I have been fly fishing for carp a lot this spring, more than any other spring I can remember. My experiences have revealed a few new insights that previously went unnoticed. One particular weapon I have relied on time after time, is the slingshot cast. I have caught a myriad of species over the years utilizing this close quarters […]
Slingshot Casts
Poor Man’s Tarpon
I was able to get out two weekends ago with my buddy Tyler Nonn, from Tidewater Charters for some morning shad fishing. Needless to say, but my first shad fishing experience out on the river was pretty lights out. We fished fly and spin gear and caught perch, hickory shad, and even some American shad for two straight hours. For the […]
Simple Is, As Simple Does
Over the past two months, my top carp fly has experienced a slight change from subsequent seasons. Normally, my “go to” fly in the early spring is a sucker spawn pattern tied from sizes 10-14. Although highly successful over numerous years, I wanted something a little less intrusive and simply more versatile in fishing the entire water column. My big complaint […]
Carp Exploration
The weekend forecast called for a heavy dose of sunshine, light wind, and springtime temperatures to ring in daylight savings. With the nice weather, I actually considered heading to the local stream to catch some stocked trout. I’d probably lose count at some point in the day but that thought quickly escaped my mind. I realized that if I […]
Sixth Sense
There comes a point in every fly fisherman’s maturation when they naturally develop a sixth sense. This can found on the trout stream where a nymph fishermen senses the unseen to set the hook on a nice trout. It can also be found on a flowing river as an intruder settles deep into a swing. The fishermen is completely […]
Anyone Have a Plankton Fly?
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to live out a dream from my childhood. I was\am fascinated by animals, and sharks took up a considerable amount of my imagination as a kid. Particularly enthralling were images of divers swimming along with whale sharks. Swimming with them moved to near the top of my to-do list when we signed our […]
Serenity Now
The last day of our excursion north to the Salmon River came fast, leaving us contemplating a return home to friends, family, and that “W” word fly fishermen don’t like.
The Pursuit of Happiness 2
We slept the sleep of fisherman who had spent the previous day staving off hypothermia. The waders dripped in the shower, the heat on full blast, our faces and hands red, stomachs full. We awoke to a fresh 20″ of snow covering the world.
Carp Flies: Part Two
Out of pure respect, all my flies are barbed…
The Pursuit of Happiness
You would think a fishless five months would alter your perspectives towards some aspects of the pursuit of fish with a fly rod. If it did for me, those alterations occurred in how I daydreamed about it.