Thursday, September 25, 2014

Fly Fishing Duke's Creek

Good Mornin' Folks!
  I just wanted to share some pictures with you of a recent fishing excursion.  I had read online that most people fish Duke's Creek inside the Smithgall Woods boundaries, which means private, trophy managed waters and very smart/picky trout, but there are very nice, native fish to be found between the boundary and the Duke's Creek waterfalls.  
  When it comes to trout fishing, I'm still very much a beginner.  There is something very special about being alone in a tiny mountain creek stalking these beautiful fish.  With my trusty TFO 2 weight in hand, I set out.  I was in the water just after sunrise and fished steady until just after noon.  I managed lots of strikes, and hooked up a few times, but I was only able to land one, a gorgeous native rainbow trout about 8"-9" long.  That one fish made the whole trip worthwhile, and it's my largest trout to date.  
  I had an absolute ball fishing Duke's Creek, but I wouldn't recommend it.  The terrain and hiking in and out of the canyon makes it very dangerous.  There are far easier places to fish in North Georgia and you will probably be more successful.  I'm glad I fished it.  I feel a bit redeemed, after being skunked twice in Smithgall Woods I finally pulled a trout out of Duke's, but I won't be fishing this stretch again.  Go for the beauty of the falls, but find another spot to fish!
  I hope you're all doing well.
   Tight lines and easy trails!
        -Nick
The sign marking the Falls' parking area.
That's Mount Yonah (or Yonah Mountain) in the distance, just as the sun was starting to come up.
One of the waterfalls on Duke's Creek as seen from the lower viewing platform.
The upper viewing platform with the other waterfall beyond it.
Taking some photos of my Tacky Fly Box for an upcoming product review.  Gotta love moss covered logs, right?
One of the gorgeous little pools on Duke's Creek.  I got several strikes here, but just couldn't get them to hand.
It's definitely a scenic area.  There's lots of tumbling water and little pools. The sun coming through the trees is quite striking as well.
There he his in all his natural, native color! I caught him on a rusty brown colored bead head wooly bugger.  I need to find a better way of taking fish pictures when I'm alone, any advice?
I actually saw several of these cairns on the creek.  Apparently I wasn't the first person to fish here!

This is where I decided to leave.  The creek drops about 8' below that log and it's almost shear canyon wall on both sides.  I had to backtrack a ways to get up out of the water.
Ran up to Cartersville the day before to check out the Cohutta Fishing Co. and pick up a new fly line and some flies.  They've got an awesome store with a ton of gear.  Check them out if you're in the area!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Photos from IFTD and iCAST Day 4

I finally managed to get the last group of ICAST/IFTD photos captioned!  I still have more that I haven't posted yet, I'm going to try to highlight some of the booths that I really liked at the show.  Hopefully these pictures will tide you guys over for a while!
Enjoy, like, follow, subscribe, and comment!
  Thanks, Tight Lines!
     Nick
Evenin' Folks,
  I know I promised to caption these photos once I got home from the IFTD show. I'm still working on it, I promise. Things have been busy here since returning from Florida. So, as consolation, I offer up more original photos from the 2014 IFTD and iCAST show. Please enjoy!
  Tight Lines!
     Nick



Native Watercraft had a bunch of their kayaks on display.  They almost look like canoe/kayak hybrids!
Speaking of hybrids, these little hybrid kayak/drift boats from Nucanoe looked pretty sweet!
TFO had a booth jam-packed with rods.  I loved the look of all these different grips lined up in the rack.
Hobie Kayaks, the kayak you pedal! The new tandem model they introduced looks like it could be an awful lot of fun!
It was nice to see a booth from Georgia DNR at the show.  
This map shows all the fishing related companies that call Georgia home.  I was tempted to tack a Suburban Angler business card up near the Oyster Bamboo Rods sticker!
The size and shape of these Ion video cameras seems like they'd be more practical for all sorts of sportsmen to record their adventures.
I want the camo one!
They're about the same size and weight as a chunky little LED flashlight.  Definitely on my wish list!
WTP, Inc had some really cool looking self adhesive products for lure making, I think these eyes can cross over to fly tying pretty easily!
They had too many products to fit the whole booth in one shot!
All of the WTP products are made right here in the USA, too!
Redington had a huge booth with loads of awesome products on display.  I've got to try one of these Butter Sticks real soon!
This picture shows maybe a quarter of the rods Redington had on display.
Redington also had a nice display of their own reels.
A 6' 2" 2-weight Butter Stick, I had to get a close up!
A Canadian group called Mouche had a fishing cabin/lounge set up as their booth.  Check them out on Facebook, it's a really cool concept of passing on flies on the water that they were successful.
Nikko is a soft plastic bait company out of Japan.  While not necessarily for the fly angler, the minute detail of these plastics, I think, could be integrated into more realistic flies.
The front doors of the show, taken on the last day.  I had such an amazing time, I can't wait to go back next year!
Just a beautiful truck in the parking lot.  Oh yeah, it belongs to the Spanish Fly!

Monday, September 15, 2014

Fly Fishing Suwanee Creek Test Video

Afternoon folks!
  I went out and fished Suwanee Creek yesterday evening to test out some camera equipment.  I got skunked again! I think the fish know when I have a camera out!  I sped up the video just because I think fly fishing in high speed is pretty funny!  Please like, subscribe, share, comment and anything else.  I hope to have more videos soon!
  Have a great day!
    Tight Lines,
         -Nick


Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Photos from iCAST and IFTD Day 3

Updated photos from iCast and IFTD Day 3!  I finally got more captions done!  Only one more group left, I'm on 'em, I promise!
    -Nick

Mornin' Folks!
  Here's more unedited, uncaptioned photos from IFTD. Today is the last day of the show, so I should have a few more photos tomorrow and I'll caption them all this weekend!
  Tight Lines!
      Nick


The Abel booth  was packed full the entire week of the show.  I was able to get close enough to take a couple pictures of one display case.  I really liked the heft of these line nippers though, and you have to love Abel's different anodizing patterns.
One of Abel's beautiful reels that was on that display.  I love the way these trout patterns look on their reels.
Yakima had this sweet little trailer on display at the show.  I think even my little car could tow it, instead of strapping the kayak to the roof! I wonder if I'd get any more respect at the boat launch?
This and the next few photos were taken at the L.L. Bean Media Luncheon that I was invited to.  I've had a nostalgic affection for L.L. Bean for most of my life and it's gotten stronger as I've gone deeper down the rabbit whole that is fly fishing.  I must say, though, that I was a bit disappointed at the luncheon.  I really liked some of the new products that Beans had on display, but I was sad to see that every one of them was made in China.  It doesn't matter to most people, but it does matter to me and I try not to purchase Chinese items when I can help it.  These were all nice items that appeared to be constructed with quality in mind, so just let that guide your opinions of them.  
How about zip front waders?  
This was a really good looking jacket with lots of pockets and some innovative storage solutions.

Talk about storage!  This fishing travel bag had more pockets than I could fill!








The Fishpond booth had some really nice looking products on display.  I tend to use a lumber pack when fishing, so I was really attracted to this one that's actually designed for fishing!
A good looking satchel from Fishpond.  
Outcast Sporting Gear was showing a bunch of their inflatable boats.  Really nice, full featured and well thought out designs I'd love to try one!
The Renzetti Traveller vice, such a great little size, I love this thing!
A whole basket of FlyVines Bracelets.
FlyVines Sunglass Keepers.  Such a great idea for recycling used fly lines!
This, quite obviously, is a terrible picture of some folks at the casting pond.  Not sure why I kept it in here.
One of my favorite booths at the show, Finn Utility out of Vermont.  Hand crafted, heirloom quality, traditional fly fishing accessories.  I really need to place an order, but I can't narrow down my wish list!
Awesome drying patches, the big one on the left is for your vehicle's visor!  NEED!!!





Another product that is just one of those fantastic ideas!  It's a net and a wading staff!


How's this for a stream side fly tying setup!  This set from C&F Designs includes everything but the feathers!
These J:son Match'n Catch flies are the epitome of realism and durability in a fly!  They've got to be seen to be believed!
Flambeau had a massive booth at ICAST.  This was the fly fishing section...
Bote Paddle Boards had one  of the sexiest booths at the show.  The graphics on these are awesome.  I've really got to try one soon!
The fly tying competition at IFTD.  It was so cool watching these guys tie as fast as they could!
I scored a very appropriately named beer from Rio Fly Lines!
The Best of Show Old Towne Predator XL motorized kayak! How cool is that?
A nice lineup of Ocean Kayaks.