Sunday, November 1, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
ANGLER'S TONIC - A SWEET FLY FISHING ARTICLE AND INFORMATION WEBSITE!
Greg Thomas has been my fly fishing buddy for over 18 years now. We first met in the Keys when I was working in the Faro Blanco Fly shop in Marathon. We have fished together in the Keys and all over the Rockies for huge trout. Greg has writen 5 fly fishing books and is the publisher for the above web site called Angler's Tonic. Last and not least Greg is also the editor for Fly Rod and Reel magazine. Check out this cool site! It makes you want to go fishing right now!
http://www.anglerstonic.com/dev/
Friday, October 23, 2009
Taking even ok fishing photos on you next trip out on the water can be challenging to say the least. But just knowing a couple of small tactics about basic photography, and hot to hold a fish for a photo can make a ok shot a great one.Here are a number of pointers that I think make a big difference.
- Try to hold the camera so the lens is at the same height as the eye of the fish. This gives a clear focusing point for the camera since having the fishes eye in the picture in focus is a well know photography rule
- Fill the frame! Today's cameras allow you to actually see the photo you are going to take on a LCD screen on the back of the digital camera. This will allow you to fill in all the free space (or open air) that no one wants in the photo. The photo is about you and the fish, or just the fish its self. So try to keep the the subject very close to the sides of the frame. This way you don't get one of those photos with the subject so small in the middle of the photo you cant even see it.
- Try not to stand to far away from the subject for many points and shoot cameras made today have a very wide angle lens on it allows you to get very close to help get that close up cover shot look. This makes for great hero shots with fish.
- The rule of thirds is also pretty important. Try not to place the eye of the fish directly in the center of the photo. Keep it off centered both up and down and side to side.
- If you think you close - get closer. 99% of all fish shots I see taken from my customers and friends are shot to far away. Fill, that frame and you can get some killer photos to hang on your wall!
More photo tips will come soon! Thanks for following!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Dates for this years schools are November 14th-21st with 3 rods open, and January 9th-16th with 2 rods open. For more info check out Capt Bruce Chards web page - http://www.brucechard.com/flyfishingschools/theultimatebonefishschool.html
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
- size 2/0 Gamakatzu SC15 Hook
- Natural deer hair
- tan select craft fur
- pumpkin seed sili legs
- cree or variant feathers
- hot orange or peach cactus chenille
- 17 pound Rio saltwater hard mono for weed guard
- med size lead eyes
- chartreuse 3/0 Danvills flat waxed thread
- sally Hansens hard as nails for glue
- and last but not least the one and only - awesome Regal vise
Instructions
- - Tie lead eye on bottom of hook shank (hook point down in the vise) about 1/4 inch behind eye
- - wrap thread back to bend of hook
- - wrap on med sized chunk of tan craft fur making the fur about 1 1/2-2 inches long
- - palmer about 4.5 wraps of hot orange cactus chenille and make a small ball at base where you tied on the craft fur
- - then marrie 2 separate sets of thick salt water sized cree or variant feathers and then splay the to sets out opposite each other using the ball of chenille as a spacer to help spread
- - then flip over fly so the hook is up and tie in 4 strands of pumpkin seed sili legs so they extend over the back of the craft fur
- - next take a small to medium sized swatch of natural deer hair and pinch on hook just behind the lead eyes (note - behind the lead eyes but on the opposite side of the hook). Make sure that the fine tips of the hair are facing the back of the fly and make 3 loose thread wraps and cinch down on the deer hair to flair it out. Do not let the deer hair spin though. We are not spinning deer hair. Just hold against hook tight while you cinch with the thread to flair it out
- - trim front part if deer hair so just the fine tips are left. Leave a nice shape body.
- - next move forward of the lead eyes and finish by adding a double weedguard by doubling over a single piece of 17 pound Rio Saltwater Hard mono. Trim, and leave about 1/2 inch above hook point.
- - whip finish and coat thread with Sally Hansen hard as nails
Any questions please ask!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Sunday, September 6, 2009
These big white lips are the last things that many little Crabbies want to come across in there lifetime. Usually with the sight of these big juicy white lips comes a quite strong sucking feeling much like a hoover vacuum! Then poof, the crab is nothing but a pile of crushed shells being flushed back into the water. A number of points about these big white lips are worth talking about in the fly fishing world. I think learning about the actual fish and its anatomy, lifestyle and habits are VERY important to upping your catch ratio. So how does knowing about these big puffy lips help us catch more fish? Well they are BIG WHITE PUFFY LIPS to put a fine point on it. When hunting for permit on the shallow flats it has been a common know that you can usually see the large, black, forked tail of the permit before you can see the slim profile of the permit body. But what about on a darker cloudy day? Then throw in some darker bottom as well. UGG! It can be hard to spot that DARK BLACK tail in the limited light and on the darker bottom. Guess what then sticks out more then anything! YES THE LIPS! These big, white, rubbery permit lips make it easier to see a permit on darker days for sure! Sometime from a great distance if the light is just right! The white color of the lips against the dark bottom in the lower light will show up like a lite up christmas tree. Use this tip to help yourself identify a possible permit in some darker conditions.
Thursday, September 3, 2009
"RISE"
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
This site is killer to learn about all kinds of fly fishing around the world from the top professionals in the fly fishing industry! This site offers live pod casts all the time and then saves them for future listeners. So if you missed the live pod cast no worries just go back and click on podcast you want to listen to and have at it! Check out the names on the home page of this site to see the large array of fly fishing talent that Roger at Ask About Fly Fishing has accumulated. I have done a bone fish show and a permit show and you can listen to them both on this site page. Check it out! I talk about a ton of different tips, and methods of fly fishing for permit and bone fish from the Florida Keys, Bahamas, Belize , and Mexico! SWEET!
http://www.askaboutflyfishing.com/speakers/bruce-chard/bruce-chard.cfm
Saturday, July 25, 2009
HUGE BONEFISH IN THE FLORIDA KEYS!
Bonefish run big in the Florida Keys! Many think that the Keys are the best BIG bone fishery in the world - bar none! The average size is 6-9 pounds, world records are being caught every year from 14-15 lbs and up! That dwarfs most other bone fisheries in the world! The reason for this is the ample amount of large shrimp and crab that are available to them to eat. The Keys are loaded with HUGE sweeping turtle grass flats. That provides a killer estuary for all small living creatures to hide and grow big! In the picture above, look at how thick the grass is. This offers shrimp and crab protection from their predators and then in return they live longer having the opportunity to grow big! SO when fish eat lots of big food, they grow faster and bigger themselves.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sincerely,
-Nathaniel C. Linville, Owner