Yukon Goes Fishing (YGF)

Revo Bearing Polarized Sunglasses - A YGF Review

2012-03-15T04:00:00.000-06:00

It is often said that a good pair of polarized sunglasses are a fisherman's most important piece of equipment. With good reason, most of us can't smell or hear fish under a couple feet of water. Without a good pair of polarized sunglasses, those feeding trout are hidden from the prospecting fly fisherman.

For the last couple years, I wore a schmedium-sized, substandard quality pair of polarized sunglasses. It showed. On more than one occasion (read an uncountable number of occasions), Bucko would start talking about fish stacked up in a run or riffle. I would stare at the water, through the water, to the water and saw nothing. Meanwhile, Bucko was catching and landing the beasts from what I thought was the mysterious deep.

In the beginning of the year, I received a pair of polarized glass lens sunglasses. It changed my perspective, I could see holding fish everywhere I went. The underwater world opened up to me.

Even more recently, Revo offered me the opportunity to test out a pair of the Revo Bearing Water Lens Polarized Sunglasses. I was more than happy to take the Revo Bearings out on the water.

The Revo Bearings come in three different lens tints: graphite, bronze, and water. I chose to test and review the Water Lenses. The Water Lenses allow 10% of light to transmit through the lenses as compared to the 13% light transmission associated with the graphite and bronze lenses. According to Revo, "the Water Lenses cut back blues, and allows greens and reds to come through in environments with abnormal amounts of blue making it great for ocean and deep water wear."

Here is a brief rundown of the specifications from the REVO website (check here for more detailed specs)

Serilium Lenses
Anti-Reflective Coating
Element Shed
Revo High Contrast Polarization
Motion-Fit
Spring Hinges

Test Conditions - Range of weather and water conditions that the Revo Bearings under which were tested.

In order to fully test the Revo Bearing sunglasses, I begrudgingly fished in a variety of light conditions from early February through mid-March. From cloudy and snowy to sunny with a little bit of partly cloudy weather mixed in, I fished in everything. With a couple warm and rainy days, I even got the chance to fish in some slightly off-color water on the Bitterroot.

To me, there are three things that are most important with regards to a pair of polarized sunglasses for outdoor activities, especially fly fishing: 1) the quality of the optics 2) fit and comfort and 3) durability. Here are my impressions of the Revo Bearing sunglasses after more than a month on the water and around town.

Quality of Optics
The Revo Water Lens is a blue-grey lens with a blue mirror coating. Mirror coating deflects some of the light that hits the lens as a result, some light is not transmitted through the lens. Combining the mirror coating with the 10% light transmission of the blue-grey lenses, the Water Lens should theoretically be excellent bright light condition lenses.

Blue-grey lenses with a blue mirror coating

During this first month and a half with the Bearings, the lenses lived up to the expected bright light condition performance. These glasses really "shined" during blue bird days on the water. That was too be expected. I was very surprised with the glasses performance on partly cloudy and cloudy days. I expected my polarized, copper-tinted glass lens sunglasses to outperform the Water Lenses during these lower light conditions. They didn't. In many cases, I found the Revo Water Lenses to be more effective in comparison to the glass lens polarized sunglasses during these partly cloudy and cloudy conditions.

Fit and Comfort
I have a medium-large to large sized face, depending on the brand. The Revo Bearing frames are considered mid-sized frames. They fit my face extremely well. You know how some t-shirts fit better than others? If the Revo Bearing glasses were a t-shirt, it would be my favorite, best fitting, and most comfortable t-shirt. I experienced no issues with pinching, fatigue, or the dreaded facial imprinting. The spring hinges allow the glasses to hug your face in a gentle, yet firm manner.

The glasses don't feel heavy on the face. In fact, I barely notice that they are on while fishing, driving my the car, walking around town, and applying for real life jobs.

Durability
With the spring hinges, polycarbonate lenses, and nylon frames, the glasses feel sturdy. I have yet to drop them (and I don't plan on doing so in the near or distant future), but I have a great deal of confidence in these glasses ability to hold up to a little abuse. The nylon frames are flexible, but not too flexible. They maintain their designed form, while allowing for a little give here and there.

As an aside, the spring hinges are ingenious. It is the little things that add up to something extraordinary. With the spring hinge, there is an element added durability and flexibility that I have yet to encounter in sunglasses at a variety of price points.

The aforementioned ingenious hinges hinging

Look
I think the glasses are really, really, really, ridiculously good looking. I am not much of a "fashionista" (fashonistas out there, is that the correct usage of the term "fashonista?"), but I like the look of these glasses a great deal. They have replaced my previous everyday sunglasses....as my everyday sunglasses.

really, really, really, ridiculously good looking? yup.

After a month and a half on the water, in the car, at work, at the flyshop, and at school, I have been very impressed and pleased with the Revo Bearing sunglasses. With an excellent set of polarized lens and a flexible and durable frame, I think the $189.00 price tag is very fair. They aren't the cheapest sunglasses by any means, but it matches up well with competing brands by price. I would recommend these glasses to an angler looking for a high quality pair of polarized sunglasses. Imaginary YGF seal of approval has been stamped on these Revos.

Do you want to see the sunglasses on the water? Check out my most recent video, The Leprechaun and the Yeti.

Here are some stills of the sunglasses. Thanks to Anthony from False Casts and Flat Tires for the images of the glasses in action.

From the side.

What I see right before I put them on.


Oh yeah, it comes with a protective case and a cloth. As any real pair of sunglasses should.

See? Uh huh.

DISCLAIMER: The Revo Bearing sunglasses tested in this product review were provided to me at no cost, but hold a retail value of $189.00. I currently hold no association with Revo whatsoever. As with this review and all future reviews, I will do my best to offer up my honest and unbiased opinion, good or bad.

The 2nd Annual YGF Bracket Challenge

2012-03-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

Did it last year. I wouldn't call it a success, mostly because I didn't win. But, on short notice, we had a six person challenge. Friend of YGF, Elena took it all.

Let's do it again. This is for pride. No money. No fancy blogging rewards. Like last year, this is just for internet pride. Here is my bracket. I am not too impressed with myself. It took a whopping 2 minutes to finish.

Join the Official YGF Bracket Challenge on ESPN. The password is flyfishing. I know...original.

Cutting willows on Rock Creek - A Volunteer Opportunity

2012-03-09T09:42:00.000-07:00

A view from a rip-rapped bank along Rock Creek

Reader of YGF, Mark Mariano, recently contacted me to spread the word about an opportunity to help out the Trout Unlimited with some willow cutting and replanting efforts on Rock Creek. Mark is an Ecology Restoration major at the University of Montana and he is part of the University group that is assisting Trout Unlimited with the efforts to cut willows down near Rock Creek Lodge (think lower Lower Rock Creek). TU will then take the willow cuttings and replant them into some of the roadside rip-rapped banks that line Rock Creek, with the intention of protecting Rock Creek Road from erosion, enhancing habitat, filtering sediment, and regulating water temperature. Also known as, the things willows do.

The TU/UM event is taking place on March 24, 2012 at 10:00 am at the Rock Creek Lodge. A shuttle from Missoula will be leaving town at 9:15 am. To RSVP for more details: Call Dan at 320-493-1663 or email Dan at daniel.kaus@umontana.edu or Mark at MarianoConst@msn.com.

The Leprechaun and the Yeti

2012-03-06T08:05:00.000-07:00

Some fishing partners are tall. Some are short. Anthony of False Casts and Flat Tires is the Leprechaun. I, apparently, am the Yeti. A couple of days of fly fishing on the Bitterroot. We got into some solid rainbows and browns, but nothing too extraordinary. Things are heating up, but we could have said that about the entire winter. Although, it is good to have some dry fly fishing on the horizon.

Some guest appearances from Alec of Fly Fishing Life and Cody of Oakfish in the beginning and end of the video.

Music:
Wu-Tang Clan vs. The Beatles "City High (Instrumental)"

The Leprechaun and the Yeti from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

I went a little crazy on the effects this time. Messed with the saturation and the shadows/highlights. Let me know what you think of the effects.

Hey, Steelhead, let me catch you.

2012-02-28T12:30:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, I went steelheading over in Idaho with Matt Breuer and LG. For the past two weeks, I have been trying to muster up some grand post about how going fish-less (whitefish don't count, this isn't baseball) over the course of two, windy, cold, and rainy days was the cat's meow. It wasn't. It was like self-flagellation in the church of the Clearwater. Eventually, it started to feel kind of good. So, instead of more words, I will sum it up in FISH JERKS style.

What I thought my first steelheading trip would look like - that's how it works. First trip, big wild buck. Amirite?

What my trip actually looked like. Empty handed. For reference, BWO.

I'd do it again.

Baseball - A Fly Fishing game

2012-02-27T12:30:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know me personally, you are aware of my love of games. Games of all sorts. I have a child-like love of games. So, when Anthony (of FCFT) and I were walking back to the Bell Crossing access and he proposed that we play a little baseball, my ears perked up and my eyes opened wide. "A game, what game?" My attention was now solely focused on games. Anthony proceeded to explain to me the game of Fly Fishing Baseball. A little hat tip to Brendan Bannigan of the Grizzly Hackle, who taught Anthony this game sometime ago.

Not my fish. Anthony just wanted to take photos. Photo courtesy of Anthony at False Casts and Flat Tires.

Pre-spawn colors...perhaps.
Photo courtesy of Anthony at False Casts and Flat Tires

Like real-life Baseball, Fly Fishing Baseball has nine innings. Each player gets three outs (fish-less drifts per inning) and different fish are worth a different amount of "runs" ((based on species and size).

So, as we walked back to the car, Anthony and I played a time-shortened 7-inning game of Fly Fishing Baseball (FFB). Anthony had home-field advantage and it showed early. In the top of the 1st, I nymphed a long deep run. The fish were stacked up on the softer, inside water on the downstream portion of the run. After two fish-less drifts, my Pat's stone connected with what seemed like a decent fish. I horsed it. With a late hookset, my inning was over.

Wanting to catch fish and putting the game aside, I fished the same portion of the run as Anthony started the bottom of the 1st inning higher up in the run. I promptly stuck a 14" cutbow and my clinch knot failed. That lost fish wouldn't have counted as it was not my time at the plate. But, my recon paid off for Anthony, as I had found the fish for him. In the bottom of the 1st, Anthony landed a rainbow and a cutthroat and quickly took a 6 run lead on YGF.

I followed up with a small whitefish in the 2nd inning and brought the score to 6-1, in favor of Anthony. I spent the rest of the game trying to hit grand slams, as the sun was setting and the deficit was significant. No more scoring happened in the remainder of the 7-inning game. Final Score: Anthony 6 Ivan 1.

Here is my post-game interview:

"The ball just didn’t bounce my way. I don’t want to point fingers, but this loss was my fault. I came out flat. I didn’t get the job done. Anthony just made the plays when it mattered. I had my chances, but I just let them swim away."

A solid whooping.

So, I like games and stats. I have decided to make this a feature of YGF going forward. Games will be played. Standings and statistics will be "recorded." A page will be dedicated to it. I like games.

Looking at the fish I didn't catch in the first game of the season.
Photo courtesy of Anthony at False Casts and Flat Tires

Here are the official Fly Fishing Baseball (FFB) rules that Anthony and I have agreed upon.

Number of Players - Unlimited (more than one is recommended, unless you like playing with yourself)

Equipment - A player may put on whatever setup he wants to start the game but may only change his rig if he breaks it off.

Drift - A drift is defined as the time between the line entering the water and leaving the water, you can mend it as many times as you want and can drift it as far as you like as long as you don't move your feet.

Ball - If you decide you don't like where your rig landed you can immediately pick it back up and recast. This MUST be done within the first two seconds of the line hitting the water. You get four balls per inning.

Strike - Failure to land a fish on a drift results in a strike. If you hook but do not land a fish on your third strike it is considered a foul ball and you get to repeat your last strike.

Using a catcher - You can use a buddy to help you land your fish but he/she is then entitled to half of your points from that fish, rounded down to the nearest whole number.

Landing a fish - Landing a fish does not against your strike total. You are then awarded points based on size and species. See points chart below.

Strikes, Outs, and Innings - A strike is equal to an out. Three outs per inning, nine innings per game. Theoretically each player would get a minimum of twenty seven drifts plus whatever extra drifts they get for landing a fish.

Playing the game

A player must declare that he is stepping to the plate, this begins his three strike inning. He must take all three strikes from the same general location, i.e run, riffle, pool.

Players must maintain the same player order that was established prior to the game starting. Any fish caught out of order are not counted towards the players score.

Games cannot be carried over from day to day. If the game has to be cut short the person with the most points is the winner. If the players are tied go to a tiebreaker, biggest fish wins.

Scoring - (Subject to change)

Whitefish = 1 run
Squawfish/Pikeminnow = 2 runs
Sucker = 2 runs
Pike = 2 runs
Bass = 2 runs
Trout = 3 runs
Trout over 16" = 4 runs
Trout over 18" = 5 runs
Pike over 30" = 5 runs
Bass over 18" = 5 runs
Carp = 5 runs
Trout over 20" = 10 runs
Bull Trout = 15 runs
Trout over 24" = 50 runs
Bull Trout over 30" = 100 runs

Eat More Brook Trout's 20 Questions - the YGF edition

2012-02-23T06:00:00.000-07:00

I haven't had the chance to meet Chris Hunt of Eat More Brook Trout in person yet, but I look forward to it. Chris is the National Communications Director at Trout Unlimited, a published author (Shin Deep), blogger extraordinaire at Eat More Brook Trout, and an avid angler (among, I am sure, many other things). One of EMBT's regular features is 20 Questions. In the last installment of 20 questions, Chris interviewed Tom Chandler. You know...that Tom Chandler. Following a fly fishing blogging legend, no pressure.

Then, Chris drops this complementary set of sentences in the intro, "I've become increasingly enamored with his use of the GoPro videocamera–he's extended the boundaries of small-scale fly fishing filmmaking, and with each effort, I've seen a notable evolution, both in terms of quality and creativity." You know, no pressure. (I kid Chris, thank you very much for your kind words.)

I am honored to have taken part in the EMBT 20 Questions series. I hope to get out on the water with Chris in the very near future. Check out the YGF Edition of the EMBT 20 Questions here.

No Sports Allowed

2012-02-22T06:00:00.000-07:00

Some bulldog from Colorado sent me care package filled with N.S.A. goodness. What a good dog. I didn't know bulldog's knew how to fetch. I thought they just rode skateboards. This bulldog sent me N.S.A. volumes 1 and 2 for my viewing pleasure. He knows that I watch a lot of fly fishing ~~porn~~ video as it is and more is definitely better.

While this winter has been pretty mild and the winter fishing has been pretty solid, I long for the long summer days filled with trout smashing big terrestrials and honkers of articulated streamers with reckless abandon. Streamer fishing in the winter just isn't the same. The glory of summer fishing is clearly demonstrated in N.S.A. Volumes 1 and 2. Those guys are streamer fishing, dry fly throwing fiends, all of them, every last one of them.

Both Volumes of No Sports Allowed are compilations of shorts. The shorts are filled with friends, Diet Cokes, big fish, and non-stop fishing action showing everything Idaho has to offer. From steelheading to spring creeks to narrow willow guarded streams to the big, relatively unexplored waters, everything southeastern Idaho has to offer. I am pretty sure that is everything. Someone, correct me. There is a great sense of family and friendship through both Volumes. Just fishing friends doing what fishing friends do. As a fisherman with friends, N.S.A is easy to relate to in that sense. Nothing fancy, just good times on the water with friends. No exotic locales, no celebrities. Just big fish, characters, and a nice Idaho backdrop. I like that style.

I should note that I fear for the trout of southeastern Idaho when some of the N.S.A. kids grow up. They could probably outfish me now...in 2012.

Many of you, might be fans of the Beard. What beard? The Beard...Marc Crapo's Beard. Volume 1 features a lot of The Beard before he was the Beard. Perhaps, in Volume 1, Crapo could best be described as the Goatee in Volume 1. But, in Volume 2, the Beard shows up in full force.

After watching both Volumes, I found myself yearning to get back out on the water. Longing for the long summer days on the water catching gobs of trout with friends. The N.S.A. series is a great addition to my growing collection of fish porn.

Check out the trailer for N.S.A. Volume 2:

NSA vol. 2 how we do... from Marc Crapo on Vimeo.

King of the Herd

2012-02-14T08:14:00.000-07:00

New and completely fake terms are being coined. That monster group of whitefish you see huddled around a big trout. That's a herd. And that big trout flanked by those pesky whitefish is the King of the Herd. A day of fishing with the False Casts Flat Tires (FCFT) crew on the Bitterroot. It was generally slow with the exception of the 22" cutbow that Zach hooked and Anthony miraculously netted. We found some pike in some shallow backwater. All of us stung one, none of us caught one. That goal will have to wait. Watch it in HD on vimeo.

Music: Soul Position "Run (Instrumental)"

King of the Herd from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

2012 F3T in Missoula - a Review

2012-02-13T00:16:00.001-07:00

When the Fly Fishing Film Tour (or F3T) sent me a goody basket filled with bourbon whiskey, stickers, a trucker hat, and a promotional DVD earlier this year, I got super excited. I wanted to hold off on watching the promotional DVD, but my excitement got the best of me...later that night...after some damn good whiskey. I only watched it once. Then, I put it away. Hid it in the mess that is my desk. I wanted to see it in person. I wanted to forget what I saw...in the best way possible. I wanted to experience it for the first time....a second time. I am glad I did.

Last year, Missoula set the F3T attendance record of 950. Check out my review of last year's show. This year, our town topped that with a record of 1100 attendees. The night started at the Grizzly Hackle for some beers and BBQ. I met up with Matt Breuer, the guys from FCFT (Zach, Stan, and Anthony...and Zach’s girlfriend Manda), and follower of the blog and retired USFS hydrologist Sully. After the pre-party and some good conversation, we headed over to the Wilma and snagged some good seats.

Here are my apparently long winded thoughts on this year’s films:

Riding High: A Season on the Fly - For the second straight year, the guys at Waterline Media opened up the Missoula F3T show. And for the second straight year, they produced an absolute monster of film. It follows the migration of tarpon from the lower Keys to the Panhandle and some of the anglers that chase them. With 90 days on the water and 15 TB of footage, every second of the film was stellar. Great opener to the show. Top 2, if not top 1 (aka favorite), film in the tour this year. The images, editing, and music was spot on.

Side Note: Someone needs to get that dog under control. Real fishing dogs maintain some level of self restraint (see anything Wilma does in any of my videos).

Sipping Dry - I have been looking forward to seeing Sharptail Media film on the big screen for 2 months (when the trailer was released). I was excited to see a film about the mighty mighty Missouri and it’s world renowned dry fly fishing. A river that I have fished numerous times and am always trying to figure out how to make the 2 hour trip from Missoula back there. I have something to admit, I haven’t fished the Mo during any semblance of a hatch. Shame shame shame on me. Perkins captured the spirit of Craig well and “that release shot” was stunning on the big screen. Besides the on point visuals of sipping 20+ inchers, Mark Raisler (S.O.L) and John Arnold (scumliner) from Headhunters were the stood out in the film (I might be a little biased). Line after line after line about the hatches, trout bums, and trout of the Missouri. You can’t beat Mark’s line - “Be careful who you bring here. Don’t bring your young children here or your teenagers here because you might alter their life and they are not going to become a doctor or an attorney, if they get hooked on this deal. It’s game over.” Top 3.

If I am being honest, the trailer might have been too good. It might have given away too much. Maybe I watched it too many times. The lines didn’t have the same pop they had the first, second, third, and fourth times around. I think it’s because I watched it too many times.

Geofish: A Mayan Prophecy - Another “backcountry” adventure from the MOTIV guys. Last year, it was vegetable oil cars. This year, it’s drug roads and landlocked tarpon. I didn’t know land locked tarpon existed. Tarpon that have never swam in saltwater. A novel concept. This flick was more a story of the journey to a unique fishery than the unique fishery itself. Solid film.

Hatch - Gin Clear Media’s submission for the 2012 F3T. This was the first fly fishing film to be filmed on a RED camera. A pretty big deal. The camera work was next level greatness. Some of the more ridiculously filmed dry fly takes I have seen. In many ways, it felt like I was watching a nature documentary that David Attenborough should be narrating. The cut was much shorter than the cut from the Promo DVD. It was a slower moving film that I think was hurt by the fact that there were so many more high action (read: adrenaline pumping) films preceding it.

Clearly B.C. - Fall Bullies - Many people may have seen this film by Todd Moen in the recent Catch Magazine. I liked it the first time. The second time, I started to lose interest. The visuals were great, but it lacked the story that the others had. The big fish were there, but something was missing in comparison to the others. It certainly didn’t help squash my desire to catch a monster bull trout. Alberta/B.C. here I come.

Reverb - Last year, RT’s submission was Zero 2 Hero. The Musky Movie. Big fish. Fish of 10,000 casts. Great characters and a great closing scene with a monster fish. This year's RT film is about a group of elder punk rockers who spend their off time on the water’s of the Driftless Region fly fishing for it’s trout. I personally didn’t connect with this film. But, I know that many people will. The visuals and graphics were spot on as always with RT’s productions. But, the fishing didn’t excite me and I didn’t connect with the characters. I don’t pay a great deal to sponsors unless shots of their products are displayed prominently in the films. Which leads me to the question: Is Orvis punk rock? (I hope that question doesn’t prevent my edits from making the Friday Film Fest)

Doc of Drakes - I am going to come out right and say it. Best film of the tour. Even though I saw it more than my fair share of times when it was part of the Drake 5 minute film festival. A great story and one great fish cannot be beaten. While the visuals don’t compete with the likes of Riding High and Hatch, the story of a 83 year-old doctor with Parkinson’s fishing the March Brown hatch with a dedicated and patient guide and the massive reward for that patience could not be beat. The crowd was engaged through the whole short. Obviously rooting for Doc to find success, the entire theater unleashed a deafening roar when Doc caught his Silver Creek monster. Cheers to Bryan Huskey.

Here's how the crowd reacted to the Doc of Drakes:

The Arctic - RA Beattie is a kung fu fly fishing video master. The Arctic is another great one. Monster Arctic Char and Lake Trout. Stunning visuals. A damn good soundtrack (which he always seems to keep under lock and key). Some Gierach sprinkled in. Sometimes, RA's stuff can seem like a SIMMS ad. There were a couple shots that were overly SIMMS-ed out. Top 3. Can I have four videos in the top 3? Answer: Yes. I am the boss of this review.

Fly: a Legacy - I will be honest, in a crowd filled with roudy fly fishing Missoulians and having chosen a seat super close to the speakers, I can’t give a fair review of Ronnie Goodwin’s submission. It was story heavy and fish light. I couldn’t hear the narration and as a result, I can’t give it a fair review. I will say this, the young man’s casting face was quite amusing. It was a combination of squinting and constipation.

Right on It: The Get Lost Project - Bonefishing in Bahamas. This film had it’s moments, namely the first half. I didn’t get the second half. It became more like a weird friendship music video. Kudos go to the pair of big bones that they showed in the first half. You (the bonefish) were big and you deserve credit for being such successful eaters of food.

The Kodiak Project: Fly Fishing in the Land of the Giants - Beautifully shot, this film is more character driven and focuses on the eclectic group of fly fishing personalities that come together to fish for steelhead in Kodiak Island. Steelhead fishing is supposed to a trial of patience and determination, right? Apparently, not on the Kodiak. Three steelhead in twelve casts. I want that.

I will admit that Conway Bowman’s inclusion in the film irked me a bit. My introduction to Conway Bowman came at last year’s F3T. In Speed, Muscle, Teeth, Conway exclaimed something to the effect of (WARNING: a good dose of paraphrasing follows) fly fishing for trout, steelhead, bonefish, tarpon, pike, bass, or any other species of fish is utter crap compared to fly fishing for mako sharks. It was some outlandish comment denigrating most fly fisherman’s targeted species of choice. So, when I heard him heaping praise on the steelhead of the Kodiak, it felt phony and forced. Everytime he opens his mouth about fishing for any other species than makos, I check out and stop listening. I am sure he is a nice enough guy, but the outlandish statement from Speed, Muscle, Teeth has sullied me on him and his opinions.

Another highlight was the aural piles of boos and jeers that the Missoula crowd unleashed towards the screen when Bozeman and the Yellowstone were featured. Ahh, friendly rivalries amongst fly fishing towns in Montana.

Final Thoughts (not Jerry Springer style), the 2012 F3T was just as good as the 2011 F3T. More freshwater this year around with some salty goodness spritzed in. A good, rowdy time was seemingly had by all. If the tour swings through your town (or semi adjacent towns), go. You won’t regret it. Check the schedule.

Did I mention that they gave out some nice prizes including some Patagonia Aluminum Bar Rock Grip boots, a Redington youth fly rod outfit, and a Sage One rod. The winner of the wading boots, who didn't have the appearance of a fly fisherman (more like a significant other who got dragged to the show), promptly muttered "what are these?" The winner of the Sage One rod acted as if Bob Barker was on the stage and she was about to spin the Big Wheel. I am pretty sure it was the price is right in her mind. Surprised she didn't have ironed on letters saying something very punny about old man Bob.

Redington Sonic-Pro Wader - A YGF Review

2012-02-08T08:00:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I have had some issues in the past with leaky waders. I can be tough on waders. The only things I shy away when wading or walking the banks is barbed wire, knives, AK-47s, and Revolutionary era cannons.

In the past, I have been rewarded for my aggressive wading and “pre-wading?” with leaks. Massive leaks. Massive leaks around the seams connecting the stocking foot and the waders...and the seams around the knees...and the seams on the inside of my legs. Those leaks lead to a great deal of discomfort while fishing in the cold Montana winters. Massive leaks leave your feet in a neoprene fish bowl of sorts and shorten your winter, fall, and early spring days on the water. Plus, there is that pesky hypothermia hanging aboot. Conclusion: Leaky waders are the worst...the living worst.

Recently, Redington offered me the opportunity to test out a pair of their Sonic-Pro waders. Considering my recent history with waders, I jumped at the chance to review their critically acclaimed waders.

The Sonic Pro waders come in three different styles: the Sonic-Pro Zip Fronts, the Sonic-Pro Stocking Foot, and the Sonic-Pro Wader Pants. I chose the Sonic-Pro Stocking Foot waders. After having the Sonic-Pros in my possession for about a month, here is my review.

This could go really quickly. Do they keep me dry? Yes. Are they comfortable? Yes. Do they have plentiful amounts of dry storage? Yes. Would I recommend them to someone looking for new waders? Yes. End of review. If I ended it now, the review would be short on valuable details and opinions. So, prepare for the opining and provision of facts.

Facts:
The Sonic-Pro Stocking Foot waders are constructed of 100% nylon DWR coated wader fabric. 5-layer fabric on the lower leg and seat for durability and 3-layer fabric on the remaining portion of the wader. The seams are welded with sound (using Ultra Sonic welded construction) and have been double taped for added durability. The stocking feet are made of high-density neoprene. The waders have a zippered, brushed micro-fleece hand warming pocket and a laser cut exterior pocket with a YKK water resistant zipper. Additional storage is provided by a flip-out interior welded storage pocket with a mesh pocket, hemostat holder, and hypalon dock. A 2-inch stretch wading belt is secured by three belt loops. (and finally) The waders have gravel guards with a plastic anti-fouling lace hook.

Opinions and Thoughts:
Construction
The three-layer/five-layer waterproof construction is pretty standard in comparable waders in other brands. However, the seams of those comparable waders use needle and thread, not sound to secure the seams. The use of the ultra-sonic welding technology reduces the weight of waders and theoretically the durability.

The waders feel sturdy and heavy duty, but aren’t heavy in weight by any means. From personal experience, I can speak to the durability of sonically welded seams. I own a pair of sonic seamed waders and after a year of hard use, no leaks. Which, is more than I can say for the traditionally constructed waders of my past.

Fit
The Sonic-Pros fit extremely well. They fit true to size. The legs aren’t baggy. No front pooch is formed when you secure the wading belt. They keep a slim profile. All that being said, they aren’t too tight. They are comfortable. My legs aren’t Justin Beibering or hipster jeaning (I am pretty sure those are both verbs). A proper fit is important for wading. Extra bulk and fabric can impede someone while wading. I felt confident while wading some of the deeper, more powerful runs of the Bitterroot. My movement was not impeded or altered. Additionally, there was very minimal of the dreaded leg rub, which I can only imagine will increase the lifetime of the interior leg seams.

Bonus Points: I didn’t look like I have a kangaroo pouch for a stomach when wearing them. Vain, yes. But, I don’t want to look like I got a couple joeys underneath my waders. I gots ta look good for the camera.

just one joey

Features
These waders have pockets galore. Which, for a disorganized fisherman like myself, is much appreciated. The exterior pocket is spacious. Big enough to hold a small fly box, bags of split shot, a couple indicators, and several spools of tippet (note: split shot and indicators are winter tools...it could also hold any number of much cooler spring, summer, and fall items during those seasons). The hand-warming pockets are clutch, especially with air and water temperatures hovering in the low thirties during the winter. If I were to have my druthers, the fleece would be a little thicker. But, they did the job. For those anglers who use a lanyard or a smaller chest pack, the flip-out interior pocket could serve as a suitable replacement. Overall, my fishing experience was stream-lined with the ample storage provided by the wader’s pockets.

Specialized and ample storage

The stretch wading belt is perfect. All of my previous waders have had “static?” wading belts. What a difference the stretch makes. Mostly in comfort, but also in terms of function. It reduces the amount of bunching and the amount of time spent looking like Nuke LaLoosh adjusting his garter belt on the mound. With three belt loops positioned on the around the back and sides of the waders, the belt is easy to grab and adjust.

The gravel guards are tight, as they should be. The looser they are, the more likely gravel and sand will work it’s way into your wading boots. There is one feature on the waders that I have mixed feelings about. Depends on how you look at it, but the moulded lace hook that attaches to the boot is hard to attach to my laces. In comparison, the lace hooks of waders of my past were to easy to attach and easily came undone. When loose, the lace hooks (of wader’s past) provided the perfect place for fly line to get hung up in, which certainly impedes effective fishing. With the lace hooks on the Sonic Pro, once secured, they do not become undone. Additionally, if you don’t secure them, they don’t eat vagrant fly line like it’s their job. So, maybe it is more of a positive than a negative.

Conclusion
After four winter trips on the Bitterroot, I have been very pleased with the Sonic-Pro Stocking Foot waders. A durable, light fully featured pair of waders for a very reasonable $279.95. Certainly not cheap, but compared to other waders in it's class, that price point should be considered quite a deal. I would definitely recommend them to someone looking for a great pair of waders. They get the imaginary YGF seal of approval.

Want to see the waders in action. Check out my most recent videos, Cutties are for Suckers and Hog Calling.

Here are some stills of the waders. Many thanks to Zach from False Casts and Flat Tires for all of the images. Notice the amazing model and his amazing Phillies hat and his amazing fishing skills. That guy is so amazing. Amirite?

GoPro'n it in my Sonic Pros

No Joeys to be seen

waders on.

fishy waders and a fishy fish

DISCLAIMER: The Redington Sonic-Pro Stocking Foot Waders tested in this product review were provided to me at no cost, but hold a retail value of $279.95. I currently hold no association with Redington whatsoever. As with this review and all future reviews, I will do my best to offer up my honest and unbiased opinion, good or bad.

Calling Hogs

2012-02-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

Spent this past Saturday on the Bitterroot with Matt Breuer and Blakely. Floating in the Breuer's skiff, we enjoyed the slightly seasonally warm temperatures, and to a lesser degree, the biting winds. While the float was a little hurried, we were able to stick some fish, including two solid rainbows who were both caught on streamers. Icing on the cake. As always, watch it in HD on vimeo.

Music: Diplo "Sarah"

Calling Hogs from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

In other news, I now have a friend with a boat. It's nice.

Dreams and Goals of 2012

2012-02-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Well 2011 is done and gone....and so is the first month of 2012. It was a pretty successful year for YGF in many ways. Let us review the successes and failures of 2011 and look forward to 2012.

Dreams and Goals of 2011

Among all the successes of 2011. There is one glaring failure.

1. Finish my thesis. I did not complete goal 1. So, that goes back on the list for 2012. It makes it back on the list five times as it is goals 1 through 5. It is in progress and it is getting closer every day.

2. Catch a fish in each month of the year - accomplished. I like this goal. It represents a level of dedication throughout the year. In 2010, I caught a fish every month of the year. A couple of whitefish represented January 2010's success. In 2011, all trout --- all the time. This one goes back on the D & G 2012 list.

3. Catch a 20" cutthroat, 24" rainbow, and 24" brown trout. - only got one of these done. The 24" brown. I could be over-estimating it's size, but for the sake of ego rubbing let's say that this fish was 24" of brown trout.

4. Catch 3 or more trout of 20" in a day of fishing - a man can dream right. Well, I dreamt about this, but nothing came of it. Maybe it will happen this year.

5. Catch 20"+ brown trout out of the (name redacted) ponds - see goal 3.

6. Catch a 22"+ rainbow or brown trout out of Warm Springs Ponds. - I failed miserably at this. I had a whopper on at one point. But, it quickly wriggled free. Bucko certainly caught a 22"+ rainbow out of the ponds.

7. Go fishing in Wyoming. I should have described this in greater detail. Go fishing in Wyoming outside of Yellowstone Park. I did neither. I was set to hit the Wind River Range with Bucko this summer, but a familial visit conflicted with the scheduled visit. This year...this year.

8. Fish for bullies and cutties on the South Fork of the Flathead. Didn't do it.

9. Catch a fish on a mouse pattern. Failed. But, I was recently provided with some of the goods to make this year a mousing success.

10. Go night fishing and then do more night fishing. Success. Not a rousing success, but a success. Need to grow a pair and get an alarm clock that works and do some serious night fishing this year.

11. Catch fish on the following waters. There were a lot of bodies of waters on this list. I fished some and didn't fish others. There is a lot of water in Montana, I surprisingly didn't fish it all.

12. Make more videos. Make better videos. Make videos with less shaky elements. Make it on to Moldy Chum and the like (Fish Porn, Le Mouching, Global Fly Fisher). This year was a good year for YGF. I was lucky enough to have my videos featured on Moldy Chum, Headhunters Fly Shop, Fish Porn, Le Mouching, Global Fly Fisher, Orvis News, Chi Wulff, The Fiberglass Manifesto and 45 other sites this year. Humbling to say the least.

13. Catch fish on sub-surface/"nymphed" grasshoppers. I fished streamers a lot this year. So much so, that nymphing and dry fly fishing took a backseat. The kind of backseat that the old Taurus' and Volvo's had. I didn't fish this way often. But, it was successful once with a reasonably sized brown trout on the Big Hole.

14. Catch a northern pike on the fly. Tried and failed. Instead, Bucko and I managed to catch some nice rainbows in the seemingly pike-y sloughs and backwaters.

Here is the Dreams and Goals of 2012 for YGF. This one is more species focused rather than location based.

1. - 5. Finish thesis.

6. Catch a trout in every month of the year (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June, July, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec). I can already cross out January. Boo sha.

7. Catch a fish on a mouse pattern. This mouse pattern.

8. Catch a carp on the fly.

9. Catch bass on the fly.

10. Catch redfish on the fly.

11. Catch a northern pike on the fly

12. Catch a steelhead on the fly

13. Learn to spey cast with a reasonable amount of success

14. Hit a legit hatch on the Missouri and promptly get humbled fishing dries to big fish.

15. Catch a fish on a fly (dry fly, nymph, streamer) I tie.

16. Tie an articulated streamer and catch a 20" fish with said streamer.

17. Tie a custom articulate streamer pattern. Give it a bland and boring name.

18. Make a video that gets more than 9,999 views.

19. Catch 3 or more trout of 20" in a day of fishing

20. Catch a 20" cutthroat, 24" rainbow, and 24" brown trout.

21. Fish some top secret water in Wyoming

22. Fish in Alberta.

There it is. The 2012 Dreams and Goals list. I may add a couple things to this list in the next coming days. Any suggestions?

Plan B - Faceless Fly Fishing

2012-01-30T07:30:00.004-07:00

Everyone and their mother will be posting this in the near future. I want it in on that party. The Faceless Fly Fishing crew has teased us with the idea of Plan B for going on four months. It was in IF4. It played in their hometown of Calgary and now...now the internet masses can slurp it up. Other than the ridiculous intro (who catches a demolition on film by accident, while fly fishing?), what I love about Plan B is how it appears they chose to include the fish in the video. I won't spoil it, but I like both the number, the species, and the size of fish in their most recent short.

PLAN B FACELESS FLY FISHING from FACELESS FLY FISHING MEDIA on Vimeo.

(I am a sucker for big browns and bulls)

Steaming Piles of Thread, Feathers, and Fur

2012-01-25T05:00:00.000-07:00

AKA - my first tied flies

After a sushi-rolling, Argentinian techno musicing, snowball fighting dinner party went later than expected on Friday night, Saturday morning was spent sleeping and not fishing. Shame shame on me. I had every intention on getting out on the water this weekend, but Argentinian techno music is a confusing, exhausting, and apparently cruel mistress.

So, Plan B was tying my first flies with Matt Breuer. Matt lent me one of two vises and put me to work. It took me a whopping five hours to make four flies. Mostly because of all the guffawing, storytelling, and phone calls, but also because of my lack of fly tying ability and aptitude.

First fly - bunny leech of some sort.

Second and thirdflies - zebra midges

Fourth and final fly - the ugliest woolly (or is it wooly) bugger known to man kind

So, there it is, my first venture into fly tying. I can't wait to tie my next piece of crap.

The BOB Gnarly - Mouse-y to say the least

2012-01-24T05:00:00.000-07:00

Many of you are aware of the now outdated dreams and goals of 2011 list on the YGF sidebar to the right of the post. Number 9 on that list is "Catch a fish on a mouse pattern." Note that it is not crossed off. Not to say I didn't try, but admittedly my efforts were...sub-standard. I have excuses like 2011 was a weird water year and I wouldn't feel comfortable wading in the higher water later into the sea...blah blah blah. Excuses, excuses.

Enter Andrew Grillos, signature fly tyer at Idylwilde. AG/Mr. Grillos/Grillos saw that my plight to catch a trout on a mouse last year was not completed and he took it upon himself to offer up a pair of his signature tie - the BOB Gnarly - to me. Now, I have to catch a trout on a mouse. A signature fly tier and experienced guide is sending me mouse flies. Full effort will be given. Trout will be caught on a mouse fly this year. It will be done.

AG has produced the BOB line of flies that incorporate a styrofoam bobber into their construction. The BOB Gnarly is one of those BOB flies. Here is how the AG himself describes the BOB Gnarly.

I began playing around with this idea in Colorado and I was really able to refine it while guiding at Alaska West a couple summers ago. Let's just say that I got kind of obsessed with the mammal-eating trout up there. Durability is a big factor in the flies that I tie and I tried to make this guy as tough as possible. I like to tie one fly on in the morning and fish it all day long. I also wanted a mouse that wakes in the surface film rather than skitters and skates delicately on top. The upturned, light wire, stinger hook tends to hook fish more solidly while inflicting less damage as well. I like to keep the fly moving, as well. Small twitches with the rod while skating or dead drifting have proven to be super effective. This BOB Gnarly was refined in Alaska, but it's also been proven on fish in Colorado, on daytime and nighttime missions. It fooled a few huge NZ browns a couple winters ago as well! I'm confident that the BOB Gnarly can help you meet your goal to catch a trout on a mouse!

I am super excited to get the BOB Gnarly out on the water. The fly looks bomb-proof and the use of the styrofoam bobber seems borderline genius, if not straight up genius. Many thanks to AG.

Cutties are for Suckers

2012-01-17T02:06:00.000-07:00

A warm January day on the Bitterroot with Zach and Stan from False Casts and Flat Tires. Before the day on the water started, we slapped a Fiberglass Manifesto sticker on Zach's truck. For a while, it seemed like all I could catch were suckers. 4 or 5 of them in a row at one point. Big ones, too - 21 to 22". But, eventually we found the trout. Which was a refreshing change for me from my previous winter experiences on the Bitterroot. We caught our fair share of cutthroat and rainbows. I caught a nice 18 to 19" cutthroat and 16 to 17" rainbow to end the day.

I was a little taken aback about the physical condition of a lot of the upper Bitterroot fish. Seemed like every other fish had some level of eye trauma and/or mis-shaped mouth. It was a little alarming.

I went with a more vintage film look this time around. Admittedly, I was a bit inspired by Instagram. But, you guys don't need to know that. As always, watch it in HD on vimeo.

Cutties are for Suckers from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Music:
Jake One
"Gangsta Boy"

And the winner is....

2012-01-13T08:08:00.000-07:00

The winner of the Glacier Glove Pro Angler Glove giveaway is Comment (not counting those made by some idiot named yukon) #16 - Chris C of the Many A Fish blog. So says the RNG machine. Please email me at yukongoesfishing(at)gmail.com with your address. Congrats to Chris, check out his blog, he is catching some nice fish over there in Idaho. Some pretty solid pictures on his blog. Thanks to everyone who entered.

On the 'Root with FCFT

2012-01-11T00:00:00.000-07:00

This past weekend, I met up with two of the members (Zach and Stan) of the False Casts and Flat Tires gang to do some winter fishing on the Bitterroot. The Bitterroot and I have always had a somewhat rocky relationship. While I had solid, productive days on the Bitterroot, I have never had "one of those days."

That is not the case for the boys over at FCFT. They seem to have the Bitterroot dialed in. So, I felt pretty confident about getting into some fish when we hit the water on Saturday morning. Alas, the weather schemed against us. After consistent air temperatures in the low to mid 40s for most of the previous week, the air temperature dipped into the low 30s. As a result, the fishing was a little slower than desired.

"They are like guide land mines" FCFT - Photo courtesy of FCFT

As it is with winter fishing, you have to find where the fish are stacked up and feeding. We never really found them. We found some whitefish, but the trout were few and far between.

While our efforts were not quite rewarded, it was a great day to be on the water.

An idiot with a broken fly rod. Photo courtesy of FCFT

Zach is always producing great content over at FCFT. His skills with a DSLR make me want to get acquire some talent and grab a DSLR and start snapping photos. All of the photos in this post were taken by the FCFT crew.

Red wire worm = iridescent blue spot - Photo courtesy of FCFT

We are planning on getting back out on the water this weekend. We have a hot tip about some good winter fishing on the 'Root. Hopefully, it makes for some good footage as it has been too long since YGF put out a video. Damn you Holidays (Shakes Angry Fist) !!!!

Ponoi, Salmon, and the Matt Breuer

2012-01-10T06:00:00.000-07:00

Friend of YGF, Matt Breuer of the Ponoi River Company, is making it a habit of appearing in videos on Moldy Chum. First, Breuer was dropping spey bombs in the unprofessionally done YGF video Sleep, Dreams, and Birthday Donuts. A video that was posted on the Chum in mid-December.

Now, he is appearing in the very professionally shot The Incomparable Ponoi. If I am to believe Matt (which I am trying not to make a habit of), this promo for his company was shot by Gin Clear Media on the RED camera. That is 25k for a camera.

Breuer should be back in town in the next couple days, so expect him to make several appearances in upcoming YGF projects.

The stories Matt has about the Ponoi are a little ridiculous. Stories of 40-50 fish days. All of those fish being Atlantic Salmon caught on the swing. Sign me up.

Check out The Incomparable Ponoi.

2012 F3T

2012-01-09T12:00:00.000-07:00

About a month until the Fly Fishing Film Tour (or F3T) hits Missoula. It will be here in Missoula on February 10th at the Wilma. Last year's F3T was nuts (see my summary/review). It was heavy on the salt, but a good time nonetheless.

With big redfish and permit dominating the tour last year, I am excited about the more freshwater/trout focus in this year's tour. I am super pumped for Hatch, Clearly B.C., The Doc of Drakes, and Reverb.

I am most looking forward to Sipping Dry from Sharptail Media. Any film that features the Missouri, it's trouts, and some of the characters (looking at you SOL and Scumliner) that fish it religiously is a film I am excited about. Check out the trailer.

"Sipping Dry" trailer - by Sharptail Media | Fly Fishing Movie from The Fly Fishing Film Tour on Vimeo.

Any fellow Missoulians going to be there? Hope to see you guys there. Non-Missoulians, check the schedule to see if it swings by your town.

YGF goes official. DOT COM Status

2012-01-08T21:30:00.001-07:00

I bit the digital bullet. You can't make yukongoesfishing.com stickers without the domain name. So, I made it official. Yukon Goes Fishing can now be found at www.yukongoesfishing.com. Update your links, tell your mom and dad. Tell your grandmas and grandpappies. Tell your bros, bwos and your sisters. It's getting real.

Stickers are pending. I have to find the monies to do that. But, I will get around to those soon enough.....hopefully.

Also, the blogroll was reset with the transition to the dot com. Keep me honest. I feel like I am missing some big ones. Let me know if your blog is missing from the blogroll. I will be sure to update it.

If you haven't entered the Glacier Glove giveaway, do so here.

Glacier Glove Pro Angler Glove Review and Giveaway

2012-01-05T02:05:00.000-07:00

It gets cold in the winter in Montana. Hell, it gets cold in the winter everywhere. Apparently, it was 18 degrees in Tallahassee on Wednesday.

As some you may know, I have a fishing problem. I really have no other winter hobbies. Sure, skiing is fun and all, but that costs too much money up front. Plus, I have other things to spend money on....like fishing. Part of fishing during the winter is cold. Cold fingers and cold toes. A good pair of gloves can solve one of those two problems.

For the purposes of reviewing and testing, I was provided with a pair of Glacier Glove Pro Angler Gloves. The Pro Angler gloves were designed with anglers in mind. Constructed 2mm fleece lined neoprene, the glove features slits in the thumb and index finger that allow you to tie knots and handle line without taking the gloves off. Here is my review....

Glacier Glove Pro Angler Glove under the christmas tree...it's probably time to take that down, right?

I am going to do this review Troutrageous and Arizona Wanderings style. PROS AND CONS. Why? Well, it is effective.

PRO:Warm. Very warm. Fishing the Mo in December, I was expecting the worst. Cold water, cold weather. Fortunately for me, only the water was cold. My fingers were comfortably warm in the Pro Angler gloves during a 40 degree day. Hands warm. Ivan happy.

PRO:Other than my index finger and thumb, I don't need the other three fingers on my hand while fishing. With standard fingerless/"fingered" fishing gloves, it is all or nothing. Either all of your fingers are warm and dry or none of them are. With the Pro Glacier Glove, my three normally neglected digits (six if you count both hands, for those of you counting at home) were warm and dry throughout the day.

an unprofessional hand model

PRO:Untangling windknots, retying nymph rigs, switching leaders, and handling size 20 flies and 6x tippet was a breeze. Well using my fingers effectively was a breeze. Untangling windknots, well, that is hard on the warmest of days. I could go from a fully covered hand to handling line with the four most important of my ten fingers in about 10 seconds. The gloves never came off in the process.

CON:I wish there was a slit allowing the middle finger to be used. I don't use my middle finger often. But, I will use it to manage line when stripping and/or swinging streamers. It would have been nice to have the option to use the middle finger in some fishing situations.

PRO:Dry. Part of my day on the water involves dumping my hands into the river to get underwater release shots with my GoPro. My hands stayed dry throughout the process of filming. Dry hands=Warm hands. See PRO #1.

CON:They are gloves. No matter how you slice it, you will lose a certain amount of feel when wearing gloves. Feel can be very important in fly fishing. With time, the gloves became more comfortable and casting, stripping, and line management became easier. It took some time to get used to have gloves on. But, it is a sacrifice that is worth making

Overall, the Pro Angler Glove is a great alternative to the conventional winter fishing gloves out on the market. It is a versatile glove that allows the angler the touch needed to tie knots and handle line while also keeping the angler's hands dry and warm. If you are in the market for a pair of fishing gloves, I would recommend the Pro Angler Glove, for sure.

A professional hand model

Okay, now for the fun stuff. Glacier Glove was kind enough to offer up a pair of the Pro Angler gloves for YGF to giveaway. So, again, we are doing this Troutrageous style with the potential for up to four entries per contestant. You get one entry for each of the following completed actions.

Entry #1) Leave a comment in the comments section.
Entry #2) Like Yukon Goes Fishing on Facebook and leave a separate comment reading "I like YGF on FB"
Entry #3) Follow Yukon Goes Fishing on Twitter and leave a separate comment reading "I follow YGF on Twitter"
Entry #4) Like Glacier Outdoor on Facebook and leave a separate comment reading "I like Glacier Outdoor on FB"

The act of like-ing or following does not enter you into the contest. You leave a comment indicating that the action was completed. If you already like YGF on Facebook, leave a comment "I like YGF on FB." The same goes for YGF on Twitter and Glacier Outdoor on FB. Count 'em - that is four separate comments, resulting in four separate entries into the Glacier Glove Giveaway Extravaganza.

The contest/giveaway will close at 12:00 AM Mountain Time on Friday, January 13th, 2012. The winner will be chosen via the dastardly RNG and will be announced on Friday, January 13th, 2012 around 12:00 PM Mountain Time.

For a similar review, check out the Lunker Hunt.

DISCLAIMER:The Glacier Glove Pro Angler Glove tested in this product review were provided to me at no cost, but hold a retail value of $39.99 each for both top and bottom. I currently hold no association with Glacier Glove whatsoever. Although, Glacier Glove or any other fly fishing company is welcome to sponsor YGF in any capacity. This is YGF's first gear review. As with this review and all future reviews, I will do my best to offer up my honest and unbiased opinion, good or bad.

Sleep, Dreams, and the Birthday Donut

2011-12-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

It's December in Montana and winter hitting us hard.....LIES. It was over 40 F this past weekend, so Bucko, Blakely, and Matt Breuer (of Ponoi River Co.) traveled over to the Mo to harass some of it's trouts. We stopped by Headhunters Fly Shop in the morning and caught up with SOL and Sara. It was a relaxing day on the water, for sure. Several good trout came to hand. Breuer and Blakely dropped spey bombs all over the river, while Bucko and I caught fish with our single handers. It was a little tougher to fish with three people. Our next trip with this motley crew will involve boats. It was Blakely's birthday, so we stopped and got a fabled Birthday Donut from the Donut Hole in Helena.

I got a chance to test out Glacier Glove's Pro Angler Glove. While conditions weren't ideal for testing gloves with the temperatures ranging into the 40s, I gave them a thorough inspection. Look for a review of the gloves in the next couple days. Also stayed tuned because Glacier Glove was generous enough to provide a pair of Pro Angler Gloves for YGF's first gear giveaway.

If you haven't had a chance, check out my interview on the Fish Schtick.

Enjoy the video in HD on vimeo. Music from The Roots "Sleep."

Wahoo: YGF Interview on the FISH SCHTICK

2011-12-19T07:04:00.001-07:00

This past week, Brian Bennett of Moldy Chum, Teeg Stouffer of Recycled Fish, and Michael Mauro of Mauro Media contacted me to do an interview with them on their popular podcast The Fish Schtick. I was a little surprised that they wanted to talk to some idiot named Ivan #humblebrag. I got the chance to talk with them on Friday and the podcast was released today. Check it out here. Download it here. Watch out for a lot of "for sures," some stuttering, lots of pauses, and some uhhhhhs an on my part. It is so painful to listen to one's self talk. Also, my breath didn't need to be fresh for a phone interview, but I insisted on chewing a stick of Extra. Terrible life decision.

Silver and Gold

2011-12-06T00:30:00.001-07:00

What does Yukon Cornelius love? Silver and Gold. Silver and Gold. What does YGF like? Silver and Gold. Well, more like Rainbows and Browns. Close enough. A video filled with bumbles, abominable snowmen, miners, reindeer, brown trout, and rainbow trout. Consider this the pinnacle of the concept of YGF. It can only go downhill from here.

Music: The Glitch Mob "We Can Make the World Stop"

As always, watch the video in HD on vimeo.

I am releasing this video on YGF and also over on Fly Fishilicious. I wrote up a guest post to go along with the video and she graciously posted it, no matter how poorly written it is. With the holidays around the corner, Jen is generously giving away a Flip Mino HD camera. All you have to do is leave a comment over there. Very cool.

The Trout of 2011

2011-11-22T14:28:00.001-07:00

The trout of 2011.....that I decided to take video of. Includes a 23" brown, 25" brown, 27" brown, and 28" rainbow. It was a good angling year. Happy Thanksgiving internets. Thanks for all of your support of YGF this year.

trout of 2011 from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

November Rock

2011-11-17T10:33:00.001-07:00

Another entry in the Month + Rock series. On my first cast, I broke off the tip of my rod. Second straight trip with a broken rod. If you are counting at home, that is both of my rods. For the rest of the day, I threw awkward casts with a broken rod. It was worth it. Caught some nice Rock Creek browns on streamers and a cuttie on nymphs and streamers. Floating ice made it's presence known throughout the day in the middle stretches of the river. Winter is on it's way. As always, watch the video in HD on vimeo.

Music: Danny Brown & Black Milk "Black and Brown"

November Rock from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

mad

2011-11-08T23:59:00.000-07:00

....as in, Madison. As in, mad brown trout. As in, thass some mad brown troutz fishin. Some fall fly fishing for the Madison River's brown trout. The browns were on the feed as evidenced by the 18 inch brown that had an 8" rainbow sticking out of it's mouth. We never found the monsters that the Madison is known for, but some solid fish between 16 to 19" were caught. Things also of note: I took a fall into the mighty mighty Madison and broke my 6-weight. There was some really good habitat immediately upstream of my position and I decided it was worth the risk of wading into some heavier current. I was wrong. I lost my balance, went to my knees (chest deep) and then to my face. Luckily I was appropriately dressed and had a change of clothes in the car. To add insult to injury, my trusty streamer rod was broken as I dipped my face into the river. Watch in HD on vimeo.

music: Beirut "Gulag Orkestar"

mad from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

YGF interview with Chi Wulff

2011-11-08T22:13:00.001-07:00

I recently did an interview with Mark from the Texas and Montana based Chi Wulff. They have been very generous with posting my videos this year and I was excited at the chance to be interviewed by them. They did a great job of covering the H.B. 309 - Stream Access madness of the spring of 2011 and they've been dropping some bomber friday feast recipes. See part one & two of my interview.

toxic

2011-10-21T00:49:00.000-06:00

A foggy morning on the Bitterroot turned into a tough day of fishing. No epic streamer fishing was to be had. Two streamer takes all day. A 17-18" brown was angry and/or hungry enough to take an original and a 20" rainbow wanted to become internet famous until it threw the streamer's hook. When 2:30 rolled around the BWOs started hatching and some fish were caught up top. Check it out in HD.

music: yael naim "toxic"

Also, this is the 100th post on YGF. Fitting that it is a video.

UPDATE: It's actually my 87th post. Apparently, I have 13 drafts laying around.

toxic from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

OBN is all growed up

2011-10-18T23:57:00.001-06:00

Well, if growed up is 1 year old, then consider OBN all growed up. Like many of my fellow fly-fishing bloggers, a year ago, YGF was floating in the film of the internet waters waiting to be taken in by some undefined online outdoor community. Thanks to Rebecca and Joe, YGF and many blogs like it have found their place in a well defined online community: Outdoor Blogger Network. Most of YGFs success can be directly traced to the extremely supportive and engaged members of OBN. I wouldn't dare to think where this blog would be without OBN.

To celebrate their 1st birthday, OBN is giving away a plethora of outdoor goodies to it's members. So far on the giveaway list - outdoor books, waterproof boxes, pedometers, backpacks, angling gloves, sleeping bags, and a couple fly boxes. It is quite a celebration.

Thanks again and congrats to OBN, Rebecca, and Joe.

October Rock

2011-10-11T17:40:00.001-06:00

Another entry in the Month + Rock series. Another trip up to Rock Creek in search of some it's bigger fish. Threw streamers all day. It was productive. Primarily threw articulated stuff measuring out to 4"+. Impressed by the 8" fish that decided those streamers would make a good meal. I messed with a Gaussian blur and sharpness filter to the get the high contrast effect seen in this video. As a side note, the last brown trout shown is probably the biggest brown I have caught from Rock Creek. If that fish lived in the Big Hole, it would be an average fish. Watch it in HD. Enjoy.

Music: Alex Goose "No one rides for free"

October Rock from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Wrong Turns

2011-10-07T01:25:00.001-06:00

Some fishing trips don't end up as planned. September has been spent in search of Northern Pike on the Clark Fork and looking for pre-spawn browns on the Big Hole. Some of these trips have had a couple wrong turns along the way. No pike to speak of, but plenty of slough and backwater rainbows. No big pre-spawn browns on the Big Hole despite the serious presence of some normally fishy cloud cover.

Instead, enjoy some machete action, the smallest trout in Beaverhead, a 21" inch rainbow, and odes to the Epic Meal Time guys.

Music: Blitzen Trapper "Black River Killer"

Bros vs. BWOs

2011-09-29T19:49:00.001-06:00

Earlier this week, LOFI dropped their SLIZANG post detailing the words they use for other words while on the water. While I probably can't drop a list of 40 plus slizang words of my own, I want to feature one of my personal favorites.

BWO.

It's seasonally appropriate. With fall on it's way, blue-winged olives (or BWOs or Baetis) will be hatching and providing anglers with some hopefully righteous fall dry fly fishing.

But, I ain't talking about bugs. I'm talking about Bros. Brosephs. Fly fishing bros = BWOs. Say it like a kid with a speech impediment. Like the one I used to have. And to think my dad wanted to name me Rory. That would have been a disaster.

It can be used in some of the following ways:

"I'm just BWOin' out, drinking a High Life"

"That boat is filled with BWOs. There is a BWOverload."

"Look at those BWOs over there, slapping casts on top of those risers."

"Whatchu catch BWO?"

"BWO, please."

It should be used in place of Bro and mostly with a lot of sarcasm.

Oh, and now a "Rum Ham" is a nice fish.

Big streamers for pike

2011-09-26T21:20:00.000-06:00

Those of you who have followed YGF for a while, know that I have a soft spot in my fly fishing heart for big streamers and the fish that eat them. One of my goals for the angling year is to catch a pike on the fly. I haven't been putting out the honorable effort to complete that goal. Well, that is about to change. A friend of mine here in Missoula has fished for pike in the past and has tied up quite a collection of well proportioned streamers. Josh is letting me borrow them in my quest to get a pike on the fly. Take a look at a couple of them.

some Pike-ish top water streamer action

The bottom one has similar dimensions to the streamer that snapped my 5-weight. Poor decision.

Red - a common color in pike flies. Apparently it makes them rage. Rage away pike. Rage away.

September Rock

2011-09-20T00:37:00.000-06:00

I spent a day up on Rock Creek this weekend. I was in search of another species, but all I got into was Rock Creek browns. While, that species wasn't interested in being internet famous, some typical Rock Creek specimens were. The day started with a solid with a 17-18" brown, which is a veritable brown trout trophy on the Rock. It was cloudy all day and streamers seemed to be the ticket. Later in the day, some fish started to rise and I was able to use some the flies that I won from a recent contest on Fly Water's Edge. Kevin sent me a tin of good looking foam damsel flies, hoppers, beetles, and ants. I strung up a hopper with an ant dropper and the ant did the majority of the work. Check out Fly Water's Edge for Kevin's recent trip to the Driftless Region. Enjoy the video.
September Rock from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.
I have been sitting on this footage for a while. My parents came out to Montana last month and I just got around to putting together the footage. If you are looking for fly fishing video, this isn't for you. But, if you want to see some of the beauty that Glacier National Park has to offer then this one's for you. Enjoy.

The Trifecta

2011-09-06T14:38:00.002-06:00

This past weekend, Bucko and I, hit the Trifecta of favorite southwest Montana waters: the Big Hole, the Beaverhead, and the Slough. The conditions for fishing were tough. The sun was ever present and as such, the streamer fishing was too great. With this year's high water many of the hatches have been pushed back. Throughout the weekend, the PMDs were coming off with relative strength. It was a unique experience to fish a PMD and trico hatch in the same morning. There was some outstanding sight nymphing on the Beaverhead on Saturday. Bucko spotted a 25 inch brown trout from a bridge. Our goal was took hook the fish. Based on it's position in the river, landing it seemed nearly impossible. Bucko hooked up to the fat submarine of brown from the bridge and the fight was on. The brown seemed a tad clumsy. It seemed as though the fish just recently gained a great deal of weight and said weight was proving to be quite cumbersome. The brown took three uninspiring, but entertaining jumps and finally came unbuttoned after taking a run downstream. Enjoy the video.

The Trifecta from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Fishing with my Sister

2011-08-31T21:16:00.000-06:00

My family was here the last couple weeks. It was a great time. I don't get to see them often enough and it was good to spend some quality time with the parents and the little sister. I was able to make it out on the water with all three of them during their visit. With wildfires affecting West Riverside just east of Missoula, I headed out to Rock Creek with my sister. It was her second time fly fishing (and the first time since the late 90s). I thought she picked up on things pretty quickly and was casting with relative ease by the end of the day. No monsters were caught, it is Rock Creek after all, but it was a great day out on the water with my sister. I just wish I could have helped her catch a fish on the fly. Enjoy.

P.S. Check out the Troutrageous T! Shirt appearance. It's nice.

Where There's Smoke, There's Fire from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Montana Steel

2011-08-15T22:21:00.000-06:00

A steelhead sized rainbow trout was caught somewhere in SW Montana. This is that 28" trout.

Montana Steel from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Literally Friday Crap

2011-08-12T21:00:00.001-06:00

I am not giving up on this Friday Crap series. I am going for the win (IAGFTW). This entry brings you, the faithful viewer, a hungover rock climber pooping himself. I know, Lunker Hunt, I know. Internet gold.

Damn. LO FI is clogging digital toilets.

2011-08-11T15:38:00.002-06:00

The guys at lofifly.com just dropped their most recent digital turd....and IT HUGE. A digital toilet clogger of sorts. It's got everything you want out of a fly fishing short, specifically a monster of a fish and amazing use of color correction. I have some work to do to catch up. Enjoy.

DOUBLE DOWN from LO FI FLY on Vimeo.

"Wood Stays Hard the Whole Tine" - Domingo Ayala

2011-08-05T21:30:00.002-06:00

Oh Hi, How you doing? This is the third installment of the award-winning Friday Crap series. Apparently, some others want join in. This installment brings you Domingo Ayala, 4-time home run champion, 5-time batting champion, 5-time stolen base champion, 3-time first rounder, 7-time infielder of the year, and 6-time outfielder of the year, and all-around great beisbol player. In this video, Domingo Ayala of the Domingo Beisbol Academy teaches you how to hit a Home Run.

In this video, he teaches you how to steal a base. Watch out for the firing lizard.

In this video, Domingo teaches you how to hit for average. Watch out for the backdoor bunt.

If you enjoyed these Domingo Beisbol Academy videos, check out Domingo play catch for a scout, catch with Hank Conger, teach infield fundamentals, teach outfield fundamentals, and turn double plays. And remember, "It's God Given."

____ in a Barrel

2011-08-04T10:18:00.001-06:00

Fill in the blank. This edit/video/film is decidedly longer than any of my recent edits/videos/films. There is a reason for that. On Monday, the fishing on the Ruby was in a word, epic. As such, the edit/video/film is epic (in terms of length).

The combination of overcast skies, cloudy water, and a healthy brown trout fishery produced the best day of streamer fishing a fisherperson could ask for. Bucko, who has fly fished for 9 years, agreed. Sometimes trips are about the journey, the experience, the surroundings. This trip was about all of those things, but mostly it was about some stupid good fishing.

From 11 am to 6pm, the Ruby River's brown trout threw themselves with reckless abandon at our streamer offerings. Often times following the streamer from bank to bank, then breaching the surface to mash on some articulated goodness.

Around six in the evening, the fishing was interrupted by a massive thunderstorm. Following the storm and a little dinner, we returned. Fish were rising. Rainbows and browns were boiling at the surface. Trout were everywhere they should be and they were seemingly eating anything that was well presented in front of them. Bucko and I doubled up at least five times that evening. Then, as if it could have gotten any better, Bucko landed a 27" brown trout. The longest of his life.

I had too much footage from this trip. I had enough footage that I included the misses and my bleeped reactions to said misses. Enjoy in HD.

____ in a Barrel from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Basketball (for those of us who can't jump as high as NBA players)

2011-07-29T22:00:00.006-06:00

This Friday late night post has nothing to do with fishing, fly fishing, trout, pike or the like. A friend of mine turned me on to the Mini Basketball League (or MBL). A bunch of white kids, an 8.5 foot hoop, a mini-basketball. It is basically like a real-life NBA JAM. Check out this article for more information or just watch this amazing game recap to figure it out for yourself.

Top this Lunker Hunt.

Grown

2011-07-26T08:10:00.001-06:00

Hit up some familiar local water with Zach from False Casts and Flat Tires one evening last week. The going was a little tough. We managed to move a couple fish on streamers and nymphs, but no fish came to hand. I don't often do this but, through the magic of self-editing, I put the footage from the evening of fishing from last week together with some footage from a more recent trip out to the same water. I was able to get into a couple solid cutthroat on nymphs. Some dark mysterious fish chased some meat during the beginning of the day, but nothing came of it.

As some of you may know, Amy Winehouse was found dead in her apartment this weekend. Say what you will about her life choices, she could sing. I came across a remix of "Tears Dry on Their Own" by Organized Noize and Dungeon Family and fancied it a whole wad of awesome and used it as the soundtrack to this video. Do yourself a favor and listen to this video with some real speakers. Specifically, speakers with good low end. Enjoy.

grown from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

P.S. If any of my wordy followers and blogging friends want to name the next YGF video. Please leave a comment with your suggestions. I am running out of video naming steam. As evidenced by the title of this video..."Grown."

Not that there's anything wrong with that

2011-07-22T23:47:00.004-06:00

I see how it is, spin fisherman. I wanted to say something about how I would be a lot more offended if this guy didn't have a spectacular moustache. But, I was never offended. I can take a joke. Mostly, I just wanted to give props to an excellent 80s era moustache.

I am one upping the Lunker Hunt with an even more hopeless Friday night post. That's right...an 11:50 pm Friday night post. Boo-Yah.

Drunk

2011-07-22T14:00:00.002-06:00

I am drunk. I have been drunk since the beginning of May. It is not the kind of drunk you measure in BAC, but the kind you measure in CFS. I am drunk with runoff. I haven't seen normal flows in nearly three months and it's affecting me.

At this point, enough fluid has passed me by, that my beer goggles are in full effect. From afar, any and all clear water looks low and worthy of my fishing attention. This past week, the Clark Fork, the Bitterroot, and the Big Hole all have looked beautifully low.

While all of those rivers could be considered fishable, for a man without a boat, they are far too high to effectively fish. Last weekend, I fished the Big Hole. It was flowing at more than 4,000 cfs or, in more relatable terms, at least four times higher than I have ever fished it. While it gave up a couple dinks, it certainly wasn't the Big Hole I have come to love.

On the way back from the Big Hole, I passed by the Bitterroot. Up high, near Darby (water that I hadn't seen yet), I exclaimed, "Look at the Bitterroot, it looks maaad low right now." The goggles were in full effect. As we drove downstream and passed more familiar water, I realized that the Bitterroot was indeed still high. High and clear. Fishable, if you were ON A BOAT.

Certainly these rivers are on the drop, but, my runoff drunk has me thinking it is a typical low water summer. I just hope this high water hangover doesn't last too long.

Cutties and Bows

2011-07-03T21:19:00.002-06:00

Found some clear and fishable water outside of Missoula. Still running high. The fish were stacked up in deep, soft water. Hooked into a gaggle of fish. Some monsters were hooked, but not landed as they found their way into fast water and came undone. Nice summer day on the water.

.....And I got a new camera.

Cutties and Cutbows from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Mo Water on the Mo and the F3T

2011-06-29T18:20:00.000-06:00

When we left for the Missouri this past Friday, it was flowing at about 18,000 cfs below Holter Dam. When we arrived in Craig on Friday night, the Mo was flowing at 21,000 cfs. This 3k rise in water was a recipe for bad fishing. The day of poor fishing was confirmed back in Craig as many of our fellow fisherman shared our luck. To be expected I suppose. Rising water always displaces fish and they need time to adjust to the new conditions. Instead of catching a lot of trouts, I tried my hand at casting on the recently submerged Craig campground; I caught one 12" brown trout; I checked out the worm hatch; and I was heckled.

We went to Craig for more than just fishing. The F3T was in town and Headhunters had a gaggle of pre-film activities planned for the night. There was free bbq, a $1 dry fly sale, vendors, free beer, a casting contest, free bbq, free beer, free films, free swag, and other free things. After a day of skunktastic fishing, free food, beer and swag was a nice pick-me-up. The guys at Headhunters know how to have a good time. Bucko took second in the casting competition. He lost by one point. If he had managed to strip off 2 extra feet of line, he would have taken home a knife and a hat and the pride of being the best. Instead, he just got a hat and the title of the best loser. I didn't take any video or pictures of the celebration. But, SOL and John Arnold of HH were all over the place taking photos and hopefully they will make it on to the Headhunters blog in the near future. I also ran into Zach from False Casts and Flat Tires (another Missoula-based fly fishing blog). His camera was in tow, so look for some pictures from the festivities over on FCFT.

I Love Bull Trout Part II

2011-06-08T23:03:00.003-06:00

I need to fish the Swan River this year. I don't know if the Swan has swarms of bull trout like the Metolius does, but apparently it is a pretty healthy Bull Trout fishery.

Why It Is Not Fun To Be A Whitefish On The Metolius River from Chris Eaton on Vimeo.

The Clark Fork is Flowing.....High

2011-06-08T10:47:00.006-06:00

The Clark Fork River, which flows west through Missoula, is flowing at historically high levels right now. If you don't live here or didn't study this river for 3 years, you might not be as excited about these high flows as I am. It should be no surprise, that when temperatures rocket into the 80s (in the valley) and some significant rain quickly follows, that the still sizable snowpack in the Upper Clark Fork basin will begin to melt. Currently (as I type), the Clark Fork above Missoula is flowing at 24,900 cubic feet per second (cfs), higher than I have ever seen it during my time in Missoula.

And it is rising. The National Weather Service is predicting that the CFR will peak at around ~~13.39 feet~~ ~~14.8 feet~~ 13.95 feet or approximately ~~30,000 cfs~~ ~~34,000 to 35,000 cfs~~ 31,000 cfs on Thursday. If it peaks at around ~~30,000 cfs~~ ~~34,000 to 35,000 cfs~~ 31,000 cfs, the flows will be the ~~fifth~~ ~~second~~ fifth largest during the 82 years of record.

Larger flows will only have been experienced in 1908, 1948, 1975, and 1964. As a fluvial geomorphology nerd, I am excited. Excited to see a ~~16-year~~ ~~40-year~~ 16-year Recurrence Interval flood. Excited to see the Clark Fork hit Major Flood Stage. Excited to see how the restored section of the Clark Fork holds up and adjusts.

Hopefully the people and properties around Tower Street are relatively unharmed.

UPDATE: NWS has estimated that the peak flow will be pushed back to Friday and will top out at 13.95 feet, which is the equivalent to about 30,500 to 31,000 cfs. Still a significant flood. Not the second biggest of all-timessss though. I am done updating this until the peak actually happens.

PICTURES TO FOLLOW TONIGHT AND TOMORROW.

BOOM GOES THE BROWNOMITE

2011-06-03T10:58:00.003-06:00

This past Tuesday, I headed down to Dillon to fish the Beaverhead with Joe/Jergens/Joey Dubs from Evolution Anglers. It was a great day on the water and a solid day of fishing. The Beaverhead, a tailwater, is seemingly the only low flowing river in Montana at this time. The water managers were only letting out about 400 cfs of water when we fished it on Tuesday. I have only fished the Beav at double that flow, so I was a little odd to have the low flows, but I quickly got over that fact when I realized how much wade fishing was possible. The largest fish we managed was an 18-19" brown trout, not nearly the size of fish that Joe managed throughout the week. Blame it on the cloudiness in the water downstream of the High Bridge. Blame it on late hooksets and poor nymph placement by myself. Whatever you do, don't blame it on Joe, a great fisherman and guide at the Stonefly Inn. I hope to do it again sometime this summer. It was a good day. Enjoy the video with an ode to the Boom Goes the Dynamite Guy.

YGF X Evolution Anglers: BOOM GOES THE BROWNOMITE from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

End of the Worlders in Yellowstone National Park

2011-05-30T15:40:00.004-06:00

If you were in Yellowstone National Park on Thursday, you may have seen the End of the World RV. I ran into the driver of said RV in the visitor's center. His pressing questions were not about any major upcoming eruptions in Yellowstone. Instead, he inquired about which of the Yellowstone's campgrounds were open. I guess he was trying to appreciate the little things in life with the rapture coming in a couple of months and all.

Where is the nearest campground? Is it open? Will my End of the World RV have a spot there before the End of the World.

In other news, YNP was open to fishing this weekend. I left on Friday, so I wasn't able to participate in the opening weekend, but, the Unaccomplished Angler was. The UA hinted at the bad weather that was predicted for West Yellowstone this weekend. Joshua Bergan from Troutbugs confirmed it. During my time there on Thursday and Friday, it snowed. Only a couple of inches, but snow nonetheless. It made for a unique opportunity to view the park's hydrothermal features that wintery white stuff.

Upper Falls - Yellowstone River

Lower Falls - Yellowstone River

Grand Prismatic - a bit foggier than usual - cold weather to blame

Bison

Sex Dungeons - fresh and ready for the Big Hole

Boogie Men and Heifer Groomers - hopefully grooming and boogying some heif in the near future

Big Hole Browns - Eat These Please

I fished for about a half-hour this weekend. I did stop by the Slide Inn and picked up some streamers for the season. I could have gone for broke there. So many articulated streamers, so little money. But, I am making up for it with a day trip to the upper Big Hole or Beaverhead with Joe from Evolution Anglers on Tuesday. I am looking forward to it. Should be a good time.

If the Rapture Comes Tomorrrow...

2011-05-20T14:57:00.003-06:00

I will be happy knowing that the last fish I saw was a 25" brown and the last fish I caught was a 20" brown. See you tomorrow world???

twenty five inches of "$%@! you, high water" brown trout

2011-05-14T00:33:00.001-06:00

The Clark Fork, the Bitterroot, Rock Creek, the Blackfoot, the Big Hole, everything local is running high and muddy. Runoff is upon us. It is no where close to peaking with plenty of snow left in the mountains. The fluvial geomorph nerd in me is hoping for a whopper of a runoff. Whatevs. Back to the task at hand - fishing. Bucko and I went back to some familiar ponds and ran into some nice fish. I caught a 20 inch brown and was feeling pretty good. Bucko caught a 25 inch brown. $%@! you, high water. Watch in HD on vimeo.

Sometimes Whitefish eat Sex Dungeons

2011-05-04T09:47:00.003-06:00

The Bitterroot is fishing well. Yes, of course, the March Browns were hatching. But, in news I care about more, streamer fishing is picking up. So well that, a tiny whitefish decided to join the party by hooking itself on an articulated sex dungeon. I have no clue how it fit the hook in it's tiny tiny mouth, but I am guessing it didn't mean to. It promptly gave up when hooked and did none of that signature whitefish head-shaking that helps an angler identify it on the other end of the line. I imagine it didn't like the sizable intruder that was the sex dungeon and nipped at it to make it go away. When the sex dungeon bit back, the poor poor whitefish just gave up. Oh yeah, some nice browns and rainbows were also caught. As always, watch this gem on vimeo in HD.

sometimes whitefish eat sex dungeons from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

A Weekend on the Blackfoot

2011-05-02T22:52:00.000-06:00

Two weekends ago, I camped up on the Blackfoot River with a couple friends. The river was turbid and higher than normal and fishing was tough, but I managed a handful of trout and some whities. On a positive note, my friend Laura Verhaeghe took some great photos. Here is a sampling of her work from that weekend on the Blackfoot. See more of her work here.

painted YGF in lights

Blackfoot Morning

Sunrise on the Blackfoot

Spring Frost

Spring Growth

echo carbon and the guru

Casting on the Blackfoot

Asian Carp Hunters

2011-04-28T10:10:00.002-06:00

This video makes me proud to be from 'Merica. The invasion of Asian Carp in the Mississippi River basin is no laughing matter. Guys riding around in spiked suits of metal with swords and football helmets trying to slay Asian Carp is a laughing matter.

Mining for Browns

2011-04-26T23:17:00.002-06:00

Sure, "mining for browns" is a phrase one could also use to describe picking a wedgie. But, this is a video about brown trout. Big ones. Abandoned mining operations litter Montana's landscape. Surprisingly, some of the mining operations have provided fertile environments for trout to live, grow, and eat streamers. This is one such operation. Watch in HD on vimeo.

Mining for Browns from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

I got skunked this trip, luckily Bucko was there to catch some browns.

You Can't Go Beachcombing...

2011-04-17T12:05:00.001-06:00

A couple friends and I fished upper Rock Creek yesterday. It was crowded. Washington, Idaho, and Montana plates dotted access points up and down Rock Creek Road. Seeing how busy it was on Rock Creek Road, I am scared to think what it was like on the Bitterroot yesterday. Skwalas were out, as were March Browns, Gray Drakes, and Midges. It was a solid day of fishing considering the amount of water that we had to pass up because of the throngs of out-of-staters lining the banks. Anyways, the title of this video comes from a statement that was made by Bucko about old men beachcombing at nude beaches in Hawaii. As always, watch in HD on vimeo.

You Can't Go Beachcombing... from Yukon Goes Fishing on Vimeo.

Orvis: In Need of Lessons in Customer Service & improved wader quality

2011-04-12T11:02:00.013-06:00

First of all, I have avoided writing this post for a while. I gave Orvis a break and assumed that they actually care about customer service. However, recent events associated with my wader repair have driven me to write this post. This post is an atypical one for YGF and is not necessarily meant for my regular readers, but for some prospective Orvis customer that searches the interweb for information about the company, the quality of their product, and the quality of their customer service. All of which, I have found to be extremely disappointing.

Here is a quick rundown of the sequence of events:

1) got Orvis waders in december 2009
2) major leaks developed by november 2010
3) sent waders in to Orvis for repairs January 27th 2011 (typically takes 4 to 6 weeks)
4) told waders would be replaced not repaired
5) Orvis receives waders on February 8th, 2011.
6) Orvis tries to fix waders they said they would replace
7) March 14th, 2011 - I contact Orvis and they inform me that waders could not be fixed and I would have to pay for new ones. I tell them that they told me I would get new waders, they fold and set me up to get waders sent to me on April 5th, 2011.
8) April 7th, 2011 - I contact Orvis and they inform me that the replacement waders would not be sent until May 6th, 2011 (3 months after they received my waders). I tell them that this is unacceptable, send me a pair of waders from one of your retail locations, overnight.
9) Waders sent standard shipping.
10) Waders scheduled to arrive today (a half of a month to a month late).

A more detailed version of the story is provided below.

When asked what I wanted for Christmas 2009, I knew I wanted waders. I had been looking at Patagonia, Simms, and Dan Bailey waders for a while and had heard great things about all three companies. But, their waders are expensive. So, I searched the internet for "sweet deals" and found the Orvis Pro Guide 3 waders on sale. So, I asked for a pair of the Pro Guide 3 waders, figuring that I could get a high quality wader for less. A pair of waders that would hold up to the wear and tear of field work and fishing. I happily used my new waders for about a year, but some major leaks formed. I tried patching them to no avail and finally sent them back to Orvis in February. When I contacted Orvis and told them about the leak that had formed at the junction of the neoprene booty and the upper leg and they informed me that based on the nature of damage, my waders would be replaced.

While I put my waders in the mail on January 27th, according Orvis, the waders were received on February 8, 2011. Based on their diagnosis, I hoped that I would receive my waders sooner than the typical 4 to 6 week repair time frame. I contacted Orvis on February 8th and was informed that my waders were "currently at our repair facility in the process of being repaired. We should be done with them soon." I was confused because I was told the waders would not repaired and would simply be replaced. They informed me that they were going to try to repair them, which would take 3 to 6 weeks.

I contacted Orvis, via e-mail, on February 14th and 28th. On the 28th, I was informed that "We received them on Feb 8, 2011. There is a 4-6 week turnaround on wader repairs. "We will do our best to get them tested, evaluated, and repaired as quickly as possible." A completely reasonable response from Orvis. I responded with a slightly dickish email "So, I should expect the return of my waders between 3/8 and 3/22. Will you let me know when they have been repaired and have been shipped or am I going to be surprised when they show up at my door?" They told me that they understood that the season was fast approaching and they would contact me on a weekly basis informing me as to the status of the repair. On March 3rd, I was told they were still being repaired.

I didn't receive an update for the next ten days. So, I emailed them on March 14th. They responded with the news that my waders could not be repaired and that I was to call them to talk about possible solutions. Firstly, I would think that such a significant change in status would warrant some contact from their end. I shouldn't be the one to contact them. Additionally, this email was confusing to me and made it seem as though I would have to pay for something that I originally was told would be replaced....for no cost. After playing phone tag for a couple days, I finally spoke with a representative from Orvis' wader repair center. I was informed that my waders had more than 50 holes and they couldn't be repaired. While, I didn't know that there were 50+ holes, I knew originally that the waders could not be repaired. I was then informed that since I returned them more than a year (a whopping month) after I had received them, that I didn't qualify for free replacement waders. Instead, I would have to pay 25% of the retail value for some new waders.

Becoming increasingly more frustrated, as calmly as I could, I told them that I thought it was a load of donkey dung that I didn't quality for free replacement waders because I didn't return them a month earlier, even though they had been leaking since November. Combining this with the fact that I was told that I would receive new waders from the beginning, they quickly changed their tune and told me that I would qualify for a replacement pair of waders. However, the waders that I wanted could not be shipped until April 5th, 2011. I accepted that fact since I felt as though I had received what I deserved.

April 7th rolled around and I contacted Orvis about a tracking number for my package, that was supposed to be sent on April 5th. I was told that my waders would not be sent until May 6th because of some factory delays. I asked why I hadn't been informed about this change in status and they swore that they emailed me. After conducting a thorough search of my inbox and trash folder, I quickly realized that they had not contacted me. I called them the next day, miffed about the fact that I wasn't contacted about yet another major change in status, and went off. At this rate, I was scheduled to receive my replacement waders a whopping three months after they supposedly arrived at the repair center. I told them that such a wait was unacceptable, they were a big enough company, call one of their retail stores and send me a pair of waders from the retail stores. They found a pair and I suggested that based on the length of the wait for these waders, they should overnight them. They agreed. They were supposed to arrive yesterday if overnighted. I planned on going fishing in my new waders today. I was planning on a day of dry fly fishing on the 'root. But, they never arrived. One last insult to injury, I contacted them and they told me that they were sent standard, not overnight.

They are scheduled to arrive today. ~~A half-a-month to a month late.~~ A day late. Finally, I will be wearing waders that fit and hopefully don't leak. I have been wearing my ~~5'8" to 5'10"~~ shrimpish friend's waders for the past 2 months. I am 6'2". The fit has been a tight one.

When you compare my experience with Orvis to my experience with Patagonia's customer service, the differences are mind boggling. I contacted Patagonia once about my boots. They sent a replacement pair of Rock Grip studded/sticky boots in a prompt and reasonable timeframe (I think it was two weeks or so). Apparently, Patagonia had received reports that the studs were coming out (something that I had experienced, but hadn't complained about). So, yesterday, when I was patiently waiting for my waders to arrive, I got a package from Patagonia with a set of new, bigger, longer studs for the Rock Grips, unprompted and free. That is ~~good~~ GREAT customer service.

UPDATE: The waders have been received. I can confirm that they are indeed waders and they fit. More to follow when they actually get used.

Biggest Trout of My Life

2011-04-05T14:36:00.007-06:00

I am not going to dilly dally around the events of this weekend. It was great. Went to the Madison River, the Ruby River, Warm Springs Creek, and some name-redacted ponds and caught fish in each body of water. The weekend started with the biggest trout of my life. A brown trout, 4+ pounds, between 22 to 25" inches (a guestimate), with a massive head took the M&M's streamer that George Kesel tied up for me in some ponds. While, the fishing could only go down from there, I was able to manage some solid fish on the Madison, despite the 40 mph winds and gusts of 60+ mph. The Ruby River, which has been described as a mini-Beaverhead, certainly proved to be worthy stop on our trip as it's browns were healthy and hungry. It was a great weekend of fishing. Check out the video (in HD). I am fully aware that I have two pairs of sunglasses on in portions of this video.

fly fishing the madison, the ruby, and some ponds from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Side Note: Clif from the Lunker Hunt recently spent some time out here in Montana on the Big Horn River. Check out the video, posts, and pictures from his trip. Looks like it was a good one.

Hollywood Hole Rainbow Trout

2011-03-29T10:30:00.001-06:00

I am not one for remembering the names of holes. I would rather describe waters by location, number of side channels, and hydraulics. Fluvial Geomorphologist NERD alert. But, the Hollywood Hole on the Clark Fork River, is one hole name that I remember and use in conversation. The Hollywood Hole is located adjacent to the south of the Doubletree Hotel and east of the Madison St. Bridge in downtown Missoula. The convergence of Rattlesnake Creek and the Clark Fork to the east signifies the beginning of what is known as the Hollywood Hole.

It is known as the Hollywood Hole because everyone and their mother can watch you fish. People walking to school. People eating brunch. People sitting on the porch outside their Doubletree room. People walking from school. People eating lunch. People walking downtown. People walking away from downtown. Everyone can watch you flail about or shoot precise casts to a pod of fish.

The rainbows seem to be stacking up in the Hollywood Hole preparing to spawn in the Clark Fork or up the Rattlesnake. As a result, some big fish can be had on worms, skwala nymphs, and flashback pheasant tails. Nothing on the surface, but I am willing to nymph this time of year, if there is promise of a size-able fish on the other end of my line. Watch the video in HD on vimeo and enjoy some "urban" trout fishing.

Music from Blockhead "Yesterday is Here (Tom Waits Remix)"

The YGF Bracket Challenge is over before the Final Four even starts

2011-03-27T19:17:00.000-06:00

And Elena, a fellow geoscience graduate student at the University of Montana, has reigned victorious over myself and three fellow outdoor bloggers. Seeing as she was the only one who picked Kentucky to win it all and the rest of us picked OSU, her victory is not surprising. At least we were only doing this challenge for the pride (of lions). Congrats to Elena. This is her victory lap.

Fly Skwala Fly

2011-03-23T12:45:00.002-06:00

I hit the Bitterroot recently. The beginnings of the skwala hatch seem to be here. Apparently, the thing that people like about the skwala hatch is the fact that it brings up some of the bigger fish to the surface, as evidenced by the 17" cutbow that I caught on a skwala imitation. Not going to say too much more, just going to let the video speak for itself. Watch in HD on vimeo.

All talk, some fish

2011-03-22T07:41:00.000-06:00

My friends Bucko, Laura, and I went to the Missouri River this weekend. The forecast for Saturday was supposed to be in the low 50s, partly cloudy/party sunny/cloudy with a 20% chance of precipitation. Great fishing weather. With everybody and their mother fishing the Bitterroot's skwala stonefly hatch, we had high hopes for some superb surface action and big Mo trout on streamers.

When we checked in with SOL and Scumliner at Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig, they told us that the nymphing had been slower than usual and most people seemed to be having success swinging streamers. The surface action was patchy, but present. They also told us that it seemed like all of the Mo's rainbows had left the river and began to spawn, as evidenced by the majority of people's quarry being brown trout. By the way, if you ever go to the Missouri, I highly recommend Headhunters Fly Shop.

The weather seemed to be cooperating and an epic day of fishing was about to be had. I started out the day with a 14 inch brown trout - a small Missouri trout to say the least. I bumped my way into a pod of feeding browns and was able to swing the Original to them and elicited several strikes. Finally, I was able to wrangle a 19" brown to my net. Noon arrived and while it was snowing and the temperature had stayed in the 30s, the day was off to a solid start. I was catching fish.

Somewhere between noon and 3:00 pm, the productive fishing fell apart. The temperature never rose into the 50s. It seemed to stay in the low to mid 40s. There was more wind than expected and clouds dominated the sky. We left our original stretch of water and headed upstream only to find a gentleman in a boat fishing to rising fish. However, this guy was no more than a rod's length from the boat launch at the Silver Bridge. A frustrating sight to say the least. As a wade fisherman, it is more than annoying to see someone fishing "wader's water" in a boat. You have the advantage of the boat, use it and let those of us on foot to cover the water closer to the put-ins. We left the Silver Bridge and went upstream to Holter Dam. Fished below the dam for 15 or 20 minutes, then returned to the Silver Bridge, only to find the same guy in the same boat about 20 yards downstream from the put-in. Did I mention this guy missed three or four fish on the surface then at least two while nymphing?

At the end of the day, I brought three fish to hand. Bucko managed a tiny rainbow and Laura was skunked. Not the epic day we had hoped for.

I am trying something a little bit different with this video. Since, the fishing was slower than we hoped, I decided to include some of the conversations that were had on the way up to the Mo. Unfortunately, the microphone in the Flip doesn't capture sound that well, so my voice is the clearest. Bucko's comes and goes and Laura's is nearly non-existent. Topics included: the vaunted South-Weastern Conference (spelling intended), the Birthday Donut from The Donut Hole of Helena, the Belt Rock Supergroup, mica-rich environments, bleeping out swear words, the Chappelle Show, streamers, sarcastic encouragement, and heckling of the boat ramp fishing man in a boat. Topics not caught on camera: my domination over my fellow anglers and options for travel within Helena (did you know that it doesn't matter which direction you turn in Helena, you will end up at your intended destination. Left or Right? It doesn't matter.)

If you like your YGF without three idiots talking, I have provided the no-talking cut (see V2). If you want to venture into the black hole that is our conversations, check out the V1 cut. Let me know which one you prefer. I don't think I will do another video like this, with talking throughout, but I want to include some in the future.

Thank you sir, may I have another - Miami Tarpon at Night

2011-03-17T13:27:00.004-06:00

The guys from fishpornfix.com have provided some great support for my videos and have posted four of my videos on their popular site. Recently, they got into some ridiculous night time tarpon action down in Miami. While this has been posted on thisisflydaily.com, moldy chum, and le mouching, I figured I owe the fishpornfix.com guys a post. Keep them coming.

I've Got Work in the Morning But.... from Fish Porn on Vimeo.

The Official YGF Bracket Challenge

2011-03-16T22:08:00.002-06:00

It's tournament time. Here's my bracket. Beat it I dare you. I don't like it, but I never like it. Join in on ESPN if you wish. Password is ygf. This is for pride. No money, no rewards. Just internet pride.

Fishing is picking up in Western Montana

2011-03-14T15:45:00.003-06:00

Or at least it should be. With skwala hatch and it's associated low-holing and high-holing anglers on the horizon of the Bitterroot, this video will be the last re-imagined video for the remainder of the season. After this post, it is 2011 content. I am looking forward to the new year. Here is some re-imagined video from one of my favorite trips from 2010, the Madison River in November (see the original.) It is a little effects heavy, but I enjoyed putting it together. I played with the saturation. Desaturating the video completely in the beginning and slowly increasing the saturation until the trout started making an appearance. The music is from Butch Clancy. It is a remix of Shirley Bassey's "Diamonds Are Forever." Enjoy.

yukon goes to the madison revisited from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Do I look this idiotic while fly fishing?

2011-03-09T23:14:00.006-07:00

Claritin has a new ad out. I know what you're thinking. Yes, I have been waiting for a new and exciting antihistamine ad campaign. This artistic gem of an ad features a whopping four seconds or so of an actor waving around a fly rod like the lightsaber kid on psychedelics. Is that what the general population of non-fly fisherman thinks of our chosen hobby? Indiana Jones with a lanyard, some LSD, and 9 feet of graphite, fiberglass, or bamboo?

Spawning in my streamer box

2011-03-09T15:35:00.002-07:00

My streamers seem to be reproducing. I am having more and more trouble storing them (them being the set of primary streamers) in the cliff's bugger barn. On Monday, I picked up 14 gift-certificate funded streamers from the now defunct Kesel's Four Rivers Fly Shop. George tied five white/red double screamers (or the el blancos), five yellow/red double screamers (or the M&Ms), and four white Muddlers. George is a great fly tier and he will be sticking around Missoula and tying custom flies for those who are interested. We have been getting some warmer temperatures recently here and apparently the streamer bite is starting to improve. Hopefully, I can confirm that this weekend.

new streamers (from top to bottom: the M&M unweighted, the M&M weighted, the el blanco unweighted, the el blanco weighted, muddler)

The Double Screamer Lineup (from top to bottom: the original, the modified, the M&M, the el blanco, the rasta)

the streamer box stocked and ready for the upcoming season (note: the right side is all double screamers - I have a problem)

March Rock

2011-03-07T09:26:00.001-07:00

With the recent warmer weather we have had in western Montana, I took an opportunity to fish Rock Creek on Sunday. It was a sunny day in the low-to-mid thirties and midges were plentiful on the surface. Nemouras (little black stoneflies) were also seen along the snowy banks of the rock. Unfortunately, that did not translate to any dry fly fishing. I spent most of the day with whitefish at the end of my line. Around 3 o'clock in the afternoon, I finally found a pod of brown trout. It had been more than a month since I had caught a trout, so, I took the 12 to 15" browns seemed like giants when I brought them in. The magic combination for the browns seemed to be a skwala colored Pat's Stonefly with a brassie hanging off the back.

As a side note, I don't think it is terribly good for one's body to have the entire lower left leg soaked in 34 degree water for 5 hours at a time. As I have complained in previous posts, my primary waders are being repaired and every time I have gone out this winter, I am quickly reminded why I got a new pair. With leaks in both legs and crotch, there isn't much comfort or warmth to be found in my backup pair. I "Can't Wait" until my primary pair of waders return. It will be a third christmas of sorts. Enjoy the video (music by Vitamin String Quartet - "Flashing Lights" a Kanye West Tribute).

March Rock from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

The Freshwater Fly Fish Fighter Mini Fly Clip or F4MFC for short - get it

2011-03-01T18:02:00.000-07:00

Made of durable plastic and high density foam. Clips to your hat, waist pack, lanyard, sling, pocket, and so much more. Carries a days worth of dry flies, a medley of nymphs, streamers, and dries, a bunch of nymphs, a couple huge streamers, or whatever combo you can fit on it. Made by a fellow blogger. Made in AMERICA (North that is...specifically USA)

That is how I would describe the Freshwater Fly Fish Fighter Mini Fly Clip that I was lucky enough to win on the Freshwater Fly's Facebook page last week. I won the contest on Wednesday, Jeff put it in the mail by Thursday, and I had it by Saturday for my two hour outing on the Bitterroot on Sunday. I didn't manage to get into any fish, but the value of the Mini Fly Clip was extremely apparent. While on the water, I use a hip pack (i.e. fanny pack) and a lanyard. While this setup generally stays out of my way while actively fishing, there is one minor drawback. Ease of access to fly boxes. It is not a huge deal, but it can be slightly annoying to try to shuffle between colors of streamers or retie a double nymph rig after one of those oh so rare wind knots without losing a size 20 nymph in the process. With the Mini Fly Clip, I am able to select three different articulated streamers before hitting the water and easily switch between the three without the trouble of finding my fly box in the midst of some face paced streamer fishing. Additionally, the Mini Fly Clip is perfect for keeping a zebra midge or brassie in a safe place while retying my leader after a break off or a tangle. I would definitely recommend this to any angler who wants to streamline their experience on the water. Oh, yeah and it is 6 dollars.

Other, more distinguished bloggers have reviewed the mini-clip. See The Fiberglass Manifesto and Troutrageous for those more distinguished reviews.

Check out the mini fly clip on this obviously superior baseball teams hat. Fits perfectly.

The Freshwater Fly Fish Fight Mini-Clip & the "P"

two screamers and a sex dungeon (all articulated - both hooks fit on the mini-clip)

from the side - gobs of feathers and the clips

Kesel's Four Rivers Fly Shop closing it's doors

2011-02-28T15:26:00.005-07:00

Today, I was planning on posting a review of the Foam Mini-Clip from the Freshwater Fly that arrived in my mailbox this past Saturday. I am going to hold off on that to talk about some sad news.

I spoke with George Kesel, the owner of Kesel's Four Rivers fly shop here in Missoula, today about picking up some gift certificate funded streamers that he is tying up for me. I went on to ask him how everything else was going since I hadn't been in his shop for a better part of a month. He said something to the effect of...

"Well, things here have been a little interesting."

"How so?" I responded.

"We are closing our doors." George said.

Something looked off when I saw some 8.5" by 11" signs plastered shop's windows when I passed it on Sunday. Of course, when any local fly shop closes, it is sad news. For me, the closure of Kesels Four Rivers is a sadder than most. (SIDE NOTE: Kesel's was recently voted Missoula's second favorite fly shop.)When I started seriously getting into fly fishing two and a half years ago, I chose Kesel's as my go to shop. It wasn't too big (and therefore overwhelming) and George is an extremely approachable guy who was willing to help this newbie find his way into the confusing and rewarding world of fly fishing.

The shop was typically a one man operation. I went to him with a multitude of questions - most of them stupid and he was always willing to deal with my novice and chicanery. He has an engaging conversational style and is not afraid to tell you flat out when you are wrong. A quality which I respect and appreciate.

I tried to do my part and bought my fair share of flies, a couple lines, a reel, a rod, a net, and the like from Kesel's, but apparently the past couple years have been tough ones for the shop. George said that the closure of the shop comes as a bit of a relief. The pressure is off of him now. He said he will be doing a lot of fishing and golfing in the coming months. I hope that I can persuade him to get out on the water sometime this spring. He seemed amenable to the proposition. So, next Monday, when I go to pick up my streamers, I will be saying goodbye to a shop that has meant a great deal to my evolution as a fly angler.

Fly Fishing Film Tour in Missoula - A Review

2011-02-26T20:30:00.006-07:00

About four or six months ago, I set my watch’s alarm for 7:15 pm. I think I was in a forest service cabin sipping on some of Snake River Brewing's finest with a couple friends after a day of fishing for brown trout on the Madison. Something on the stove was in need of a watchful and specifically timed attention. So the alarm was set. To be honest, my memory is a little fuzzy and I could have set the alarm on the Big Hole. Whatever I was doing, it was awesome. Everyday since, the alarm is a reminder to do something awesome. Recently though, the alarm has found me staring at a map of my field work in ArcGIS or at a paragraph from the methods or results section of my thesis.

Last night, when 7:15 pm rolled around and the alarm sounded, I was about 10 minutes into the “Red Like Winter” with a Double Haul IPA in hand. Red Like Winter is a film on flyfishing for ginormous redfish in the marshes of Louisiana. It was the first of 9 short fly fishing films, also adoringly referred to as fish porn, shown at the 2011 Fly Fishing Film Tour (F3T) in the historic Wilma Theater in Missoula.

This was my first time at the F3T and it was amazing. It served as the perfect salve for the recent cold snap we have experienced here in Missoula (read: it was cold as $%*# last night [-2F + wind chill]). This year’s lineup of fish porn included Red Like Winter, Greenstone, Satori, GeoFish, Speed Muscle Teeth, Musky on the Fly, Black Tailed Devils, Midwest Smallies, and Blue Water.

I could on for a while about the films. What I liked and what I didn’t like. I will spare you. Instead, here is a brief synopsis through the respected writing tool that is bullet points.

If you like yelling at the TV screen when something on it excites you, the F3T is for you. Verbal outbursts of support are encouraged.

This year’s F3T has a very salty lineup (“Red Like Winter” - redfish, “Satori” - permit, “GeoFish” - snook and other salty species, “Speed Muscle Teeth” - mako sharks, “Black Tailed Devils” - permit, and “Blue Water” - billfish)

I like everything RA Beattie puts out. Beattie is a fish porn icon of sorts for me. This year, he submitted “Blue Water” and “Midwest Smallies”. I would have liked to see some of the redfish footage that he put out a couple of months ago, but the shots in Blue Water and Midwest Smallies were of typical Beattie quality. I think his style is pretty understated. He doesnt try to be to flashy and lets the images speak for itself.

It was nice to see a fellow blogger producing quality fish porn. Robert Thompson, or RT, from third year flyfisher put together Musky on the Fly. He always comes with well-framed shots of fish and the places they live and he did so with this film as well. It was a little interview heavy, but I think that was a function of the “zero to hero” quality of fishing for muskies (truly a fish of thousands of casts). The end of this film is nuts (hint: involves a fly, a pike, and a massive musky).

Montana’s own 406 productions showed their F3T debut “Black Tailed Devils”. It was a solid production to say the least.

I think my two favorite films were “Red Like Winter” and “Satori.”

I liked “Red Like Winter” for the sheer size of some of it’s redfish and a sequence that involves 4 pound tippet and 20 plus pound redfish. Although, their claim that any portion of exposed skin will freeze off in the Louisiana winter air was laughable. During my walk to the bar after the show, I had trouble opening up my mouth to talk because my jaw was seemingly frozen shut.

I liked "Satori" because it captured the frustration and triumph that results from the seemingly impossible task of fly fishing for permit. Plus, they included some science with a clip about tagging permit and their gamefish status. If you were there and you heard someone yell “Science!!!!!” that was me. Nerd alert. I wanted to yell it earlier. I was able to keep it inside for a little while, but the urge was just too strong. I am considering it as my "yelling things out loud" calling card in future.

“Speed Muscle Teeth” really tried to pump up it’s extreeeeme Mountain Dew factor with some Mako shark fishing. I enjoy all sorts of fishing and fishing for Mako looks like a great time, but there was no need to outwardly defecate on trout and steelhead fishing. Some of the jabs at many peoples chosen target on the fly were unnecessary. I am not a huge fan of divisive statements and I would preferred Speed Muscle Teeth have just presented the unique style of fly fishing and let that be the selling point. Adding an ironic element to the film, the last image of Speed Muscle Teeth was the no pebble mine logo. Make up your mind, "bro."

“Greenstone” was shot by two guys on one camera during their trip to New Zealand. The only trout flick on the tour. The standard New Zealand fare: huge brown trout and beautiful scenery. Seemed like a nice trip and they captured it well. Makes me think I can make some F3T content too.

Also, I was slightly disappointed that Low and Clear was not shown. It was shown in Seattle and according to Dylan of Skate The Fly it was quite stellar. I really enjoyed the trailer a couple months back and it looked and sounded like a good watch. I don't know why it wasn't shown.

Perhaps, the highlight of the night had nothing to do with the films. Instead, during the raffle (they gave away shirts, hats, patagonia hip packs, sling packs, SA fly line, a Sage 5 weight fly rod, and some Costa sunglasses), a 10 to 12 year old kid won the Sage 5 weight fly rod. Once the crowd realized who had won the rod, the Wilma erupted with applause as the proclaimed “future of fly fishing” made his way down to pick up his new rod. Immediately after the rod was given away, a 20 to 35 year old man won the sunglasses and the chance to win a 5 day guided trip on the Snake River. He was promptly booed.

Did I mention tickets were only $12 dollars and everyone got a F3T hat and a neoprene sunglasses cord from Costa. As I see it, I made 10 bucks last night and I saw about two and a half hours of fish porn.

If the F3T makes it anywhere close to your place of residence, go. But, you probably already know that.

Green Drakes in Paradise Revisited

2011-02-17T10:33:00.000-07:00

My lack of recent fishing is not a result of winter weather, instead, I am handcuffed by my waders being "in the shop" being repaired/replaced. As a result, I have not been able to produce a fishing video in a while. So, like I have done in the past, I have revisited a day on the water from 2010.

In this video, I revisit an early July day on a tributary of the Clark Fork River, when the green drakes were present and large post-spawn rainbows and cutthroat were eager to eat dries and streamers. This was one of my best days on the water in 2010. I caught a 21" rainbow, 20" cutthroat, a couple 18", and a bunch of 16"s from the small tributary.

I came across a plugin for Final Cut Express called Twixtor, which is used to produce high quality ultra slow motion footage. While Twixtor supposedly produces it's best results with video shot at 60fps, I found that it produced some interesting results for video shot at 30 fps, especially when water is involved. For me, aside from the fish in the video, the most visually intriguing shot starts at 1:35. Check out the video and let me know what you think of the super slow motion. Should I use it in the future or not?

As this is a test video of sorts, none of the footage is in normal speed. It is either super slow motion or fast forward. I will openly admit that the fast forward sequences didn't come out as I had hoped.

The music in the video is a remix of Florence and the Machine's "You've Got the Love" done by the XX. Enjoy the video in HD on vimeo.

green drakes in paradise revisited from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Winter in Yellowstone

2011-02-15T23:30:00.000-07:00

I visited Yellowstone National Park this weekend with some friends. On Saturday, we drove the northern road from Gardiner to Cooke City and back to Gardiner in search of some Yellowstone wildlife. We saw our fair share of elk, buffalo, pronghorn, mule deer, and a singular weasel, decked out in it's wintery white. Unfortunately, the weasel came and went before we had a chance to capture in on film.

We ran into some of the wolf watchers that frequent the park some of whom were following the slough creek pack and others following the blacktail pack. We were not able to spot any wolves through the scopes or in the binoculars, but we were assured that they were just there, over on that far slope, behind those trees, across that divide. We have seen wolves during our past trips to Yellowstone, but no luck during this trip.

On Sunday, we went snowshoeing on the upper Terrace Loop near Mammoth Hot Springs. My friend Laura is an exceptional outdoor photographer and she took some excellent shots of YNP during our visit. Check out her website, VERHAEGHE PHOTOGRAPHY. Hopefully, I can get her out to the Big Hole for a day of fishing and photos.

feeding Bull Elk

a cliff located south of Soda Butte Creek

a buffalo winter

Mammoth Hot Springs

buffalo feeding on ze grass

Bull Elk feeding

new growth

Ewe feeding

Northwest entrance to Yellowstone

snowy hillslope

south of Soda Butte Creek

Stop House Bill 309 and protect Montana's Stream Access Law

2011-02-12T00:41:00.001-07:00

I would be remiss if I did not mention Montana House Bill 309 and it's potential to limit the public's access to Montana's great rivers. While the genius Dillon Republican Jeff Welborn says it would just clarify the definition of an irrigation ditch, there is worry that it the definition may include any stream or river that relies on the return flow of irrigation water, which would include a great deal of Montana's great trout streams.

The bill has made it through the House and is on it's way to the Senate. If it passes, it would then fall to the big G.O.V. (Brian Schweitzer). I am late to the blogging party with regards to this issue, so I will instead refer you to those who have been covering it from the beginning. Check out Chi Wulff, Trout Bugs, Will Fish for Work, and the Missoulian (an excellent editorial by Bruce Farling of Montana TU) for some great coverage of the apparent attack on access to public waters.

Many people have made the connection between this year's attack on public access to streams to past attacks on public access like the recent Mitchell Slough case (damn you Huey Lewis and your crappy 80s music). If HB 309 makes it through the senate, I can only hope that history repeats itself and Gov. Schweitzer vetoes this bill like he did with the Mitchell Slough case. And I quote (from the NY Times):

“If you want to buy a big ranch and you want to have a river and you want privacy, don’t buy in Montana. The rivers belong to the people of Montana.” - Brian Schweitzer

I Love Bull Trout

2011-02-10T23:12:00.000-07:00

Found this on fly fish addiction.

Yukon Like. No. Yukon Love.

Bull Trout Eats Cutthroat Trout Underwater: Fly Nation TV from Nick Pujic on Vimeo.

A young Yukon on the Fly

2011-02-09T21:07:00.000-07:00

My pops just sent me some pictures from my first experience on the fly. It was a "family" trip to Alaska. During the trip, we had a stop in Skagway and my dad hired a guide to take me and my sister fly fishing. The guide, who was apparently trying to start a hunting/fishing lodge in British Columbia, took us to a stream that connected two lakes that were located adjacent to the south of the Klondike Highway just across the border in BC.

The guide put us on to some (in retrospect) ridiculously good dry fly action for grayling. I can recall making 10 to 20 foot casts upstream with a big bushy dry fly in a stream that seemed to be maybe four "Ivans" or in this case "Yukons" wide. The excitability of the grayling was impressive. Many of the takes seemed to occur at my feet.

Unfortunately, if my memory serves me correctly, I brought the most grayling to hand, but my sister caught the biggest fish of the trip. Outfished by my 10 year old sister. Needless to say, I am used to people I fish with getting bigger fish than me. (It will change, it must)

I remember feeling extremely uncoordinated as I brought the easily fooled grayling in. Afterwards, I told my mom that I felt like I left a piece of myself in Alaska and I had an interest in picking up fly fishing. Flash forward about 12 years and I have been fly fishing for about two and half years and I have a what some might call a crippling addiction to the sport.

A young yukon wading the waters of B.C.

the seed has been planted - my first fish on the fly - a grayling.

Apparently, I have had life long issues with good hero shots.

Second Christmas

2011-02-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Yes, it is my new favorite time of the year - Second Christmas. When you return a well loved item and receive a brand new one in the mail.

Last christmas (X-Mas '09), I received several generous gifts from my family, including the Patagonia Riverwalker sticky wading boots and a pair of Orvis Pro Guide 3 Waders. The wading boots had received many favorable reviews, including one from Tom at Trout Underground, and the waders were on sale because Orvis was coming out with an updated version of the Pro Guide waders (that should have been a warning sign, but a deal is a deal).

After a year on the water, the soles of the wading boots were no longer sticky and the uppers of the wading boots had been coming apart at the seams. In addition, I had a massive, but still undetectable hole in the right leg of my waders that resulted in half of my lower half wet wading whether it wanted to or not.

I spent a great deal of time on the water last year doing field work and casting a fly rod and I was generally very pleased with the performance of the Riverwalkers. But, I expected more durability out of a pair of wading boots especially at their price point. So, I sent them back to Patagonia, which like many outdoor gear companies, has a very accepting return policy. In exchange, I received the new Rock Grip sticky/studded wading boots for the cost of shipping.

While I liked the shape, feel, and fit of the Riverwalkers, based on the damage that I had done to them, I thought it would be best if I went in a different direction. The Rock Grips appear to be that different direction. They appear to be more heavy duty, with less exposed stitching and a thicker, tougher rubber sole. Take a look at them now. I will review them in a year after giving them hell on the Montana's rivers this season. (NOTE: Forgetful as I am, I forgot to take before and after pictures of my Riverwalkers. Trust me, they were beat up).

Patagonia Rock Grip sticky/studded wading boots

studded vs. un-studded

With the waders, I found that a leak was developing about mid-way through the year in and around the right leg. It didn't bother me much during the summer because I was wet wading. During the fall, it was more of a nuisance. In late fall and early winter, the leak grew and became an issue.

From mid-thigh down to my toes, my long johns and socks were completely saturated with nearly freezing water. The primary issue appeared to be at the seam that connected the neoprene booties to the actual leg of the wader.

So, I contacted Orvis and apparently that has been an issue with this model. I have returned the waders and Orvis indicated that they would be replacing my waders with a new pair, for the cost of shipping. I have yet to receive them, but I am waiting patiently, so I can get back out on the water.

Also, Jergens over at Evolution Anglers, just had some logo stickers printed and sent three over my way. They turned out really well. Check out his blog for some killer content (see the recent winter trips to the Beav (read: Beaverhead) and the Mo (read: the Missouri)) and don't forget to order some EvoAnglers SWAG for a very fair price.

Evolution Anglers Sticker (slapped this one on the Cliff's Bugger Barn)

I have been considering making some YGF stickers this summer and the evolution anglers stickers are a bit of inspiration to get them made. Would youze guyz be interested in some YGF stickers if I had them made?

Finally, in order to have an active followers gadget associated with the YGF blog, I was forced to delete the entire blog, export it, and then recreate it. As a result, some of the comments were deleted. A small price to pay for the new followers gadget. If you like what you see and read, give YGF a follow and if you love it, like YGF on the Facebooks.

Double Rainbow Trout on the Mo

2011-01-24T11:58:00.000-07:00

Went to the Mighty Mighty Mo this weekend to fish for it's monster rainbows and browns. Stopped by Headhunters Fly Shop for some nice flies and good advice. Fished between Holter Dam and Craig. With party cloudy to mostly sunny weather in the mid- to high 30s, we were hoping to get into some midgy dry fly action. But, when 12:30 pm hit, the wind came with it and all hopes for dry fly fishing were dashed. There were some sporadic rises, but never enough to fish to risers. It was nice to see large trout feeding at the surface during these long winter months. While we didn't get into any monsters, Bucko and I caught some solid rainbows between 17 and 20 inches. I ended up with two rainbows, both around 19 inches. Bucko caught 7 trout, but he also caught two whitefish, so that hurts his overall score. I did have a shot at a 19 to 21 inch brown trout later in the day, but it's acrobatic run loosened the size 18 lightning bug out of it's mouth.

I spent all day with water up to my right thigh. I have some massive leak in my waders that I cannot find. My left leg feels left out of the water party. It can't wait until spring and summer when it will finally get a chance to feel the rush of cold water during the wet wading season.

The highlight of the trip was the wintery double we brought to the net. More than 3 feet of rainbow represented in two nice specimens. Yes, the famed Double Rainbow. In this video, I pay tribute to the double rainbow guy. If you haven't seen it yet, do it now. Then watch this (in HD on vimeo).

Double Rainbow Trout on the Mo from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Flathead Wilds

2011-01-17T14:04:00.000-07:00

Another brilliant documentary from EP Films, The Flathead Wilds is about the unprotected headwaters of the Flathead River in British Columbia. The North Fork of the Flathead, which flows south into the United States was listed as one of the ten most endangered rivers in 2009 by American Rivers because of proposed coal mining in its headwaters. The film tells the story of the North Fork as it follows a group of outdoors photographers. It is well worth the 20 minutes or so and some of the pictures that they capture are absolutely ridiculous. I have spent time in Glacier National Park and have driven through Waterton Lakes National Park and I can honestly say, that this film captures the beauty of the landscape as well as it could be. An excellent watch.

Flathead Wild ReEdit from EP Films on Vimeo.

Discussion about banning felt in MT

2011-01-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

A very interesting discussion about a recently proposed bill that would ban felt-soled boots on Montana waters is taking place over at Headhunters. Join in.

Here are the links:

Original Post

Follow-up

When is spring? I want to be here...now

2011-01-13T11:48:00.000-07:00

As prompted by OBN, here it is - my favorite outdoor place: The Big Hole River. For the past week or so, I have been going to bed reading about the the Mother's Day Caddis hatch in Greg Thomas' "Fly Fisher's Bible of Montana", reading chapter 11 in McGuane's "The Longest Silence", and watching my own videos of the mighty river. A fantastic brown trout fishery, it also is holds to rainbows, cutthroat, brook, and grayling. Prolific hatches, rising trout, hungry browns, and the "only western river with viable fluvial grayling populations in the lower 48". Here are some pictures.

Big Hole at the Salmon Fly access

rainbows rising to tricos in late August on the Big Hole

standard 18" big hole brown

Portions of my video "The Browns, Bows, and a Bull of Fall" featuring moving pictures of the fish, the river, and the surroundings of the Big Hole.

Also, after a day on the river, who doesn't want to wind down at quality watering holes like the Melrose Bar & Cafe with a High Life or Moscow Mule (which might be 1500 feet from Salmon Fly Access). Right next door to the bar is George Goody's Montana Fly Company, a ridiculously solid fly shop.

View Larger Map

another day on the rock revisited

2011-01-09T23:12:00.000-07:00

I went casting on the Bitterroot just outside of town and down near Florence Bridge, this past saturday. Tried to catch fish, but i suspect (and secretly hope) that the cold weather and incoming cold front slowed the fish down. I saw a handful of rises, a little more than a handful of midges, one muskrat, a pooping dog, a couple homeless people's humble abodes, a deer with what appeared to be a huge gunshot hole around it's jaw, four bald eagles, three herons, and one dead four-point whitetail mid-channel.

I also realized that I have enough pinhole leaks in my waders to warrant a wash and patch session in the very near future. I could have filled a water bottle with the near freezing water in my waders and absorbed by my sock. No fish to net and as a result, there was very little useable video footage.

So, I revisited an old video from I made in late June 2010 titled "another day on the rock". It is exactly what the title suggests, a day of fly fishing on upper Rock Creek. I wanted to remix the video to a new song with a new look at the footage. I tried my hand at a little "stop-motion." I did my best to align the clips with the hi-hat in Guru's "Lifesaver" from the Jazzmatazz Volume II album.

If I am being honest with myself, the video has it's moments (both good and bad). This method highlights some details that might be lost in normal video including the fact that (at least in June 2010) I started backcast too early. Also highlighted by the stop-motion is a pale-morning dun in flight around 1:26. Do not adjust your computers - most of this video is supposed to be choppy. Tell me what you think. Should I use this technique for any of this year's upcoming videos? Or should I drop it as quickly as David Akers missed two important field goals this sunday?

another day on the rock revisited from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Watch in HD on vimeo.

Oh, yeah, ygf is on the facebooks. like it on the facebooks, even if you don't in real life.

2011 Dreams and Goals

2011-01-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

I think we can all agree, as fisherman, we want to catch more fish, catch bigger fish, catch different species, and most importantly fish more. With the winter doldrums kicking in and negative to mid-single digit temperatures blanketing the Missoula valley this week, I have cabin fever bad. While the snow has been fantastic here in western Montana, my funds are in such a condition that two expensive outdoor hobbies would be one too many expensive outdoor hobbies. So, I am stuck inside with dreams of spring, summer and fall flows, insect hatches, and hungry trout - planning the beginning of my upcoming fishing season. Here are my dreams and goals of 2011:

1. Finish my thesis.

So I can get a good job, make a difference in the world, not be a starving student, but a starving scientist, and do more awesome things both professionally and recreationally.

Amendment: Plus my parents (including the pater) would like it to be so.

2. catch a fish in every month of the year (bonus points for trout)

I enjoyed the pursuit of this goal last year and I think it is a goal that will always be a challenge to complete for a variety of reasons - mostly as a result of weather and temperature.

3. Catch a 20" cutthroat, 24" rainbow, and 24" brown trout

While I enjoy catching smaller fish, the thrill and skill it takes to fool and bring in a larger and more seasoned trout is something that I find myself increasingly intrigued by. I didn't reach all of these three subgoals last year. I would like to this year.

4. Catch 3 or more trout over 20" in a day of fishing

Got dangerously close to this goal twice this past season. Again, I like big fish. Optimally, I would like to catch a lot of them. So, repeating this goal this year only makes sense.

5. Catch a 20"+ brown trout out of the (name redacted) ponds

I don't want to let the secret out about this body of water until I successfully tame one of it's beasts. I caught a 18" brown trout out of it this year. There are bigger fish in there. Much bigger. And I would like to catch them.

6. Catch a 22"+ rainbow or brown trout out of the Warm Springs Ponds

A friend of mine did so last year. I was and am still jealous of his catch. I want to catch one. It is a goal.

7. Go fishing in Wyoming

The same friend that I refer to in goal 5, swears by Wyoming and the trout that live there. And, like other friends that have fished there, he will gladly take me there, but he won't give me specific details, unless I go with. I would name more specific waters, but he won't tell me. Tales of giant browns, bows, and cutties intrigue me. "I want to go to there."

8. Fish for bullies and cutties on the South Fork of the Flathead

I like bull trout. I like large bull trout. I want to catch large (25"+) bull trout. You can on the South Fork. Again, "I want to go to there"

9. Catch a fish on a mouse pattern

See goal 9.

10. Go night fishing, do more night fishing, and catch fish while night fishing.

Everytime I have gone into Montana Fly Company in Melrose, MT to buy streamers, George (the owner) has said, "Going after the big ones, huh?". During one of those visits, George regaled us with a story about night fishing on the Big Hole, saying something to the effect of "Yeah, I go out there (during the night time) hook big fish and let them take my flies." George Kesel of Kesel's Four Rivers tells a similar story about night fishing on the Beaverhead. The biggest fish he has caught in the past 10 years was on the Beaverhead in the middle of the night during one of his midnight bathroom breaks. I have heard that fishing under the moon is the best time to fish for large, piscivorous brown trout. Some people take these monsters on mouse patterns others on streamers. Either way, I can't think of a better place to do it than the Big Hole.

11. Catch fish on the following waters (with some left over or repeats from last year): the Missouri River, Elk River (in BC), Lochsa River, Selway River, Big Hole River, Beaverhead River, Madison River, Hebgen Lake, Skalkaho Creek, Fish Creek, Rock Creek, South Fork of Flathead River, Flint Creek, Lamar River, Firehole River, Poindexter Slough, Ruby River, Yellowstone River, Bitterroot River, Blackfoot River, Clark Fork River, and Slough Creek.

I think this is self-explanatory.

12. Make more videos. Make better videos. Make videos with less shaky elements. Make it on to Moldy Chum and the like.

Pipe dream - capture enough quality footage to submit a respectable, but most likely, the (pardon my french) shittiest fish porn at the 2012 F3T.

UPDATE:

13. Catch fish on sub-surface/"nymphed?" grasshoppers

I want to throw the hopper-hopper rig. I have read of it's success. Plus, who doesn't love foam.

14. catch a northern pike on the fly

big, mean, and they like eating streamers. funny coincidence, i like throwing streamers.

december trout picked up on le mouching

2010-12-21T22:36:00.000-07:00

I couldn't figure out why the video "december trout" had received so many hits (relative to my other videos) in the past. I was browsing Le Mouching, a french fly fishing site, and happened upon my video, complete with the following description:

L’hiver au Montana… les matins où le soleil perçant les nuages vous ébloui, bercés par les cahots, excités par l’idée d’aller à la pêche, étrange mélange de sensations, l’odeur du café dans les mugs, le froids extérieur qui contrasta avec la chaleur de la voiture. L’hiver, pour tous ceux qui sont frustrés car la pêche et fermée et à qui il ne reste que les réservoirs et l’attente de l’ouverture en Mars, ce film est pour vous.

which apparently translates to:

Wintertime in Montana…mornings where the sun through the clouds make you blink, when rocked by the road curves, excited by the idea to go fishing, mixed feelings, the smell of coffee in the mugs, the cold outside contrasting with the warmth of the car. Wintertime, for all the frustrated anglers who have to go to reservoirs or wait untill open season in March, this film is for you.

I also found the trout of 2010 video on fishpornfix.com. I am blowing up like some random cable access show's big guest.

The second year under my wading belt - a review of 2010

2010-12-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

The dreams and goals of 2010 gave me a nice framework to shape the path of my second year on the fly. Obviously some goals were more important than others. I am proudest that I was able to catch a fish in every month. I can assure you, that will be a goal in 2011. I have been lucky enough to fish a great deal of Montana's remarkable trout waters this year. I didn't hit all of the water that I listed in the beginning of the year, but I was able to hit a good deal of them. I made trips to the Big Hole, the Yellowstone, the Madison, and the Beaverhead. I fished Rock Creek, Georgetown Lake, Brown's Lake, Fish Creek, the Bitterroot, the Blackfoot, Poindexter Slough, and the Clark Fork. I made a trip to Yellowstone NP and fished the Soda Butte, Pebble Creek, and the Gibbon (admittedly the visible presence of more than a few Grizzlies changed my plans to fish the Lamar and Slough Creek). I caught brookies, cutthroats (westslopes and yellowstones), rainbows, cutbows, browns and bulls (also some whitefish and suckers). It has been a great year of fly fishing.

I have enjoyed making videos with my flip HD camera of some of my trips out on the water. Howeva (read like Stephen A Smith), I want to improve upon my videos. I would love to make a movie like Eastern Rises or some quality fish porn like RA Beattie puts out, I understand that they have superior equipment and they don't get to fish while they make those videos. I like making fishing videos, but not that much. So, I won't be taking a trip out to the Beaverhead only to take video. While I don't have the resources to go out and acquire a canon 7d, I can still improve my videos. When my trout of 2010 video was posted on moldy chum earlier this month, I was....excited, to say the least. I knew that the moldy chummers would light me up if they didn't like it. Some of them did and some of them did not. Rodney Hsu of Fishing with Rod fame said:

"Excellent video! The underwater release shots are really well done."

Then I got some of the following:

"That got boring fast."

"That has to be the least steady hand I have ever seen."

and my personal favorite

"I now feel like I should be treated for Parkinson's syndrome"

While I appreciate Rodney's support, I also see some elements of truth to what the critics had to say. My videos have a tendency to be shaky. Not Parkinson's shaky, but too much coffee shaky. Part of that is a function of me taking video of my own releases. Part of that is a function of the weight, or lack thereof, of the flip camera, which lends itself to an unsteady shot. But, with a little effort and some concentration, I can improve. So, in 2011, I am looking to improve my camera skills. I want to frame my subjects better, keep a steadier hand, capture more actual fishing shots, and of course catch more and larger fish.

For my three to five regular readers and those of you at OBN, I want you to help me make better fly fishing videos. By telling me why you don't like them and by voting on which one doesn't smell and/or look TURRABLE like the bathrooms at McCormick Park in the middle of the summer. My four favorite videos are located below. All 11 or 12 of the videos can be seen in the right sidebar. Please vote, and if you select other, leave a comment. If you have any suggestions or constructive criticism, leave a comment. Happy holidays and see you in 2011 with a new list of dreams and goals - which I can guarantee will involve the Mighty Mighty Mo (with a stop in at Headhunters) and a trip to the South Fork of the Flathead.

yukon goes to the madison from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

yukon goes to yellowstone from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Green Drakes in Paradise from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Montana SNOTEL Data Update - "It's a good thing"

2010-12-17T15:54:00.000-07:00

Water is and will always be an issue in western Montana. There were worries in the fishing community that last year's relatively low snowpack would result in some seasonal closures due to low flows and high temperatures. Alas, we were saved by some spring and early summer rains that resulted in a 1.3 Recurrence Interval (RI) peak discharge of 9,980 cubic feet per second (cfs), which is below average, at the Clark Fork River above Missoula gage. While the peak discharge was below average there were multiple peaks and the higher flows were prolonged. As such, there were no fishing closures in western Montana last year. Such worries were not present during the two previous water years (2008 and 2009) when the recurrence interval of the peak discharge during spring runoff was a 2.8 with a discharge of 17,500 cfs. I have been lucky enough to have not been effected by any fishing closures during my short fly fishing career. This year, as those of you who live in western Montana know, we have had our fair share of snow and has resulted in healthy snowpack levels throughout the state. While there is plenty of time until the spring runoff of 2011 and there are other factors influencing the scale of runoff (namely timing and mechanisms that initiate it), it feels good to look at the numbers below and have a little confidence that this year's runoff will do good geomorphic and ecologic work. It is nice to see numbers above 100% and no where close to the 50%, 60%, and 70% seen last spring. Enjoy the recently updated SNOTEL data below. I am.

	Snow Water Equivalent	YTD Precip
Basin Site Name	Percent of Average	Percent of Average
KOOTENAI RIVER	113	106
FLATHEAD RIVER	129	119
UPPER CFR	114	107
BITTERROOT RIVER	98	109
LOWER CFR	107	105
JEFFERSON RIVER	116	118
MADISON RIVER	119	121
GALLATIN RIVER	129	128
MISSOURI HEADWATERS	121	123
HW MISSOURI MAINSTEM	112	99
SMITH, JUDITH, MUSSELSHELL	132	120
SUN, TETON, MARIAS	100	83
MISSOURI MAINSTEM	118	101
ST. MARY and MILK	109	103
UPPER YELLOWSTONE	129	124
WIND RIVER (WY)	118	110
SHOSHONE RIVER (WY)	111	117
BIGHORN RIVER (WY)	106	104
TONGUE RIVER (WY)	83	85
POWDER RIVER (WY)	102	85
LOWER YELLOWSTONE	107	103

december trout

2010-12-12T00:21:00.000-07:00

Goal #2 has been completed. I went fishing on Rock Creek this Saturday to try to catch a december fish. Fully expecting it to be a whitefish, I was pleased to catch a small brown trout on a dead drifted streamer as the day began to warm up. I only caught two fish - both trout - one brown and one westslope cutthroat. I nymphed the entire day. Mostly with eggs, dead-drifted streamers, midges, black stoneflies, and brassies. While I had to work for the brown, it seemed as though the westie was waiting to be fished to. The moment my thing-a-ma-bobber hit the water, the cuttie slashed towards the surface. Confused, I cast my stonefly-brassie combo back into the same water. The cuttie took the black stonefly nymph with vigor. Enjoy the video. Watch in HD on vimeo.

december trout from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Soulfish 2 looks mighty expensive and mighty fantastic

2010-12-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is my first post that does not contain original content, but I couldn't resist. I came across the trailer of Soulfish 2 on vimeo. Tell me this doesn't look like the most expensive fly fishing video (or fish porn) ever made. How many locations can one video include? Whatever the cost, some mighty purrty fish were caught while on their worldwide journey.

SOULFISH 2, FISH MODE from Mikey Wier on Vimeo.

YGF on Skate the Fly's Hero Shots Gone Wrong

2010-12-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

I have followed the website skate the fly for a while. One of their regular features is the fan submitted Hero Shots Gone Wrong or HSGW, where people submit pictures of them failing to capture the Hero Shot with their prize catch. (SIDE NOTE: Another great, but semi-regular feature is Skate the Fly TV.) From the moment I saw the feature, I knew what series of pictures I would submit to skate the fly. But, I was apparently bashful and put off submitting those pictures to Dylan. Prompted by OBN, I finally summoned up the courage to submit my Hero Shots Gone Wrong. I posted about them earlier this year on this very blog. (SIDE NOTE: you might be wondering, Ivan, if you were bashful and potentially embarrassed by these HSGWs, then why did you post about them on your blog? What is the difference between putting the pictures on your blog and submitting them to skate the fly? Answer: people actually read skate the fly.) Dylan has posted my Hero Shots Gone Wrong and it is glorious. The whole experience of having someone else post (in good humour) about your moment of glory gone awry is cathartic. Pardon my french, it is relieving to admit that your s#@t does indeed stink. Mine does. Can you smell it? So, I call on you, my few followers, if you have a HSGW, submit it to Dylan (dylan (at) skatethefly (dot) com).

secrets from my streamer box

2010-12-06T10:04:00.000-07:00

I don't tie flies...yet. I have a thesis to write. I am intrigued by the act of tying flies. But, if I am to be honest, I am little worried about my fine motor skills. While, my Montessori education has maximized my fine motor skills, I think the apex of said skills is quite low (see ability to fold napkins for thanksgiving celebrations). I started fly fishing in April of 2009. Over the past year and a half(ish), I have learned to appreciate and enjoy the delicate art of presenting tiny dry flies to rising trout, the systematic approach of nymphing, and slapping large hoppers or stones next to the bank. But, I have fallen for streamer fishing. And I have fallen hard. I now prefer to throw gobs of weighted rabbit fur at browns, bows, cutties, and bulls. I particularly like double hooked articulated streamers. The aggression and size of the fish that a streamer attracts, attracts me to streamer fishing. It also attracts Alex at 40 Rivers to Freedom to streamer fishing. So in the spirit of the holiday season, I have decided to share some of the patterns that have had great success and some of the patterns that have not. Note: All of these patterns were skillfully purchased at fly shops.

Stars of the Great Bugger Barn of Glory (or the GBBG)

Officially, the three streamers seen above are known as double screamers. My friend Bucko and I have devised our own names for each color variation. We refer to the pattern itself as "it". "it" is an articulated, approximately five-inch long conehead streamer available in a wide variety of colors.

The Original - black, olive, and silver

The Original killed the browns during the pre-pre-spawn period of a wide variety of in western and southwestern montana. This streamer has dark and flashy elements. I surmise these elements make it irresistible to large brown trout. I lost one of these in a card game. Quite possibly, the saddest night of my life.

The Modified - red, yellow, rainbowy gold

The Modified enjoyed success on the Big Hole during the brown trout pre-spawn period. At one point, when fishing it in some backwater, I had three 16 to 19 inch browns following it. The 17 incher won.

The Rasta - white, red, yellow, green, and seasonally shiny tinsel

Someone in the fly shop where this fly was purchased, referred to it as The Traffic Light (red, yellow, green). We dubbed it The Rasta. I think Jimmy Cliff or Marley was playing on the way to Ennis. This color scheme saw great success on the Madison in November (see yukon goes to the madison). It was only recently discovered by myself and has not been used during any other period of time.

Flies that havent made it out of the GBBG

officially known as the Clarke's Rat - known personally as the 5-weight destroyer

Based on the amount of rabbit fur involved with this fly, I should love it. I secretly do. But, it shattered my 5 weight redington red2fly rod on the first cast. Not a clean break either. The rod suffered vertical stress fractures immediately above the cork handle around the entire circumference of the rod. Admittedly, I shouldn't have been trying to throw this massive fly with a five-weight. Probably a good-to-great fly for large trout, I suspect the bulls would love it, but it has not been used since it shattered my rod.

Globs of Green

Never used it. Never will. Don't know why I bought it.

Kind of Brown

Like the great Miles Davis album, except brown, not sonically pleasing, and terrible at catching trout. I used it once on a late August morning. This late August morning turned into the day that the Original became the Original. This fly hasn't been used since.

Articulated Rubber Legs of Crap

As I have expressed, I am enthralled with articulated streamers. Not this one. This has to be fished with sinking tip or a full sinking line. I like a streamer that I can fish on both floating and sinking line. This is not one of them. It stays high in the water column, often breaking the surface. Like the rest of the streamers of doom, I haven't given it much of a chance.

Excluded from the list of greatness are Kelly Galloup's famous streamers like the sex dungeon, the boogie man, the heifer groomer, and the articulated butt monkey. This is not a function of the gobs of animal fur not working. I just haven't had a chance to purchase any. Missoula's local shops do not carry his streamers and his shop was closed when I went down to the Madison in November. One of these days....one of these days.

What about your streamer box? What are your go to patterns? What do you regret buying or tying?

the trout of 2010

2010-11-26T12:03:00.000-07:00

I threw together a video of all of the trout that I caught and recorded this year. These fish were caught from late June through November. The video includes an ode to the this is fly t-shirt in the beginning of the video. I included some of my own music that I produced over the past couple years. Whats even better is that this video made the front page of moldy chum. An achievement that has boosted the views of this thrown-together video into the ~~300~~ 1,298 views at the time of this post's publishing. Needless to say, I am thankful to moldy chum this holiday season. Enjoy the video.

the trout of 2010 from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

the browns, bows, and a bull of fall

2010-11-17T17:42:00.000-07:00

I have been sitting on this video for a while. It is a compilation of video that I have recorded since late August. It consists of fall fly fishing throughout western, southwestern, and central Montana on the Big Hole, the Beaverhead, the Marias, Rock Creek, and Fish Creek. The video includes shots of a 23" Big Hole brown trout that my friend Bucko caught (see at 4:53) and a 20" rock creek bull trout that I caught (seen starting at 1:09). Please excuse the poor camera work associated with both of these monsters. I think the excitement of both moments got the best of me. Watch in HD.

Yukon Goes to the Madison

2010-11-15T21:10:00.000-07:00

Went to the Madison River this weekend to fish for large, mean, hungry brown trout. Had some good success. Most of the fish were between 18 and 20 inches. Most of the fish were taken on streamers with a few coming on nymphs. My friend, Bucko, caught the largest fish of the trip with a 22" brown. Some seasonally appropriate snow made its presence known on Saturday and especially on Sunday. Enjoy the video. Watch it in HD on vimeo.

yukon goes to the madison from Ivan Orsic on Vimeo.

Some Fish from Fall

2010-11-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

18" beaverhead brown and the fishstache

24-25" beaverhead rainbow bucko caught on a size 20 midge nymph with 6x tippet.

24-25" beaverhead rainbow

typical beaverhead brown

24-25'' beaverhead rainbow

dreams and goals of 2010 - November update

2010-11-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

The year is coming to an end and I have knocked off many of the dreams and goals that I set forth in the beginning/middle of the fishing year. While I have accomplished many of these goals, I am prouder of some more than others. Below is the list, I will highlight the three which I am proudest of.

~~catch a fish on a nymph~~
catch a fish in each month of the year (~~jan~~, ~~feb~~, ~~mar~~, ~~apr~~, ~~may~~, ~~june~~, ~~july~~, ~~aug~~, ~~sept~~, ~~oct~~, ~~nov~~, dec)
~~catch a bull trout (not target, which is important distinction)~~
~~catch a Yellowstone Cutthroat~~
~~catch 30 or more fish in a day from a river~~
catch 40 or more fish in a day from a river
catch 50 or more fish in a day from a river or lake
catch 3 or more fish more than 20'' in length in a day
~~catch a 20'' cutthroat~~, 24'' rainbow, 25'' brown
catch fish out of the ~~Clark Fork~~, ~~Blackfoot~~, and ~~Bitterroot Rivers~~
fish and catch fish out of the following bodies of water - ~~Bitterroot River,~~ ~~Clark Fork River~~,~~Blackfoot River,~~ ~~Rock Creek~~, ~~Fish Creek~~, ~~Georgetown Lake~~, Elk River (in BC/Alberta), Trout Creek, Lolo Creek, Lochsa River, ~~Bighole River~~, ~~Beaverhead River~~, Madison River, Gallatin River, Hebgen Lake, Medicine Lake (near Skalkaho Pass), Skalkaho Creek, ~~upper Blackfoot River~~, Monture Creek. Flathead River, Blodgett Creek, Flint Creek, East and West Forks of the Bitterroot River, Lamar River, Firehole River, and Slough Creek
~~catch all the trout of the this is fly shirt.~~
read "The River Why", "Trout Bum", "Nymphing"

2. To date, I have successfully caught a fish in each month of the year. The most recent fish, a 17-18" brown I caught in a pond of little acclaim (seen below), was fooled during a 15 minute fishing session on my way back from visiting a friend in Bozeman. I have one more month to go. Could be difficult, but I see a visit to Poindexter Slough in my future.

3. and 12. I have caught a whopping three bull trout this year. Two of them of the 12" variety (seen below). One of them of the 20" plus variety (to be seen in an upcoming video). All three of them were caught on Rock Creek. Each of them have there own accompanying story. The first bull trout was caught in the beginning of August. It took a small natural color sculpzilla streamer that it followed into the shallows. As it showed its small, but mighty body, I was at first amused. However, once I saw its coloration and distinctively large head, the excitement I felt could not be matched (until a couple of weeks ago). I had accomplished goal 9 and caught all the trout of the this is fly shirt. I had caught one of the majestic aggressive beasts of western Montana waters. A beast of epic 12" proportions. Afterwards I bragged to my girlfriend and friends about my catch. But, the thrill started to wear off. In reality, I had caught a small trout/char that happened to be of the bull trout variety. While it's aggression was impressive for such a small package, it was not the bull trout I had imagined. When I think bull trout, I think 20 to 35" of grumpy piscivorous muscle. While I may have caught a future beast, I felt like my bull trout experience was not complete.

The second bull trout of the year was caught in the middle of September. After slaying some browns and cutties on the upper portion of Rock Creek. I started heading downstream on Rock Creek Road. As I drove down the forest service road, I had a brief lapse of concentration and I hit a large rock with the sidewall of the right front tire of my mighty blue '01 Accord. An instant flat. I dejectedly exited the car and changed my tire. The sidewall had a 6 inch gash. I should have taken a picture. It was impressive. I started to head slowly downstream again. Sliding into a mini-depression about the state of my tire, I figured it couldn't get any worse. I stopped at one of my favorite holes, waded in and began slapping the water with a larger white sculpzilla. I got a couple follows and one hit from a larger Rock Creek brown, but I was unable to bring anything in. Feeling defeated, I looked down towards my feet. I realized that I was standing in the middle of Rock Creek (a place where many people would have loved to have been at that moment in time), I decided I must enjoy my surroundings. I looked downstream and saw the sunlight striking a hillslope. It was beautiful. The entire time my streamer was still in the water. At this point, it had swung downstream of me and was in the shallows. As I was admiring the view, I felt a tug at the end of my line. I was rewarded with another 12" bull trout. I nice end to my "terrible" day.

I caught the third bull trout of the year on a larger black sculpzilla streamer on Rock Creek. I had fished this water earlier in the day in search of larger pre-spawn Clark Fork brown trout. I caught a 14" inch brown out of this water earlier in the day. But, the reason for my return to this water was the fish that I had stung earlier on a piece of water just upstream. It felt like a large fish. I was unsuccessful in finding that earlier large fish. It was 4 o'clock and the fishing had seemed to slow down. But, I have a problem with giving up. So, I waded downstream and cast my black streamer into a short 3 foot deep run. A large shadow came from bed of the river and took the streamer. I set the hook and realized what was on the end of my line. The bull moved downstream into a shallow riffle and then into some pocket water bending my six-weight with ease. Wanting to avoid a break off and exhausting the fish (although I was using 1x tippet), I followed the fish with my net in hand. I scooped it and started to yell joyful expletives. Admittedly, I was too excited to get any quality video of the bull. I pointed the camera towards the sun and the colors of the bull trout were completely washed out as you will see in an upcoming video. While my video capturing skills were suffering then, I can still recall several mental snapshots from the fight and the release. However, my fish, which I estimated at about 20", is nothing compared to the humble fishermans.

1st Bull Trout