of door prizes and great raffle prizes. Some highlights of those items were the JP Ross rod with the pizza painted on the butt cap, and the rods from Midwest Custom Fly Rods and Wild Water. UNI stepped up their support this year and provided some nice samples for the door bags, along with JStockards catalog (don't forget the discount on the back) and Lake Ontario Outdoors sending us the magazines. Rumor is one of our GFP guests will be an author in that magazine in the future. It was great to see the full set up go to Lou who lost all his spinning gear to a car break in a few months ago. Theft sucks, so it's nice to see him now have only FLY gear to get back out on the water with! Mike who won the Jesse James reel (2 new models are up on their website now) spooled it up the next day with line and is eagerly anticipating the day (hopefully soon) when he gets it out on the water! Thanks to all our sponsors, your support is much appreciated!

I hope everyone had a chance to check out the rods on display from JP Ross. He does great work and it's very unique for sure. His rods are the quality you'd hope to have, and well worth passing down for generations. Thanks JP for bringing out your display! If anyone didn't get a fishing Yoda shirt, they are available on his website.

Custom rods by JP Ross

We had John bring some custom made reels and Lucas Carroll brought some photos, both were a huge hit!

Checking out Lucas' sweet photos (Photo: Lucas Carroll)

Custom made reels. Made with wood, metal, and delrin

We ended up placed 2 orders for pizza, and we did very well putting it all down. At the end of the night, we had about 1/2 a sheet left. Well done guys and girls!

Pies (Photo: Lucas Carroll)

A huge thanks goes out to my wife Crystal and her friend Rachel for working the door and raffle tables. Without their help I could not pull off such a quality event. My wife does more behind the scenes than you see at the event, and that help is greatly appreciated.

Say Cheese

Jesse James Reel Company (Photo: Lucas Carroll)

Full setup winner!

The wind, or someone, moved the sign! It was very windy on Saturday

Keith tied up this beauty

Great box of streamers. www.day5flies.com

Thanks again to everyone who came and helped out! See you all next year!

Fly Tying Symposium: Utica NY

2011-02-22T08:43:00.000-05:00

First - Thanks to everyone who attended Guys, Flies & Pies last Saturday! It was a great turn out and I had a great time. I'll be putting together some pictures soon for a post, so keep an eye out for it.

Second - Now let's turn our excitement towards the Fly Tying Symposium in Utica NY next month. I've told you before about it, and maybe you listened, but I have quite a few children of my own, so I'm not use to people listening the first time I talk. So, in case you missed it the first time around, he we go.

To keep you interested long enough to get to the details, I'll offer up this free link (one free link per customer please.) http://www.jprossflyrods.com/staff/ffaa

Here's what it is, but go to their website to see more details. I went last year a room full of vendors (fly fishing, boats, tying, etc), a room full of demonstration tiers, and a table set up for kids to tie. It's been said that in the few short years of this event, over a hundred kids have learned to tie!

Seth, he learned from the best! (I might be biased)

My wife and I'll be there tying, as well at least a few other guys/gals from GFP last week. In total there will be over 25 tiers. In addition, there will be various presentations.

I'll give you a minute to pull out calendar....................ok, now mark this down!

Date: March 19th
Location: Hotel Utica, Utica NY (The Hotel is located just off Genesee Street)
Time: 9am - 4pm
Cost: FREE

I hope to see you there!

Hold Your Breath Until You Are Done Reading This

2011-02-20T13:52:00.000-05:00

Sure, this is cool, but I can hold my breath while waiting for a bass to take my fly!

I'm starting to think that fly fishing is for wimps!

Find Your Way

2011-02-18T09:26:00.003-05:00

Make sure you take a look at the directions page to see how to get to the party tomorrow!

Remember, the access road to the building is tucked between two houses, but this sign is out front, plus we will have a GFP sign out at the street too...providing the wind storm they are predicting today/tonight doesn't know it over!

One note of caution, if using Google Maps to map the location. In the past, Google didn't accurately mark the location of the building, but today it appears to be corrected. Just make sure your map looks like the one above and you should be all set!

See you tomorrow!

3pm - Doors open
3:30pm - First of 3 demos start
5:30pm - Pizza
7:30/8pm - Raffle winners announced

Door prizes will be givin out throughout the event!

See you then!!!

The JP Ross Beaver Meadow

2011-02-16T11:51:00.001-05:00

Maybe you've seen the rumors on Facebook, or maybe you've just been dreaming at night that you could have a JP Ross Beaver Meadow fly rod. Well, the rumors are true, and there will be a Beaver Meadow fly rod on the raffle tables this coming Saturday!

Check them out online now, and check one out in person this Saturday!

...But we finally made the news

2011-02-15T07:55:00.001-05:00

At lunch today a coworker of mine casually said "I saw you in the paper yesterday." I was caught off guard, because I didn't remember getting arrested for anything. So, it turns out it wasn't me he saw in the paper, but it was Guys, Flies & Pies that he saw in the paper. The local newspaper ran the following snippet in the sports section yesterday.

GFP in the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle

Pretty cool to see it getting some publicity.

UPDATE: Found the yearly announcement for GFP on page 21 of the Rochester Business Journal in the Time Out section.

GFP in the Rochester Business Journal

Frozen Pond

2011-02-11T13:59:00.000-05:00

Last night after picking my son up from his friends house, we past a local park with a pond I've only fished a few times. I knew it would be iced over, but had to stop. I was surprised however to see that someone had placed traffic cones on the ice. I'm guessing someone was playing out on the ice....now way you'd get me out there. Of course, the fisherman in me took a mental note (and this picture) to mark the location of the cones, so I can try and hook a fat bass that might call the cone its home this summer!

Forecast for GFP

2011-02-10T09:06:00.002-05:00

With just about a week before the event I figured I'd check out the weather forecast (not because tying depends on the weather, but travel to Rochester's largest fly tying party might.)

Imagine my surprise when I saw the following forecast for next week and the Old Farmer's Almanac listing of historical happenings for February 19th.

A Fly 35 Degrees! I'll take it!

Check out the entry for 2011

This is a forecast I can live with!

A Few Demos At The Event

2011-02-08T09:09:00.015-05:00

Guys, Flies & Pies is just a relaxed fly tying party meant to provide a time for you to tie flies, while being well fed on pizza, and having the chance to walk away with some sweet gear. However, we are trying to add a few things here and there without losing focus of the relaxed party. This year we have added a few demos. We will have 3 local tiers doing short 1 hour demos. This will give everyone a chance to see some local patterns being tied by some local tiers.

Here's the line up, with a general time frame.

3:30pm - Ché Nolan will tie crayfish flies.
4:30pm - Brian Bradfield (flies to be announced)
6pm - Lucas Carroll will tie midges and/or dries (Update: Might tie some 6 inch streamers instead)

So if you are looking for a break from tying, stop by the demo table and check out their techniques and patterns.

See you all in a week and a half!

Let's Talk Knives

2011-02-07T08:18:00.000-05:00

Back at the beginning of the century, my wife got me a new pocket knife for a project I had at work. Since that day I've carried a pocket knife with me daily. As much as this might sound all outdoorsy and manly, the truth is I use it mostly for cutting straws down to kid size at McDonalds, but I'm OK with that. Sure, I've used it for other manly tasks like freeing a newly gifted Barbie from the box, or for freeing a Transformer from the grips of cardboard and zip ties. A pocket knife is just a great tool to have close at hand.

Recently The Fiberglass Manifesto posted about carrying a whistle while wading. In response to this, Fishy Kid ordered up a bunch of whistles for those willing to support Fishy Kid and safety! This of course got me thinking about safety a little and what I do, which brings us back to knives.

I like to carry a knife while wading.

A few weekends ago I went to a gun and knife show in town and was looking for some cheap knives...the kind you can carry if you are out on the town and know you might get frisked going into a concert and not care if you have to give up the knife. My daily knife cost me close to $60 and I don't feel like handing that over for admittance into a concert, know I'd probably never get it back. So, searching around the show I spotted a knife shaped to look like a grenade. Immediately I thought I had to have one. I checked the price and it was $18. For the knife I thought $18 was pretty good, but I wasn't quite sure I was going to get it.

My friends and I continued checking out everything that was available when one of them spotted the same kind of knife for $10. When I picked this one up, the guy selling it told me how to open it. It was a spring assisted knife and the moment I moved the blade it snapped open! It was the best assisted opening knife I've ever had the joy of opening. I knew right then, that for $10 I was going to buy one of these. I then checked out both the Army and the Marine version of them, and decided I'd get both. As I was reaching for my $20 bill the guy says "how about both for $15?" I immediately took him up on that offer!

So, why this knife? What's so noteworthy about a $7.50 knife made in China? A couple of things. First, when I go wading I always put my knife on my waders so it's right there, just in case I need to cut my waders off in a hurry. I've never taken a fall in the creek, and therefore never been swept away in the current and logged under a tree....but, should it happen, I have a knife ready to help free me of my waders.

THIS knife has a few things to keep in mind if you are looking for a knife. First, it's spring assisted. This means that once you start moving the blade to open it, a spring takes over and the blade flies open. Second, this knife can be opened with EITHER hand. I can open and close my daily knife with only my right hand (even if my left hand is unavailable), but this one I can open with either hand, without help from the other. The ability to open and close the knife with just one hand is a huge thing.

If you are interested in this type of grenade knife, I did a search online and found them for about $10. To me, it's a great knife to show off because of what it looks like, but even better because it's single hand spring action. Make sure if you find one online it is spring assisted, that to me makes the knife a great buy!

Your Next 2 Weeks

2011-02-04T11:11:00.001-05:00

Here at the GFP headquarters, we know that life isn't all about fishing (at least that's what we have to say so we don't get into too much trouble). With that knowledge, we know that many of us have other obligations outside of tying flies and chasing fish. One of those responsibilities is coming up in the next two weeks, and comes uncomfortably close the the big Guys, Flies & Pies fly tying night. But, don't fear, we've run the numbers and determined that you have plenty of opportunities to impress your better half and still secure your availability to come to tie, eat, and win on the 19th. So, don't miss out on GFP just because you forgot about Valentine's Day. You've been warned.

So, here it is in nice visual format. The boldest heart represents the actual Valentine's Day, and the lighter ones represent all the days before GFP that you can take her out to Taco Bell for a romantic Valentine's dinner. Hey, it's all about the romance.....or, it's all about faking the romance so she doesn't mind that you ditch her for GFP later in the week (better yet, bring her with you to the party!)

You've Got 2 Weeks, Make It Happen! See You On The 19th!

So, go get all your chores done, pick up your dirty underwear off the floor, paint that wall that's been on your list for the last 6 months, and take your wife out to a nice dinner at Taco Bell....then remind her of all that stuff you did so you can make it to the tying party!

See you then!

JP Ross Fly Rods

2011-01-30T17:37:00.000-05:00

By now I'm sure you've heard of JP Ross Fly Rods & Co. but just in case you are hiding under a rock without internet service (wait, then how are you reading this?) let me fill you in.

JP Ross fly rods was started by JP Ross himself after years of owning his own fly shop (which he opened at a young age of 20.) Driven to fish from a young age (often bicycling to the water with worms in tow) he aims to not only build quailty rods, but provide a way for kids to get into fishing at a young age just as he did. Checking out his staff list just a few minutes ago, showed that he's got kids on the list. This can only be good for us old geezers since kids minds are so imaginitive and they can provide some great insight, wether it's on fishing, conservation, or rod design. Not just on the staff, but at the fly tying symposium they dedicate a few tables just for kids to learn how to tie. In addition to the kids on the list, he's got some well known and busy fisherman too. No doubt these guys are helping develop better and better fly rods! Also, check out the blogs on his site for some great fishing stuff.

About the rods. JP Ross offers a nice selection of rods to choose from, too many to note here, but details are on the site. Here's what I will share. These rods are well designed and look amazing. I got to check them out and cast a few and I was impressed. I love the detail that's put into them and the little things like laser engraving or grips with inlays that make these rods really stand out from other companies.

JP Ross Fly Rods will even work with you to bring your rod from average to something that's uniquely yours. Recently they put a beer cap on a grip for a customer, and the results turned out great.

If you own a business and are looking for a gift to give your your employees, JP Ross Fly Rods will work together with you to build rods for the whole group, and even add your company logo to them. (As a side note, if you do get corporate rods from JP Ross, let me know.....I want to work for you!)

....and how about this....JP Ross Fly Rods has an incentive discount. Basically, once you are a customer, repeat business by you gets you a discount, even more of a discount if a friend buys a rod from JP Ross and says that you sent them. Not a bad deal considering none of us can resist owning more and more fly rods.

So, where from here? JP Ross is planning on being at Guys, Flies & Pies in a few weeks so you'll have a chance to ask him directly about his rods, and maybe even check a few out if he brings them. If you're not at GFP, he's no doubt going to be running around the symposium in March and have his rods and maybe even have some of his Blue Line Boats on display! Yes, that's right...he even makes boats!

Hook Sale at JStockard

2011-01-27T08:45:00.001-05:00

Every January JStockard Fly Fishing has a hook sale. The sale ends soon, but you do have a few days to get in on the deal. Also check out other deals they have going on now.

At the Guys, Flies & Pies event in a few weeks we'll be giving away a gift certificate from JStockard. If the hook sale isn't enough to get you looking at their selection, then the gift certificate will!

$50-$100 Nippers: Update

2011-01-26T09:13:00.000-05:00

Thanks to Buster Wants To Fish, we now have learned that Abel offers their $50-100 nippers in multiple colors and fish prints.

They look sweet enough to carry every where, not just on the water. (but, they are still $50+)

Check 'em out!

LINK to Abel

The 44 Mag Fly Reel

2011-01-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Anyone who follows Guys, Flies & Pies on Facebook ("Like" it now if you haven't done so yet) already knows that The Jesse James Fly Reel Company has donated a 44 Mag fly reel to the event!

Check out this reel:

The spider web frame is probably my favorite part:

This is a large arbor 7/8 reel that holds 100 yards of 20lb backing and is very light weight.

The reel came in the mail yesterday and I gotta say, this is a slick reel. Not only is it sweet looking, but it's well made. I've spun it around a little, checked it over, taken it apart, and I gotta admit, I want to take it out and give it a test run on a steelhead....but I will resist that urge. Why? Because this reel is going to be raffled off and one of the lucky guys who's attending the event in a few weeks is going to take this reel home! Every year my wife sees the cool stuff that comes in and threatens to "quit GFP" just so she can get in on the raffles. And every year I tell her she can't...this reel makes me want to tell her "you're fired!"

So, instead of giving this a run for it's money, on the iced up creeks, I figured I'd do something a little less destructive to protect your prize....I decided to declare today "Bring Your Jesse James Reel To Work Day." It's hanging out with me all day, reminding me why I put in 8 hours day in day out at this job.

Check out the Jesse James Reel Company website.

Video Break

2011-01-24T08:37:00.003-05:00

Fly Fishing Montana from Scott Gibney on Vimeo.

It was -4 degrees out according to the news this morning. I think overnight it got colder. It was the coldest night since 2005. So, you deserve a 5 minute break to watch this video from Montana when it wasn't quite as cold. Enjoy!

If you are heading out fishing today, stay warm!

Do Clothes Have Mojo?

2011-01-23T16:55:00.000-05:00

Earlier today Cameron at The Fiberglass Manifesto posted on Facebook saying that JP Ross Fly Rods is now advertising on the TFM website! This is great news of course, because JP Ross Fly Rods are awesome, and now more people can discover them and start enjoying the fine craftsmanship that he puts into each of his rods!

In the post on Facebook, I replied that "I have one of those hats! It helps catch fish and makes you look ten years younger!" To which Cameron replied "it's got mojo? I need to go fly fishing soon and find out."

Well, many of us up North might be too snowed in to go out and test out the mojobility of the hats today (Cameron might be out in the balmy southern weather testing it out now, who knows), so to all those not wearing one on the water today I offer this proof.

Here's a picture of my daughter minutes before she hooked into a fish. Notice the JP Ross kids hat she's wearing.

JP Ross Kids Hat

Now, check out this picture after she pulled in our families biggest bass ever....a nice fat 20 inch largemouth. Sure, the hat is not on her head, but who (at age 6) can fight a fish like that (mostly by herself) and not lose their hat?


20 Inch Largemouth Bass

So, do clothes have mojo? If my daughter can pull in a fat bass while wearing a JP Ross hat, I'd say who am I to question the hat? Now, think how mojorific you'd be if next month at the event you win BOTH a JP Ross hat and a shirt from The Fiberglass Manifesto!

The F3T

2011-01-20T19:02:00.000-05:00

The F3T = The Fly Fishing Film Tour

Got an update in my email about the F3T, and after checking out their website I found there are 2 NY venues. A few years ago there was one much closer to Rochester, but I unfortunately didn't get out to see it. Now that the venues are hours away, I'm kicking myself for not going a few years ago. I hope it comes back to Rochester....which seems like a better place anyway since we can pull from Buffalo and Syracuse...but until someone decides to put on the show, we'll have to drive.

Here are your NY based options:

Mar-25 / NY Lake Placid
Apr-16 / NY Hancock

If you live close to either of those places, it's probably worth taking a look into going. I've never been, but I can only imagine that hanging out with fly fishermen and watching a fishing film sure beats watching ANYTHING else!

Check out the F3T website for more details!

Jim Teeny: Fly Fishing Great Waters

2011-01-19T08:55:00.001-05:00

Jim Teeny sent a copy of Fly Fishing Great Waters for one of the prizes at Guys, Flies & Pies next month. I've had a chance to flip through this book and it's going to make a great book to add to your collection.

First of all, let me admit I'm the kind of guy that prefers a restaraunt that has pictures in the menu more than one with only text. I figure if I'm hungry and paying, the last thing I want to do is be forced to read first. Now, I gotta say that this book, although it's not a menu, it's got plenty of pictures to keep even me interested! I know that a few guys who've tied with us have fished with Jim. Although I've never met Jim, he does come to NY to fish and therefore you'll find some pictures in the book of local waters. It was a nice surprise to not only see places I've fished but a friend I've tied and fished with.

I flipped through the pages quickly and can tell that this book can provide a nice "fishing break" for you during the cold winter months!

Stop by and check it out at the event next month!

Hit the link below and see the other products he offeres...lines, gear, accessories, etc.

Jim Teeny online

Punk Rocker

2011-01-17T05:19:00.005-05:00

Over the weekend I found a few minutes to try something I've wanted to try for years....stacking deer hair. I've seen flies with stacked deer hair before and always loved the way they looked, but I've never tried it. I tried spinning deer hair once before, and didn't do too well and never tried it again. Recently I've been following the work of Pat Cohen on http://gotbronze.blogspot.com and been extremely impressed. He ties a pattern called a Punk Rocker which combines two of my favorite things....deer hair and mohawks. I've tied a fly or two in the past with mohawk, but never did they turn out even half as cool as his flies. So, last night with a little bit of time (trying to avoid the Miss America Pageant that my wife and mother were watching in the other room) I sat down and tried to tie up a punk rocker...or at least my version of one.

I learned a few things from doing this. No matter how many ties I thought I was almost done, I wasn't. Once I used the hair packer and pushed the hair back I found plenty of bare hook ready and waiting to be covered. I need to use a bit more hair each time. Pat has a video about another one of his deer hair flies, and shows that he uses about 3 pencil sized clumps for top and bottom of each section. I'm pretty sure that's why it seemed like I needed more and more. I also learned that shaving this thing down to size/shape is pretty hard to do. I am now even more amazed how well Pat's look. Shaping is something I definitely need to work on.

Here's a picture of what I was trying to do:

If you are interested in trying these type of flies, I suggest checking out his video he posted a few weeks ago, it has a lot of good info on how to stack hair. I just watched a few minutes of it and picked up a few hints I wish I had remembered while tying the fly above.

Here's a link to the video. It's 30+ minutes, so grab something to drink and sit back and enjoy!

http://gotbronze.blogspot.com/2011/01/1-3-11-hot-butt-toad-tutorial.html

Keep up with his work on his blog at http://gotbronze.blogspot.com

Shawn Davis Original Fly Designs

2011-01-16T08:56:00.003-05:00

If you haven't checked out Shawn Davis Original Fly Designs, then take a minute (or 30) now and be amazed.

Shawn makes flies like nothing else. Below is an image of part of one of his hooks. Check out the rest of his site to see the rest of his work...it's truly amazing.

LINK

Bears and Birds

2011-01-15T16:21:00.000-05:00

When pushed to answer, I'll only say that bears and great blue herons fish better than I do. Sure, I know this isn't true, but it's what I say. There is something about watching a great blue stalk his prey and then with lightning speed take it out. I've only seen the take a few times, but always watch them stalking as I drive by some of the local ponds. I think I enjoy watching these birds fish because I'm jealous of their patience. They will slowly move in and wait. I have a hard time "reading the water" for more than 20 seconds before my desire to cast takes over and I'm beating the water with my line.

Growing up in NY I never really saw many bears. Sure, I've seen them on trips to the Adirondacks or to Yellowstone, but they are not as common in the suburbs of NY. However, I've always loved watching bears fish for salmon...even when that "watching" is only on the internet. So, what's the allure of watching bears? Sure, they might move in slow like the heron, and then pounce once the moment is right...but there's got to be something more. Minutes ago I realized what it was when I saw the picture on Neil Creek Chronicles. I don't visit the site as much as I should, so it may not be new to some of you, but it was new for me today.

I think this image catches the real reason why I like watching bears fish, and why I give them credit for fishing better than I do. See, once you've caught a fish, I doubt the heron is going to care...but with a bear, once you catch a fish the bear STILL can catch that fish (and catch you). It's not over once you have the fish in your hands, should the bear still want that fish, the bear will come and take it! I love how this image captures that reality. The fisherman knows he caught a great fish, but with respect to the bears, he turns and watches them even for his "hero shot."

Check out Neil Creek Chronicles here!

Lucas Carroll Photography

2011-01-14T07:20:00.001-05:00

I met Lucas last year at Guys, Flies & Pies and had the opportunity to flip through his photo album he brought. He takes great photos and often pairs up naturals with fakes for a great comparison. It was these photos that helped me believe him when he said "tie them smaller."

Lucas is an experienced fly tier, fly fisherman, and published photographer. He's had his photos published in print and online.

Fortunately for you, he'll be at GFP again next month and is planning on bringing his book again. It was a great way to spend a few minutes last year and many people enjoyed seeing his work in print. Until then, check out his work online.

Here is the run down of the sites he has:

Lucas Carroll Photography
Proven Patterns
Blog
Flickr

Lucas took the photo of the brown trout skin that is the background image on this website.

UNI Products - Axxel

2011-01-13T07:52:00.001-05:00

UNI has sponsored GFP for 3 years now, and some of you have won some of their great products. While going through the advertisements they sent along with this years prizes, I noticed a product I didn't realize they had. It's worth mentioning because I think it's a one of a kind type of product.

UNI AXXEL

It's called Axxel and here is the press release description of the product:

UNI-Products, a world leader in the supply of spooled fly-tying materials, announces the addition of five fresh colors—brown, yellow, rainbow black, pink, and light blue—to their very popular Axxel Ty-Rap product. Axxel 8" Ty-Rap is one narrow strand of flash material supported by two nylon micro-filaments for strength. It is packaged in bundles of 8" lengths.
A combo package with packages of all seventeen colors is available.
Fly-tiers are continuously finding new uses for Axxel flash material. For example, to add sparkle, Axxel can be wound with other body materials or added to a standard wing. It makes excellent ribbing material; tough and adds a more subtle flash than regular tinsels. For example, when used as a rib with ordinary chenille it creates an effect similar to crystal chenille. Also, it makes interesting tinsel bodies featuring the variegated or broken-up pattern so often found in the natural world.

It sounds like a reinforced flash material. This could make it great for flies where the flash is used as a rib or some other part of the fly that might typically get broken and ruin the look of the fly.

Click the images below for a larger version of Axxel and some other products they have.

Once again this year, we have quite a few spools of various UNI materials that we will be part of the prizes for the night. See you next month!

Check out UNI online here!

Pond Safety - Stay off

2011-01-11T01:11:00.011-05:00

While searching the internet for something to read to pass the time I came across this article out of Indiana that says lawmakers are trying to pass a bill to make home owners pay for barriers around ponds.

As a fisherman who frequents these types of ponds, I don't like the idea of fencing them in, and fencing me out. I completely understand the desire to keep children and motorists safe, but like the guy in the video, I agree that kids will often just climb the fence or find some other way (or pond) in. Just in the last year, locally there was a pond that was mostly fenced in, and a kid found the hole in the fence and drowned. It's sad, but it's often preventable.

When I drive by the frozen ponds in my town, I'm often reminded that I need to teach my kids about winter pond safety....simply....STAY OFF!!! When I was a boyscout I remember playing on an iced over pond and listening to it crack. Fortunately, I got off before any issue. During the summer time I teach my kids to stay back a step or two (they like standing close to the water usually.) Also, I try to ask them every time we are out "What do you do if you fall in?" We fish from the shore, not a boat, and they usually answer something like "swim" "yell for help", then I tell them the first thing they need to do is stand up. I figure that kids might be too worried about being wet and scared to think of the simple solution of standing up. Shore fishing on simple ponds means that most of the time the kids can just stand up and be safe.

We can't sit back and hope for fences to save our kids (not that we all want them), we need to teach them how to avoid these dangers. No matter what law they pass, a pond, a puddle, a lake, a ditch, a danger will always be there. Teach your kids safety!

LINK to the original story.

6th Finger Scissors

2011-01-10T13:41:00.001-05:00

Singlebarbed sent a box of 6th finger scissors for the prizes at Guys, Flies & Pies next month. Since many of you are going to be lucky and take a pair of these home, I thought I'd point you to the original write up he did about them.

Check it out here!

The scissors are designed to fit in your hand the whole time while tying. The spring action makes it simple to make a quick snip without fumbling for the scissors or 2 finger loops. Slip these on and don't worry about taking them off until bed time!

Check out the 3 types of these he has!

I hope to give a pair a workout at the vise before the event to see how they perform!

Sweet Carp Video

2011-01-09T08:43:00.005-05:00

Working in the Fly Shop

2011-01-08T09:08:00.000-05:00

Maybe for you it was late at night pulling an all nighter doing homework, or an all nighter working for the man trying to get some project done for the customer, or during a spell of unemployment....."I should work in the fly shop!" I've had that idea. I've thought that through. I've pushed the idea away.

Michael Gracie has done a short series called Adventures in Fly-Fishing Retail. He either is trying to bring some of the reality to all of us dreamers, or he's making stuff up in hopes to keep his gig! Either way, it's an interesting insight into what we all have thought about.

Adventures in Fly-Fishing Retail – the new series begins December 4th
Adventures in Fly-Fishing Retail – Episode 1: Back To The Roots
Adventures in Fly-Fishing Retail – Episode 2: Holiday Sparkle
Adventures in Fly-Fishing Retail – The Two Part Season Finale

Drop and give me shine!

Custom Wooden Reels

2011-01-07T07:26:00.002-05:00

This Just In: I got confirmation from John this morning that he will once again be displaying his custom made reels at Guys, Flies & Pies next month! Many people were able to check them out last year before he had to leave, don't miss them this year!

Custom Reels by John

FYI: The event is 6 weeks away! It's a good time to decide what patterns you need to stock up on and start organizing materials to bring. Might also be a good time to start doing your honey-do list so you can build up some free time for yourself.

Results From Spey Nation

2011-01-06T10:27:00.002-05:00

I've posted about Spey Nation before, and hopefully you've listened. Spey Nation is a big spey rod demo party out in Pineville New York. When it started, I think it was just an excuse to drink beer, eat cheeseburgers, and hit the river with other peoples rods to demo when the summer heat has set in.

Well, it worked....but not just in the feeding the hoards of beggars in waders...but in providing money for fish recovery efforts.

Check out Bottom Hands recent post to see more about their success!

Keep in mind: Spey Nation is a sponsor of GFP this year, and that event is Saturday June 25th 2011.

GFP Double Bunny

2011-01-06T08:04:00.000-05:00

Every so often I do a Google search for Guys, Flies & Pies or GFP just to see what's out there. The top search results for GFP is for something called Green Fluorescent Protein. It appears as if smart people have come up with a way to make animals glow.

After seeing these results in my search, instead of what I wanted to see, it got me thinking......this type of research could lead to a awesome new version of the double bunny fly!

Catch Magazine #15

2011-01-05T15:35:00.000-05:00

Catch Magazine issue #15 is out now. Check out the Teeth section for a photo from local fisherman Brian Bradfield.

LINK

TFM Shirt Spotting Contest Announced

2011-01-04T08:09:00.001-05:00

Recently I decided that I'm going to try and only buy fishing related shirts...because let's face it, they are just way cooler than any other shirt out there. A few months ago I purchased a shirt from The Fiberglass Manifesto to add to my wardrobe. The cool thing about getting a shirt from TFM is that you then have an opportunity to photograph yourself in the shirt and submit it to the shirt spotting contest. I submitted for November (and not enough of you voted for me, but I'll let that slide for now). Even though I submitted once, I still have the shirt, new photo ideas, and I'm going to submit some more for 2011.

Check out yesterdays post were TFM announced the prize for 2011's contest. Scott Fly Rod Company has offered up a F2 fiberglass rod for the winner.

There's a few options for you here. The Fiberglass Manifesto is a sponsor of Guys, Flies & Pies and will be sending some coupons for shirts for our raffle. So, you can either order up a shirt today and get in on the contest a few months early, or win a shirt at GFP. Or better yet, do both since TFM offers different styles, colors, and designs. Either way, where else do you get a great shirt that allows you to get into a contest to win a free fly rod. Rumor over at the post on TFM shows that there are only about 500 shirts out there, so your only up against 500 people....which is a small number of people considering there are only a few submissions each month. Get a shirt and get in on the contest!

LINK

Quick Thaw, Quick Fix

2011-01-03T15:29:00.001-05:00

December 2010 gave Rochester NY it's snowiest December on record, coming in with over 47 inches of snow for the month. That, combined with other holiday obligations kept me off the water most of the month. Of course, I did get out to the creek on December 4th, but froze. So, when this past Saturday came and had 50 degree weather, I was able to get out for a few minutes. (Few minutes = 35 minutes) I wasn't out long.

Found an opening in the ice

2nd blue gill of the day

That hole is only about 30 feet out from shore

Wish the photo did the orange belly justice

One of the dozen or so I caught

In the end I spent only about 30-40 minutes on the water before dinner, but fortunately I caught a few fish. It was nice to see them all schooled up right where I could catch them...as if they had been waiting there for months for me to come back!

Now, more snow in the forcast and more season specific temperatures mean the hole in the ice will likely start to fade away again.

...and a flock of fly tiers descend.

2011-01-03T08:45:00.000-05:00

Birds fall from the sky for an unknown reason. Somehow, I think one of us is to blame and is quickly filling up his supply of red winged black bird feathers! You should be ashamed of yourselves!